e
Bruce C. Elliott Retires
As Penney Store Manager
From button bov to denartment
store manager, over a long grind
but with many rewards that is
the story ol Bruce C. Elliott, man
ager of the Roseburg store of the
J. c. Penney Co.. who retires this
week after having served with the
company 34 years.
Elliott has served a goodly part
of his service with the company
in Roseburg, coming here as shoe
man on May 14, 1928. Except for
brief periods at Klamath Falls
and Yreka, Calif., he has remained
here since.
Employes, former employes and
spouses, along with visiting store
managers and company district
manager;, honored Elliott and his
, wife, Olive, at a dinner at the Ump
qua Hotel Gold Room last. Sunday
evening.
lorn In Minneapolis
A native of Minnesota, Elliott
was born in Minneapolis in 1902,
but came with his parents to Port-
land at the age of 10 years, where
he completed grade and high
school. He then took a job as button
boy in a shoe store. He recalls it
was his job to put the buttons on
shoes when they were sold. They
didn't come already on, and most
shoes then were buttoned.
He advanced to mail order clerk,
floor walker, then assistant man
ager and in 1926 became manager
of Wrights Family Shoe Store,
then the largest in Portland. He
worked with the store a total of
nine years.
Then he read of the man with
1,000 partners and saw an adver
tisement that J. C. Penney Co.
needed men. He was interviewed,
hired, took a cut in pay and came
to Roseburg as shoe man.
He recalls the store than was
located across SE Cass Ave. from
the old Post Office (now the Fed
eral Building) where a service sta
tion now is located. The balcony
was so flimsy it was necessary
to prop it up with timbers and was
only used for storage of toys at
Christmas time.
Assistant Manager
Elliott was made assistant man
ager in 1930. The store was moved
in 1935 to the present location of
the Pay Less Drug Store.
In 1937 he was sent to Klamath
Falls to appraise a shoe stock for
the Golden Rule store, which was
being bought out by the Penney
company. He put in a bid for a
position and was hired as assist
ant manager.
He was transferred 21 months
later to Yreka to take over as man
ager of what he described as the
"dirtiest, dingiest, darkest store in
.the company -organization." He was
Svery much fldissatisfied with the
'position and let it be known. The
company sent a representative, and
in half a day had made all plans
for the construction of a large
new store with full basement on
acquired property. Such a move
would take months or years to plan
today, he commented.
The store in Yreka opened in
November of 1941, and he was
transferred then in September 1942
back to Roseburg as manager at
his request. During the war, with
shortages, the local store was large
enough, but when the iwar ended
and the building boom hit Rose
burg, the store was no longer ade
quate. The store recorded the high
est percentage of business for any
in the Penney chain for the square
footage of floor space, Elliott re
calls. After many months of negotia-
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SATURDAY
OPEN ALL DAY
BRUCE C. ELLIOTT, on right, who is retiring as manager
of the Roseburg J. C. Penney Co. store, is shown re
ceiving from District Manager L. F. Kelley, Portland,
a booklet containing letters from employes and former em
ployes. The presentation was made at a farewell dinner
for Elliott last Sunday night at the Umpqua Hotel. (Wil
son's Studio).
Stanley Hyde New Manager
Of J. C. Penney Co. Store
! j
.. -X jam ' . i
STANLEY W. HYDE
, . new Penney manager
tion. the Spalding Estate purchased
the former Si Dillard property. The
new store was built and opened
for business in 1954. It had been
difficult to find interested invest
ors, as too many people thought
the one-industry town of Rose
burg was doomed. The Penney
company had faith and went ahead
with its plans, he stated.
The new store was a big thrill
CLEANING
IMUimmn
.mwfinDWaaiM
Stanley W. Hyde arrived in
Roseburg Friday from Oregon City
to take over as manager of the
J. J. Penney Co. store here. Hyde
replaces Bruce Elliott, who is re
tiring today after completing 34
years with the company.
Hyde, a native of Oregon Citv.
has been manager of the store
there for nine years. He started
with the company's downtown Port
land store in 1932.
From Portland he went to Klam
ath Falls and worked four years.
He was there at the time that
Elliott worked in the same store
for 'a couple of years, so their
acquaintance has - been , of long
standing.
From Klamath Falls, Hyde went
to Medlord as assistant manager
for five years until 1941, then was
named manager of the store at
Burns, staying there three years,
being transferred to four years at
Hood River, prior to returning to
Oregon City.
Hyde and his wife, Frances R.,
have four children. Their oldest
daughter, Sharon, 23, is a steward
ess with United Air Lines. Judy is
a junior at Oregon State Univer
sity; Randy is with the U.S. Army
in Germany, and Gary, age 10, is
their youngest and an ardent pee
wee ball player.
Fishing, hunting a little golf and
bowling are his principal hobbies,
said Hyde, who has been active m
Chamber of Commerce work and
the Elks at Oregon City. He and
his wife are looking for a home in
Roseburg.
to Elliott, he stated. He started
here in 1937 with five women em
ployes, including Jessie Alice
Moore now at Chapman s Drug
Store, as his assistant manager.
The business volume has increased
from $190,000 yearly to well over
the million dollar mark, and the
present employment is 35.
Married On Birthday
Elliott was married on his birth
day, June 22, 1925. He and his
wife, Olive, had their first child
Jan. 22, 1930, Norma Jean, now
Mrs. Earl Oden. They have two
children Bruce and Terri.
Patricia . Dale, now Mrs. Larry
Kvidera.- was born in Klamath
Falls on March 17, 1938, and their
son, Arthur Logan (Butch) was
born Sept. 6, 1943. He now is a stu
dent at Southern Oregon College.
While active in many civic func
tions, Elliott lists Boy Scout service
as his most important, having been
so engaged since 1937. He was in
1944 awarded the Silver Beaver
Award, highest a local council can
bestow. He has served most of that
time on the Boy Scout executive
board out of Eugene, and now
works as a member at large. He
stated he would like to see more
Roseburg area men devote more
time to this "wonderful cause."
He's been active in the Chamber
of Commerce, being a past vice
president; in retail trades, chair
maned two war bond drives, and
was credited with raising more than
one million dollars. He was a chart
er member in 1928 of the Roseburg
Lions Club and has held every of
fice up to deputy district governor.
He lists membership in the Ma
sonic Lodge, Shrine, Eastern Star,
Elks and the Methodist Church. He
has served on the United Fund
board of directors since its incep
tion up to this year, and has been
active in other fund drives. He
enjoys hunting and fishing as hob
bies.
Elliott and his wife plan to take
it easy for awhile. They have pur
chased a house trailer, which they
will pick up Tuesday, then take
a short trip to the Oregon Coast.
He plans to work around hit home
in Laurelwood for a time, then
after Christmas they plan a trip
south into Old Mexico, 800 miles
to Maiatlan on the West Coast for
an indefinite vacation.
Business
By Leroy
Sat., July 28, 1962 The
Sanders' Adding New Lines,
Name Change
Announcement was made today
that Sanders' Shoe Store, 529 SE
Jackson St., is expanding into the
ready-to-wear field and will change
its name to Sanders' Sportswear
and Shoes.
H. L. Sanders, owner manager.
stated he has been considering this
move for some time, but is doing
it now as he has been able to se
cure the franchises for several
well-established lines formerly car
ried by Lowell's, which is going
out of business.
Sanders said carpenters have
started remodeling to accommo
date the new apparel arrangement.
as the store will now offer a full
assortment of styles and sizes in
the categories in which they will
specialize. These will include pre
dominantly sweaters, blouses,
skirts, capris, bowling items and
fashion items for school pop clubs
and rally groups, as well as as
suming the Moore Gymwear line
of school uniform middies and
blouses.
Sanders explained the Joan Ma
rie sweater and skirt line will be
carried in full depth. Ship and
Shore blouses will be carried and
Sanders' will feature nationally ad
vertised styles as seen in fashion
magazines and nationally televised
programs, he said.
Special attention will be given
Joe Boatwright,
Don Glenz Buy
Local Cleaners
Joe Boatwright and Don Glenz
joint owners of New Service Laun
dry and City Cleaners, have an
nounced purchase of two other
cleaning establishments in Rose
burg which they intend to keep
operating.
Les Carr, who has operated the
Umpqua' Cleaners for many years
has sold his business to Boat
wright and Glenz. Carr will con
centrate on coin operated 5 dry
cleaning establishments in Rose
burg, Winston and Myrtle Creek.
Glenz, formerly associated with
Carr in the coin-operated establish
ments, no longer has an interest.
The second cleaning establish'
ment they have taken over is the
Go-Go Drive In Cleaners, 1405 SE
Stephens. Boatwright and G!enz
Glez have acquired the lease of
the properties from owner Morris
Corderman.
All dry cleaning for these two
establishments, as well as that of
City Cleaners, will be handled in
the new modern dry-cleaning plant
of New Service Laundry. The oth
er business locations will be used
for convenience- of customers in
leaving or picking up clothing.
The Umpqua Cleaners, located
at 525 SE Main St., underwent
extensive renovation recently, with
the removal of cleaning equip
ment and division of the building,
part of which is now used by Har
ry Winter Real Estate.
In addition to pick-up service
there, a complete line of altera
tions has been added, for whole
sale and retail. Pressing-while-you
wait service also is to be offered,
along with drive-up window ser
vice. General clean-up, painting and
minor repair is scheduled soon for
the Go-Go Cleaners location. The
name is to be changed to New
Service Drive In Cleaners. .
The new owners state that all
former employes will either be re
tained or absorbed in the over-all
business.
, Boatwright, who had New Ser
vice Laundry in partnership with
Jack Hart, and Glenz, owner of
City Cleaners, consolidated their
business interests, buying out the
interest of Hart, as of May I. The
laundry was completely rebuilt
and new equipment installed, fol
lowing a fire more than a year
ago.
Assumed Business Names
Filed With County Clerk
The following assumed business
names have been filed with the
Douglas County clerk:
C. C. Kitchen, name filed by
Carl W. Chrrstcnsen for restaurant
at 1747 SE Mill St., Roseburg.
Gardiner Beauty Shop, Gardi
ner, by Mae Simpson, 126 S. Fourth
St., Reedsport.
Coast Electronics, electronic
equipment, radio and television
repair, by Allen Keith Stevens,
1963 Birch St., Reedsport.
B & B Signal Service, service
station located at Sutberiin, name
filed by Carl H. Borgaes and How
ard L. Bird, both of Winston.
Tri-City Ambulance Service, by
Robert E. Benn, Myrtle Creek.
Douglas Fir Court, renting dup
lex and court, Jennie B. Marquiss.
Umpqua Excavation It Paving
Co., Art E. Wennerberg, 655 NE
Madison, St., Roseburg.
Douglas Stone Products Co.,
quarrying and selling decorative i
stone, by Dale E. Hoskini, RL 4,1
Box 2573; Richard E. Hoskty, 72
Scene
B. Inman
News - Review, Roseburg, Ore. 3
Is Announced
to group orders. He explained that
in conjunction with this move he
is able to offer both men's and
women's styles in the official
bowling shirts and shoes having
available about 75 different style
ana color combinations and also
will be able to offer immediate
service in name and insignia em
broidery for bowling, whether on
the garment itself or on separate
plaques that can be attached to
the garment. This will be done lo
cally, he said.
A special department will be the
-Pep Club department in which
Sanders' will offer special custom-
styled sweater's to the individual
design of each pep club group
and all sweaters will be especial
ly coordinated to special custom-
made pep club and rally squad
skirts, either in solid colors and
special two-tone skirts made in the
school colors with each skirt made
to individual measurements.
' He stated he is already taking
orders and measurements for
school, to insure delivery for first
football games.
Besides expanding the store into
sportswear, Sanders also announc
ed as part of its program the of
fering of fashion coordination from
top to toe. In addition to the full
selection of styles previously car
ried in such lines as Jacqueline,
Lonnie, fans fashion and Air
Step shoes, they have just received
the franchise for Mark Angelo
and Hollywood Skooters shoe
brands.
Sanders said: "We are makine
this expansion with full confidence
in the growth and future of Rose
burg and Douglas County. We think
by constantly offering guaranteed
fit, broad assortments of styles
and price ranges, and by being
a'-le to feature style coordination
in one store, Sanders' Sportswear
and Shoe Store can make an even
more important contribution to the
community. Ye like Douglas Coun
ty and are glad we can take ad
vantage of the opportunity to grow
with' it."
County Assessed
Valuation Dips
Report Shows
The assessed valuation of Doug
las County for the 1962-63 fiscal
year is $119,302,529. it was reported
today by County Assessor Leland
W. Svarverud Jr.
He said this was a decrease of
almost $9 million because of the
reduction in timber value and de
pletion. The 1961 legislature, he
said, provided a new means of val
uing timber in western Oregon.
under it, timber is valued at a
lesser figure during the years it
is standing. Then additional tax
is paid when it is harvested. The
additional tax is designed to off
set the loss in valuation. Because
of the new law, districts with large
amounts of timber will note some
shift in the tax load, he said.
A slight drop was noted in the
personal property category. Svar
verud reported it was down 1430,870
because of the decreased inventor
ies from the previous Jan. 1.
He said this drop has been off
set, however, by an increase in the
public utility figure just received
from the state Tax Commission. It
showed an increase of $959,127 over
1961.
Property is assessed at a ratio
of 25 per cent of the true cash
value. This ratio is now required
ny law.
Comparison of valuation figures
for the two years are as follows
9161 1962
Real prop.
66,315,480 65,815,370
Timber
26,547,890
14,973,080
21,284,082
17,664,590
14,542,210
22,243,209
Pcrs. prop.
Utilities
Total .. ..12,120,53l.120.Ie5J7(
vets exemp. 855.220 962.850
nm total sizi.ujjiz tui.m.m
W. Luellen St., Ralph and Virgil
Hoskins, both Rt. 4, Box 185, Rose
burg. Hiawatha Charter Service, char
ter boat service, by Manley Wat
son, box 54, Drain.
Reedsport Auto Wreckers,
Reedsport, by Ernest and Ruby
Sellc, 2063 Winchester Ave., Reeds
port. Retirement filed by same
parties for Lee's Wrecking Serv
ice.
Moritz A. Elbert Ifas filed as
sumed business names for Serv
ice Masters of Roseburg, which
does cleaning of rugs, carpets and
walls, and Commercial Janitorial
Service, contract cleaning. Re
tirement from the same business
has been filed by Howard J. Jones,
formerly owner of the business
Retirements filed by L. C. and
Ruth Bennett and Harry and Lois
Jones for The Timber Grill, res
taurant, and Roseburg Venetians
window decorating, by David M
and Margaret A. Geddes.
J fellah I 1 H
NEW LIMOUSINE Mr. and Mrs. Meredith Wilson, who operate Wilson'i Chopel of
the Roses, hove returned from Kosciusko, Miss., where they purchased a new nine-po.
senger, fully air-conditioned limousine, to be added to the fleet of service cart for
the Roseburg funeral home. The new vehicle will be used either as a family or pall
bearers cor. This is a part of the overall improvement of facilities, which included ren
ovation of the chapel recently. The Wilsons and their children left here July 4,
spent five days in New Orleans, where Mrs. Wilson attended a Zonta International
convention, then picked up the limousine and drove it homo. ,-., , ,
Man Who Helped
Industry
An industry that employs more
than 1,700 in the Roseburg area
and pumps an annual payroll of
more than $10 million into the lo
cal economy passes a milestone
Sept. 1, with the retirement of a
man who has become almost a leg
end in the forest industries of the
Pacific Northwest.
W. E. Difford, who gave the fir
plywood industry a resounding
mump on its infant backside near
ly 25 years ago and who has helped
guide its lengthening footsteps ever
since, retires Sept. 1 at a mellow
72 as executive vice president of
the Douglas Fur Plywood Associa
tion. His successor has not been
announced.
1 Difford became chief executive
of the plywood association in 1938
and, except for a brief postwar pe
riod when he organized a business
with his sons, has held the; job
ever since.
The intervening years have seen
plywood change from a material
used for automobile running
boards, drawer bottoms and door
panels to a structural element in
some of the most precisely engi
neered wood structures in the
world. In the same period, drawing
on funds earned by promotions he
developed, Difford has built up a
research program second to none
in the wood industry.
Fastest Crowing Industry
The net effect has been to make
plywood the fastest growing indus
try in the U.S., outside the defense
field. Since 1938 it has increased in
size 14 times; since 1952, while
lumber production in the west has
slumped 30 per cent, plywood sales
have skyrocketed by 300 per cent.
Significant changes and the flam
boyant promotions that are the
hallmark of the association, have
been born in Difford's plywood
paneled office, their development
punctuated with clouds of cigar
smoke. .
Difford's first act at DFPA was
to abandon the grading system that
concentrated on appearance. He
was the first to emphasize the glue
line the all-important element
that bonds wood veners into a
far stronger material than nature
ever created. The system evolved
in those early years, refined and
expanded, still Is recognized as the
most foolproof in the industry.
The prewar years saw the In
dustry expand, and saw the foun
dation laid for later promotions.
But it was after 1052, when Dif
ford returned to the association,
that the big changes were made.
These were the years of the boom
in housing. They also were the
years when competing materials
really began to enter the markets,
making every dollar a battle prize.
Budget Has Doubled
The association had 82 employ
ees in 1952 and a total budget of
$1.8 million. Today it employs
287 and will spend $3.7 million
on advertising alone, of a total
budget of $7.8 billion, in 1950, tne
housing Industry bought 500 sq. ft.
of plywood for every new home
that was built. By I960 home build
ers were using 2500 sq, ft. per new
house.
The growth in the use of plywood
in the last decade Is hard to visu
alize. In 1955. production was 3
billion square feet, figured on
W inch thick basis. This year 9 2
billion sq. ft. will be sold by north
west mills. If it were possible to
make a stack of 4x8-foot panels
that totaled just one billion sq. ft.,
the pile would reach 185 miles
higher than the first Mercury as
tronaut flew.
Marketing Programs Familiar
The research that made It pos
sible to use all this plywood is
familiar to every builder, architect,
engineer and industrial, designer In
the country. The public probably
knows far more about the market
ing programs that actually sold
the plywood.
In l5t DFPA ttaptd the biggest
'.I s.i.-fc: lev's-
Plans Retirement
merchandising campaign of its
kind. More than 8000 lumber deal
ers took part and consumers asked
for 2 million do-it-yourself, plan
folders that year.
Difford's next venture was into
newspaper advertising. DFPA
bought advertisements in 1648 dail
ies In what was, and may still be,
the biRsest single newspaper pro-
W. E. DIFFORD
. . . executive to retire
gram by building material sup
plier. Something New I very Year
There was something new every
year. In 1959 Difford conceived the
famous leisure home campaign,
keynoted by the slogan "Every
Family Needs Two Homes." He
shrugged off criticism with a cloud
of cigar smoke.
"They don't need two cars, ei
ther," he said. "Or two bathrooms.
Or two suits. But they buy them."
Americans bought second homes,
too, at a rate that stunned hous
ing economists. ,
In November of 1960 Difford
Brought together the country's top
experts in retirement housing, a
new field he thought showed prom
ise. He made up his mind quick
ly when a demonstration house was
suggested and by Jan. 6, 1961, the
first House of Freedom was on dis
play in downtown Washington, D.C.,
for delegates to the White
House Conference on Aging. Presi
dent Eisenhower told Difford the
house was a "fascinating idea"
and hundreds of other Americans
have agreed with him and bought
identical models all over tne coun
try.
Overproduction Threatens
Leisure homes and retirement
housing still are among DFPA's
current 23 promotions, and they
still are increasing the sale oi ply
wood. But a specter that hat been
threatening the industry for years
hat reached frightening propor
tions recently and Difford hat been
taking steps to destroy it.
Even with the giant gains in
sales, production capacity hat kept
ahead of the mantel, witn sales
of 1.2 billion ta. ft. predicted for
1982. production capacity will Hand
at 10.4 billion by year's end. mis
surplus capacity tends to depress
prices and keep profits marginal
Seeks Foreign tales
In June, at the association'! an
nual meeting and the last one he
CHRIS'
STUDIO
427 S. E. Main
Ph. OR 2-3212
ROSEBURG'S -COMMERCIAL
PHOTOGRAPHER
L 4
Plywood
will attend as chief executive, Dif
ford marshalled his facts for a
new assault. The market places of
this continent have fallen to him.
Now he is ready to invade South
America and the European Com
mon market. He outlined a three-
point program and said his "con
servative estimate of wz sales oi
18.5 billion feet" could "swell dra
matically if the industry meets the
challenge of overseas markets.
In 1955 Difford scoffed at a Stan
ford Research Foundation estimate
that plywood sales would reach
7.5 billion sq. ft. by 1975. He
thought the figure was far too low;
others in the industry thought Dif
ford was Indulging in wishful think
ing, His eyes lit up in 1959 when
sales passed 7.8 billion.
Difford's vision and energy have
tripled 'sales and tripled employ-
mnnt In thA nlvuwwuf inrliistrv In a
I decade. He says today that 10 more
years will see them double again.
As he steps down, his former crit
ics are silent.
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