Th Bend Bulletin, Wednesday, August 21, 137 3
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A Bird's Eye View . or .Lelco, Xnc
This Is an aerial photo of Lelco, Inc., showing the general offices, the mailt) plant, log pond, kilns, drying yards and was's bt'rn?r,
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It may be reached from Bend by turning left from the South D jlles-California highway 97 and continuing but a short v;y .
'.'.: highway. Here is stored the freshly sawed lumber until it is reaJ 'or shipment to consumers all over the world.
This land was purchased from the city of Bend in 1950 . . . building began soon thereafter and has continued to the present status
. . . which produces about 250,000 board feet per day.
; The Head Rig Cuts 'Em Down to Size
. This fascinating device never fails to seiie and hold the interest of all who visit a mill. T!e diabolic rcp'cfty in which it makes its
run to and from the band saw ... the incredible split-second juc'gmont of the men who operate it ... a'l add up to a total of circum
stance that makes one doubt his own sanity and Ihe reality of the whole thing.
One device thrusts even the largest of logs from the Bull-Chain to the carriage where it is clamped into place arid a depm set
ting made. The head rig whisks it to the saw where the first slab is taken off. The head r'g rolurns nnd-the log js flipped over onto jts
flat side where it is clamped into place again and returned to the saw.
The process is done with such diizy speed that the device seems to be guided and controlled by a sense of its own ... which, of
course, is far from the truth.
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Here is the beginning ot the end for a log and the start of the beginning of a new product. This is the main plani wnere the logs are taken out of the pond, up the bull choin and fa the head rig where tney are sawed to the do.,red d.mens.on.
" In'l'o Leonard Lundgren, owner of Lelco, Inc. purchased a'mill, tore it down and erected it at the present site. In 1954 the mill burned down but was rebuilt. Added to the layout in recent years have been 3 dry kilns, a pre-drying shed, plus the construction of a
Urea meehine works, electric shop and warehouse. .