In June of 1947, an unidentified employee of the Buffelen Lumber Co. used a giant lathe to strip the bark off of a peeler log. The log will later be peeled to make plywood. Started in 1912 by John Buffelen, the Buffelen Lumber Company was located on Lincoln at Taylor Way on the Tacoma tideflats. Buffelen's was one of the earliest plywood companies, beginning plywood production in 1916.
Plywood production at Buffelen Lumber Co. An employee uses a giant lathe to strip the bark off of a peeler log. The log will later be peeled into sheets of veneer used to make plywood. Plywood is sheets of veneer glued together to form a stronger material. Buffelen was one of the earliest plywood companies, beginning plywood production in 1916. Plywood boomed as an industry with the government's approval of plywood as a defense material during WWII.
Cheney Lumber Company. Large logs felled by the Cheney Lumber Company dwarf the man standing on a bulldozer and another standing on top of one of the logs. Lesser trees are still standing in the now bleak landscape.
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)
Cheney Lumber Company. Three of the loggers working in one of the Cheney Lumber camps. Their faces are as dirty as their clothes after a day cutting and hauling the big logs. The Cheney Lumber Company had logging and mill operations in Washington, Oregon and California. (TNT, 6/10/1960)
Interiors at the Buffelen Lumber plant on the Tideflats. The immense plant was located on Lincoln Ave at Taylor Way. It was one of the earliest producers of fir plywood; beginning plywood production in 1916. In this photograph, two employees, one of them a woman wearing slacks, stack sheets of plywood. Plywood was an important World War II material, used in boats as well as buildings. During and after WWII, it was used for pre-fab housing. ("The Plywood Age" Robert M. Cour)
View of sawdust stockpiling with smoke stacks in the distance. Railroad tracks run between the sawdust stacks and a road. Equipment and buildings were designed to help distribute the sawdust. The lumber industry was experimenting with different uses for the residue from their operations. Bark was used as a glue extender, molding powders, soil builders, specialty fuels and filler for linoleum. Sawdust and wood chips were turned into presto logs and wood alcohol or used in the pulp industry whereas these byproducts had once been burned. (TNT, 2/17/1948)
Aerials of the immense Buffelen Lumber Co. on the Tideflats. The large mill was located on Lincoln at Taylor Way; 2000 Taylor Way is the approximate address. The company was started in 1912 by John Buffelen. By 1928, Phil Simpson was acting as vice president and general manager. Simpson was one the forces involved in the formation of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. ("The Plywood Age" Robert M. Cour)
Aerials of Buffelen Lumber Co. on the Tideflats. The large mill was located on Lincoln at Taylor Way; 2000 Taylor Way is the approximate address. The company was organized in 1912 by John Buffelen, a partner at that time with August Von Boecklin in Washington Manufacturing Co., makers of fir columns. Buffelen started his new plant in Tacoma and produced primarily doors. Early in 1916, the plant began to manufacture fir plywood. In 1928, Buffelen met Phil Simpson, at that time the secretary and treasurer of the Tacoma Gas and Electric Co. Simpson became vice president of Buffelen in charge of finances. John Buffelen left the firm in 1928 and Simpson formed a holding company for the concern, by then known as the Buffelen Lumber & Manufacturing Co. ("The Plywood Age" Robert M. Cour)
Exterior of Wheeler Osgood Company's offices. Wheeler-Osgood was known as the world's largest manufacturer of doors and plywood at this time. The company started making doors in Tacoma in 1889 and plywood in 1910, only five years after the first fir plywood was manufactured at Portland, Oregon. N.O. Cruver served as president of the company at this time. He was president for 32 years.
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);
Demonstration of farm machinery, Machinery Manufacturing and Sales Inc., Bob Airey. A portable sawmill is seen after completion of cutting a log into a large, square column of wood. The photographer's Woody is seen parked on the street along with several other automobiles and pick-up trucks. TPL-3826
Logs; Machinery; Machinery industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery Manufacturing & Sales, Inc. (Tacoma);
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;
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.
Twin brothers Burrell and Murrell Rucker opened the Rucker Brothers Trucking Co. shortly after WWII. Building on the L.E. Rucker and Son Trucking Co. started by their father, they were located at 733 East 11th Street, a location they shared with the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumberyard. Although the Rucker Brothers did a lot of hauling for this lumberyard, they also had contracts with many other lumber companies. View of Rucker Brothers truck with Burrell Rucker behind the wheel; the truck is loaded with St. Paul and Tacoma lumber. This photograph was commissioned as the anchor photo in a calender the Ruckers intended to print and share with their customers. The truck had been freshly washed and "tire black" applied. Extra effort was made to whiten the lettering on the tires and cleanly bundle the load of local lumber. A decision was made by the Ruckers to superimpose the image of the truck in front of Mount Rainier. This image was ultimately printed and distributed for the Rucker Brothers calendar. Burrell Rucker died in April of 2010 at age 96. His brother, Murrell, died in January of 2011 at the age of 97. (Additional information provided by Judy Hyers, daughter of Burrell Rucker)
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);
Douglas Fir Plywood was always being tested for durability and alternative uses. The research organization was supported by the plywood industries of Tacoma, this ensured Tacoma remaining at the top of plywood production. Interior view of Plywood Research Foundation, unidentified man is recording plywood test information, photo ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association (T. Times, 12/22/47, p. 10).
Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Testing--Tacoma; Recording & registration--Tacoma; Research facilities--Tacoma; Plywood Research Foundation (Tacoma); Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);
ca. 1947. Plywood testing, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. The plywood industry was one of the most rigorously self regulated businesses in America. Its own labs were constantly testing its product, plywood, for new uses and limitations. All of the testing, promotion and self regulation were performed under the banner of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Here plywood is being tested at extremely high temperatures, also under what appears to be a weight. Wires lead from sensors to meters being monitored by the tester.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Plywood; Experiments; Product inspection;
Douglas Fir Plywood Information Bureau provided information about Douglas Fir Plywood products to interested individuals, businesses and industries. View of plywood information display with two panels explaining the difference between exterior and interior types of plywood panels; in addition, a Plywood Listening Post is set up to listen to comments in a confidential atmosphere. Photograph was taken on January 2, 1948.
Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Advertisements--Tacoma; Research facilities--Tacoma; Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Information Bureau (Tacoma); Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma);
Interior, machine at plant, Wheeler Osgood, Miss Lindgren. An interior view of the plant that was known as the world's largest manufacturer of wooden doors. Stacks and stacks of finished doors are seen throughout this part of the plant.
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)
Installation of sheathing at home of Joe Weston, Douglas Fir Plywood Association, Edith Link. A view in March of 1948 of the exterior of Joseph and Carol Weston's residence where a new addition is being added to the existing structure. Joe was a supervisor at DFPA. Douglas Fir Plywood Association was eager to show the potential uses of plywood.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Construction--Tacoma--1940-1950; Weston, Joseph--Homes & haunts; Dwellings--Tacoma--1940-1950;
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;
Great Northern Box Car being loaded by Sperry Flour Company at Ocean Dock, DFPA, Edith Leik. A view inside the box car. Bags of flour are being moved by a forklift to fill the upper spaces in the box car. The interior of the freight car is lined with plywood and paper to protect the flour and meal being shipped. TPL-10457
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Great Northern Railway Co. (Tacoma); General Mills, Inc., Sperry Division (Tacoma); Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Railroad tracks--Tacoma; Flour & meal industry--Tacoma; Hoisting machinery;
Wheeler Osgood was a leader in the lumber industry, they manufactured doors and plywood panels. The company has been doing business in Tacoma for many years, they are one of the oldest businesses in Tacoma. In 1947 Wheeler Osgood was considering expanding their facilities, no changes had yet started, although the exterior of plant had been painted in October of 1947. Exterior view of Wheeler Osgood Company facilities.
