Cascade Pole Company manufactured poles and posts using Tacoma lumber. They manufactured their own creosote, and pressure creosoted their products for longer durability. The company officers were: Victor C. Monahan, President; J. R. McFarland, Vice-President; and C. Henry Thue, Secretary-Treasurer. Cascade Pole Company had just completed the building of a new employee lunch room; view of Cascade pole staff.
Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Men--Employment--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cascade Pole Co. (Tacoma);
Modular Structures, Incorporated company officers were: Win E. Wilson, President; James E. Dallas, Vice-President; and Mabel Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer. View of two unidentified laborers working on prefabricated plywood panels that will be used for prefabricated grain bins; photo ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.
Plywood; Laborers--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Construction industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma)--Products; Modular Structures, Inc. (Tacoma);
Wheeler Osgood office interiors. This view shows the newly remodeled entrance to the company's office building. Panes of glass surround a wooden door with beautiful grain showing. Visitor chairs are against both walls and the company's logo is set into the linoleum floor.
The Cheney Stud brand carries a stud horse imprinted on the ends and faces of Cheney Studs, it quickly became recognized throughout the industry as a sign of top quality. The demand for eight foot Cheney Studs dramatically increased while the availability of suitable tie lumber for the portable mills and the market for railroad ties decreased. Exterior view of Cheney plant, Cheney Studs are stacked up, hoisting machinery is in center.
Cheney Lumber Co. was a modern stud mill, providing Tacoma and national industries with the building material most needed. Cheney had been at their current site since 1942, they were located on the west side of Port of Tacoma Road, north of East 11th Street. Exterior view of pier with studs, laborers and hoisting pulleys and equipment.
Loading a shipment of lumber from Cheney Lumber Company was made easier by the Cheney's facilities and dock on Sitcum Waterway. Cranes could load directly from railroad cars with tracks on the dock. TPL-5677
Ben B. Cheney founded Cheney Lumber Co. in 1936. The Cheney Co. was originally established to manufacture railroad ties. Timber was purchased and resold to small portable tie mills manufacturing ties for both domestic and foreign markets. Cheney eventually set out to strategically redevelop the 12 foot stud, prices would drop and less lumber would be wasted, making the 8 foot stud quite popular. Exterior view of Cheney plant, lumberyard and docks.
Cheney Lumber Company. Three loggers in one of the Cheney Lumber camps prepare to bring down another large tree to be cut into lumber. Ben B. Cheney started the Cheney Lumber Company 1936. Prior to this time large amounts of wood were wasted in the production of railroad ties and studding used in construction. Mr. Cheney was troubled by this and had an idea that by making studding in a standard 8 foot length much of the waste could be saved. He went to the tie mills and bought their waste and cut it into studs, thereby making an industry. Cheney Lumber Company's 7 plants produced 1 million studs per day. Ben Cheney was credited with standardizing architecture in America with his methods for mass-producing studing. (TNT, 6/11/1960)
Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Two men stand by a display for K-Veneer and its uses. Numerous new plywood products were exhibited such as surfacings for panels and combination products, some manufactured from sawdust and other substances previously considered waste. (T.Times, 6/11/1947, p.1)
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Meetings--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Demonstration of farm machinery, Machinery Manufacturing and Sales Inc., Bob Airey. Logs are moved up to a portable sawmill along a chain conveyor belt. Men operate the machinery while others watch the machinery in operation. Harrison Brothers, building materials and excavating contractors, are seen on the adjacent property at 225 Wakefield Drive. Taller buildings are seen in the background. TPL-3826
Logs; Machinery; Machinery industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery Manufacturing & Sales, Inc. (Tacoma);
Henry Mill and Timber Company along the Tacoma waterfront. Henry Mill began operations at this site in 1925. Prefabricated trusses can be seen in the foreground. During the World War II, the company specialized in prefabricated bridges and hangars for the military.
Experiment with plywood at Puget Sound Plywood, International Timber Products, Seattle, Washington. Men are loading the layers that make up plywood into a hot press. The use of hot presses and the right kind of glue made waterproof plywood possible. Under heat and pressure the layers were made into a substance that was stronger than wood of the same dimension.
Puget Sound Plywood, Inc. (Tacoma); Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Presses; Cooperatives--Tacoma;
Wheeler Osgood, different sides of buildings, Paul Smith. This view shows the exterior of the plant with lots of unused metal tubing and a funnel lying on the ground both inside and outside a fenced area. Four tall stacks reach upwards from the building and a water tower stands over the building. An automobile is parked in the foreground. At this time Wheeler Osgood is considering expanding by purchasing the outstanding capital stock of the Fir Manufacturing Company of Myrtle Creek, Oregon. (T.Times, 9/3/1947, p.2)
Wheeler, Osgood Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Factories--Tacoma--1940-1950; Smokestacks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Water towers--Tacoma--1940-1950;
Hot presses allowed for mass production of exterior plywood panels. The machine was steam powered and could produce many tons of exterior plywood panels per week, these panels were used for prefabricated homes and commercial buildings. View of hot press in use at Oregon-Washington Plywood Company, workman is holding an exterior plywood panel, photo ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association (T. Times, 12/22/47, p. 10).
Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Presses; Equipment; Plywood; Oregon-Washington Plywood Co. (Tacoma); Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);
Douglas Fir Plywood Association and the Plywood Research Foundation were always promoting their products and checking for quality control to insure the best products. Testing took place at many sites throughout Washington, therefore giving customers the highest quality materials. View of unidentified man standing by silo at the Washington State experimental station in Puyallup, photo ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.
Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Testing--Tacoma; Recording & registration--Tacoma; Research facilities--Tacoma; Silos--Tacoma; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Plywood Research Foundation (Tacoma);
Puget Sound Plywood was founded in 1942, it was the first cooperative plywood plant in Tacoma. A group of Tacoma businessmen with a vested interest in the lumber industry joined together and created the company. In 1947 Alfred Anderson was President and John H. Martinson was the Vice-President. Interior view of plant, plywood production is in progress, lathe peeling plywood with laborers on all sides, logs ready for peeling are in background.
On February 5, 1948, thirty-five students from a special merchandising course at the University of Washington received first-hand knowledge of plywood, door and millwork production at several Tacoma plants. At the Wheeler Osgood plant, 1216 Saint Paul Ave., students watched William Holecheck operate a machine which clamped together the various plywood and wood parts of a 3-panel door. They also visited Coast Sash and Door. Photograph ordered by Mr. McCallum. (T.Times, 2/6/1948, p.15 and TNT, 2/6/1948, p.17)
DFPA. "Another Custom Built Home by Harry R. May", progress photograph (D32206-7). Joseph and Carol Weston began this addition to their residence in March of 1948. The basic structure has been completed, the chimneys added, the roof is nearing completion and the sides are enclosed by plywood. One exterior wall is being finished with a large bank of windows.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Construction--Tacoma--1940-1950; Weston, Joseph--Homes & haunts; Dwellings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Progress photographs;
Cheney Lumber Company. An unidentified young woman and Ben Cheney stand together by the Cheney Studs airplane. The airplane could be the "Bonnie B", an airplane Ben Cheney and his company owned in 1949.
Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Airplanes; Women; Cheney, Ben B., 1905-1971;
Tour of Retail Lumbermen's Association Training Class, Wheeler-Osgood, Miss Lindgren. Several young men look on while a woman works with a machine to remove knots from the veneer covering a piece of plywood and replacing them with clear pieces of veneer.
The brand "Douglas Fir" plywood is known as the "wood of 1,000 uses." This plywood undergoes a series of laboratory and field tests. The Douglas Fir Plywood Association has helped establish and maintain Tacoma as the plywood center of the world, by setting up a industry maintained quality control laboratory here. View of U. S. Senator, Harry P. Cain (right) with a DFPA representative at the annual DFPA conference, being held at the Winthrop Hotel on May 13, 1949.
Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Business people--Tacoma--1940-1950; Meetings--Tacoma--1940-1950; Plywood; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma); Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Legislators--Washington--1940-1950; Cain, Harry P., 1906-1979;
Roadside fireworks stand, DFPA, Hal Dixon. Two men are erecting a temporary stand for selling fireworks in June of 1949. The walls are made of sheets of plywood. A small, permanent structure is behind them with large signs advertising wholesale fireworks, Zebra and Boa brands. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Fireworks--Tacoma--1940-1950; Plywood; Construction--Tacoma--1940-1950;
In 1947 1,600,000,000 square feet of plywood was produced in the Pacific Northwest. Plywood firms in Tacoma are: Buffelen, Wheeler-Osgood, Northwest Door, Oregon-Washington Plywood, Puget Sound Plywood, and Donald W. Lyle Plywood Company; the first three mentioned plants also manufacture doors. View of plywood presentation, DFPA representative is showing the strength and durability in the plywood panels.
Plywood; Molded plywood; Signs (Notices); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);
A man on the left operates a high line yarder to move logs onto railroad freight cars while another man standing on a log to the right directs his movements. Photograph ordered to show lumber camp activities.
