When many hear of a career spanning more than three decades, it is met with awe and admiration for an unshakeable spirit and work ethic. When you ask Henry Anderson to recap his time in the industry, he simply shrugs and tells the story of the Tuesday he started his career at Lehman-Roberts. Also given the nickname “Tilly” by his team members, it comes as no surprise that Henry is known first and foremost for his humility and talents in equipment operation.
He shares “I started working here when I was 28 years old. My first day was at asphalt Plant 8 which also had the Scobey wash plant on the property.” Flash forward 34+ years later, and Henry Anderson is looking ahead on the road to retirement.
Since starting his career, Henry has operated almost every piece of equipment you can think of on a job site. Michael Ellis, VP of Project Management, has worked closely with Henry for more than 15 years. He joked, “Henry was always like a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ who could do anything and everything… whether it was operating a roller, paver, or backhoe, he could do it all and do it really well.”
Woody Franklin, Assistant Superintendent, reminisced on the early days of his career alongside Henry. He spoke of times when Henry showed him the ropes of projects. “I was 19 years old when I started on a crew with Henry. Early in my [career], I didn’t have a ride to work. I used to meet Henry at the corner store, and he’d let me ride with him,” said Woody. “In fact, Henry was the one who taught me how to run the asphalt paver and backhoe.”
Woody also remarked, “Henry was a self-starter who motivated others really well.” Michael added, “On road projects, he was good at looking ahead and behind the overall crew to help move obstacles out of the way and also clean up. He was extremely reliable at whatever he did from the small tasks to the big ones.”
Michael closed by sharing, “When it comes to our core values, Henry closely aligns with continuous improvement. Henry learned it all and worked to be good at it. No matter what new tech we got, he was always improving.” When asked about what has changed most over his time in the industry, Henry laughed, “The equipment has gotten a lot better over time. To be honest, it doesn’t seem like I’ve been [in the industry] for 34 years.”
Not only did Henry build a strong rapport with his teammates, but also with trucking partners – one in particular being Roy “Mouse” Phillips. He shared, “On behalf of the truckers, we want to thank Henry for the way he operated and communicated over the years… he made the projects easier.”
Woody put it best when he remarked, “Henry has always been as humble as can be. You couldn’t ask for a better teammate to work alongside.” As Henry enters this new season of life, we wish him many more days ahead filled with immense joy, peace, and rest!
