From horses to forklifts, family-owned Belleville business has storied 150-year history
Walking into Liese Lumber Co. in downtown Belleville is like going back in time, but not because the building is filled with antiques or looks particularly historic.
It’s because the six owners have been on the job for decades — a combined total of 240 years to be exact — and they’re descendants of the man who took over the business in the 1920s.
“We all have our niches,” said company President Mike Lippert, 52. “We all have our responsibilities. It’s too much for one person to do. It’s too much for two people to do. You need a team. You need a family, and we all work together really well.”
Mike manages the original 1872 location, a multi-building complex with a lumberyard, sawmill, warehouse, office and hardware store at 319 E. Main St., next to Big Daddy’s 618.
His brother, Gregg Lippert, 46, oversees the “new” location at 2215 S. Belt West. It opened about 100 years ago.
Their father, Tom Lippert, 77, still reports to the office each morning, even though he’s “semi-retired” and lives on a golf course. Then there are his three cousins, Roger Lippert, 71, Carol Keim, 68, and Sue Hauck, 66.
It’s hard to separate the family from the business and the business from the family.
“I’ve always been ‘Mike with Liese Lumber,’” Mike said this week. “It’s part of my identity, and I like it. My dad and the other family members feel the same way. We all grew up working here.”
Liese is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, making it one of the oldest businesses in Belleville.
Its wood has been used to build hundreds of thousands of area homes, businesses, decks and fences, not to mention the city’s Santa House, a community donation in the 1960s.
Starting with a broom
Liese Lumber Co.’s anniversary is considered so significant that Belleville officials have agreed to block off East Main Street from Church to Charles for an all-day celebration with vendor booths and live music on June 24.
“We’re going to have Superjam,” Mike said, speaking of a St. Louis band that plays ‘60s and ‘70s classic rock.
The roots of the business actually go back to 1865, when carpenter A.F. Klotzbach, a German immigrant, established a lumberyard in Belleville. He hired his nephew, Julius Liese, who later founded Liese Lumber Co. in 1872 and partnered in the Liese & Hartmann hardware store.
In the early 1920s, the Liese family hired Oscar Lippert, who took over the business and eventually passed it on to his sons, Howard and Floyd, and their children and grandchildren.
“When I was in high school and college, during the summer I would work in the yard, unloading cars, things like that,” said Tom, Howard’s son, who became a full-time employee in 1969.
“None of us started in the office,” Mike added. “Everybody started with a broom and a lawnmower, and then you graduated to stacking wood.”
Liese’s family-oriented and hometown approach is illustrated by one of Mike’s favorite artifacts: A congratulatory letter that the company sent to all local residents with new babies for many years.
It was an old-fashioned way of maintaining good will and attracting business.
“We want you to know that all through your life, we are here to help and serve you with your every lumber and hardware need,” the letter stated.
Horses and forklifts
The Lipperts opened the second Liese Lumber Co. location in the 1920s after buying an abandoned foundry along the Illinois Central tracks in Belleville. For decades, they have had their own railroad spur for train shipments.
In the 1940s, the Lipperts had trouble getting a new truck, so they returned to the longtime practice of delivering lumber by horse-drawn wagon, sharing city streets with vehicles.
Forklifts came along in the early 1960s, dramatically reducing the number of laborers needed to load and unload flatbeds and train cars.
The change that stands out most in Tom’s mind is that Liese almost exclusively served the Belleville area until the 1990s, when it significantly expanded its customer base into Missouri and elsewhere.
Wood sources also are different.
“Nowadays, we don’t use any local lumber,” said Gregg, whose title is second vice president. “Most of it comes from Canada, Oregon or off the coast of Alaska.”
Fires gutted the Main Street location in 1936 and 1972, but the old courthouse safe survived. It’s now used as a supply cabinet. Other artifacts include a framed receipt, which shows that a customer could buy enough lumber to build a whole house for $322 in 1898.
A big source of pride for Mike is that many of company’s employees are union carpenters and teamsters.
Howard was Liese’s longest-serving employee and owner. He worked more than 80 years until he was 97, and always dressed in a shirt and tie. Brother Floyd put in almost as much time.
“We’re in business because of the community,” said Mike, who also serves as president of the Home Builders & Remodelers Metro East Association. “We have loyal customers and dedicated employees, not just our family.
“Everybody has been here for decades. No one retires in the Lippert family. We don’t do that. We just slow down.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
