The “Sawdust Soldiers” reference came from one of the wives of the group helping to clear yards in town, and the name has stuck.
Eric Kuyper, commander of Alvin L. Nevils American Legion Post 244, said after Hurricane Laura he and a few veterans began helping neighbors in the community with trees and other debris. Soon others joined the group including some local high school football players, and the Sawdust Soldiers were born.
In the beginning, the group worked five days a week, but now try to help others at least three days a week.
“Think of us as the chainsaw version of the Cajun Navy,” Kuyper said. The group has been getting requests by email. Kuyper said they focus on assisting the elderly, low income and disabled persons along with the local veterans in the area.
If residents need help, Kuyper said they can email their name, address, phone number and photos of the job they need done to eric.kuyper@yahoo.com. He said they are just volunteers, so they cannot take trees over power lines or inside structures. They can help if trees are leaning against some structures.
The group is non-profit. “We never ask for anything but a handshake and a hug,” Kuyper said. “I’ve received a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, bowls of gumbo and a subway sandwich.”
Now the group has asked for help with gas, fuel and chains for the chainsaws and many have given donations. They set up a PayPal™ account for those donations, because it does cost to keep their saws working.
Kuyper, a leader and volunteer in the community, said he did lose a few of his heavy lifters when the football players returned to school. “School took my heavy lifters,” he said.
He adds that many of the guys have also returned to work, so the group’s volunteers come and go depending on schedules. He said the weekends are usually when more volunteers are there to help.
Kuyper thanked all of the volunteers for working on this project to help their neighbors. He said some people just don’t have the funds, or they cannot physically clean up the debris. He’s happy the Sawdust Soldiers can assist the community.
