Cheney Lumber Co. Midget Baseball League. Summer was baseball time and the Metropolitan Parks offered many leagues based on the age of the players. Each team had a commercial sponsor and many of the different age teams bore the name of Tacoma philanthropist and sports enthusiast Ben Cheney. Ben Cheney made it possible for athletes of many different ages to experience the joys of competitive sports.
Circus trucks used to transport the travelling exhibit "Fir Plywood Golden Jubilee Show." Photo series ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. 1955 marked the 50th anniversary of the plywood industry. As part of the year long celebration, the travelling display toured the West Coast regions where plywood was manufactured. The free show included something for everyone. It featured a plywood menagerie, a color movie showing how plywood is manufactured and some new ideas for modern living, "Fifty Golden Ideas" by prominent designers. (TNT 7/19/1955, pg. C-17)
A model of a plywood mill, part of the travelling exhibition "Fir Plywood Golden Jubilee Show." 1955 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the first plywood panel. As part of the celebration, a mobile exhibit toured the West Coast regions where plywood is manufactured. This model recreation of a plywood mill was part of the show. In the model, cutting and barking of the log is shown as well as the peeling of the log. The wood is cut into lengths and placed in the drying racks to dry. In the rear, the lengths are having glue applied in preparation to being laid in plys to form the multi-layer plywood. The panels are then heated to form a solid bond.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association's (DFPA) annual meeting. The Golden Jubilee Convention was held in Portland, Oregon June 19-21, 1955, celebrating 50 years of the plywood industry from its inception in 1905 to 1955. One of the highlights was the unveiling of an exposition. This appears to be the wives of delegates posing at the entrance of the exhibit hall.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Portland); Exhibition buildings--Portland; Exhibitions--Portland; Plywood;
Wallace E. (W.E.) Difford, managing director, addresses the Douglas Fir Plywood Association's (DFPA) annual meeting. The Golden Jubilee Convention was held in Portland, Oregon, June 19-21, 1955; celebrating 50 years of the plywood industry from its inception in 1905 to 1955. Difford advised the group of the need for research and product improvement to fuel industry growth. He also warned that the future of industry management depended on talented young people being advanced on the career path, not shuttled into dead end jobs. Difford was selected at the meeting as one of the top 3 plywood salesmen in the industry's history. The highlights of the Jubilee were a Broadway type musical pageant, the presentation of Arlene Francis's televised "Home Show" and the unveiling of a giant exposition containing 50 golden ideas designed by 5 nationally leading architects.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Portland); Exhibition buildings--Portland; Exhibitions--Portland; Plywood; Difford, Wallace E.;
The Douglas Fir Plywood Association's (DFPA) annual meeting in 1955. The Golden Jubilee Convention was held in Portland, Oregon, celebrating 50 years of the plywood industry from its inception in 1905 to 1955. Over 12,000 plywood manufacturers and distributers attended the meeting. One of the highlights was the unveiling of the Plywood Memorial at the Forestry building in Portland. The Memorial was designed around the original sheet of plywood manufactured in 1905 for display at the Lewis and Clark International Exposition in Portland.
Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Portland); Exhibition buildings--Portland; Exhibitions--Portland; Plywood;
Two blonde models and a casually attired unidentified man pose on the barrier around the Douglas Fir Plywood Association's Plywood Memorial at the Forestry Building in Portland, Oregon. On display is the first plywood panel ever made from Douglas Fir. Early in 1905, Portland was getting ready for a World's Fair as part of the centennial observance of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Portland Manufacturing Co. was asked to prepare an exhibit featuring something new and unusual. N.J. Bailey and Gustav Carlson and a crew of about six men constructed by trial and error the first plywood panels. This was the birth of the plywood industry that became one of the backbones of the economy of the Pacific Northwest. ("The Plywood Age" by Robert M. Cour)
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Portland); Exhibition buildings--Portland; Exhibitions--Portland--1950-1960;
The Douglas Fir Plywood Association's Plywood Memorial at the Forestry Building in Portland, Oregon. On display is the first plywood panel ever made from Douglas Fir. It was produced by the Portland Manufacturing Company for display at the Lewis and Clark International Exposition in Portland in 1905. Its production marked the birth of an industry that fueled the economy and development of the Pacific Northwest. The unveiling of the memorial was one of the highlights of the DFPA's Golden Jubilee, June 19-21, 1955, held in Portland.
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Portland); Exhibition buildings--Portland; Exhibitions--Portland--1950-1960;
Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. In this photograph, a piece of 3D woodworking has been backlighted. The result looks almost like neon.
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Woodworking--Tacoma;
Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A design has been cut into fir plywood with a saw. The design is raised in some places and bent the other direction in others. The design has been illuminated from behind, accenting the detail. For the same design without the backlighting, see image #51.
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Woodworking--Tacoma;
Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A man poses with decorative woodwork pieces cut from fir plywood. The wood has been cut in intricate patterns with a skill saw. Dowel rods have then been inserted to hold some of the pieces out from the main piece, giving the design a 3D look.
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Woodworking--Tacoma;
Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A design has been cut into fir plywood with a saw. Dowel rods hold some portions of the design raised from the main board; other portions are bent back from the main design. The end result is a 3D look. A wooden finished knob in the center also lends a dimensional feel.
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Woodworking--Tacoma;
Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A man does detailed and intricate cutting with a skill saw. A completed decorative woodwork piece can be seen in the background.
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Saws; Woodworking--Tacoma;
Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. The word "Moke' " has been carved into a piece of fir plywood. The final swoop of the "M" has been lifted up to give a 3D effect. Moke panels were popular in the 1950s as backdrops in department store window displays and as decorative art in homes. For the same carving illuminated from the back, see image #7. (Additional information provided by a reader)
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Woodworking--Tacoma;
Plywood displays for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A cabinet is viewed from above topped with an assortment of power tools, hand tools and plywood trim pieces. These are the materials and tools used in a woolworking display captured in this photographic series (D89928.) This cabinet would be perfect for the home handyman to store his tools and small materials or for the hardware store to shelve small items. The DFPA, located in the Fuller building in Tacoma, was constantly promoting its product and its myriad uses. The plywood industry exploded in the Northwest thanks to this dedicated self promotion.
Plywood; Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Drills (Equipment); Hammers; Woodworking--Tacoma;
St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company. Photos featuring "quality control" of hemlock at St. Paul. A man in a hard hat operates controls for the lumber processing machinery at St. Paul & Tacoma. He watches the gauge to the right as he moves the controls.
Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma);
Presentation of award to the president of U.S. Plywood, Tony Antoville (on right.) Photograph ordered by the DFPA. United States Plywood Corp. was one of the first companies to build after the industry was decontrolled. It opened a 36 million foot capacity plant at Mapleton, Oregon in 1948. By 1955, the firm controlled four plants with a total capacity of 342 million feet annually.
Plywood; Lumber industry--Seattle--1950-1960; United States Plywood Corp. (Seattle); Antoville, Tony;
Informal office photograph of Charles H. Ingram, Vice-president and General Manager of Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. When Phil Weyerhaeuser arrived in Tacoma in 1933 as the company's chief executive officer after the death of George S. Long, who had operated as manager since its 1900 beginning, he inherited a very capable office staff. Ingram was assistant manager, he was promoted to manager in 1936 and became Weyerhaeuser's right hand man. They were the perfect complement, Ingram's attention to detail giving Weyerhaeuser the freedom to look to the future. ("Phil Weyerhaeuser Lumberman" by Charles E. Twining)
Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Ingram, Charles H.;
Informal office photos of John Philip (Phil) Weyerhaeuser Jr., President of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, with the oil painting of Frederick Weyerhaeuser, founder of the company. Executive offices of the company were located on the 10th floor of the Tacoma Building, 1017-1021 A St. The company was founded in 1900 with the purchase of 900,000 acres of Washington timberlands from the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. Weyerhaeuser now owns in excess of 1.6 million acres of timberland in Washington, with 4 million acres located elsewhere in the U.S. In 1971, the company moved its corporate headquarters to Federal Way. Phil Weyerhaeuser guided the company from 1933 until his death in 1956 and oversaw its transition from a dealer in timberlands to a manufacturer of forest products and a manager of renewable tree farms. Central to this change was his vision that the only way for a forest products company to operate was to own its own renewable timberlands. ("Phil Weyerhaeuser Lumberman" by Charles E. Twining)
Weyerhaeuser, John Philip; Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Informal office photos of John Philip (Phil) Weyerhaeuser Jr., President of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company. Executive offices were located on the 10th floor of the Tacoma Building, 1017-1021 A St. The company came into being in 1900 when Frederick Weyerhaeuser and several of his colleagues agreed to purchase 900,000 acres of western Washington timberlands from the Northern Pacific Railway Company. George S. Long, the company's first manager, originated the idea of timber as a renewable resource. In 1936, Phil Weyerhaeuser proudly pronounced the origination of the company's program of growing trees for harvesting, his personal vision. In 1941, Clemons Tree Farm was dedicated as the first of its kind. (" A History of Pierce County, Washington" Vol. 1)
Weyerhaeuser, John Philip; Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Informal office photos of John Philip (Phil) Weyerhaeuser Jr., President of Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, with a model of the Everett facility. Phil Weyerhaeuser arrived in Tacoma in 1933 to take over the reins of the family timber business, after spending almost 13 years learning the profession in the Inland Empire. He ran the company until his death from leukemia December 8, 1956. He was a private, unpretentious and shy man, but he guided his company through the Great Depression, World War II and the New Deal. He imprinted the company with his vision that it must change in order to survive. No longer just a dealer in timberlands, the company diversified its interests and invested heavily in forestry as a renewable resource. In a 1955 passport application, he listed his profession as "lumberman," a modest assessment of his contributions to the industry. ("Phil Weyerhaeuser Lumberman" by Charles E. Twining)
Weyerhaeuser, John Philip; Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
A Buffelen employee concentrates as he applies pressure to a louvered door on December 7, 1954. The door is made to allow air to circulate; it may be designed for a closet or a pantry. There appears to be three doors stacked one on top of another as the worker completes his tasks. Photograph ordered by Condon Co., an advertising agency.
Workers at the Buffelen company appear to be in the process of stacking doors in a December 7, 1954, photograph. There are already two tall towers of doors against the wall. Two men are lifting a door while the third waits to toss it on top of the pile. Photograph ordered by the Condon Co., an advertising agency.
The giant log on the truck bed appears to be twice as tall as the two men standing in front of it. It seems that the Native American chief is sharing a pipe with his white friend. Georgia-Pacific Plywood entered several giant peeler logs in a parade down the main streets of Bellingham on November 27, 1954. These men may have been taking a break from parade activity. Photograph ordered by Georgia-Pacific Plywood.
Logs; Parades & processions--Bellingham--1950-1960; Indians of North America--Bellingham;
The enormous splash generated as a giant peeler log is dumped into the log dump nearly obscures sight of the log. This Douglas fir log, along with several others, was used in a Bellingham parade on November 27, 1954, as entries sponsored by Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co. Harvested locally from timbered forests, the logs were marched down the city's main streets, providing an impressive display for local spectators. Georgia-Pacific wanted to stress that each log contained enough material to be used in making forty average houses. Photograph ordered by Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co.
An M.A. Couch truck is slowly making a turn past the Bellingham Bedding Co. and is careful not to dislodge neither the young model perched on the truck's cab or the giant peeler log on its bed. Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co. supplied several of the large Douglas fir logs for a parade down the main streets of Bellingham on November 27, 1954. Signs on the massive logs indicated that each peeler log would be sufficient to supply enough plywood to build 40 average homes. These logs were obtained locally from timber forests in Washington State. Photograph ordered by Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co.
A large fleet of trucks haul giant logs just past the Whatcom Feed & Seed on their way to join the parade down Bellingham's main streets on November 27, 1954. Georgia-Pacific Plywood had arranged for several entries in the parade, with trucks proceeding two by two, of giant peeler logs of Douglas fir. Each log contained enough plywood to make forty average homes. Photograph ordered by Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co. TPL-8195
A scantily clad young woman cheerfully waves her hat at parade spectators while perched on top of a R.E. Gray Trucking System cab on November 27, 1954. The truck is hauling a giant peeler log courtesy of the Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co. which was cut from timber forests in Washington State. Bellingham apparently had a parade in late November in which several giant logs were on display to parade viewers. Photograph ordered by Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co.
Giant fir tree cut down by Georgia Plywood Company. Workman walking past freshly cut tree in forest in late November of 1954. The giant log was later paraded through the streets of Bellingham, Washington.
A long convoy of trucks bearing Georgia-Pacific giants logs participated in a parade down the streets of Bellingham on November 27, 1954. A policeman is on hand to monitor traffic while a sparse crowd watches outside the Hotel Bellingham. The giant logs on display were peeler logs of Douglas fir. Banners attached to the logs indicated that each log would supply enough plywood for forty average homes. Photograph ordered by Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co.
