If you’ve lived in Lexington for any length of time, you’ve probably felt the work of craftsman “Hicks” Harbut beneath your feet. Newland “Hicks” Harbut was one of twelve children born to Will Harbut, famed groom of Man O’ War. Harbut grew up in historic Maddoxtown on Huffman Mill. He was educated at the old Douglass High School, graduating in 1936.
After serving in World War II as a radio operator in Italy, he returned home to farm and work at St. Joseph Hospital. A job in his brother-in-law’s construction company taught him the art of concrete and how to run a business. When his brother-in-law left the industry in 1960, Harbut began Harbut Concrete Construction, serving numerous builders & contractors for decades.
Good concrete work, Harbut said, “is like a pair of shoes that have been shined and shoes that are not. You can tell the difference.” Builder Ken Hiler remarked that he “could do any kind of concrete work except bad work.” Harbut was praised not only for his skills but also his professionalism. A devout Christian, he said he was guided by the Golden Rule to complete projects with excellence.
Harbut often worked from detailed specifications for new houses Sometimes, though, he’d deliver even when a contractor would simply “draw on the ground with a stick” and leave him to sort the details. Builders shared that they could drive through a neighborhood and identify which work was his-and which was not.
When he retired in 1984, a group of builders honored him with a lunch at The Springs, along with a plaque and gifts. Harbut joked that he’d been “eulogized but I’m not even dead”. Builder Finley Stamatis told the Lexington Herald- Leader: “He’s the best around. I told him when he quit, I was going to quit-and I was only half kidding” before noting that the luncheon had left “moisture in everyone’s eyes.”
Deeply involved in his church, he answered the call to become a deacon and performed & led numerous church productions. Harbut died in 1993 at age 74 and is buried beside his wife of 47 years, Roberta. They both rest in his childhood neighborhood at the Maddoxtown Baptist Church cemetery.
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