Woolsey has had success in the service, in local business

Woolsey Brothers is a name that is well-known, well-respected and trusted in all of Fayette County … and beyond.

Its farm supply service is known for the integrity, fairness, and dependability that their customers, as well as their employees, have come to expect over the years.

The continuity of this well-deserved reputation is largely due to Herb Woolsey, although he would modestly decline the credit.

Woolsey has worn several hats, that of a student participant in the Vandalia High School FFA program, that of an college agriculture student (for which he had earned a scholarship), that of the U.S. Army Infantry and afterward, that of a struggling, hard-working co-owner of a new business.

That new business became the highly successful Woolsey Brothers Farm Supply Inc., which has been the recipient of several coveted business honors and awards.

But the one hat that he donned many years ago, the permanent one to which he attributes all success and guidance, is the one in which he is a servant, that of a Christian, serving the Lord.

This is the first of a two-part story of Herb Woolsey, his varied and interesting life, his contributions to his country and Fayette County, and his spiritual values and personal ethics that have guided him in all walks of life.

Meet Herb Woolsey as he shares his story, peppered with generous doses of appreciation he has for his customers, employees, co-workers and God.

Building His Character

Woolsey talked about the early days, which surely helped prepare him for the integrity and responsibility of leadership that he has shown over the years, in the U.S. Army Infantry and his business.

Growing up on a farm, “I did all the things young folks did. I did the 4-H, the FFA, all those things. I was a State Farmer and I got the State Farmer Degree.”

The Woolseys lived on the west side of Hurricane Creek, which was voted into the Mulberry Grove School District. Because he was so involved in FFA, his mother paid tuition for him to remain at Vandalia High School until graduation.

“I had no plans for college; it wasn’t in our budget or my aspirations,” he said. “But a couple of the teachers and the principal asked me to write on a competitive exam for a county scholarship available.”

He filled out the application to take the test, but “I wasn’t going to do it, because I was putting up hay and I was too busy,” he said.

But it rained and he couldn’t put up hay, so he took the test, passed it and was awarded a four-year scholarship at Illinois Ag College.

“So we figured out how to get me there,” he said, “and we still got the hay up; the rain didn’t ruin the hay.” He attended college for two years.

“Later, in my military career, I always wondered why I got such breaks and command responsibilities and things,” he said. “Part of that was because I had two years in reserve officers training in college, so I had a head start on some of them.”

In the Service

“My friends and neighbors invited me to go (into the service) and I reported for service on the 8th of February 1951,” he said.

“I was in the heavy weapons infantry training. Then, I had the opportunity to go to officer candidate training school in Ft. Benning,” he said.

“There were several prerequisite leadership trainings and things to get through first. I attended there and I was commissioned second lieutenant in the Army in 1952.”

He served in active duty until September 1953.

“In early 1954, there was an armored unit in Vandalia that needed a needed a company commander, and some enlisted people asked me to take that job. I did and stayed with the reserve until June 30, 1985.

That means that Woolsey served his country for close to 34 years. He retired as a colonel and had the opportunity to go farther up in the ranks, had he desired. He trained many people in the course of his career.

“But, of course, this all of this goes back to some of the things I learned in FFA and speaking. (At Fort Ord), they had a refresher course and we had to give a period of instruction. At the break, a captain asked me if I wanted to be on the division faculty (that taught all the trainees). I really didn’t have any choice. I had orders in a couple of days and that is where they put me,” he said.

They put Woolsey in charge, with a lot of responsibility. He taught forty subjects and was in charge of a faculty of about 40 people who taught a lot of training.

“We taught signal communications, map reading, first aid and field sanitation, biological and radiological warfare, etc.,” he said. “That’s where they left me.

“From two to four companies started every week, pretty large troops, about 300 people. We took it seriously and trained them to the best of our ability. I was blessed with some good people to help with the instruction. Some of them were returnees from Korea.”

Vandalia’s Armored Tank Unit

“The armored tank unit that I commanded for several years in Vandalia was made of local folks, and they were one fine bunch group of soldiers.

“(Secretary of Defense Robert) McNamera decided to de-activate our division at the end of 1965, while I was still commander. A lot of my customers were in the outfit I commanded,” he said.

Next-Part II – He served then with the same conscientious, “Golden Rule” measure he used in the fertilizer business that he and his brother, the late Gerald Woolsey, began in a humble small building on Sixth Street in 1954 and which has grown to be a leader in the construction of efficient, environmentally sound fertilizer and chemical facilities.

In Part II of the Woolsey Brothers story, Herb will share why he credits much of the success to his customers, employees, and God, and of his appreciation of them.