HLCC History

After World War Two ended, Haskell Lemon worked as a machinery salesman for Hoover Equipment and Southwest Machinery, the Caterpillar dealers in Oklahoma City.  He called on anyone who could remotely use a bulldozer—state agencies, farmers, oil companies, road contractors, and county commissioners in all 77 counties.  He developed a network of contacts and took note of new businesses and how Oklahoma was booming.  He convinced himself the future lay in natural resources. So he bought a Lorain shovel and set out to mine agricultural lime  and opened a business named Hi-Test Lime Company.

Hi-Test Lime Company operated from 1947 to 1948.   Haskell hired his first employee, Curtis Tweedy, who worked for his company for 25 years,  to operate the Lorain shovel,  rented a bulldozer, a tiny crusher, and one dump truck with a sand spreader in the bed, and set up for business in a Lime pit near Ravia, Okla.    Haskell  made sales calls on farmers and ranchers, to convince them they needed Lime on their fields to increase their crops, and supervised the one other employee.  Irene made flyers promoting “You need more lime in your diet!”  When he made a sale,  he and Curtis Tweedy would put on their work clothes, produce the lime, and spread it on the fields.  Congress subsidized farmers to spread agricultural lime on their soil and improve the crop yields.  This business lasted until Truman was elected in 1948.  Congress killed the ag-lime subsidy and Hi -Test Lime Company was out of business overnight.

With no business, but the (HUGE) $600 a month payments on the Lorain shovel continued!  Haskell found a road contractor who was dipping gravel from a pit south of Ada, OK. He convinced the contractor that adding an additional shovel would double the daily output and finish the contract ahead of time.  And Haskell just happened to know of a Lorain shovel available and ready to work.

Next Haskell rented a dump truck to participate in hauling the gravel to the job. Then he decided if he had a motor grader, he could help spread the gravel.  1948 was the beginning of the new Haskell Lemon Construction Co.   It wasn’t long before he began to sub-contract gravel contracts from other Contractors on farm-to-market county roads.  To get new work, Haskell would travel to Oklahoma City once a month to the state highway lettings to see who was the successful bidder on the work bid that month, and be first in line to try to subcontract any small portion.  He hired more independent dump trucks and bought a motor grader., and quickly got a reputation as being a good subcontractor to deal with.

In 1950 he qualified Haskell Lemon Construction Co. to bid work in its own name as a “Prime Contractor”.  The first state contract awarded to HLCC was for $7000 to put gravel on a road near Asher, Ok.  He wanted to buy a second motor grader, but  Irene objected.  “I want to live in a bigger town and own a house!” she declared.  He told her,  “Let me buy the motor grader and it will buy you the house.”  On the 4th of July, 1950, Haskell and Irene, along with children Lynette, Jeanie, and Larry moved from Tishomingo, Okla.  to Oklahoma City and bought a home at 49th and N. May Ave, in the brand-new Mayfair addition.  N.W. 50th street was the last paved street in OKC, and it was one lane, with a wheat field on to the north.  Grand Boulevard was dirt.

Our Vision

Haskell Lemon Construction Company is an award-winning Best of Class Company. Our employees are the backbone of the organization. We strive for perfect safety to ensure that every person is able to return to their loved ones every night.

Our Mission

Haskell Lemon exists to provide the premier value in asphalt production and turn key road construction services to our customers. We depend on our relationships and reputation to maintain our status as the industry leader in asphalt operations. Haskell Lemon is honored to play an integral role in city and statewide infrastructure development.

Contact Detials

East Plant

1400 NE 2nd Street Oklahoma City, OK 73117

Phone: 405-236-2701

West Plant

6401 SW 15th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73128

Phone: 405-495-2600

Shawnee Plant

1903 W Independence Shawnee, OK 74802

Phone: 405-273-7575 

Norman Plant

4511 S Chautauqua Norman, OK 73169

Phone: 405-321-2114