J.K. (Kermit) Martin J.K. (Kermit) Martin was born in Winn Parish, Louisiana January 12, 1916. He grew up under tough circumstances after his mother was killed by a falling tree when he was only one year old. Raised by different family members, by the time Kermit was 18 he had acquired his first pulpwood truck and a contract to furnish pulpwood for the Southern Advance paper mill in Hodge, Louisiana. It was 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, that the market really opened up for him to cut and haul all the wood he could. A rail car on a siding near Calvin was his center of operations. In 1938, J.K. married Aline Kelley, also from Winn Parish. They were married in a boxcar in Jackson Parish with only fifty cents between the two of them. Kermit told Aline that if she would stick with him, they would have something one day. From day one, J.K. Martin's operation was a family affair. Most of his crew back in those days were relatives, including his uncles, father-in-law, and even his dad. He paid the crew $2.00 a week in silver dollars during the Depression years. Those were the days of crosscut saw cutting the tree into short wood. This required double handling of the short wood, first to load onto a less than OSHA/DOTD-safe truck in the woods, and then off to load onto the railroad freight car destined for the paper mill in Hodge. When something new came along, whether it was equipment or just a better way of doing things, he was one of the first to try it. The first power chain saws that came out after World War II were two-man jobs. He had the first portable chipper in the woods in this part of the country. During World War II, J.K. was induced by the wartime economy to temporarily move his operations to East Texas, where his skills were greatly needed. In East Texas, he was provided with 50-plus prisoners of war to cut and load his trucks and flat cars to insure that the paper mill had a steady stream of wood from which to make the vitally needed paper. After much work in East Texas, he moved back to Winn Parish to a sawmill business in various locations. He always liked to stay on top of things and when an opportunity knocked he always tried to open the door. In 1954, a new adventure in the wood business came along, and J.K. Martin Pulpwood Co., Inc, was established. He became the first wood dealer in North Louisiana. The financing of pulpwood contractors became a "Family Affair." Martin ultimately became the "banker" for the pulpwood contractors, paying for saws, doctor bills for their families, and providing grocery money during times of need. J. Kermit Martin was a woodman through and through, although he served three six-year terms on the Winn Parish School Board. Many good things were accomplished for the Winn Parish schools while he was on that Board. In 1974, J.K. Martin became innovative. He began using pulpwood rack trucks. He set out racks all around the country, especially in the Red Dirt Kisatchie area. Dedicated pulpwood haulers would camp out in the woods, cutting and loading those racks. In the prime of his life in April of 1974, J.K. suffered a life-threatening stroke. Even though he never fully recovered, his determination and faith on God kept him going and he never gave up his desire for working in the forestry business. In addition to the J.K. Martin Pulpwood Co., Inc., he and the Martin team built a chip mill in late 1984. They moved their first load of chips on May 5, 1985 under their contract with Riverwood in West Monroe, Louisiana. Martin Forest Products marketed chips to many corporations and once loaded two ships with chips to be delivered to Taiwan. Although J.K. had many challenges with his health, he still continued to participate in then chip mill operation. With little education and much determination, Kermit had many accomplishments in his lifetime. J.K. Martin Pulpwood is still going strong today, and is owned and operated by his son, Johnny Martin, who was chosen as 2006 Louisiana Logger of the Year. Today several operations bear his name which are owned by his grandson, Kelley and Kyle Martin, and son-in-law, Daniel Wyatt. J.K. and Aline had a very strong faith in God and they wee blessed with five healthy children, 10 grandchildren, 15 great and three great-great grandchildren. On July 16, 2001, at age 84, Kermit went to be with the Lord after serving his family and community for 65 years. |