Oxford Environmental Services lost almost 100 years of experience when three long-time employees retired this month.

The city of Oxford held a retirement ceremony for Charles Ivy, Willie Dennis and Delaine Rockette on Monday morning at the Environmental Service building off Molly Barr Road.

Ivy has worked for the department for 36 years. He started out riding on the back of a garbage truck and then moved to the grass crew. He started driving the knuckle boom truck and flatbed and was most recently on a front-end loader.

Dennis has worked for the department for 34 years. He started on the grass crew and eventually became the main caretaker of the Oxford cemetery.

Rockette has dedicated 28 years to the department, starting out operating a chipper and being on a garbage truck for five years. He worked on the grass crew, drove a tractor and leaf truck before becoming an operator at the landfill and then a supervisor at the scale house. Most recently, he was a foreman.