Fort Loudon, PA – Thriving and surviving for 100 years as a business requires more than sheer luck. It requires excellent business savvy, complete dedication, a thorough understanding of your product and a keen eye towards innovation. Carl Rosenberry & Sons Lumber Inc., located here, is a prime example of all of this.
Carl’s father, David Raymond (DR) Rosenberry began working in the steel mills and brick yards as a young man, until he was drafted into the United States Army during World War I. His tour of duty took him to France, where he fought in the trenches until 1918. A couple of years after returning home, he received word that his sister’s husband, Cleveland Forrester, who owned a sawmill, had passed away. David who was in need of work at the time, purchased the mill, thus began his 40-year career in the lumber business.
Pictured is Carl Rosenberry & Sons Lumber’s 20-acre facility in Fort Loudon, PA.
“I was always around Dad and the sawmill,” Carl remembers. He recalls one of his dad’s happiest days was when he purchased a Peerless Steam Engine to power his Frick Mill.
(From left): Bill, Carl and Dave Rosenberry
“I didn’t do well in school, because of my attraction to the mountains and my interest in the sawmill.” After school and during the summers, Carl would follow after the mill and cut pulp wood with a small crew. Two years after finishing high school, in 1951, Carl enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. After a four-year stint, he returned home, where his father’s offer of partnership in the lumber business awaited him. Carl partnered with his dad until 1960, when his dad retired and Carl bought the business.
Right: DR and Carl Rosenberry’s diesel-powered mill in the 1950s.
A few years later, Carl moved the mobile mill to a stationary site and soon built a more modern mill on the same site. Carl saw that more modern equipment was available to increase yield and productivity, something he felt was necessary to build the business. In 1977, construction began on another mill on the same site that would set the tone for the next 40-plus years.
With the addition of his two sons, David in 1976, (a graduate of the NHLA Inspector Training School 61st class) and Bill in 1985 (business degree from Shippensburg University), Carl led a team inspired to continue to advance the business’s success. David leads the maintenance team and watches over the mill while Bill heads up administration and helps with lumber sales and timber procurement. “David and I have been involved in the business all of our lives,” Bill said. “The sawmill became a way of life early and we have enjoyed working with our family.
Steam and horse power at DR Rosenberry’s first sawmill in the 1920s.
Left: Tree length timber is shown being unloaded at Carl Rosenberry & Sons yard.
Right: Resawing a Red Oak cant is shown here.
“Our company really started its growth with computerization and automation. We designed a tree length ring debarker/cut up system that was not found in the Hardwood industry at the time. This system debarks the tree and cuts the logs to length inside the mill, then feeds our two head rigs. We have been hauling tree length timber since the early 1970s, but the addition of the cut-up system was the ticket for more production, better quality and higher yield.”
The installation of dry kilns in 1985 allowed Rosenberry to reach more end users and opened up foreign markets through the port of Baltimore. Since then, new installations have included two Mellott grading stations, American Wood Dryers’ kilns, a Salem line bar band resaw, a Salem optimizing edger, a Newman two-sided high-speed planer, a Cleereman linear carriage and lastly a Vision Tally.
Red Oak being loaded into a kiln at Carl Rosenberry & Sons Lumber.
Carl Rosenberry seems certain of many things, but especially this: “I owe so much to others throughout my career, including my father who gave me my start as a partner with him. My wife Anna, who gave up her career as a registered nurse to be my secretary and to raise our sons (David and Bill). I simply cannot say enough for her being by my side for 64 years through the good and the not so good times. To my nephew Mike, who came with me in business for 17 years. Mike Kreigline (NHLA 61st class) who has been a big part of our company and our family for over 49 years. To all of our long time employees, both present and past, who have contributed to the success of our company.
“And my two sons: years ago I remember saying to David and Bill, ‘you can pick this company up and run with it as we have not reached the top yet.’ Well, they have definitely picked it up and built a state-of-the-art company out of it. We have been blessed and our Lord has guided us every step of the way for 100 years.”
(From left): Bill, Carl, who is seated and holding picture of his dad, DR, and Dave.
Carl Rosenberry & Sons Lumber is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Hardwood Manufacturers Association and Pennsylvania Forest Products Association. Learn more at www.rosenberry lumber.com.
