‘Staying small’ and meeting challenges are keys to G.A. Jackson & Son’s success

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    SANGERVILLE — After working for Haley Construction for several years and as a maintenance man for Guilford of Maine — now True Textiles — for a short time, Gerald “Chummy” Jackson of Sangerville decided in 1978 that he’d start his own business.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    FAMILY TRADITION — Rusty Jackson and his father, Gerald “Chummy” Jackson, observed the 35th anniversary of their excavation firm in 2013

    “It was pretty scary, now that you think about it,” he said with a grin. “The wife (Regina) and I signed over our mobile home to get the money. I went to Rockwood and picked up my first equipment: a Ford 750 (truck), a Case 580 backhoe and a homemade trailer from Wilbur King.”
    It was not uncommon for Chummy to do a job solo, with son Rusty in high school for one more year.
    Small jobs are what got this business started and have gotten them through three economic recessions.
    “In the spring of 1978, the first job I did was for Guilford of Maine building the unloading dock for the chip building. That summer, I worked for Ken Miles Builders doing the excavation work on five new homes along with other small projects,” Jackson said.
    Once Rusty graduated in 1979 “we built up the business, slowly but surely. But we were determined to stay small, knowing it was the key to good customer service. In those days, we’d get a job and seal the deal with a handshake. You can’t do that nowadays,” said Jackson.
    “The area was doing well and people were building houses,” said Rusty Jackson. “In fact, we did the groundwork on most of the high-end homes in the area.”
    Eventually, a Ford wheeler and a 1987 model excavator were added. The excavator was bought used with only 400 hours on it.
    G.A. Jackson then started expanding and doing some U.S. Department of Agriculture work and became certified by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for shorefront work.
    As the business was growing, it was still the determination of the family-run operation to “stay small.”
    “Rusty and I were busy out working on jobs while Regina worked at Mayo Regional Hospital during the day. She would then come home to still work several more hours in the home office keeping all our books,” Chummy said.
    Regina retired from the hospital in 2005 after 30 years of service.
    Commercial work has been the mainstay of G.A. Jackson & Son in recent years. The business was involved in a lot of upgrades at Pleasant River Lumber Company’s expansion from a new sorter building, to the truck scales and a large DEP drainage project. “We hauled in slate from Brownville for that one,” said Jackson.
    Today they own three excavators, four dump trucks, a John Deere bulldozer, two front-end loaders, a Bobcat compact tractor and their first piece of heavy equipment: the 1971 Case 580 backhoe. “It made me a lot of money,” said Chummy about the backhoe. “I’ll never sell it.”
    As quickly as the housing boom arrived in 1978, it departed in 2008, recalled Chummy. “When this most recent recession hit, we owned everything,” said Jackson. “If we had to make big monthly payments on equipment, we would have been in trouble.”
     Rusty also has a small farm where he raises beef and other livestock and has three vegetable gardens for his family. “There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing where your food comes from,” said the younger Jackson.
    Chummy, who turns 75 this summer, said he’s slowed down a little but doesn’t plan to retire. After 35 years in the business “I just can’t do those 10-14 hour days, five days a week like I used it,” he said.
    Rusty, however, plans to carry on the tradition. “We’re been through some good times and tough times,” said the younger Jackson, “and we’ve met some great people along the way.”
    “I don’t ever recall having a problem with a customer or an employee,” Chummy added.
    G.A. Jackson & Son (717-7009) continues to operate out of Chummy and Regina’s home on Douty Hill Road in Sangerville with the same determination of “staying small” and providing good customer service.