BUZZ SAW JUNE 30, 1949 Texas Forest Service Conducting Experiments at Diboll by E

Copied from an original at The History Center, Diboll, TX www.TheHistoryCenterOnline.com 1993:001 VOLUME II DIBOLL, TEXAS, JUNE 30, 1949 I . No. 12 PUBLISHED BY AND FOR EMPLOYEES OF SOUTHERN PINE LUMBER COMPANY Left to right, top row: Joe Homer Jones, L. E. Gumm, Tip Brashears and E. A. (Slim) Stephens. Mid dle row: Russell Dykes, Dewey Ballinger, Clarence Young and Bascom Weeks. Bottom row: Wilbur Fogg, Ed Smith and Sam Wilkerson. Copied from an original at The History Center, Diboll, TX www.TheHistoryCenterOnline.com 1993:001 PAGE TWO BU~ SAW JUNE 30, 1949 Barty Breazeale & the Bumble Bee One extremely hot day in August, on the mules back like a set of long 1918, Barty Breazeale slept peacefully handles on, a wind-swept clothesline. under his log truck somewhere in the "Catch him H ........ !" answered Barty vicinity of Old Camp One west of Di frantically. "Catch ME!" And with this boll He had worked hard since early parting remark he sailed through the morning and it was now 3:00 p.m. air and landed on his Southern Ex The still air of the forest was heavy posure, defeated, dejected, and disgust with the scent of blossoms. It was ed. And he hasn't tried to ride a mule also heavy with the scent of Barty. since. A lone Bumble Bee droned through Barty Breazeale, as far as we know, the tall pine trees a mile or so away. has never had but one accident on the The tranquility of his domain had been job during his long career with South unbroken for thousands of generations ern Pine Lumber Company. He is safe and he buzzed happily, mad at nobody. ty conscious and-especially since the Then his keen nostrils detected an in accident which happened last year-a truder. And he didn't like it. man who really watches his step. In The Bumble Bee flew in ever-widen fact he is now one of the most care jng circles in his reconnaissance mis ful ~en you'll ever meet, particularly sion until he was directly over the park when he's on foot in the woods. And eo truck. Two large feet protruoed here is the reason: Last year Barty from under the vehicle on one side; stepped over a log while walking over a man's head in a black hat from the some government timber. His foot land· other. He was asleep, his mouth wide ed on something soft and when he look open. ed down to see what it was he saw The Bumble Bee dropped his flaps, NOT what he expected, but a rattle dived, The buzzing of his short wings, snake. And Barty had stepped right in heard faintly at first by RIchie Wells the middle of his back! and Paul Durham sitting nearby, be No, the snake didn't bite him. He came louder and louder but the snoring BARTY BREAZEALE didn't have a chance to. Barty made truck driver was not disturbed. Final a flying leap through the air, hit his ly the crescendo rose to siren pitch with Richie Wells. This job consisted Mercer) of Houston. Barty is a mem head on a tree, knocked himself out as the bee shot through the branches of building spur railroads for the old ber of the First Baptist Church, Wood and had to be carried into Diboll to of the trees like a bullet from above Shay locomotives that huffed and puff men of the World, and the Odd Fel the doctor. Some of the men working -then WHAM! He hit squarely in the ed through the woods on a daily diet lows (7th degree) in which he has been nearby heard the commotion, killed wide open mouth of young Barty Brea of pine knots and over track that to active for 32 years. the rattler. He measured exactly six zeale. day would be considered unfit for a A familiar sight to logging crews, feet, two inches i.l length. Longer than throughout Southern Pine Lumber What happened next can best be de roller coaster. Barty was tall. But j4st not as quick. In those days logs were brought to Company's thousands of acres of tim scribed by Richie Wells: "When the Which proves that the Old Boy has loading points by four mule teams pull berland, is Barty Breazeale riding his Bumble Bee hit Barty he sunk his plenty of fire in him yet. ing two-wheel carts under which one, gray horse "Smoky". Old Smokey stinger in his tongue. Barty almost ----0---- two, or three logs were hooked with knows he has on his back a real man turned the truck over getting out from grabs, with one end of the log drag of the saddle and Barty considers under it with the bee still in his mouth !DiuQ 'Te,Qe,phcrne,~ ging the ground. One man set the Smokey, in his line of work, as great and when he finally did get on his feet grabs, another drove the team. The as anything that ever walked on four he spit out the bee and took off through skidder was yet to come. feet, Citation and Man 0' War not the woods. I jumped on my horse and ~ n~taQQe,& J-t e,Jl,e, Barty left Richie and the grade, excluded. It's a case of mutual admira took out after him. I ran him three started driving a cart. And it was on tion. miles and finally caught him in a little Approximately 100 dial telephones this job that he almost met with dou What Old Smokey doesn't know is post oak thicket and wrestled him have been installed in Diboll homes ble disaster. that Barty, great horseman though down to the ground to keep him from during the past few weeks and by the Driving through the woods one day, he no doubt is, has never been able hurting himself. His tongue was swol time this issue of the Buzz Saw goes astride one mule of a four mule team, to ride anything but the most gentle len up to about the size of a roasting to press the work will have been com Barty's cart hit a persimmon sapling of mules. Bucking horses are no prob ear and he thought a rattle snake had pleted with the dial system in full op and the sapling promptly hit Barty on lem. He can handle the wildest with bitten him-thought he was going to eration. It is expected that at least 100 top of his head, knocking him slightly ease. But a mean mule is another mat die. I tied him up and draped him over more telephones will be installed with batty and almost spilling him off the ter. the horse behind me then took him in the next few months with more to mule. Tom Welch, standing nearby, A few years ago there was one par back to the set where the truck was. come later. thought the whole thing very funny ticular mule that seemed to have a def When we got him calm enough to un Diboll, for many years, had one tele and laughed long and loud. Barty came inite dislike for Barty-snorting and derstand what we were trying to tell phone line into Lufkin and the outside to, roared out to Welch: "Listen, you kicking every tim J he came anywhere him-some two hours later-we show world-and the few telephones in town big ..... _..... _!, I'll get off this mule and near the corral or in the vicinity where ed him the dead Bumble Bee and he were all on the same line. The only whip you 'till your grandma won't the teams were working. As time went snapped out of it. Couldn't utter a syl possible method then of enjoying a know you! Wipe that smile off your on the mule got worse and Barty de lable, though, for three or four days private conversation was for the par face or square off!" cided-against his better judgment and that's the only time during our fif ties on each end to hire Chinamen to Welch, weighing 225 pounds - all that he would show him who was boss. ty years of friendship that I ever had do their talking, then translate what muscle-l\ept the smile and squared So one day he had the mule skinner a chance to get a word in edgeways". was said. But even under that system off. Breazeale, weighing 1l0-0nly part give the team a workout like they had The episode of Barty and the Bumble there was always the possiility that muscle-stayed on the mule and drove never gotten before, driving them as Bee happened when he was 28 years somebody would run in a third China quietly away. hard as he could drive them from morn of age. Even at that early date he man and sabatoge the whole scheme. It was a close shave. ing until night on a hot summer day. had worked for Southern Pine Lumber Approximately eleven years ago a After several years on the carts, About dusk both the team and the Company 12 years. Now he has been Barty began branching out into every driver were exhausted. Barty, stand switchboard was installed in the office, on the payroll, with the exception of type of work in the woods. He drove ing by as fresh as a daisy, said to extra lines were obtained into Lufkin, the times he branched out as a con log wagons with mules and oxen, cut Richie Wells: "Now I'll show you how and a few additional telephones put tractor, 43 years and Richie, Hugh logs, hooked tongs, braked on the to tame a bad mule.

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