Loading cut lumber from the docks onto the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company's lumber ship "Lake Frances".

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Cargo ships--Tacoma; Shipping--Tacoma--1930-1940;

ca. 1937. Worker photographed applying adhesive and laying a plywood subfloor at an unidentified location, circa 1937. (filed with Argentum)

Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);

Loading milled lumber from the dock onto the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company's lumber ship "Lake Frances".

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Cargo ships--Tacoma; Shipping--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Transporting finished lumber on rail cars from the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company mill to its lumber ship the "Lake Frances."

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1930-1940; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma;

Unidentified house and garage; photograph ordered by Cavanaugh Lumber Co. in September of 1937. Possibly located in University Place. (filed with Argentum)

Cavanaugh Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Interior view of Coast Sash & Door Company showing men building church windows. Coast Sash & Door had been in business on the Tideflats since 1924. Photograph ordered by the Plywood Association. (filed with Argentum)

Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Coast Sash & Door Co. (Tacoma); Windows;

Close-up of floating log rafts in the City (now Thea Foss) Waterway. These logs were probably destined for pulp production. Washington was third in the nation at this time in pulp producing. The abundance of hemlock and accessibility of water transportation plus low utility rates made Tacoma a prime location for the manufacture of pulp and other lumber products. Photograph taken in March of 1937. TPL-3236; G36.1-080 (T.Times 1,5-articles on pulp)

Logs; City Waterway (Tacoma);

ca. 1936. West Coast Plywood Mill. Artistic view of buildings and structures at mill.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; West Coast Plywood Mill (Tacoma);

ca. 1936. West Coast Plywood Mill. Buildings and log boom at mill.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; West Coast Plywood Mill (Tacoma);

ca. 1936. An O. B. King company truck loaded with large logs waits by the railroad tracks at the edge of the commercial district of a small town. A young woman, holding school books and reaching up to a log, stands beside the unattended truck.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Trucks--Tacoma--1930-1940; O.B. King Co. (Tacoma); Logs;

Cyclone on new bunker at Ray Gamble's Pacific Wood Flour Company. Men on scaffolds constructing mental cyclone on an elevated frame building. A stylish automobile is parked in front of the factory.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Pacific Wood Flour Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Automobiles--Tacoma--1930-1940;

Men working on the reconstruction of Ray Gamble's wood flour plant, Pacific Wood Flour Company, in this photograph from October of 1936.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Pacific Wood Flour Co., Inc. (Tacoma);

West Coast Logging Company. Three men standing in front of a huge log loaded on a rail car. The log was one of the largest ever marketed up to this point. It was 11 1/2 feet in diameter and was sound to the core. At 36 feet long, it contained 14, 500 feet of marketable lumber. The tree was cut down near Mineral. (T. Times 7/9/1936, pg. 3)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; West Coast Logging Co. (Tacoma); Logs;

West Fork Logging Company. Unidentified man posed for portrait in front of huge log loaded on rail car. An old growth tree, harvested near Mineral, produced this log with an 11 1/2 foot diameter. It was one of the largest logs ever marketed here up to this point. (T. Times 7/9/1936, pg. 3)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; West Fork Logging Co. (Tacoma); Logs;

West Fork Logging Company. Six men posed for a portrait with a huge log loaded on a rail car in July of 1936. This tree, logged near Mineral, was one of the largest logs ever marketed. It was 11 1/2 feet in diameter and 36 feet long, containing 14,500 feet of marketable lumber. It will be sent to the Washington Veneer Co. in Olympia. Wa. The Washington Veneer Co. is one of the few local plants that can handle such a large "peeler log." Members of the boom crew are pictured with the log: seated at top Fred Kopaske, center Lawrence Aus, standing on car, left to right, D. Mackay, Eyler Plumb, Pete Peterson and Al McCoy. (T. Times 7/9/1936, pg. 3)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; West Fork Logging Co. (Tacoma); Logs; Kopaske, Fred; Aus, Lawrence; Plumb, Eyler; Peterson, Pete; McCoy, Al;

In July of 1936, the boom crew from the West Fork Logging Company posed with a huge log on a rail car. The crew members were, sitting at top, Fred Kopaske; center, Lawrence Aus - in charge of the log dump; standing on the car, left to right, D. Mackay, Eyler Plumb, Pete Peterson and Al McCoy. The log was dumped into the Hylebos Waterway log dump and was eventually sent to the Washington Veneer Company in Olympia to be made into veneer. The mammoth log was 11 1/2 feet in diameter, 36 feet long and solid to the core with no rot. It was cut near Mineral, Washington. For a similar image, see C116894 image 1. (T. Times 7/9/1936, pg. 3)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; West Fork Logging Co. (Tacoma); Logs; Kopaske, Fred; Aus, Lawrence; Plumb, Eyler; Peterson, Pete; McCoy, Al;

Logging equipment at a Peterman logging site, location at or near Morton, in June of 1936. Equipment is a "donkey" used to move logs. These early diesel yarders were designed to yard logs to a landing using a spar tree. The "donkeys" were mounted on sleds made out of two logs which allowed them to be moved on trucks or railcars. It was possible for them to pull themselves over rough grounds to where they needed to be set up. This diesel yarder is possibly one of the first "Berger" brand yarders with the first V8 Caterpillar engine power plant. TPL-9855; G75.1-046 (Additional information provided by a reader)

Lumber industry--1930-1940; Donkey engines; Peterman Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma);

St. Regis logging operations, location unknown, in May of 1936. A heavy duty truck with five coils of wire/chain/rope hanging on one side is mired off the dirt road. Many logs have already been downed and a "donkey" is billowing steam. G75.1-043

Lumber industry--1930-1940; St. Regis Paper Co.; Trucks--1930-1940; Logs; Donkey engines;

This is a view of St. Regis logging operations in May of 1936. The forest location was not given. Here a worker is driving an earthmover of some sort. He is possibly clearing the way for a makeshift road so that trucks could access the area.

Lumber industry--1930-1940; St. Regis Paper Co.; Machinery;

In May of 1936, L. A. Case, peeking around the tree on the left, and Jack Kasbaum, on the right, used a long, crosscut saw, called a "Misery Whip", to fell a 750-year-old fir tree near Kent. An 18 foot section from the tree made a nation wide tour to advertise Washington state finishing at the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, expositions. The day appears hot and Jack Kasbaum's undershirt is stained with sweat and dirt from his exertions. Although expert loggers, the two spent an entire day at work; careful to keep the bark and tree intact in its fall to earth. The bottle on the left of the picture is filled with kerosene oil, used to cut the pitch which gathers on the saw. The tree stood over 200 feet high and was nine feet in diameter. After a two year search, it was selected as a typical Northwest timber tree.The section of tree was bound with heavy steel bands and mounted on a semi trailer for its tour. The "Washington to Texas" tour also featured displays from Northwest manufacturers and stopped in hundreds of cities before reaching the Texas exposition. Afterward, the tour made a circuit of the principal Eastern cities.(T.Times 5/6/1936). for more images of the same event see T96 images 1 & 3

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Firs; Loggers; Case, L.A.; Kasbaum, Jack;

Two photographs were artfully combined in this March, 1936, work by photographer Marvin Boland. Large logs are pictured aboard an open railroad car on tracks while in the background are three unidentified men posed at the base of an enormous old-growth tree. TPL-2117; G75.1-081

Logs; Lumber industry--1930-1940; Trees;

Three unidentified men posed at a logging site in Mineral, Washington, on the first of March, 1936. The hillside beyond the men is strewn with fallen timber. The men are sitting and leaning against a much bigger log. G75.1-098

Lumber industry--Mineral; Logs; Woodcutting--Mineral;

ca. 1935. Workers coming through the gate at the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. mill in Tacoma, 1220 Saint Paul Ave., around 1935. The mill was established in 1888 on a tideflat island called the "Boot," which lay between the two principal outlets of the Puyallup River. The mill began operation in April of 1889. Production rose until, by 1940, the mill claimed the largest daily production in the world.

One man sitting atop a large log with six men standing in front of the log, which is being transported on a rail car. In the 1930's, mammoth old growth trees were still being harvested to supply lumber and also to advertise the Northwest timber industry. This 700 year old giant was cut on the St. Paul & Tacoma Camp 5 holdings near the junction of the Puyallup & Mowitz Rivers. It was the largest seen at the mill in 15 years, 10 1/2 feet across and estimated at 45,790 board feet. If converted into lumber, this one tree could supply the wood for 4 good 5 room houses. However, due to advanced age and deterioration, 2/3 of the tree was unusable. The remainder was shipped to Olympia to peel for veneer. (T. Times 10/19/1935, pg. 1)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Logs; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma;

This 109-car train bears logged old growth timber from the St. Paul & Tacoma Camp 5, near the junction of the Puyallup and Mowitz Rivers, to the city in October of 1935. Men standing on the logs demonstrate their mammoth size. The largest of the trees was a 700 year old giant, 10 1/2 feet across that was cut into four sections for transportation. (T. Times 10-19-1935, pg. 1)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Logs; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma;

A man stands with his arm extended as high as he can, demonstrating the diameter of a massive log. The log is 10 1/2 feet in diameter. The 700 year old tree was cut on St. Paul & Tacoma holdings and shipped to Olympia to be peeled for veneer. Company officials stated that trees of this size were becoming much less common. This was the largest tree seen at the mill in 15 years. (T. Times 10-19-1935, pg. 1)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Logs; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma;

Mess tents pitched on the old Central School playgrounds across from the Armory as cooks prepare to feed the men of the second battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry called out to control the violence associated with the 1935 Lumber workers' strike. In June of 1935, the mills in Tacoma and surrounded areas attempted to reopen with workers willing to return to work. Violence erupted between the returning workers and the strikers. Governor Clarence Martin ordered the Guard in on June 23rd, 1935 after reports that local authorities were unable to handle the situation. It was the second time the Guard was ordered out since the World War, the other two times being in 1919 and 1933. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Soldiers from the 161st Infantry of the Washington National Guard patrol the Tideflats during the Lumber worker's strike of 1935. In June of 1935, the mills of Tacoma and surrounding areas were attempting to reopen after petitions circulated stating that over 60 % of the work force was willing to return. Governor Clarence Martin promised protection to the mills and workers and called in the Guard to patrol the Tideflats and guard the entrances into the industrial area. They also accompanied returning workers on the main thoroughfares into the area. The troops totalled over 500 by June 25th and came from Yakima, Prosser, Pullman and Walla Walla. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

Members of the 2nd battalion of the Washington National Guard 161st Infantry lounge on the ground, or stand in line with their mess kits, preparing to eat at the temporary mess tents set up on the old Central School playground. The Guard was called into Tacoma by Governor Clarence Martin on June 23rd, 1935 to control the violence associated with the lumber workers' strike. The soldiers were stationed at the Armory and their mess tents set up in this nearby playground. The lumber and sawmill workers' strike started on May 6th and was settled August 2nd, 1935. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)

When the attempts in June of 1935 of workers to return to the striking mills erupted in violence, Governor Clarence Martin ordered in the Washington National Guard late Sunday night, June 23, 1935. The guards were whisked from Camp Murray to Tacoma in 16 trucks. Their job was to protect the returning workers and the mills. (TNT 6/24/1935, pg. 1 & 2)