Arthur Hunt is Oldest Logger for Zwolle Festival At 83, Arthur Hunt has a twinkle in his eye and a lively smile when recounting his days hauling logs in the Sabine River area of Western Louisiana. He is scheduled to be honored as the Oldest Logger at the 16th annual Zwolle Loggers and Forestry Festival May 7-8, when that community celebrates its local industry. Hunt began working with timber at 18 years old, "ever since the mule days," he said. He recalls working for contractors W.C. Womack, T.N. Lockwood, Gilbert Blackman, and G.T. Stevenson. Always a truck driver, he hauled mostly to the plywood mill at Florien. He was married to Wordie Lee Campbell in 1945, and their first child, a son, was born in 1946. There were eventually seven sons and three daughters altogether. Mrs. Hunt died in 1977, and he has continued alone since then, retiring in 1982. Eldest son, Arthur B., dropped over to be with his dad at his home on Ivanhoe Street in Many during the interview, and helped count up grandchildren which they numbered at 21, and "too many great grands to name," the elder Mr. Hunt said. Three sons live in Many, and one each in DeRidder, Zwolle, and Florien. Two are deceased. The two daughters are in Florien. Arthur B., the son, has only recently retired himself, stepping down last December from a 30 year career which began with Zapata Oil Co., which was purchased by Diamond Offshore, an overseas drilling company. He saw duty as a tool pusher drilling superintendent in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Australia. Did he work with his father in the woods? He began helping his father at nine years old, cutting brush to clear the roads where the elder Hunt was hauling. How did he manage with languages while working overseas? He mentioned the local language of the Indonesian region, and said, "I had to learn it to give instructions to the crew, or do all the work myself," he said. |