John Green, Granite Rock Company 1953-1985, Logan Quarry Superintendent 1972-1985 - Part Four

In a recent interview, John Green spoke at length about his time with Granite Rock Company, where he worked first as a “sample boy” at Logan Quarry and eventually worked his way up to Quarry Superintendent. He told stories which include many of the people he worked with over the years, such as Paul Mahler, Elmer Neyens, Carl Preston, Oscar Davies, Roy Goodwin, Ray Johnson, Jay Woods, Claude Mason and Skeeter Hanson, and talked about many of the changes that transformed the Quarry and the Company during his thirty-two year career. This last installment recalls the Installation of the Mile Long Conveyor.

Installation of the Mile Long Conveyor  The project that John considered to be the fulfillment of his working life was the installation of the quarry’s mile long conveyor. After many years of thoughtful planning, the used conveyor was purchased from Anamax Copper and installed along with the Krupp mobile crusher in 1985.

“We had dreamt about it for years, and then we got an alert that there was one available in Arizona. We went down to Tucson to look at this thing and it was top quality. We rushed back and told Ray Johnson to get down there, that’s a good deal. So he told Bruce to get his check book out. It took thirty-six rail cars and over a hundred truck loads to get it here. Ray said, ‘Green, I don’t expect you to lose one day of production’, but we installed it and we were on budget and on time.

“Bruce and Betsy were conservative, as was anyone who was close to the era of the Depression. But it was a pleasure to work for the Company because they did at time take risks, and nobody in the gravel industry did that.”

John recalled how over the years there was never a problem discussing technology and production with Betsy. “She was right on it, which made it easy for me, I really respected her.” John said that she also had a reputation as a tough negotiator, while Bruce G. had the vision to purchase the property they would need for future operations and was the one to really focus on quality as a Company priority.

In 1985, after thirty-two years with Graniterock, John retired. He was there to help move the Logan Quarry operation into the 21^st century, participated in some spectacular successes and a few notable failures, and saw boom times and recessions come and go. Most importantly, he was there to witness the enduring dedication of people who worked hard to make their living at Graniterock, people who without hesitation used their talents to create a better place for the next generation.