ca. 1956. Alaska Pine, sawmill plant at New Westminster, B.C. During 1956, Alaska Pine set up a new high speed production line, part of which is shown here, for processing western red cedar bevelled siding. The sawmills at the Marpole and New Westminster Divisions produced a variety of products for wholesale markets in the United States and Canada. The products included hemlock and Douglas fir two-inch dimension lumber, sheathing and boards, cedar siding and shingles and industrial grades for such uses as garage doors, ladders and millwork. Alaska Pine was a leading promoter of the use of cedar, especially as siding. (Rayonier's annual report for 1956)
ca. 1956. Alaska Pine, Marpole Division sawmill plant, Vancouver B.C. Semi-finished hemlock lumber waits on kiln-cars to roll into the dry kilns. Alaska Pine was a pioneer in kiln drying of hemlock and developing it as a commercial product. The company kiln-dries about 60% of its lumber output, including practically all of the hemlock products. Properly dried hemlock makes excellent construction lumber. This stimulated broader use of a timber still abundant in the fifties. The company was also promoting the use of cedar, particularly as siding. (Rayonier's annual report for 1956)
ca. 1956. Alaska Pine, Marpole Division sawmill plant, Vancouver B.C. Big logs are brought to the mill in large rafts towed from the company's logging operations hundreds of miles away. They are cut into 20 foot lengths in the water and pushed onto the loghaul, which carries them into the mill. (Rayonier's annual report for 1956)
ca. 1956. Alaska Pine, Rayflo plant at Marpole. Two men stand on the scaffolding erected around the tank being constructed for Alaska Pine's new plant in Vancouver, B.C. The plant will produce rayflo, a chemical manufactured from Hemlock byproducts and used in the production of oil well drilling mud. Alaska Pine was the subsidiary of Rayonier Inc. and one of the largest timber concerns on the west coast. (Rayonier's annual report for 1956)
Lumber industry--British Columbia--1950-1960; Trees; Logs; Chemical industry--British Columbia--1950-1960; Alaska Pine & Cellulose Limited (Vancouver B.C.);
ca. 1956. Timber industry scenes from Grays Harbor and the Olympic Peninsula, ordered by Malcolm McGhie. A log train chugs along on the Rayonier owned main line railroad in Washington. The locomotive is one of two new diesel-electric locomotives put in service in 1956, replacing steam. While the two main lines were being improved, spur railroad tracks were being replaced by company owned truck roads. By May of 1957, the conversion to truck logging would be complete. (Rayonier annual report for 1956)
ca. 1956. Timber industry scenes from Grays Harbor and the Olympic Peninsula, ordered by Malcolm McGhie. A locomotive owned by Rayonier Inc. hauls logs across a railroad trestle; carrying them to a mill or paper plant for processing. In 1956, Rayonier was replacing the spur railroad lines with private truck roads that led to two company owned main logging railroads. Funds were spent to improve the main tracks, trestles and replace the steam locomotives with new diesel-electric ones. By May 1957, it was projected that the conversion to truck logging would be complete. This shows a Rayonier Baldwin diesel putting a logging train across the Hoko River Bridge on the Olympic Peninsula. (Rayonier annual report for 1956)
The finishing room at Rayonier's Grays Harbor mill, for Malcolm McGhie. The pulp rolls have been sheeted on the cutter and counted out on the layboy. They are moving by automatic conveyer to the large hydraulic bailing presses where they will be compressed and wrapped for shipment. (1955 Annual Report, Rayonier, Inc.)
Rayonier, Inc. (Grays Harbor); Lumber industry--Grays Harbor--1950-1960;
Rayonier's Grays Harbor mill, for Malcolm McGhie. The Grays Harbor mill was capable of producing 110,000 tons of chemical cellulose per year. In addition, it produced paper making pulps which it converted to about 30,000 tons of fine papers per year. In this photograph, the new pulp cutter at the Grays Harbor division, with backstand holding jumbo rolls, cuts them into sheets to be packaged for shipment. Each roll can weigh up to 7 tons. The cutter was new equipment in the finishing room, increasing operating efficiency and providing better packaging for shipment. (1956 Annual Report, Rayonier Inc.)
Rayonier, Inc. (Grays Harbor); Lumber industry--Grays Harbor--1950-1960;
Logging near Mineral; ordered by Malcolm McGhie. A logging truck heavily loaded with huge tree trunks winds up a hill on a gravel road. Mist shrouds the clear cut area surrounding the road. Mineral is a small logging town on Mineral Lake fourteen miles north of Morton in north central Lewis County. During 1956, this private two lane road was built by St. Regis Paper Co. to replace a 12 mile logging railroad. Roads are now the main artery in the area that supplies the Tacoma mill. (1956 Annual Report, St. Regis Paper Co.) TPL-9428
Lumber industry--Mineral; Logs; Cutover lands--Mineral; Trucks; Woodcutters; Loggers--Mineral; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Firs; Forests--Mineral; Woodcutting--Mineral; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
Logging near Mineral; ordered by Malcolm McGhie. Two loggers, wearing hard hats, stand at the side of the logging road running through an old growth forrest. Their vehicle looks tiny next to the huge old trees. The trees are a typical stand of old growth hemlock and Douglas fir timber from which pulp wood is cut for the Tacoma kraft pulp and paper mill. The forested area is located on St. Regis Paper Co. controlled lands near Mineral, Washington. Mineral is located 14 miles north of Morton in north central Lewis County. The area was home to both the timber and the mining industries. (1956 Annual Report, St. Regis Paper Co.)
Lumber industry--Mineral; Logs; Woodcutters; Loggers--Mineral; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Firs; Forests--Mineral; Woodcutting--Mineral; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
Logging near Mineral; ordered by Malcolm McGhie. A logging truck heavily loaded with huge tree trunks winds up a hill on a gravel road. Mist shrouds the clear cut area surrounding the road. Mineral is a small logging town on Mineral Lake fourteen miles north of Morton in north central Lewis County. During 1956, this private two lane road was built by St. Regis Paper Co. to replace a 12 mile logging railroad. Roads are now the main artery in the area that supplies the Tacoma mill. (1956 Annual Report, St. Regis Paper Co.) TPL-9428
Lumber industry--Mineral; Logs; Cutover lands--Mineral; Trucks; Woodcutters; Loggers--Mineral; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Firs; Forests--Mineral; Woodcutting--Mineral; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
Logging near Mineral; ordered by Malcolm McGhie. A hard hatted logger stares up at an old growth tree, possibly judging how best to cut it. This forested area is located at St. Regis Paper Company's Camp #2, near Mineral, Washington.
Lumber industry--Mineral; Logs; Woodcutters; Loggers--Mineral; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Firs; Forests--Mineral; Woodcutting--Mineral; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
Logging near Mineral; ordered by Malcolm McGhie. Long logs are being lashed by chains to the logging truck and to one another so that they will not slip during transportation. The logs are almost twice as long as the truck bed. Mineral is a small logging town on Mineral Lake fourteen miles north of Morton in north central Lewis County. The loggers are working at St. Regis's Camp #2 near Mineral. Since private roads such as this are not governed by state highway limitations, vehicles can built and loaded as needed. (1956 Annual Report, St. Regis Paper Co.)
Lumber industry--Mineral; Logs; Cutover lands--Mineral; Trucks; Woodcutters; Loggers--Mineral; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Firs; Forests--Mineral; Woodcutting--Mineral; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
Logging near Mineral; ordered by Malcolm McGhie. A large crane on a tractor type base is being used to lift a tree trunk log onto a logging truck. The crane is labelled St. Regis, which would indicate that this log is destined for the paper mill. Mineral is a small logging town on Mineral Lake fourteen miles north of Morton in north central Lewis County.The loggers are working at St Regis' Camp #2 near Mineral. In 1956, the company built a new booming ground and reload at Mineral Lake, new private logging roads and put into service new loading equipment, logging trucks, crew buses and other neccessary vehicles. Unrestricted by state highway size limitations, the beds for these Diesel trucks and trailers are 12 feet wide and can carry up to 100 tons in a single load. (1956 Annual Report, St. Regis Paper Co.) TPL-8291
Lumber industry--Mineral; Logs; Cutover lands--Mineral; Trucks; Woodcutters; Loggers--Mineral; Paper industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Firs; Forests--Mineral; Woodcutting--Mineral; St. Regis Paper Co. (Mineral);
New construction at the Rayonier and Rayflo plants, ordered by Malcolm McGhie. This is believed to be the chemical cellulose plant of Rayonier's Canadian subsidiary Alaska Pine at Port Alice, British Columbia, near the northwestern end of Vancouver Island. The mill is surrounded by fast growing forests that supply an unending source of raw materials. Nearby Victoria Lake provides a fresh water supply and deep water docking provides an outlet for overseas shipment. The plant was undergoing large scale construction to increase the productivity of the mill. Most of the construction was scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 1957, at a cost of $14,000,000. (1956 Annual Report, Rayonier Inc.)
Lumber industry--British Columbia--1950-1960; Trees; Logs; Alaska Pine & Cellulose Limited (Port Alice B.C.);
Rayonier and Rayflo plants, ordered by Malcolm McGhie. Rayonier, Inc. manufactured paper, pulp, cellulose products and wood chips. This series of pictures appears to have been taken at the Port Alice, British Columbia, cellulose mill and woodmill. Port Alice was part of Alaska Pine, the Canadian subsidiary of Rayonier, Inc. The logs in the photograph appear to be undergoing the "barking" process. The bark is removed from the log and and the remaining product will either be processed for cellulose pulp or wood chips.
Lumber industry--British Columbia--1950-1960; Trees; Logs; Alaska Pine & Cellulose Limited (Port Alice B.C.);
Rayonier and Rayflo plants, ordered by Malcolm McGhie. Rayonier, Inc. manufactured paper, pulp, cellulose products and wood chips. This series of pictures appears to have been taken at the Port Alice, British Columbia, cellulose mill and woodmill. Port Alice was part of Alaska Pine, the Canadian subsidiary of Rayonier, Inc. The logs in the photograph appear to be undergoing the "barking" process. The bark is removed from the log and and the remaining product will either be processed for cellulose pulp or wood chips.
Lumber industry--British Columbia--1950-1960; Trees; Logs; Alaska Pine & Cellulose Limited (Port Alice B.C.);
New construction at the Rayonier and Rayflo plants, ordered by Malcolm McGhie. This is believed to be the chemical cellulose plant of Rayonier's Canadian subsidiary Alaska Pine at Port Alice, British Columbia, near the northwestern end of Vancouver Island. The mill is surrounded by fast growing forests that supply an unending source of raw materials. Nearby Victoria Lake provides a fresh water supply and deep water docking provides an outlet for overseas shipment. The plant was undergoing large scale construction to increase the productivity of the mill. Most of the construction was scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 1957, at a cost of $14,000,000. (1956 Annual Report, Rayonier Inc.)
Lumber industry--British Columbia--1950-1960; Trees; Logs; Alaska Pine & Cellulose Limited (Port Alice B.C.);
Construction process for a life size lawn Santa Claus Christmas decoration, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. The Santa pattern has been glued to the plywood and the design cut out so that it has a plywood back. Now the craftsman is applying lacquer so that the image will stand up to all weather conditions. Santa's head and arm are still unattached and will be glued on where the dotted lines indicate. (see also image #6 & 9 and C101278-1 for the finished product)
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma)--Products; Woodworking--Tacoma; Christmas decorations; Handicraft--Tacoma;
The fifties were the height of the "do it yourself" age. In this photograph ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association, a man demonstrates how to construct your own life size lawn Christmas decorations. Here he glues the Santa Claus cut out to a sheet of plywood. The purpose of the DFPA was to introduce the public to new uses for their product. As such, patterns and demonstrations were always available at the hardware stores for the home handyman. (see also image #9 & 10 and C101278-1 for the finished product)
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma)--Products; Woodworking--Tacoma; Christmas decorations; Handicraft--Tacoma;
Construction process for a life size lawn Santa Claus Christmas decoration, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. After gluing the pattern to the plywood, the handyman cuts the Santa out with a hand held saw. The dotted lines on the pattern indicated where another piece will be glued on top. (see also image #6 & 10 and C101278-1 for the finished product)
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma)--Products; Woodworking--Tacoma; Christmas decorations; Handicraft--Tacoma;
St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. plywood mill in Olympia, ordered by the Condon Co. A hard hatted worker is mixing glue into the large pots. Separate pots probably held waterproof glue and standard glue. A system of pipes, hoses and valves connect the two vats with the large circumference pipe behind the worker that extends from the floor to out of picture range. The feeder pipe would take this glue and send it on to the glue machine. See D55572-35 for glue operations.
St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Olympia); Lumber industry--Olympia--1950-1960; Plywood;
Retail lumber dealers meeting; photographs ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. The group of men, in coats and ties, are looking at a model of a new home. One man is removing the roof on the model. The men are surrounded by artists' renderings of new homes and press and customer information regarding "Signature Homes." The covering on the table and walls has the logo for the Fir Plywood Golden Jubilee 1905-1955.
Retail lumber dealers meeting; photographs ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A group of men in coats and ties stand or sit in front of a newly constructed home listening to another man speak. These are possibly lumber dealers discussing new home markets for their wares.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association, 20th annual meeting. The Plywood and Veneer safety award is being presented to Williard Burrell of Weyerhauser by A.P. Stinchfield. Weyerhauser Timber's branch in Springfield Oregon was being presented the 1955 award for its low incidence of accidents. The trophy resembling a roller perched on a block of wood is the Carleton L. Smith Memorial Safety Award.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Springfield, Ore.); Burrell, Williard; Stinchfield, A.P.; Awards;
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);
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;
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;
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)
