R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. Photograph ordered by Malcolm McGhie. This is possibly the office for the paper company. As of 1965, the company was still operating in Longview and making specialty, such as waxed, papers.

R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960;

Paper quality control testing at R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. Two white coated lab technicians work in the lab performing tests. Tests are performed on the finished product for water content, smoothness, weight, color, resistance and opacity. Photographs ordered by Malcolm McGhie.

R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960; Product inspection--Longview; Testing--Longview;

Pulp manufacturing process at the R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. A pipe pours hot liquid into this vat, forming a steaming cauldron at this stage of the pulp making business. Chemicals and steam are being used to separate the fiber from the lignin, the material that binds it together. Photographs ordered by Malcolm McGhie.

R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960;

Paper and pulp production at the R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. A worker controls the amount of liquid pouring on the rollers by means of a valve, as part of the pulp manufacturing process. Wood is composed of cellulose fibers that are cemented together with a substance called lignin. To transform wood into pulp, the fibers must be separated. This separation is done using either a mechanical or a chemical process. Wood is cooked in huge vats with chemicals. The combined actions of heat and the chemicals dissolve the lignin. The pulp is then bleached, using chemicals that make it not only whiter but also more resistant and absorbent. Photographs ordered by Malcolm McGhie.

R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960;

Paper quality control testing at R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. A laboratory for testing paper and pulp can be viewed through a large observation window. The man on the right adjusts a microscope for viewing. The technician on the left tests ink absorbency. The room has several pieces of testing equipment that are not being used at this time. Photographs ordered by Malcolm McGhie.

R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960; Product inspection--Longview; Testing--Longview;

Paper quality control testing at R.W. Paper Co. in Longview, Wa. The technician appears to be measuring by stopwatch how quickly the ink blots spread on the paper samples. Photographs ordered by Malcolm McGhie.

R. W. Paper Co. (Longview); Paper industry--Longview--1950-1960; Product inspection--Longview; Testing--Longview;

Damage to a lye tank at Pennsalt. Hoisting equipment is being used to remove the damaged tank from its perch on June 5, 1956. Photograph ordered by the Whiting Corp.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Chemical industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Factories--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hoisting machinery;

Cheney Lumber Company's booth at the 1956 Greater Tacoma Home Show. A young Cheney Studs football player poses in uniform with one of the trophies. His uniform features the Cheney "stud" horse logo on the chest. "Studs" were what Cheney renamed the 8 foot 2 x 4 lumber "shorts" that revolutionized the building materials industry. On the back wall are photos of the young man's football team mates, as well as other Cheney teams. One sign points out that the amateur Cheney Studs baseball team was the national runnerup in the 1955 American Baseball Congress.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Greater Tacoma Home Show (Tacoma); Awards; Football players--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Cheney Lumber Company's booth at the 1956 Home Show. Each year the Greater Tacoma Home Show filled the College of Puget Sound fieldhouse with company sponsored booths, highlighting topics of interest to home owners. Hung behind this booth is a photo collage of the lumber industry. Below the collage is a model of one of Cheney's lumberyards. (See D99015 image 1 for a closer view of the model.) To the left of the booth is a display of Cheney sponsored sports teams for kids, utilizing photographs and trophies. A young Cheney midget league footballer watches the demonstration. Each year, Ben Cheney sponsored amateur athletic teams; keeping money from being an obstacle between kids and sports. Cheney teams played football, baseball and basketball.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Greater Tacoma Home Show (Tacoma);

A model of one of Ben Cheney's lumberyards is displayed at the Cheney booth at the 1956 Greater Tacoma Home Show. Miniature stacks of Cheney "studs" dot the landscape. The Tacoma Home Show was held May 11-20, 1956 at the College of Puget Sound Fieldhouse. Over 100 local and national companies set up exhibit booths emphasizing products for the home. Cheney "studs" were 8 foot lengths of 2x4 timber that established the residential ceiling height in America.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Greater Tacoma Home Show (Tacoma); Models;

The busy mail room of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A large mailer is being prepared. Some women fold the materials to be mailed and others stuff the envelopes. One of the jobs of the association was the promotion of the plywood product and the industry itself. One of the association's main sources of self promotion was the U.S. mail and the company maintained a large mail room to meet its demands.

Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Offices--Tacoma--1950-1960; Office workers--Tacoma--1950-1960; Correspondence;

ca. 1956. Aerial view of Washington Steel Products Inc. at 1940 E. 11th St. 11th Street is shown intersecting with Thorne Road. The larger building on Thorne is Blake, Moffitt and Towne at 1157 Thorne Rd. The body of water at the bottom of the picture is the Sitcum Waterway. The railroad tracks run between the waterway and 11th Street. At the left hand side of the intersection of Thorne and 11th Streets is the Tideflats Texaco gasoline station, beside the station is B & M Distributing Co. Washington Steel Products was the only Northwest manufacturer of builder's hardware, including rolling door hardware and Kitch'n-Handy cabinet attachments. The company began operation in Seattle in 1945 and moved to Tacoma in 1948. The company was sold to Ekco Products Company of Chicago in October of 1959. At the time of the sale, the company had 475 workers, with 200 in manufacturing, and a payroll of 1 1/2 million. (TNT 09-03-1956)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960

ca. 1956. Aerial view of Washington Steel Products Inc. at the intersection of 11th Street and Milwaukee Way. The company was the only manufacturer of builders' hardware in the Pacific Northwest. This plant was constructed in 1948, with additions in 1950, 1952 and a million dollar expansion in 1953. In 1956, the plant occupied 120,000 square feet and turned out more than 450 products for national and foreign markets. The company manufactured small hardware such as drawers, knobs, pulls and hinges. Also pictured on 11th Street is Blake, Moffitt and Towne at 1157 Thorne Rd. Blake, Moffitt & Towne were wholesale distributors of printing and wrapping paper and stationery and were formerly located on Jefferson Avenue. (TNT 9/3/1956)

Washington Steel Products, Inc. (Tacoma); Blake, Moffitt & Towne, Inc. (Tacoma); Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hardware;

ca. 1955. J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding. The photograph is labelled 9-1-1955, but has a series number that belongs in 1956. Nestled between the 15th Street bridge and the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge on the City Waterway is Martinac shipbuilding. Four large vessels are docked at the company for work. To the right of 15th Street is the Union Pacific Freight Station; to the right of Union Pacific is West Coast Grocery. To the left of the railroad bridge is the J.D. English Steel Co. and behind them is the A.J. Johnson Co.

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. (Tacoma);

ca. 1955. Tacoma Boat Building Co. on the Sitcum Waterway. The photograph is labelled 9-1-1955, but has a series number that belongs in 1956. The two buildings with the curved roofs are the dry docks for Tacoma Boat Building. Several large vessels being worked on rest in the water beside the boat company. Large log booms float there also. To the left lies the Henry D. Gee Co. grain storage building, with the C. M. ST. P. & P. terminals below. Below Tacoma Boats is the Milwaukee Boom Co. What appear to be railroad tracks run between Tacoma Boat and Henry Gee.

Boat & ship industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Tacoma Boat Building Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Henry D. Gee Co. (Tacoma);

Cheney Lumber Co.; packages of two by four "Cheney Studs" being readied for shipment in the railroad cars behind. Ben Cheney got his start in the lumber business in 1936 during the depression. By the late 1930's, he was supplying railroad ties nationally and internationally. Cheney was wholesaling the production of 140 portable mills throughout the northwest, selling their ties on a commission basis. As timber became more difficult to obtain cheaply, he became concerned over the side-cut slab wastage, often 2/3 of the log. He came up with the idea of supplying the housing market with standard 8 foot studding, the same length as railroad ties were cut. He even obtained a lower transportation cost from the Interstate Commerce Commission, making production even more economical. Cheney renamed the "shorts," as these 8 foot pieces had been called, "Cheney Studs." Studs became the standard in the building trade and Cheney is credited with standardizing the roof height in US residential construction. ("The Sou'wester" Volume xxxv, Number 3, Fall 2000)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;

In April of 1956, workers at the Cheney Lumber Co. prepared packages of two by four "Cheney Studs" for shipment in the railroad cars behind. In the late 1930's, as timber became more difficult to obtain cheaply, Ben Cheney became concerned over the side-cut slab wastage, often 2/3 of the log, in the production of railroad ties. He came up with the idea of supplying the housing market with standard 8 foot studding, the same length as railroad ties were cut. At that time, ceilings were often 8 1/2 - 12 feet. A skilled marketer, Cheney renamed the "shorts," as these 8 foot pieces had been called, "Cheney Studs." The horse logo was based on a Belgian stud horse he had seen at the Puyallup Fair and the 2x4 ends were painted with bright red wax for instant identification. Cheney is credited with standardizing the room height in US residential construction. ("The Sou'wester" Volume xxxv, Number 3, Fall 2000)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum; new pot room building. Dumping anode paste, arc building. Kaiser's newest facility contained 18 large "pots" or electrolytic cells, which would add 10 million pounds annually to plant production. Power would be supplied to the cells by the Bonneville Power Administration on a interruptible basis. (TNT 4/16/1956, pg. 21)

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum; new pot room building. Checking cathode bus, arc building. The new building contained 18 new "super size" reduction pots or electrolytic cells. These cells would boost the plant's annual production by more than 10 million pounds and increase payroll by more than $100,000. This addition will bring the corporate primary aluminum capacity in the Northwest to 429 million pounds annually. As the 5th largest employer in the state, Kaiser paid more than 31 1/2 million dollars in wages in 1955 at their Spokane and Tacoma plants. (TNT 4/16/1956, pg. 21)

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Kaiser Aluminum; exterior of new pot room building. This reduction plant will become the newest facility to receive power when the the switches are thrown to 18 new "super size pots" or electrolytic reduction cells. Power will be supplied by the Bonneville Power Administration on an interruptible basis. The 18 extra "pots" will boost the plant's production by 10 million pounds annually. (TNT 4/16/1956, pg. 21)

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (Tacoma); Aluminum industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Flat cars for advertising use for Pennsylvania Salt. Man explaining pipe adjustment on equipment to workman at chemical plant. Industrial safety mask close by. Photograph was taken on May 17, 1940.

Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. of Washington (Tacoma); Gas masks;

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Wilson, ordered by the Washington Coop. He holds pruning shears and she holds what appears to be a Washington state business license. They are perhaps starting their own orchard or berry business.

Washington Cooperative Farmers Association (Tacoma); Wilson, Carl; Pruning; Scissors & shears;

Ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association; plywood being used in the construction of a commercial "chicken house." Plywood is being attached to the exterior of the beams to form the curved roof of the chicken house. The laminated beam construction eliminated the need for posts for support. This is possibly the West Side Dairy Road poultry farm of the Guy Conine family in Fife. They operated one conventional chicken house and two of the quonset hut design. (TNT 10/28/1956, pg. B-6)

Plywood; Construction; Poultry houses; Poultry industry;

Ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association; plywood being used in the construction of a commercial "chicken house." The huge curved roof structure is followed by another just like it, indicating the size of this poultry company. This is possibly the Fife farm of the Guy Conine family. They had three chicken houses, one of the conventional type and two of the quonset hut variety. The first quonset was 180 x 50 feet. The most recently built one was 250 ft x 50 ft. Mrs. Conine went into the poultry business when her growing family required her to go to work. At her husband's suggestion, rather than working in an office or store, she decided to stay home and raise chickens. The 3 year old operation is now one of the largest in Western Washington. (TNT 10/28/1956, pg B-6)

Plywood; Construction; Poultry houses; Poultry industry;

Ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association; plywood being used in the construction of a commercial "chicken house." These curved beams will support the plywood roof. The metal "lids" lying on the ground are possibly part of the incubators, or brooders. This mammoth house will hold many chickens, a far cry from a Mom and Pop operation. This is possibly the operation belonging to the Guy Conine family of Fife. Located on West Side Dairy Road south of Fife, the family raised 31,000 chickens in 3 fryer houses. The 3 year old operation was one of the largest in Western Washington. The newest poultry house was 250 x 50 feet and built for $6,000. Its laminated beams eliminated the need for posts and natural sawdust covered the ground floor. It had 16 gas warmed brooders. (TNT 10/28/1956, pg. B-6)

Plywood; Construction; Poultry houses; Poultry industry;

Ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association; plywood being used in the construction of a commercial "chicken house." Plywood is being attached to the exterior of the beams to form the curved roof of the chicken house. The entrance area and a ventilation window can be seen. This is the back of the house. This is possibly the Fife farm of the Guy Conine family. The family raised poultry in three chicken houses, one conventional and two of the quonset hut design. They raised Van Tress hybrid crosses, Washington Whites and Lancaster Whites. The laminated beam construction of the two quonset hut variety eliminated the need for posts for support. All feeding and watering was automatic. (TNT 10/28/1956, pg. B-6)

Plywood; Construction; Poultry houses; Poultry industry;

Boats at Western Boat Building Company and Standard Oil Company in photograph dated May 8, 1940. Left to right: "Western Pacific," "St. Francis," "Clipper" and "Stanford." Buildings in background.

Western Boat Building Co. (Tacoma); Standard Oil Co. of Tacoma (Tacoma); Boats--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Company officials and contractors stand in front of a sign welcoming Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.'s Tacoma plant on February 15, 1956. Reichhold were manufacturers of chemicals for Pacific Northwest industries. In the background is the first train to run on a new railroad spur into Tacoma from the chemical plant. Those in the photograph are: Richard Rose, Tacoma representative for Reichhold, Ernie Skyeta, general manager of the Northwest Division of Reichhold, Harold Warner, Seattle plant manager in charge of construction, and Ed Ekrem, general contractor. Photograph ordered by Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. (Tacoma); Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1950-1960; Signs (Notices);

Reichhold Chemicals was constructing a new plant in the Tideflats in early 1956. It was a national company, based in White Plains, New York. A group of five railway employees stand in front of the Tacoma Belt Line #905 engine and boxcars. Reichhold would have rail transport directly from its plant, facilitating delivery of its products. Photograph ordered by Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Reichhold Chemicals, Inc. (Tacoma); Railroad locomotives--Tacoma--1950-1960; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Two employees of the U.S. Plywood Corporation examine sheets of plywood in their Seattle plant on January 6, 1956. They were manufacturers of the "Weldwood" brand of Douglas fir plywood. U.S. Plywood had two locations in Seattle including a lumber division on E. Marginal Way. It also had plants in Mapleton, Oregon, and a 60 million foot capacity mill in Anderson, California. By 1954, with the addition of Associated Plywood Mills' two holdings, U.S. Plywood was capable of 342 million feet annually. (Cour: Plywood Age, p. 158-59)

Plywood; Lumber industry--Seattle--1950-1960; United States Plywood Corp. (Seattle);