Samuel Hauert, president of Grant Road Lumber Co., says he never thought of giving up even after major fires in 1960, 1968 and 1980.
"I was young back then," explains Hauert, who was 23 and fresh from World War II and the University of Arkansas when he bought into the almost year-old business in 1948.
Whether he would have gone into the lumber business here to begin with is another matter. He says with a laugh that he didn't realize until later that Tucson had 19 other yards.
Over the years, Hauert says, 38 competitors have closed their doors.
How has Grant Road survived? "Knowledge, products, quality," Hauert says. His sons, David and Steve, are a tremendous help, he adds.
Asked about the next 63 years, Hauert says, "We've got to get through this year."
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Grant Road is fortunate to be debt-free, he says, but so few houses are being built that "there's just no business out there."
Still, if he could start over, Hauert says, "I would want to own my own business."