Image provided by: Chetco Community Public Library; Brookings, OR
About Brookings-Harbor pilot. (Brookings, Curry County, Oregon) 1946-1978 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1952)
n BROOKINGS-HARBOR PILOT'S MB ( > KM SOUTHWESTERN OREGON Lumber And Tim ber ’Started* Brookings* History Brookings History Began With Timber; Prosperity Is Still Linked With Lumber Plywood Manufactured First In 1905 For Lewis & Clark Exposition Display People of this day and age, used as they are to seeing plywood, have little or no conception of its beginning, nor of the story surrounding its development. Just to K t a date for its beginning, let’s go back to 1905, back _ to the day« when Portland, Oregon, was planning for BROOKINGS, CURRY CO U N TY , OREGON, the Levis & Clark Exposition. w w — — <■» a—«» — — At nearby St. Johns, Oregon, the first Douglas ply It's A Shame To Haul In These Little wood was made expressly fo. display at this exposition. Maybe there w ill be readers*»>c this issue of the Pilot who saw that exposition and that display. Those dozen panel shown at that time was the “beginning** of the plywood industry of today—the billion dollar source of employ ment to many thousands of men over the west. W hile Section Four— Lu tnbet 'Splindly Saplings' p iy w o td w a rra n ts hig _________ - - its widespread m achinery w ill be in sta lle d ii 1 < < i , k n itio n has been long in ac- the Brookings Plyw ood pla n t, to a c tia itn t o d a y , A t firs t the m an ufacture of the Douglas F ir plywood was ca rrie d .... ... m - t . . on in a crude manner. The press- »• , ts w u n ’ jrc K scrRss to siin n lv nressiir.. u...... „ i . . pressure, were made fro m tim - ' i —r i.. j ber. A n im a l glue was applied to ______ ;.. . L . , , . the veneers w ith a hand brush as the firs t m echanical g l u e spreader was not in sta lle d u n til 1906 S im ila rity , the d ry in g at firs t was accomplished m ere ly by a 'r d ry in g supplem ented by use o f an o rd in a ry lu m be r k iln w ith homd-made veneer racks. It was not u n til 1915 th a t the firs t ve . re e r d rie r was installed. The panels were m an ufacture d in tw o grades: "T w o sides, and one side. The panels w ith tw o sides cle a r were sold to door fac- state w ith any accuracy the opt- put o f tin s plan t. ' - . u Today there are m ore than 50 _ I p ly w o rd m a n u fa ctu re rs on th i i . . . _ • w rs l . coast. In C u rry ■ county a • 1 „,.„,1 t .. num ber o f e ith e r peeler o r com . . . . plete plants are under construe lio n , o r in the e a rly stages of production. O f course, production alone does not cha racterize the «level anu , opm ent 1,1 of ” * the ,,,v in m du u u stry. s ir,. M man fa c tu rin g fir plywood today is 1 h ifih ly specialized u n de rta king geared to m achine production of a high q u a lity , u n ifo rm product i P lyw ood is an engineered wood 1 tha t capitalizes on the advant- j ( ages o f wood and overcomes the I ' shortcom ings of lum ber. Plywood producers combine the s k ills and machines of A m erica's m ass-pro duction technique to produce con- I s is te n tly high q u a lity panels. tories and th is was the p rim a ry use of plywood fo r several years. One side panels had a hack w ith im p erfectio ns and was used p r i m a rily as stock fo r dra w e r bot- New machines a n d im prove- toms, etc. I mens to o lde r equipm ent hav« I t was 1920 before the firs t caused constant increases in pro p la n t was erected as a plywood duct ion and provided more eflici m ill, separate and ap art fro m any ent u tiliz a tio n of the rad m a te r o th e r enterprise. Before this, p ly ia l. Today w ith the care fu l se wood m a n u fa c tu rin g was alw ays lection of every piece of fir ve a pa rt o f a door fa c to ry o r a neer so it w ill be used to the plant m aking boxes, crates, etc. bes.t advantage, and w ith the G ra d u a lly the plywood in d u stry u tiliz a tio n of machines fo r re developed u n til 1925 the produc p a irin g defects and jo in in g to tion, based on on panels of % -in. gether narrow veneers, the re thickness, had reached 150,000.000 covery ra tio in plywood manu- square feet. --- In contrast, 1946 . -----«vr «V» hv — WW W.-. IV 1. i T l i h a a i t IB, la c tu re is about 2.3 to is. the figures had increased to 1,390.- from a log scales to b rin g a given 000,000 and the estim ated produc board footage of lu m be r there tio n of today is beyond compre- , ........ .........j -.- ........ any w ill be about 2.3 tim es th a t m many hension. I t is too soon, since m ore square feet o f plywood recovered ------------— —------- ----------------------------!_________________ ________ Ross Putnam, who says he’s the Paul Bunyan of these woods, told the Pilot he ac tually was ashamed of this picture. Came the Lily Festival, and he wanted a float in the parade. When his men came in with this “second growth" he nearly fainted. '1 he thought behind the display, however, made a hit with the judgest who were as liberal as they could he, giving him a first prize, hut warned him to ‘'never” let this happen again, lie swore he wouldn’t l>c so thoughtless again. The most im p o rta n t single ad i d fd r a th ird o f the in d u s try ’s vancement in the prd uctio n of volum e. This developm ent was due to a plywood since it was first manu , m achine aenm e th m a i t applies heat neai and ano factured, is the m an u fa ctu re o f ” pressure at the same tim e to set x te rio r, or com pletely w e a th e i- adhesives, as w e ll as the for- proof tyfx? of panels in tind uced in fo rm u la tio n of an adhesive tha t 1934. In 1941 there were 80,000,- A |1(,n set, prodives a perm anent 000 square feet of e x te rio r p ly Ixmd im pervious to w ater, w ea wood produced; in 1944 the pro th e r and oth e r conditions. duction has increased to 330,- Since 1938 the plywood in d u stry 000,000 square feet, w hich was hits m aintained an association a l nearly three tim es the am ount most con tinu ou sly to prom ote the p io o u c e u m e y e a r before; ix -io ie ; m n> . , . , produced th<* year in '46 the e x te rio r production account-, " product a lth ou gh the sale has ire ctly c tly in the ' «ale ii.is rem ained d ire m tin a c tiv ity of t h e m a n u la ctu re rs Today, the in du stry, th ro u g h its Stores, Homes Are Made Better By Use Of Plywood llicre is no such thing as a written history of Brook ings—at least there has never Irccn any published cither serially or in Kx.klct form, hut all will agree that this area really became known through its lumbering, back ilx.ut 1912. Ihat era stopped in 1925, and the area was dorman until the early 1940s when the Cruft lilies again brought the eyes of the world to the southern part of Curry county and southwestern Oregon. Shortly .liter the advent of the lilies, when an exodus of people to this section demanded building materials 1 ¡(tie thought was placed on the timber recources. It was th 1 , and a tei the Wash, lgton mills began closing, did the tim!x-, attract any investment capital. in 19411, and the years a terward, small sawmills ap peareil in the area, some growing larger, while a few lly waned into non-existence. 1 nought of Brookings as a plywcxxl manufacturing center Ixgan as early as 1947, hut arrangements never were completed—and not until 1951, shortly after the first of the year, did people take seriously the rumors of » plant Being established here in this vicinity. L ke any progressive move, the announcement of this new plywood concern brought out divergent remarks by residents of the area. Some were exceedingly antag onistic, others saw the possibilities anil began expanding to meet the demands which they knew full well were nigh at hand, right at the moment. 1 he announcement of Brtxikings Plywood Corpora tion 1.ime nothing short of an atomic explosion in Ore gon, for immediately Br<x,kings saw the greatest influx of residents any community in Oregon ever saw since days of the covered wagons. Ehe tempo has not slacked off apprt<iably since 1h.1t event, either. ber 1« that plywood not only is able to make a house more rigid, hut almost im pervious to wind, dampness, cold o r heat. Its in s u la tin g q u a litie s cannot he over emphasized Plywood, which has almost the stre n g th of steel, yet the lig h t ness in w eight of wood, is easy Plywood, which m ay lx p ro -i to handle in a construction way. cured in many designs and fin There is no end to what a man ishes m ay lie use in many, m any I w ith im a gin atio n and a b ility can ways to make that dream home go to achieve revo lu tiona ry b u ild - you have longed for these many ing effects Proof of ths may he years. Booklets which are even obtain from most Hny plywood la rg e r than this edition o f the dealer, o r from Oregon State Col- ' p l i n t l l i to show V B rlO U S lege a ll fo r the w ritin g . | methods of achieving c e rta in ef- Homes of the fu tu re w ill be fects w anted about the home fo llo w in g the trend of using the F irs t thin g to rem em ber th e ' prospeenve ' ‘hom e-builder, ' i t fa c ilitie s t an<l T '1 op|x>|t Unities ,’'- of- . .. . fered by the plywood m anufac- trade association, has an efficient , he s'm phcu y o l c o n .tru c tlo n E , ch n „ m h s ta ff to do q u a lity con tro l, pro he derived from plywood. M uch ma>. ,K. „ , , „ hcd m otion and product developm ent. m ay b , w ritte n along t h l. «-ore. , lc „ woM , A lth o u g h the in d u stry cannot The sixxmd thing to rem em - g iving the effect of costly eon- f ill the demand fo r plyw ood to day, it is, th ro u g h the association, accu m u la tin g much in fo rm a tio n , ’o r fu rth e rin g the use of plywood \ hen it again is p le n tifu l. What Happens To Those Big 'Logs' At Brookings Plant s tru c tio n an a surp risin gly 1 in itia l cost. Extensive use of wood, in the end, w ill not m ake a strong er and more able home, but w ill add to co m fo rt sought in a home. low ply- onl> dur th« Plant Is Modern How dix’s the Brookings Ply w ixxl plan t compare w ith othe plants over the co u n try? The I ’ llo t has no w ay o f mak Ing comparisons. However, it ma be said w ith o u t refle ction towan the local p la n t th a t it m ay no lx* as large as some, but it I just as miHiern, Just as efficient and w ill be known e v e n tu a lly fo the real product I t produces. Send the Progress E d itio n n frie n d somewhere. T ry Pilot Class Ada ti they pay Harbor Lumber Company Adds To 'Area's Prosperity' 'ibis miniature machines takes those big logs and "shaves” them into wafer thin layers, and from these layers are laminated we all of us know as plywood which is being used extensively in building during this modern age. Plywcxxl has tremendous strength, surpassing lumber many tunes the thickness in lumber from a sawmill. As in the case of lumber, there are many differnt grades and kinds—filling about everv building need one might encounted in any type of construction. Plywood Ready For Shipment To Distant City Markets The economy of Southwestern Oregon, especially Curry Gninty,, is “dependent** largely upon t^is industry, as shown by the interior of Brookings Plywood Corpora tion. Started last June, this plant was put into operation shortly after the first of the year. Dedication, however, was withheld until May when the corporation will oe host at an open house. This firm has a timber supply which assures more than 30 years, officials claim. Native hardwoods will help in this score. Ingram Photot. The firs t com m ercial standard fo r plyw ood was established in 932. w ith the co-o|M*ration o f the 'J. S. D e pa rtm e nt o f Com m erce 1 S nee then s x revisions have liecn effected w ith the c u rre n t standard t f t l . ' 17» established Sept. 15, 1*M7 The standard sets fo rth the grades ai d types of fir p lyw ixxl th a t are m an ufacture d and lists the testing procedure to lx* f o l lowed to determ ine th a t each panel conform s com pletely to its ! grade. A n i-th e r m ilestone in the de velopm ent o f the plyw ood indus tr y of the P acific n o rth w e st was the establishm ent of the Plywood Researeh Foundation at Tacoma in 1945. It is a s« parafe orglnza- tion supported by the p lyw ixxl producer«* who already have ap propriât« d m ore than a h a lf m il lion d o lla rs fo r its operation and have pledged cont nued support. Its purpose, separate and apart from the testin g and product de velopm ent aetlvH « s of the la lx ir- a to ry of th«* Douglas F ir Plyw«xxl \ss«x*iation are : 1. To develop means of using waste w o o d m a te ria l re su ltin g rorti present pr«x*«*ss ng at ply- worxl factorie s and in the forests 2. To prrxluee new products | w hich the p ly w ix x l fa cto iie s «an m an ufacture In ad dition to th e ir I ’resent panels. 3 To im prove plyw rxxl through ' h«*miral means. 4. Io im prove the p rix lu c tio n ' nd properties o f Ix iu g la s fir ply- vixxl th ro u g h im provem ent in the i 'iroccssing and m a n u fa ctu rin g ' - qu pment. 1’n fo ld in g the h isto ry o f Doug- as f ir p ly w ix x l has been at top tem po fo r the past fifte e n years D u rin g this period, it has increas ed production by m ore than three times. M odem plyw ood plan ts lik e th a t seen in B rookings, operating along the w«»st roast, helps g re a tly the economy of the area, and at the same time gives builders a b e tte r product to put in to m ore On the Ihirlxtr side of the Chetco River is the Harbor Lumber Company plant which overl<x,ks both the Pacific ocean and the Chetco River. 4 ’his firm adds much io the economy of this area of Oregon, the fastest growing along the coast. FUTURE HOME OF OREGON STATE BANK! hnngtng Complete Hanging Service To Southern Curry County ■—Capital Structure, $115,500—
