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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—«»
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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—