Iowa Man Walks 35 Miles To Work Each Day To Support Sick Wife
Steven Simoff, a 61-year-old janitor from Iowa, may have the toughest commute in America, as the grandfather walks 35 miles to get to work each day.
Simoff is employed at the Lakeside Casino in Osceola, Iowa, according to the Daily Mail, yet he makes his home in Davis City, 35 miles away. His daily trip to work takes him down a four lane highway, Interstate 35, and lasts more than six hours on foot. In order to walk to his 11 p.m. job, Simoff sets out from home at 3:30 p.m. He is only spared the difficulty of a two way trip because a co-worker drives him back to within eight miles of his home each morning following his shift.
“First of all, when you got a family, and you’ve got a job, you’ve got to be able to support your family,” Simoff said of his grueling commute. “And you’ve got to keep your job — the two most important things I can think of.”
Think your #CommuteToWork stinks? This guy walks 35 miles to work – each way. http://t.co/8yssJFRGrb via @KyleMunson pic.twitter.com/0FpSiwO8XY
— Mike Trautmann (@Trautguy) March 2, 2015
Simoff lives with his wife Renee, and their grandson, Steven, whom they adopted, according to the Independent. He makes just $9.07 an hour as a janitor, and his wife receives disability benefits, following a stroke and several heart attacks. Though the couple recently bought a 2002 Ford Windstar, they struggle to find the money to put gas in it.
Rent is affordable for the couple in Davis City, at just $400 a month, a fact that drives Simoff’s 35 mile walk to work each day. He wears through a pair of shoes every two months, the Mirror reports, though on many days he is able to catch a lift, drastically shortening his walk.
Earlier this year, 56-year-old James Robertson made headlines when it was revealed that he walked 21 miles to work each day. As the Inquisitr previously reported, a GoFundMe page for Robertson raised over $300,000, and a local dealership donated a car to him after news of his 21 mile commute went international.
Working from Thursday to Tuesday, Simoff claims he spends an average of four hours a day walking to work, after accounting for passers-by giving him a ride. Emil Segebart, who has spent the last decade driving Simoff most of the way home from work, echoed the janitor’s sentiments about his daily 35-mile-walk.
“He’s trying to earn a living,” Segebart pointed out. “That’s how I look at it. You’re trying to earn a living and doing what it takes. And this is what it takes.”
Simoff noted that he is in good health and takes no medicines aside from an occasional painkiller. Despite walking 35 miles to work each day, he says he has no plans to change.
[Image: AP via the Daily Mail]
