T.O. Richarson, 36, rolls up after transporting a log load to Hermanville. Dust devils swirl in his wake, dancing behind the log hauler he calls… his baby.
The weather is perfect. High, blue skies on a hot day made tolerable by a slight breeze refreshing enough to cool hard-working men like T&T Logging owner T.O. Richardson and his crew, masters in their elements, who prefer the outdoors, working with their hands and expertly operating humongous machinery clearing land of timber.
In this case, a 110-acre tract of land in Jackson.
Logging consists of cutting down trees and bunching them together with a feller buncher. Next, a skidder is used to haul the cut timber from the forest to a loading deck, where the trees are processed by a loader and placed on a log hauler for transport to a mill.
“It’s a business not built for everyone,” said Richardson. “Every job is different. Different and loud. Some jobs are just a clear-cut, clear everything and trees are replanted, starting from scratch. Some we just go in and thin out timber. On some, we clear out the bigger trees to give the smaller ones a chance to grow.”
“Not only can my logging company cut your timber, we can also gravel the road to your house or deer camp. We cruise timber too,” said Richardson, a process used to evaluate the amount of trees in an area and the value of the land it is on.
Richardson was “Lil Man,” back in the day, a 3-year-old, he says, “soaking up the game” from his dad, Thomas J. Richardson, who worked the fields and the family farm as a 9-year-old, when his father gave him a cultivator and mule.
The game, Richarson speaks of, is logging. He carries on as the third generation of a business with over 40 years of experience. The seeds were planted in Richardson early and he knew he wanted to be just like his father. “Work boots and a cap, instead of a suit and tie,” said Richardson, remembering, adding with emphasis, “not a gangsta in the streets, a baller or an entertainer. A working man. I knew early I wanted to work for myself. Have my own business. And that comes from my daddy. He taught us hard work. He instilled that in us.”
“At 10 years old, I started my own business. Asked my mom to buy me lollipops. Oh, she looked at me funny, but she bought them. Thirty-four suckers, I was making 17 dollars a day while my friends and other kids were out playing somewhere.”
“Out of high school, I even went to college to become an accountant. I moved to Atlanta. I was thinking maybe I’d find my way doing something in the electrical field, too. But logging… it was in my heart, in my blood.”
“I remember telling my dad,” Richardson says, smiling at the memory. “He had this magnificent smile on his face. I knew I was on the right path.”
“Now look, it wasn’t easy. But those trials and tribulations made us into what we are now. We’re self-made and pressure-tested approved. It’s a load that might be too heavy for some people, too overwhelming, but that load for us is just right.”
Contact T&T Logging company, located in Edwards.
(601)339-1652
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week.
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