Peck Leavines By Russell G. Holt There is no one man more deserving of recognition in the Louisiana Loggers Hall of Fame than my grandfather, Russell (Peck) Leavines of Gardner, Louisiana. He actively worked in Louisiana's logging industry from age 15 in 1931 to age 84 in the year 2000, logging west of the Red River in Central Louisiana from Natchitoches south to Oberlin. Despite mobility impairment he still "goes to the woods" at age 91, whenever the opportunity arises, riding along and giving advice. Peck Leavines was born December 3, 1916 in Gardner, Louisiana, ten miles west of Alexandria on Highway 28 west. He was one of seven children born to Thomas and Nanny Leavines. His father was a log cutter who used crosscut saws and axes, skidding the logs with mules and oxen. Several of his uncles were also loggers. At the age of 15 Peck started driving a truck hauling logs for his dad. After working for his dad for several years, Peck went to work driving a truck for logger Joe Ford, earning $3.00 per day. Five years later, Peck went into the logging business with his brother, Tom Leavines, cutting and trucking with Model-A Ford trucks. The brothers worked for R.L. Walker, who had a sawmill in Gardner. Around 1945 Peck and Tom began logging for Bayou Rapides Lumber and stayed with the company for eleven years. They later contracted with Foote Lumber Company until that company closed. It was in the 1960s that Peck formed his own company, Russell Leavines Logging, and spent 20 years as a contractor with Roy O. Martin Lumber Company. Russell Leavines Logging employed as many as 25 men at any given time. During this era he bought the first hydraulic loader and the first rubber tired skidder used in the Central Louisiana area. Over the years, he also offered encouragement and financial assistance to several local logging contractors, actually getting them started in the business. At age 62, Peck retired and turned his logging enterprise over to me, "Rusty" Holt. He continued to work for me. overseeing jobs on Crowell Lumber Company for Hunt Plywood, until the age of 84 when health problems forced him to retire once more. In 1996 Peck was recognized by both Martin Lumber Company and Hunt Plywood Company for "dedicated and outstanding logging service." That same year the Louisiana State Senate made him an Honorary State Senator for his contributions to logging in Louisiana. On August 28, 1996, Peck was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions of a lifetime to the Louisiana logging industry, by the Louisiana Logging Council. I believe that this man, who was born "with sawdust in his blood," deserves to take his place in the Louisiana Loggers Hall of Fame. His lifetime of hard work, his vision and innovation in the Louisiana logging industry, and his driving desire to be "the best," qualify Russell (Peck) Leavines for this honor. |