Attic space with a large saw. A man in a hat can be seen crouching on the right hand side.

Worker testing lumber with a series of drillings. Various chalk markings can be identified in the wood as well as notes with lined data.

African American laborer seen in front of what appears to be a large, sealable container for treating lumber with arsenic to prevent rot.

Laborers shaping and planning lumber outdoors with both electric and nonelectric tools.

Side view of the Henry Mill & Timber Co. building with smoke pluming in the background. A more rustic wooden structure, crane and frame under construction are in the foreground.

Worker smiles in front of large planning machine inside. In the distance, a man in a bowler hat and vest looks outside.

Laborers fastening large wooden planks together on the shoreline. Workers appear to be in front of a pallet with different gauges of plywood.

Laborers fastening large wooden planks together on the waterfront. A sailing boat and Vashon Island can be seen in the distance.

Two men in suits and hats observe a laborer move lumber along a series of rollers outside.

Laborers watch on partially covered boardwalk as cranes drop a pallet of lumber. A "No Smoking" and conveyer belt can be seen at the work stations.

Laborers at the U.S. Plywood Co. in Seattle.

A miniature model of a plywood making work room on display at the Douglas Fir Plywood Association Circus. Dolls are exhibited processing the lumber into plywood.

Display of faux television sets displaying advertising cells at the Douglas Fir Plywood Association Circus.

Display kiosk at the Doug Fir Plywood Association Circus with 233 small wooden disks labeled with ways the company creates sales. Black and white photographs of the plywood making process are visible in the background.

Exterior shot of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association Circus. A banner outside displays the words "Plywood Jubilee" and "Free Show." A mural along the from of the structure depicts a magician turning a tree into plywood.

Exterior shot of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association Circus. Two children play on a plywood tiger and giraffe on the gravel.

Exterior shot of the Douglas Fir Plywood Association Circus. A banner outside displays the words "Plywood Jubilee" and "Free Show." Flood lighting can be seen at the top and bottom of the structure.

Back of Photo:
Port of Tacoma - General
Logs, Lots of 'Em

Back of Photo:
"St. Regis - Western Star Paper Machine
Clipping taped to back: "READ ALL ABOUT IT--Seven St. Regis Paper Co. officials, her for this morning's official dedication of the company's $30,000,000 expansion of its Tacoma kraft pulp and paper mill, look over a special 18-page section of The News Tribune, marking the event. Seated, left to right, are Phillip B. Duffy, vice president, the corrugated container division; Reginald L. Vayo, vice president, kraft division sales; and Kenneth D. Lozier, vice president, of advertising and sales promotion, all of New York. Standing are George J. Kneeland, New York, assistant vice president; Russell R. Major, Tacoma, assistant comptroller; John A. McDermott, Jacksonville, Fla., vice president, pulp and paper manufacturing; and Dr. William R. Haselton, general manager of the Tacoma plant."

ca. 1946. The unveiling of the giant cross section of a tree trunk at the Northwest Door Company. The Northwest Door Co. plywood and veneer plant was founded in 1935. In the summer of 1946, the company logged a gigantic old growth Douglas Fir on their logging property southwest of Mt. Rainier. The tree was almost 14 feet in diameter. A cross section of the trunk was removed and sent to the Tacoma plant for display. Here the section is covered by a curtain prior to its unveiling. The cross section of fir was moved in 1965 to the Lakewood branch of the Pierce County Library system. See image #3 for the unveiling.

Logs; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;

An elevated view of the Defiance Mill saw line for I.W. Johnson Engineering. The gang type saw mill the Doud brothers built in 1929 was particularly adapted to sawing smaller logs. The gang mill cut with greater precision and left the lumber much smoother. A person who ran a gang saw was called a "gangster".

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Defiance Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Saws; Mills--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. A young girl looks up at the enormous log section. The annual rings show the tree was 586 years old. It would have provided much good lumber even before Columbus landed in America. Long over-ripe, rot had begun to appear just inside the bark at the base of the trunk and much of the upper part was decayed. (T.Times, 10/16/1946, p.4; TNT 8/21/1946, pg. 1)

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Logs; Girls--Tacoma--1940-1950; Northwest Door Co., Inc. (Tacoma); Tree stumps--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Rucker Brothers trucking company was owned by Burrell and Murrell Rucker, they were located on 733 East 11th Street, on the same site as the St. Paul and Tacoma Retail Lumberyard. View of Rucker Brothers truck loaded with lumber, St. Paul and Tacoma Lumberyard in background. St. Paul and Tacoma lumber was shipped throughout Washington in Rucker trucks.

Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Shipping--Tacoma; St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Rucker Brothers (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1940-1950; International trucks;

Cheney Lumber Mills could be found throughout Washington, Oregon and California. The Tacoma plant had a sawmill, dry kiln, planning mill, log sorting area, storage facilities and loading areas. This plant employed approximately forty people. Exterior view of Cheney plant, laborers appear to be stacking and moving studs by using equipment.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma);

Loading a shipment of lumber from Cheney Lumber Company was made easier by the Cheney's facilities and dock on Sitcum Waterway. Cranes could load directly from railroad cars that had tracks on the dock. TPL-5676

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Hoisting machinery; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Cheney Lumber Co. was founded by Ben B. Cheney. Ben Cheney, although a well respected lumberman and a pioneer in his field, is also known for his interest in sports. The Cheney Stud teams participated in baseball, football, soccer and basketball. Ben Cheney was instrumental in bringing the Pacific Coast Baseball League to Tacoma and the Tacoma Cheney Stadium was named in his honor. A view of Cheney Lumber stacked on the dock ready for loading into a ship tied-up at the company dock.

Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Lumberyards--Tacoma; Lumber--Tacoma; Building materials industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Piers & wharves--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Cheney Lumber Co. (Tacoma); Shipping--Tacoma--1940-1950;

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)

Buffelen Lumber & Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma); Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

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 Co. (Tacoma); Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Trees; Logs; Woodcutting;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Testing plywood for resistance to pressure. One worker manipulates the machinery while another keeps record of the test results. Severs laboratory tests to which fir plywood was constantly subjected assured consumers of consistent high-quality materials. The standards not only set forth grades and types but also consistent testing procedures. (T.Times, 2/25/1949)

Plywood Research Foundation (Tacoma); Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laboratories--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Testing plywood at the plywood lab. One of the standards demanded that the adhesives, after setting, be stronger than the wood. The research projects were not only intended to answer today's questions but also future applications. Other studies included industrial and agricultural applications. (TNT, 2/17/1948, p.3-B)

Plywood Research Foundation (Tacoma); Plywood; Lumber industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Laboratories--Tacoma--1940-1950;