By Anne McLean
Journal Correspondent

• Ruston LA

Huey Roberson sits at his dining room table erect and eager to discuss his career in the timber industry. A native of Clay, Louisiana, Roberson comes from a family steeped in the timber business and is proud to be a third generation logger and sawmiller. His grandfather, John Frank Roberson, was a career sawmiller in Lincoln Parish, while Roberson's father, Lonnie Roberson, worked on the logging side the industry. "Logging is a part of my family's roots; we all loved working in the timber industry. I knew that I would make my career in this industry and it was a wonderful experience."

With great energy Roberson, or "Mr. Huey" as he is affectionately known to many, rattles off figures about his personal logging history and his Simsboro mills' production. His vitality and animation clearly illustrate the pride that Huey Roberson took in his work and accomplishments.

Roberson's career in the timber industry followed his service time in World War II. He enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school in 1943 and was dispatched to the Pacific Theater. There he helped navigate transport boats as they shuttled troops from the carrier ship, the USS Leedstown, to the shore for engagements. Roberson displays a photograph of himself from that time: a young man stands on the gunwale of a small, polished boat, his left arm casually resting on hood of the boat's cabin. Roberson's relaxed stance and smiling face conceal the perilous dangers that he experienced during his service. The seven bronze stars earned by Roberson, however, acknowledge Roberson's contributions to the Navy and remain testaments to his bravery, skill and service. He states, "I am most proud of my service to my country. It was the most gratifying time of my life. It was an honor."

When discharged from the Navy in 1946, Roberson returned to Louisiana and immediately turned is attention to logging. "I got into port in New Orleans one evening and came home to my family. The next day I headed out to help my dad begin construction on a 'ground hog' sawmill. It was my first day back at work." Such a story clearly summarizes Roberson's impressive work ethic, which was a driving force throughout his career.

Roberson and his father, Mr. Lonnie, made cross-ties at this small sawmill. After a couple of years, they both moved to settle in Bernice. His father built a welding business and patented logging trailer standards that converted army and navy trucks into logging trucks, which were purchased by local lumber companies. Meanwhile, Mr. Huey with his wife, Erline Elliott of Bernice, at his side, began his career in the log hauling business. He worked first as an independent producer and hauled to Bernice mills, including, G.E. Lindsey Lumber Company, Courtney Reed Lumber Company, and Hageman's. He also hauled to Templeton & Cook Lumber in Homer. Over the next 15 years, he skillfully developed a reputation of being a high volume hauler of virgin hardwood and pine.

Roberson relates some of the challenges the timber industry faced in those early days. He recalls that, "Horses and mules were used in the woods to skid logs into 'sets,' where they were loaded onto trucks. The introduction of motorized crawler tractors made all the difference in the world to harvesting and hauling." One of the first loggers to invest in crawler tractors, Roberson credits much of his production to the use of those machines. Roberson continues to reminisce about these early years. During the summer months of the 1953-55 he traveled the mountainous regions of northern New Mexico to haul logs, while he spent the summer of 1956 hauling in southern Colorado. "It was a tremendous experience. The terrain was completely different from that of north Louisiana and it provided me with a new challenge and more experience," Roberson reflects.

In the late 1950's, Roberson was able to purchase a contract-logging job with Olinkraft in West Monroe and thereby increase his crews, trucking fleet, and hauling volume. Timber was mainly harvested in Union and Lincoln parishes and was hauled to a sawmill in Huttig, Arkansas. This work helped Roberson to further prove his abilities in the field as he earned a reputation of being an aggressive and expert hauler. It also prepared Roberson to take on a larger logging opportunity, based out of Olin's Winnfield plywood plant, during the mid-1960's.

For the next eight years, Roberson select cut and harvested timber on a 64,000-acre parcel north of Winnfield. He moved his family to Chatham, along with his trucking fleet that now included eight new International trucks. At the height of productivity, Roberson's trucks hauled 144 loads of logs per week, producing 400,000 board feet of pine logs and 100,000 board feet of hardwood logs. His largest weekly production peaked at 638,000 board feet, with an annual average of 25 million feet per year for those eight years he harvested around the Chatham area. Still, despite his flourishing contract-logging business, Roberson doggedly pursued his original dream of owning and operating an independent sawmill.

In December 1970, his dream established twenty-four years earlier became a reality: Roberson Lumber Company, Inc. opened for business, just south of Simsboro on Highway 563. The original mill cost $500,000 to construct and like the early years in the hauling business, Roberson's family helped with the mill. His uncle, R. Everett Roberson, assisted with the design and construction the mill and Roberson hired competent, dependable employees, many of whom had worked for his family throughout the years.

The original hardwood specialty mill met with instant success. It processed large, high quality hardwood logs into boards for furniture and flooring, boasted a production of 75,000 board feet of hardwood per day and employed over 90 individuals. Such figures and market demand prompted Roberson to quickly expand his operation and dramatically increase production. "I wanted to make the most of this opportunity. I was willing to take calculated chances and meet the needs of the market," Roberson says. In a short time the 120-acre milling operation added three additional mills. The tie mill manufactured railroad cross-ties and switch-ties at a rate of 500-800 per nine-hour day; a canter mill specialized in 4x6 timbers, and a chipper mill produced as many as 80 - 100 industrial van loads of sawdust chips per week. All told, Roberson's raw materials consisted of 50 percent oak with the remaining 50 percent composed of hickory, ash, beech, bay gum and other species.

A deep commitment to self-reliance propelled Roberson to extend his business beyond the reaches of his mill site. A fleet of Roberson trucks delivered processed goods to clients in southeast Texas and Arkansas, while another Roberson fleet hauled chips. In addition, 90 percent of the wood processed at the mills was cut and hauled by Roberson's logging crews from private landowners as well as selected tracts from large corporate entities within a six parish area surrounding Lincoln parish.

The hardwood mills also were a great benefit to the industrial development of Simsboro and Lincoln Parish. It was one of the original three major industrial plants to open its doors, along with Laurens Glass Co. of Laurens, NC and the Duraflake Particleboard plant. Roberson Lumber was recognized repeatedly in the local media during 1971-1972 as helping to increase the region's economical base. Roberson's mill also had the distinction of being the only hardwood sawmill in North Central Louisiana at the time. The many mill expansions effectively increase the number of both administrative and mill operators. At the height of his milling career, Roberson employed approximately 150 people and his sale volumes totaled $4 million by the early 1980's.

Throughout his career, Roberson remained a select cut logger, and harvested between ten and twenty percent of a given area. "It was standard practice at the time," he states. "Now, unfortunately practices have changed," he continues. Roberson is referring to "clear cutting," the primary practice in the state. Land is deforested completely and replanted primarily with quick-growing softwood saplings. Roberson is skeptical about such practices: "Clear cutting results in harvesting young, immature trees that don't have much to offer. Select cutting, however, not only yielded prime timber, but it offered a way for me to invest in Louisiana's future by preserving one of the state's natural resources for future generations. I am a Louisiana native and always wanted trees to be preserved for future Louisiana workers," Roberson states emphatically.

Today Roberson is retired, lives in Ruston with Erline, and is celebrating 58 years of marriage. His daughter, Martha, and his son-in-law, Ronnie Vail, also reside in Ruston. Bear, the 130-pound Akita grand-dog, who moved back with Martha and Ronnie in 2000, is a constant companion for Mr. Huey. "Bear even keeps me company when I wake up to start everyday at 5:30 in the morning," he says. Roberson shares a few final reflections on his long and admirable career: "I am proud to say that in my 56-year career to have suffered only one fatality on my team. Although it was a great loss, I am proud of this stellar safety record." He also takes a moment to recognize his former employees. He states, "Good, loyal and skilled employees are one reason for any success that I experienced. Their demonstrated commitment to their work was the greatest asset to me."

And of her father, his only child Martha, summarizes his life in the forests of North Louisiana: "His work was his life's greatest fulfillment. He loved the trees and how they provided life and work for not only his family, but for the families of those men who worked beside him. He was one of those few people born to this world who loved getting up everyday to go to work; he loved every working hour that he has known. And behind all of those working hours, his strengths were his belief in God, his love of his country for which he served, and the love for his family."

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