Jenness Robbins, a longtime president of his family’s Searsmont lumber business and a leader in the industry, has died at 85.
A lifelong resident of Searsmont, Robbins was president of Robbins Lumber for 27 years before selling the business to his brother Jim in 2003, according to his obituary.
Jenness led a number of the innovations that have helped the 143-year-old company to keep up with the times and grow into one of Waldo County’s biggest employers, according to his nephew, also named Jim, who is now the president of Robbins Lumber.
That included in the late 1960s, when Jenness trucked a bandsaw back from New Hampshire and built it, as an upgrade to the slower, less versatile circular saw the company had been using up to that point. He also ensured the company was an early adopter of the optimized edger, a machine that can electronically scan the edges of wood to precisely cut it into boards.
After energy prices skyrocketed during the oil embargo of 1973, Jenness and his brother installed a biomass boiler that allowed the mill to burn wood waste to create steam to heat the facility’s buildings and dry lumber in kilns. That made it possible to dry lumber during the colder parts of the year, whereas it previously could only be air dried in summer, according to his nephew Jim Robbins.
The spirit of innovation has continued to this day, with the company recently installing a larger boiler that can send electricity to the grid, and a new edger that uses artificial intelligence to cut boards more efficiently.
“He was extremely innovative and hardworking and expected everybody else to be,” Jim said of his uncle. “We’re trying to carry the water that he did. They’re big shoes to fill, to be honest with you.”
Beyond his savvy in the lumber industry, Jenness was also “hugely charismatic” and “had a heck of a sense of humor,” according to Jim Robbins. That included good-natured teasing of his nieces and nephews, as well some legendary antics earlier in life.
“He went to Florida once with his parents, and he brought back an alligator, and he put the alligator in his teacher’s desk,” Jim Robbins said. “It did not go over very well, at all.”
When not working, Jenness enjoyed hunting and fishing with his brother. They were also active members of the Belfast Curling Club, where Jenness served as president for a time.
Jenness was also involved with other organizations and causes. According to his obituary, he oversaw the construction of four homes in Waldo County for Habitat for Humanity. He also served as the clerk of the works on construction projects for the town of Searsmont, and for the Maine Forest Products Council when it built new headquarters in Augusta in 2004.
“Although the original plans for the building didn’t include pine wainscotting throughout, we think Jenness couldn’t avoid adding his own personal touch,” said the Council’s executive director, Patrick Strauch. “He also generously contributed funds to the building and our board room is named in his honor.”
Even after Jenness Robbins stepped back from his family’s lumber business, he continued to work there as a consultant.
“He was a great man, and his desk was right across from mine, and he’d come in every day and talk to me for the last 25 years, to talk about the mill and the industry,” said his nephew Jim Robbins. “I’ll really miss that.”
