After working at First Bank in Montgomery City for six years, Jim Krattli found a new job in 1984.

He became the new agent for Shelter Insurance, replacing Jim and Marlene Bishop. Krattli took over an agency that has been in Montgomery City since 1948.

“I just wanted a change of careers,” Krattli said.

It turned out to be a good move for Krattli as he worked as a Shelter Insurance agent for the next 37 years.

But at 5 p.m. on Dec. 31, Krattli’s long run at Shelter Insurance will come to an end as he plans to retire. Doug Brown, who is from Vandalia, will be Krattli’s replacement.

“I figure if I’m going to enjoy retirement, I need to be doing it,” Krattli said. “It’s time for a change. It’s been a good 37 years. I have no complaints. A vast majority of my customers are more friends than customers. I made a lot of relationships with several generations.”

Krattli said he has plenty of projects he’ll be working on during his retirement.

“I’ve got a ton of what I call round two-its, which are stuff that I haven’t got around doing yet,” Krattli said. “We have no big plans. We’re going to continue to be involved in the community. That’s not going to change. I’m going to work around the house, maybe take some short trips and help with the kids and grandkids.”

During his 37-year run at Shelter Insurance, Krattli worked in three different locations. When he was hired in 1984, his first location was at 110 West Third Street. His current office is at 420 South Sturgeon, where he has been working since 2004.

“As far as Shelter Insurance has been in this career, I have no complaints,” Krattli said. “It’s been good. We made a decent living at it. We’ve been able to have some flexibility in our time. When my girls were active in school, we missed very little because I had the ability to leave when I needed to. But I also had a lot of late nights and weekends.”

Krattli said the one thing that he’s going to miss the most working at Shelter Insurance is helping people.

“A lot of times when they’re down, whether it’s an auto accident or house fire, we’re here to help and we try to do that,” Krattli said. “Shelter is a good company to work for. It has good people as far as our customers are concerned. We have a lot of good people.”

Originally from Hermann, Krattli moved to Montgomery City in 1978, when he was hired to work at First Bank. He worked at First Bank for a total of 11 years.

Krattli is also active in the Montgomery City community. He’s currently a member of the Kiwanis Club and worked as a secretary and treasurer of the Greater Montgomery County Economic Development Council for more than 30 years.

“Montgomery City is a good community,” Krattli said. “It’s a good place to raise kids. I raised three of them. We have three grandchildren. We’re fortunate that all three of our kids live and work here.”

Krattli said working as an insurance agent is a good way to make a living in a small town like Montgomery City.

“It’s hard work,” Krattli said. “It’s not 9 to 5. You have to enjoy working with people. Sometimes that’s under bad circumstances such as an auto accident, fire, tornado or wind damage. If it’s not good for them, we try to make it right.”