Extracted from the Panola Watchman (Carthage, TX)
Thursday, October 2, 1958

Panola's Progressive People

A weekly Feature of the Panola County Chamber of Commerce

He came to stay three days. He's been here almost ten years. He plans now to spend the rest of his life in Panola County. That, in a nutshell, is the story of Wilbert C. (Buster) Hebert, owner and operator of the Western Auto Associate Store in Carthage, and certainly one of Panola County's most progessive people.

Buster came to Carthage from Louisiana where he received his education. He had graduated from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge and gone into the service where he was promoted to the rank of Captain in charge of an Artillery Company.

When he and his wife decided to make Carthage their home, they immediately decided that they could take no more out of a community than they put into it. Therefore, they became interested in community affairs, and worked on the theory that anything that would benefit Panola County would benefit them. Buster still held his commission in the Reserve and organized a Reserve Unit here in Carthage, and headed that organization for several years. He was elected to the Board of Stewards of the First Methodist Church, and served his church in that capacity for several years. He then submitted his services to the people of Carthage as a member of the City Commission, and after serving for one year, was elected Chairman which is equivalent of Mayor. While he was serving these several individual organizations, he was also working for the community and the County as a whole as a member of the Board of Directors of the Panola County Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Civic Affairs Committee.

Buster Hebert was one of the leaders of the Lake Murvaul project which was born in the Chamber of Commerce. He spent many hours of his time and much money to help organize this project.

As a member of the Civic Affairs Committee, Buster spent many hours working with the youth of our County to help promote the Youth Center to furnish some supervised recreation.

At the present time, you'll find Buster is giving of his time and energy working on the organization of the United Fund Campaign for Panola County. He was also working hard on the original organization of the United Fund as a member of the Chamber of Commerce.

In reviewing the progress of Panola County over the past ten years, it is hard to find anything that Buster hasn't worked on or for if it was for the benefit of the people of Panola County.

Buster is married to the former Miss Doris Emmons. They have one son, "Chuck", who is currently attending school at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.

A friendly smile is one of Buster Hebert's trademarks. This smile together with his warm personal[ity] marks this week's Progressive Citizen, Buster Hebert.