POPE & TALBOT LUMBER COMPANY
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Lane County - Oakridge
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Undated postcard - Ron Kemnow Collection
August 2, 1946: "Acquisition of 32,000 acres of timber near Oakridge, Ore., plans for erection of a huge sawmill and development of Oakridge into a mill and lumber city of 2,500 people were announced Thursday by Pope and Talbot, Inc., pioneer San Francisco and Pacific northwest lumber and shipping firm.
Hillman Lueddesmann, northwest manager, and George A. Pope, Jr., president, San Francisco, said in their announcement that the company expected to cut 50,000,000 board feet of lumber a year.
The timber area was known as the Penn Timber company lands, situated near the town of Oakridge. It is on the main fork of the Willamette river on the western slope of the Cascades, 45 miles south and east of Eugene.
Logging operations will be carried out in conformity with the U. S. Forest service sustained yield plans. Only ripe timber will be cut. New growth and reforestation will keep pace with cutting.
Erection of a large sawmill near Oakridge will start as soon as selection of a site and preliminary road and pond surveys are completed. A building and development plan for Oakridge, now a town of 650 people, was contemplated with zoning laws and utilities planned to care for an expected population of 2,500, the announcement said." (The World)
Hillman Lueddesmann, northwest manager, and George A. Pope, Jr., president, San Francisco, said in their announcement that the company expected to cut 50,000,000 board feet of lumber a year.
The timber area was known as the Penn Timber company lands, situated near the town of Oakridge. It is on the main fork of the Willamette river on the western slope of the Cascades, 45 miles south and east of Eugene.
Logging operations will be carried out in conformity with the U. S. Forest service sustained yield plans. Only ripe timber will be cut. New growth and reforestation will keep pace with cutting.
Erection of a large sawmill near Oakridge will start as soon as selection of a site and preliminary road and pond surveys are completed. A building and development plan for Oakridge, now a town of 650 people, was contemplated with zoning laws and utilities planned to care for an expected population of 2,500, the announcement said." (The World)
January 29, 1947: "Pope and Talbot recently announced plans for construction of a sawmill at Oakridge with a daily capacity of 200,000 feet. They hope to have the mill operating within 12 to 18 months. Meanwhile they are logging the area and sending the logs to their mill in St. Helens.
Construction of the Oakridge mill is expected to increase the population of Oakridge from 650 to 2500 within two years.
Robert W. Pierson of Eugene is serving as planning consultant for the Oakridge planning commission, working out a master plan of development to take care of the leap in population." (Eugene Register-Guard)
Construction of the Oakridge mill is expected to increase the population of Oakridge from 650 to 2500 within two years.
Robert W. Pierson of Eugene is serving as planning consultant for the Oakridge planning commission, working out a master plan of development to take care of the leap in population." (Eugene Register-Guard)
November 13, 1948: "Eugene McMurphy, 28, was in serious condition and Clyde Clements, 38, was in critical condition Saturday at Sacred Heart Hospital where they were taken Friday after falling 45 feet when a scaffolding at the Pope and Talbot mill, Oakridge, broke and fell on them.
The two men were helping construct a drying shed for the mill when the scaffold broke, throwing them to the ground where they were hit by falling lumber.
An Oakridge physician who administered first aid reported both received multiple fractures of the arms, legs and ribs, and punctured lungs.
They were brought to Eugene by Eugene Ambulance Co." (Eugene Register-Guard)
The two men were helping construct a drying shed for the mill when the scaffold broke, throwing them to the ground where they were hit by falling lumber.
An Oakridge physician who administered first aid reported both received multiple fractures of the arms, legs and ribs, and punctured lungs.
They were brought to Eugene by Eugene Ambulance Co." (Eugene Register-Guard)
October 24, 1963: "Construction of a $3 1/2- million addition to the Pope & Talbot mill in Oakridge will start immediately, General Manager John Snyder said Wednesday.
He said the new addition, to permit the manufacturing of hardboard, should be finished within 14 months.
Snyder asked Lane County commissioners for permission to take over part of an old county road near the plant that has been replaced by the company at its expense in a new location.
Snyder said that Pope & Talbot is anxious to begin site preparation for the mill addition on land occupied by the old road. 'Once a board of directors gives permission for something like this,' he said, 'they get understandably anxious for work to begin.'
The hardboard plant will employ 50 men, he said, and will use a dry process to make the board. Snyder said presses for this operation have been ordered and will take about 12 months for delivery.
The new hardboard plant will be the first to be constructed by Pope & Talbot, which already employs some 500 persons in the Oakridge area. The company opened its sawmill in 1948.
In 1957 the company opened its particleboard plant and since 1961 has operated a plywood veneer plant at Oakridge.
The company's decision to construct a hardboard plant here came after more than a year of study and experimentation. The firm spent some $120,000 on a pilot project at Oakridge to determine the feasibility of manufacturing hardboard.
Material that is now considered waste at the Oakridge mill will be utilized in the manufacture of the hardboard panels." (Eugene Register-Guard)
He said the new addition, to permit the manufacturing of hardboard, should be finished within 14 months.
Snyder asked Lane County commissioners for permission to take over part of an old county road near the plant that has been replaced by the company at its expense in a new location.
Snyder said that Pope & Talbot is anxious to begin site preparation for the mill addition on land occupied by the old road. 'Once a board of directors gives permission for something like this,' he said, 'they get understandably anxious for work to begin.'
The hardboard plant will employ 50 men, he said, and will use a dry process to make the board. Snyder said presses for this operation have been ordered and will take about 12 months for delivery.
The new hardboard plant will be the first to be constructed by Pope & Talbot, which already employs some 500 persons in the Oakridge area. The company opened its sawmill in 1948.
In 1957 the company opened its particleboard plant and since 1961 has operated a plywood veneer plant at Oakridge.
The company's decision to construct a hardboard plant here came after more than a year of study and experimentation. The firm spent some $120,000 on a pilot project at Oakridge to determine the feasibility of manufacturing hardboard.
Material that is now considered waste at the Oakridge mill will be utilized in the manufacture of the hardboard panels." (Eugene Register-Guard)
May 27, 1976: "Pope & Talbot, Inc., said Wednesday it has purchased the Publishers Paper Co. whole log chipping mill near Oakridge.
The mill, built in 1970, was closed by Publishers in April of 1975 because of the surplus of wood chips for making paper pulp. Pope & Talbot said it will reopen the mill in late 1976 or early 1977.
Purchase price was not disclosed." (The Capital Journal)
The mill, built in 1970, was closed by Publishers in April of 1975 because of the surplus of wood chips for making paper pulp. Pope & Talbot said it will reopen the mill in late 1976 or early 1977.
Purchase price was not disclosed." (The Capital Journal)
July 28, 1976: "Because of operating losses, Pope & Talbot, Inc., has put a For Sale sign on its industrial hardboard plant at Oakridge.
The mill has reported operating losses of $321,000 in six months and is for sale at less than its $5 million value." (Statesman Journal)
The mill has reported operating losses of $321,000 in six months and is for sale at less than its $5 million value." (Statesman Journal)
March 26, 1986: "Pope & Talbot announced Tuesday it will proceed with the sale of equipment and other assets at it Oakridge mill.
The mill, which was shut down in December, hadn't operated profitably for several years and the outlook is for continued losses, the company said.
Pope & Talbot is a wood products company with operations in Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, South Dakota and British Columbia." (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
The mill, which was shut down in December, hadn't operated profitably for several years and the outlook is for continued losses, the company said.
Pope & Talbot is a wood products company with operations in Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, South Dakota and British Columbia." (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
December 2, 1987: "Officials with Pope & Talbot Co. say tgheir success in turning around the declining fortunes of the company's Oakridge sawmill shows what happens when businessmen look beyond U. S. Borders and tap the world market.
The mill was shut down in December 1985, put up for sale briefly and then reopened in July 1986.
Productivity is up and the mill is making a profit, Roger Hayes, the company's resident manager at Oakridge, said.
It's been a trying journey back to profitability for the mill, which racked up losses for 10 straight years before it was closed in 1985, he says.
Company officials say the Oakridge turnaround has largely been fueled by Pope & Talbot's continuing efforts to open export markets in the Pacific Rim and the Mediterranean countries of Europe.
Wage and benefit rollbacks of &2.52-an-hour, accepted by workers to get the mill running again, also helped the profit picture, Hayes said.
The declining value of the U. S. dollar against currencies in Japan and Europe has made Oregon wood more of a bargain to foreign buyers.
Besides its Japanese trade, the Oakridge mill has become one of the largest exporters of lumber to Australia, shipping up to 1.2 million board feet a month. Another million board feet goes to Italy, Greece and Spain." (Statesman Journal)
The mill was shut down in December 1985, put up for sale briefly and then reopened in July 1986.
Productivity is up and the mill is making a profit, Roger Hayes, the company's resident manager at Oakridge, said.
It's been a trying journey back to profitability for the mill, which racked up losses for 10 straight years before it was closed in 1985, he says.
Company officials say the Oakridge turnaround has largely been fueled by Pope & Talbot's continuing efforts to open export markets in the Pacific Rim and the Mediterranean countries of Europe.
Wage and benefit rollbacks of &2.52-an-hour, accepted by workers to get the mill running again, also helped the profit picture, Hayes said.
The declining value of the U. S. dollar against currencies in Japan and Europe has made Oregon wood more of a bargain to foreign buyers.
Besides its Japanese trade, the Oakridge mill has become one of the largest exporters of lumber to Australia, shipping up to 1.2 million board feet a month. Another million board feet goes to Italy, Greece and Spain." (Statesman Journal)
July 29, 1989: "Nearly 200 employees of the Pope & Talbot lumber mill in Oakridge were laid off Thursday as Bald Knob Land & Timber Co. took over the mill and a veneer plant.
About 45 employees will stay on for three to five weeks in a planing mill, plant manager Roger Hayes said.
Bald Knob officials had planned to close the mill briefly, then reopen it without a union.
The sale left Portland-based Pope & Talbot without any mills in Oregon." (Statesman Journal)
About 45 employees will stay on for three to five weeks in a planing mill, plant manager Roger Hayes said.
Bald Knob officials had planned to close the mill briefly, then reopen it without a union.
The sale left Portland-based Pope & Talbot without any mills in Oregon." (Statesman Journal)