Second Station Born
8 Th Newt-Review, Roieburg, Ore. Mon., Feb., 27, 1961
McDermoft Is Progressive
Standard Serviced First Plane
"I
Tidewater Oil Distributor
' m n m eartn'
HUM
i.
r IT MT1prnin)t. Hisfrihutnr I
for Tidewater Oil Co. is an encr-
eetic businessman wun a pencaam
lor progress.
Under nis airecuon xne nrm nas
iKHMotail tha nnmhpp nf it rptsil
outlets from five to 31 in the years
since 1940 when he assumed the
distributorship. The plant was es
tablished in vsu ana was unaer
company operation until 1940.
During tnai same period gauon
age has increased ten-fold in the
area. Five of the retail outlets
'u ('iTi4 r 4
J2:" c
t
FIRST LANDING of aircraft in Roseburg took place
about 1924 when two biplanes touched down for refueling
in o field located in the area of what 'is now the Roseburg
Bowl. Part of the second plane is visible in the, back-
ground between the two gasoline trucks. The horse-drawn
wagon ond tank trucks were owned by the Standard oil
Co. which ot that time sold petroleum products under the
trade name of "Red Crown." .
Standard Oil Was County's First
Distributor Of Petroleum Products
First entry Into the oil distribu
tion business in Douglas County
was Standard Oil Co. of California.
That was back in the days when
petroleum barrels were made of
wood and 'tank trucks' were of the
horse-drawn variety. Roads were
no more than glorified wagon
trails, hard-packed and deeply-rutted
in tha summer, a quagmire
during the rainy season.
Autos put-putted and Jostled
along these trails on pneumatic
tires which did little to alleviate
the. bumps.
Into such an environment Stand
ard Oil pioneered sales of petro
leum products in the county area.
Time was near the beginning of the
second decade in the 20th century.
While modern delivery trucks
now serve about 30 retail outlets,
two horse carts and wooden stave
barrels were the equipment which
first served the area, according to
Jack Baker, local representative,
who has been here for the past six
years.
First Recorded . ,
Another first was recorded by
the company in the county when in
the early 1920's it refueled the
first airplanes ever to land In the
area. Two planes made a landing
on a field near the location of
Roseburg Bowl and a Standard Oil
vehicle delivered gasoline to the
scene. Thus was started a long
history of cooperation with aviation
enthusiasts in the development of
commercial and private flying fa
cilities, on the local scene.
Baker said that while the prime
purpose of the company is the
selling of petroleum products, it is
also interested in the education of
youth. Standard has pioneered in
the development of petroleum edu
cation kits for teachers in public
schools, and is now working with
county educators to develop field
trips through the local plant for
many of the county's school pupils.
In addition to public school pro
grams Standard also helps finance
college educations for worthy stu
dents. In the field of music its
Standard School Symphony pro
ject is one of the nation's largest.
Activity Stressed
"Believing that something
should be put back into the com
munties in which Standard oper
ates, tha company encourages its
Payless Petroleum Products Has
Enjoyed Steady Growth Since '56
Payles Petroleum Products has
enjoyed steady growth in Doug
las County since Ken Lindner and
Max Seitz organized the oil dis
tribution business in 1956, accord
ing to the firm's owners.
They started their business with
a storage plant in Winston and
one service station. Today their
firm services seven stations locat
ed between Drain and Myrtle
Creek and three more are in var
ious stages of planning.
The company is now In the proc
ess of purchasing land for a new
service station in Roseburg, and
plans next month to rebuild its
Myrtle Creek station which was
partially destroyed by fire last
fait In addition, a new retail out
let will be started in Sutherlin
sometime this summer.
During 1960, their Roseburg sta
tion, badly damaged by the explo
sives truck blast, was completely
renovated. Also last year the part
ners finished a new station on Gar
den Valley Blvd. They also plan to
enter the home fuel oil delivery
field in the near future.
Lindner is no newcomer tn tha
oil business. He started with Rich
field in Seattle, Wash., in 1931 and
held several responsible positions
wun mac company Delore coming
to Roseburg in 1945. At that time
he purchased the Richfield distri
bution facilities, which he later
sold to Bob Gladwill.
Seitz. who formerly was emnlov-
ed by a Roseburg realty firm, en
tered me on distribution field when
he and Lindner formed their part
nership in 1956.
In 1957, Bill True, who operates
the Roseburg station, located on
SB Cass and Stephens, was taken
into the partnership. He had pre
viously been with Lindner in the
Richfield operation. Bob Shroyer,
who specializes in motor tune-up,
joined the firm last year.
employes to take an active part in
community and civic atlairs, a
ker said.
During the past year complete
revamping of the company's tank
farm, located on Garden Valley
Blvd. has been accomplished. This
included raising all tanks and build'
infis to the street level and con
struction of all-metal catwalks
around the tanks.
In addition to ten employes st
the local plant, three independent
fuel oil companies serve the area.
including South r.nrt f uel Co. and
Roseburg Fuel Co. in Roseburg,
and A. Barnes in autnerlin,
Baker said. The plant serves an
area from Rice Hill to the Grants
Pass area.
Baker said that certain addition
al sites are now under considera
tion for new retail outlets in the
near future.
Commercial Buildings
Is Specialty Of Todd
Banks, post offices, schools, any
type of public or commercial build
ing; this is tha specialty of the
Todd Building Co. of Jtoseburg.
The firm.owned by Gordon and
John Todd, has been in Roseburg
since 1D4J.
i With an annual payroll approach
ing $125,000 the firm employs be
tween 40 and 100 men depending on
the number of projects under con
struction. For the most part, the
firm's work is confined to the
Southern Oregon area.
Among the recent projects fin
ished by the firm are the First
National Bank of Roseburg, the
Roseburg Post Office, the Roseburg
City Hall and Fire Department
and Williams Bakery warehouse
and the new YMLA.
Presently under construction are
the Fullerton IV Elementary
School, the John C. Fremont Jun
ior High School, and the Rose
burg branch of the State Depart
ment of Employment.
Glendale Phone Facilities
Getting Complete Overhaul
By MRS. G. B. FOX
The California - Pacific Utilities
Co. purchased the Glendale Tele
phone Co. last summer and took
over management on June 21,
19ti0.
Now it is working on a moderni
zation program. Before the close
of 1961, it will include Glendale
and Azalea in the rapidly expand
ing direct long-distance dialing sys
tem which will eventually make it
possible for ils residents to dial
their own calls to any point in
the United States. The Wolf Creek
system, which n to have its own
exchange building, will join the di
rect dial network lata in 1961 or
early in 1962.
Telephone crews have, up to
this time, worked mostly on the
reconditioning of the present lines
and putting in new service equipment.
. Immediate plans include the con
struction of a complete new came
system from Glendale to the Old
Highway Junction and replacement
ot a smaller cable which carries
lines in that area. Additional line
equipment will be added to t h e
Glendale exchange, which will al
low for more subscriber usage and
better service.
Umpco Specializes
In Concrete Work
Since 1952 the Umpco Construc
tion Co., formerly called Umpqua
Concrete Products, has operated
in the Roseburg area.
Owner of the firm is Wallace
(Ray) Casebeer.
The company is involved in all
types of general contracting but
specializes in concrete work. Such
items as sewer installation, base
ment construction and re-enforced
concrete construction are special
ties of the company. Casebeer said
his firm is also probably the lead
ing swimming pool contractor in
the Roseburg area.
Generally the firm confines it
self to construction projects with
in a 500-mile radius of Roseburg.
Being licensed in California, the
comnanv has recently completed
several jobs in the northern part
of the state.
Although the firm does some cus
tom residential building and re
modeling it pretty much has con
fined itself to industrial and com
mercial construction. One of t h e
firm's maior projects in recent
years was the pouring of 10,000
cubic yaras of concrete lor me
U.S. Plvwood Co.-
Other recent jobs include cement
work at a new school in Cottage
Grove and construction of the Lane
County'office building at Florence.
Generally the company employs
between eight and 10 men on a
full-time basis with the number
growing to 35 when a large job
is being carried on. During 1960
the company paid out over $80,000
in salaries which, according to
Casebeer, was down somewhat
from previous years.
were built and are operated by
the company.
Other accomplishments to which
McDerinott points with justifiable
pride, is the fact that the area
comprising a 30 - mile ra
dius of Roseburg is the second
largest market for Tidewater Oil
in Oregon, and the 31 service sta
tions represent the largest concen
tration, per capita, of any com
pany on .the Pacific Coast.
Five Employ td
Five employes operating seven
trucks serve customers of the plant.
ilcDcrmott was with Tidewater
for 10 years and was in charge of
specially sales for the company be
fore coming here in 1940 to take
over operation of the modern tank
farm locatea on Airport Koaa.
Three times in. the past 10 years
the local oil business has been fea
tured in articles in the petroleum
industry's trade magazine as be
ing outstanding in various fields of
petroleum distribution and special
ty sales.
Most recent of McDermott's ci
tations is a plaque commemor
ating his 20th year as a distributor,
given to him by George Getty II,
president of fidewater on.
McDtrmott Honored
He was honored in 1953 by being
named one of the original mem
bers of the Commission Wholesale
Marketers Advisory Committee, an
organization of the American Pe
troleum Institute. He bas been
named to that position each year
since its incention in 1953. and is
the only Tidewater distributor in
the nation to have been so honored.
He will attend the annual meeting
of the committee to be held in Flor
ida in May.
Not content to rest on past laur
els, McDermott already this year
is considering at least one more
location for a new retail outlet,
and sees bright prospects for the
future of Douglas County in the
years ahead.
POST OFFICE RECEIPTS UP
Postmaster Pearl A. Lawson re
ports that the Riddle Post Office
showed a gain of 10 per cent this
year over last. Total receipts for
i960 were szu.Hav.ou as compared
with $18,939 for 1959.
Sometime this summer, the com
pany plans to install direct dis
tant dialing equipment in the
Glendale and Azalea exchanges.
Tha actual date for completion of
this work and tha cutting in of the
new service will depend, to some
extent, on the availability of more
"trunking" facilities, or, in t h e
language of the laymen more lines
to the outside. At that time, the
Glendale and Azalea facilities will
be directly connected to the Myr
tle Creek exchange.
Tha company has already pur
chased ground for the construction
of a new exchange building in
Wolf Creek, which is presently
served by the Glendale exchange.
The purchase includes three and
a half lots. The exchange will he
equipped, as the others, with di
rect long distance dialing equip
ment, and the trunk lines will be
connected with those at Myrtle
Creek. Company officials are also
planning to greatly extend the
number of lines and service at
Wolf Creek. A complete new cable
system will be installed there,
and all tha present lines will be
rebuilt.
Service will be extended to In
clude Speaker Road, Coyote Creek
Road, and Lower Wolf Creek Road.
Westway Petroleum
Sells Golden Eagle
Westway Petroleum Co., with
district offices located at 2645 NE
Diamond Lake Blvd., handles Gold
en Eagle Products for the south
western area of Oregon.
Paul Dawkins is the district man
ager. The firm services 40 retail
outlets for their products from the
north Douglas County line to the
California border.
In 1957, the firm leased tha 40
units of the former Perkins Oil
Co. chain, which built tha local
plant in 1955.
Dawkins is proud of the fact that
his firm is the only independent!
in the oil distributing business
which issues its own credit cards.
The firm handles, in addition to
gasoline and lubricants, heating
oils and diesel fuel. Last year,
purchase of the Power Pack chain
of service stations in California,
gave tha firm almost complete
coverage of the West Coast, from
Seattle to the Mexican border,
Donald S. Rogan, as distributor
for the Roseburg area, handles lo
cal distribution of the firm's prod
uct. He took over the distributor
ship in 1957. Prior to taking over
the local plant, he was a service
station maintenance man for Rich
field Oil Co. for (even years.
Rogan has been associated In
the oil distributing business for a
total of IS years. (
Products handled at tha local
plant include gasoline and oils,
heating and diesel fuel oils. It
services a total of six retail out
let in an area bounded by Oak
land on the north and Riddle to the
aouth.
Dawkins said plans for the fu
ture include acquisition of new serv
ice stations to complete coverage
ot tha West Coast.
J
General
Building
CONTRACTOR
INDUSTRIAL - Residential - COMMERCIAL
Railroad Spur Construction, Maintenance
Pre-Cast Concrete Septic Tanks
Manufactured and Installed
Sewer Line Construction, Connections
Industrial Concrete Work
O
Swimming Pools, Custom Constructed
-Complete Supply Pool Accessories
O
FREE ESTIMATES at no obligation OR 2-3304
CONSTRUCTION CO.
Serving Roseburg Since 1 952
1300 NE Stephens
ROSEBURG, ORE.
P. O. Box 507
TV CENTER OPENED
Ken Remington has taken over
ownership of the Radio and TV
Center in tteeusport. He says ne
decided to go into business there
because he believes in the econom
ic future of the Lower Uinpqua
area. -
0 iJU UUU u
. 1 m
ROSEBURG RADIO station KQEN has studios ond, trans
k,,;Minn ronr tho Dmjalas Countv Fair-
iiiiiici in una lui.wmij . a y
grounds. -The stotion began service in September 1950,
then os KRXL, owned by locoll interests formed os Umpqua
' Broadcasters, , Inc. It was purchased March, 1960, by
KYNG, Inc., Coos Bay, as a sister station to KYNG.
The Second Radio Station
In Roseburg Was KQEN
Cornwell Specializes .
In Small Construction
Specializing in small commer
cial construction and residential
remodeling in the Roseburg area
is L. K. (Roy) Cornwell.
Cornwell has been located in
Roseburg since 1944. For the first
few years of his operation he
concentrated on home and office
design but lately has stayed pretty
much with actual construction work
Generally he employs a small
crew but when he has many proj
ects under construction the num
ber climbs to as high as 30 men.
Recently he completed two
apartment . remodelings in Rose
burg and a laundry. At the pres
ent time the firm is constructing a
laundry in Cottage Grove and has
several projects coming up .in the
near future.
Near the middle of September
1950, the tadio station that is now
KQEN went on the air at 1240 kilo
cycles as KRXL, Roseburg's sec
ond radio station.
Mr. and Mrs. Don Helliwell, Mr.
and Mrs. Don Radabaugh, Mr. and
Mrs. Lon Hunt and Del McKay
formed Umpqua Broadcasters, Inc.
in the fall of that year and began
broadcasting shortly afterward.
' March 16, 1960, KRXL was pur
chased by. Phil Waters, Coos Bay,
owner of radio station KYNG there.
He changed the name to KQEN.
KQEN broadcasts throughout the
day and evening with a power of
250 watts. It is affiliated with the
ABC radio network.
Lyle Fenner, general manager,
states that shortly after the trans
fer of ownership, all new broad
casting equipment was installed at
the 936 SW Medford Ave. studio.
Broadcasting format was changed
to feature what he termed the
"Big Sound," good music with a
beat.
KQEN is the Roseburg High
School Sports station, broadcasting
over the year football, basketball
and baseball games played by the
school.
m
1
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Complete Coverage
ROSEBURG HIGH SCHOOL
SPORTS!.
TELEQUEEN 8 PM
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