The Oregon-American Lumber Company: Ain't No More (review)

A coffee table book on the history of a lumber company, The Oregon-American Lumber Company is the perfect gift for the Oregon historian or for anyone in the wood products business. If the reader is familiar with the terminology of the timber trade, or has a previous experience with the company as the authors do (two are sons of a longtime employee of the company and the third spent time in the area as a child), this book will be a satisfying reading experience. As a coffee table book, the quality quite measures up: heavy glossy paper, substantial size, abundant illustrations, and maps of the company property. The photographs are often murky (perhaps it is the notorious Oregon rain), and most need a big boost in contrast. Also, the descriptions could have done more to clarify what is in the picture.

As the history of a company, the book is thorough and readable. The authors did extensive research, relying heavily on the company records and the papers of Judd Greenman, longtime manager of the company. They provide notes and an excellent index. A glossary of technical terms would have been helpful for the reader unfamiliar with the industry.

The lumber industry is an important part of American history, and the book has a brief overview of that context. This particular company seems to have distinguished itself by developing a method of drying Douglas fir lumber so that it could be shipped economically by rail. David Eccles founded the company in 1917, but he sold 80 percent of the company to Central Coal and Coke Company in 1921. The value was based on the timber lands containing old growth Douglas fir. Before the 1920s the huge trees in western forests needed to be on the coast for economical transportation to mills or point of use. The Oregon-American Lumber Company built a railroad network and brought the logs a few miles to a mill built in the town of Vernonia. The company developed the kiln-drying technique so that the lumber could be shipped from Vernonia by rail to midwestern customers.

Although sales in the 1920s were sluggish, the company acquired additional property and built rail lines. It hired employees, some of whom would stay with the company for many years. Among these employees were Filipinos, African Americans, Japanese, and "Hindus." At least one of the Japanese employees stayed with the company until he was interred during World War II. In the early 1930s, Oregon-American cut production and tried to sell assets to pay the company's debts. Fires added to their woes. After a 1933 fire burned 40 percent of the standing timber, the company had to harvest the wood within a few years to avoid losing it to insects and disease. Reorganization, repudiation of debt, government loans, subsidized labor programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps, and price supports helped the company survive the Great Depression. In August 1941, 70 percent of the lumber production was for defense. Judd Greenman spoke out against price controls and limits on sales for civilian use. As the war progressed, the shortages of equipment, tires, and even food made it difficult to keep production levels up.

World War II was followed by the "Glory Years." The home-building boom created high demand, high profits, and ironically, exhausted the standing timber. As Oregon-American ran low on old-growth timber in 1953, the company was sold and in 1956 became part of International Paper. Loggers felled the last old fir tree in 1956. It was August 27, 1957, when the final logs brought to the mill bore the sign that provides the title of the book.

By current environmentally aware standards, the authors present an unsettling image of humans against nature. They do not directly address what was obvious: the future was limited for a company whose core business was logging three...