In the late summer, and some times in the fall the Board of Directors of the Fruit Growers Supply Company would make an annual tour of their mill operations and timber holdings in Northern California, which they still do, minus the mills. It should be duly noted that Fruit Growers is the co-operative purchasing agent for the citrus growers marketing co-op known as Sunkist. The reason for these holdings, was to provide wooden boxes for the shipment of citrus, prior to the advent of the cardboard box.
In mid-August 1955, the Board made their annual tour, and no one thought much about it. This was about to change with a sudden announcement. On August 25, 1955, H.A. Lynn, President of Fruit Growers made the following announcement: “A diminishing supply of company timber and the reduce requirement for box shook, the company will permanently close the Westwood Operation.”
It came as a shock, but then it was not. After all, it was a widely held belief, just how long could the lumber industry survive. In another announcement that year, Sunkist would no longer use wooden boxes for shipping, and made the conversion to cardboard.
The logging and mill operations at Westwood would continue as normal for the remainder of the 1955 season. In 1956, the process would begin to phase out and close the Westwood mill.