When Max Rothschild arrived in Colorado in 1975, he was surprised to find that El Paso County had no plan for plowing snow-covered roads.

“I came from Ohio where we had snow,” Rothschild said, so snow was something he knew how to handle.

As an employee working in the transportation department, Rothschild devised a plan of attack – each snow plow driver had a book in the cab, with details of all the routes. The drivers practiced their routes before the snow hit and quickly learned the difference between a snowy day in Fountain and one in Black Forest. To Rothschild’s knowledge, it was the first written county snow plow plan in the state.

County commissioners on Tuesday honored the retirement of the 87-year-old engineer, who forged a reputation as “quite a bridge builder.” Rothschild had two careers with the county. He first retired in 1994 but was asked to return during the 2008 recession to help manage downsizing.

Over the decades, he has overseen road and bridge construction and in recent years was the head of the county’s development services department, which handles land use and development.

Rothschild was praised as a mentor, a respected engineer and a man of his word.

“I started off my career in 1982 when Max Rothschild hired me,” said Tim Mitros, a stormwater expert with the city of Colorado Springs. “He taught me about the respect you get by being direct and honest with clients. … I just want to say thanks, Max. You’ve been a wonderful mentor to me for a lot of years.”

Craig Dossey, who was appointed in November as the new executive director of development services, talked about Rothschild’s firm hand as a leader.

“I feel like Max taught us the right way to do things, otherwise known as ‘the Max way,'” he said jokingly. “But I believe it was the right way.”

Another county employee recounted one of Rothschild’s favorite stories as to why the county plows are red. The answer is simple: “I decided they would be red,” Rothschild said. “When I got here, they were orange.”

In the 1970s, the county and state plows were all orange – a source of much confusion. When Rothschild got tired of getting calls about orange plows that weren’t the county’s, he decided to paint them red.

But Rothschild’s enduring legacy might be bridges he built, many of which were rebuilt with the help of federal programs years ago, said Dave Rose, a spokesman for the county. To commemorate Rothschild’s enduring legacy as an outspoken engineer of bridges, Commissioner Sallie Clark offered a limerick:

“There was a man named Max Rothschild

Whose opinions were definitely not mild.

He served with distinction and built many bridges,

A leader who’s worth priceless riches.”

While there were many attempts to capture Rothschild’s personality – he was labeled a great “father figure” as well as a “benevolent dictator” – no one captured the engineer’s personality quite as succinctly as Rothschild himself.

“I will tell you, if you ask, (and) you will get an answer,” he said to the crowd. “If you don’t want to know what I think, don’t ask me.”