Tag Archives: Fruit Growers Supply Company

History

An Attempt to Reroute the NCO Railroad

Leave a comment
A view of the Tablelands in the distance from Shaffer Peak.June 13, 2018

Susanville and the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad (NCO) had an awkward relationship since the railroad’s inception. At first it was idyllic as the initial railroad survey would enter Susanville. Then things deteriorated when in 1887, the NCO decided to bypass the west side of the Honey Lake Valley, to the remote east side of the valley.

The strained relationship never improved. In 1899, when NCO extended its line north to Hot Springs Station (Wendel) Susanville residents reached out to the NCO with a proposal. They tried to persuade NCO officials to build a feeder to line Susanville. They cited the potential to tap the vast timber resources to the west. The answer was no. However, if the residents wanted to finance it at a cost of $100,000 the railroad would be agreeable. That was not going to happen, since the community could not even raise $500 to build a town hall.

Fast forward twenty-one years later. The NCO was in financial shambles. In 1917, it sold the southern segment of its line from Hackstaff (Herlong) to Reno. In 1921 the NCO petitioned the Interstate Railroad Commission to abandon its line, due to substantial operating losses. After several public hearings the commission denied the request. It said the railroad could reduce its costs by operating a tri-weekly service instead of daily, eliminate the president’s $10,000 a year salary and close its New York office.

Ironically, Susanville once again courted the Morans, owners of the NCO. This time it was Russell Brownell of the Lassen County Chamber of Commerce who spearheaded the movement. He wanted the NCO to reroute its line from Snowstorm across the Tablelands to Belfast thence to Susanville as the terminus. This would provide Susanville with an alternate railroad to serve the northern sectors. The plan received wide spread support, and the Fruit Growers Supply Company donated its services and surveyed the proposed route.  However, the NCO’s president, Charles Moran balked at the idea. Brownell informed Moran that if Susanville was the terminus it could double that line’s tonnage, and save the financially troubled railroad. Brownell died suddenly in January 1923, and with his death the proposal also died. In February 1923, Moran changed his mind and said he would like Susanville to be terminus, but the railroad could not finance it. It was a costly delay on Moran’s part, since the old offer was no longer valid.

In 1925, the NCO entered into an agreement to sell the beleaguered line to the Southern Pacific. In 1926, Lassen County officials approached Southern Pacific with Brownell’s proposal, though it went nowhere.

Donate

History

A Big Timber Sale

Leave a comment

In early 1922, the Lassen National Forest Service advertised it was accepting bids for the Pine Creek Unit timber sale just west of Eagle Lake. This was no ordinary timber sale—it consisted of nearly one billion board feet of merchantable timber! Of course, there were terms and conditions that applied.

The buyer would have twenty to thirty years to harvest the timber. To protect the lands for the future, harvesting was restricted to a maximum of 37 million board feet a year, and only 70 percent of the original timber volume per acre was to be cut. On April 2, 1922, the bids were opened. The following day, Fruit Growers Supply Company bid of $3,314,000 was accepted. The money spent in increments on a pay-as-you-cut basis.

Fruit Growers did have a competitive edge. Their Collins Tract and the Pine Creek Unit were intermingled. Since it was stipulated that only a limited amount of timber could be harvested was not particularly attractive to many lumber companies. Finally, Fruit Growers had already adopted a sustained yield forest management policy, another requirement of the forest service.

As the Lassen National Forest would monitor the sale, it was determined to move its headquarters from Red Bluff to Susanville.

Support

History

Changing Times, Fruit Growers Departure

1 Comment
FGS Mill entrance, 1937

In 1955, Fruit Growers Supply Company announced its closing of the Westwood mill. Over the hill in Susanville, many pondered when Fruit Growers might do the same there. The Susanville mill would receive a brief reprieve.

In 1957 six paper companies were interested in Fruit Growers cutover lands in Lassen County. While California ranked second in the nation for lumber production, there was only one paper/pulp plant in the state. Fruit Growers had debated at one time to convert the Susanville mill into such a facility, but it was just not going to happen.

On November 7, 1962 the beginning of the end was announced with the closure of the Susanville mill. The woods employees were permanently laid off. The mill would remain in operation until the logs on hand were processed. On May 13, 1963 the last log was sawn. Shortly afterwards the remaining employees terminated and the mill closed. There being no buyers it appeared the mill was destined to be dismantled. It did receive a last minute reprieve with negotiations of Crook & Emmerson, but that is another story. On April 30, 1964, Homer Vincent closed Fruit Growers” Susanville office.

Subscribe

History

The Timber Faller Conundrum

1 Comment
A Fruit Growers demonstration using a power saw.

After World War I lumber companies began implementing modernization of logging methods. The adaptation of caterpillar tractors proved to be efficient and cost effective. As advances were made on different fronts, one area was lacking—the falling of timber.

An electric saw powered by a D-2 cat. Courtesy of Fruit Growers Supply Company

World War II created all kinds of shortages and labor was one of many. Fruit Growers Supply Company’s 1946 Annual Report provides an interesting glimpse in regards to timber fallers and labor.

”One place in the lumber industry where the use of mechanical equipment has not improved costs is in the falling and limbing of trees in the woods. Until the power saws came along, all of this work was done with hand tools on a contract basis where increased production meant increased earnings to the worker. With the advent of power falling saws, this work changed from a piecework basis to a straight-time basis and as a result costs actually increased. There is no valid reason why power falling saws should not result in lower costs than hand falling and also result in higher earnings to the man on the job. One factor in this change is that skilled help was drawn away from the woods by high wages offered elsewhere and by the military services. Hand fallers are highly skilled, but the substitutes for hand fallers who operated power falling equipment did not require much skill for the job and most of them have not attempted to acquire speed with the power equipment. There has grown up considerable resistance to piecework methods in recent years. Efforts are being made by the industry to get back to a contract basis for this type of work.”

Bucking a log—FGS Co.

For a little bit of clarification about the contract work. Timber fallers for years were paid by the scale of the board feet felled. These men made very good money, considering the size of the trees then. As late as the 1970s, timber fallers were still being paid by the scale.

Support

 

 

History

Why the Fruit Growers Name?

1 Comment
A Fruit Growers Craveneer box, which resembles the standard wooden box—-FGSCo.

When one asks, I try to do the best to answer. A person thought Fruit Growers Supply Company was an odd name for a timber company. Fruit Growers is not a timber company per se, just a facet of its many  duties. Fruit Growers only got into that line by accident.

First, some very brief background. In 1893, the Southern California citrus growers formed a marketing co-operative later to be known as the California Fruit Growers Exchange. The growers co-op proved to be a success. In 1906, discussions were held of forming a second co-operative—this one to purchase agriculture supplies such as fertilizers, sprays, tissue wraps, etc. Another component was the need for wooden boxes for the shipment of citrus. It should be duly the nation’s fruit and vegetables were shipped in wooden boxes and the conversion to cardboard did not occur until after World War II. At first, it was discussed to have two co-ops, one to handle supplies and the other for boxes. It was finally agreed that one co-op could do it all. In 1907, the growers organized the Fruit Growers Supply
Company.

In the same year, due to multiple circumstances,  the price for wooden boxes nearly doubled to 23 cents a box. To make long story short Fruit Growers found some sawmills in far Northern California that could provide them with boxes for a reasonable price. These mills needed financial aid and Fruit Growers lent them money. One of these mills was the Northern California Lumber Company located at Hilt, Siskiyou County near the Oregon border. In 1910, the company defaulted on their loan and Fruit Growers took over the mill and thus its entrance into the timber industry. It is interesting to note the growers self financed the operation by a special assessment of three cents a box for a period of five years. The growers needed six million boxes annually, so that assessment raised a lot of money.

Donate

History

Fruit Growers Supply Company Trivia

Leave a comment
horse logging
Horse logging with big wheels, at Fruit Growers Camp B, north of McCoy Flat Reservoir.

There were many enjoyable aspects when I researched the logging/sawmill operations of the Fruit Growers Supply Company aka Fruit Growers. For starters they kept well detailed records. Their annual reports are a compelling read, and one just never knows what you can find in them.

Fruit Growers 1947 annual reported highlighted many interesting facts, it being the company’s 40th anniversary.  Take for instant, the following:

”The Susanville mill was completed and began cutting timber late in 1921. When cutting started, logging in that area was done with horses. Fifty-two horses were bought locally, 60 in St. Paul and 22 in Iowa. The total of 134 horses had an average cost of $276.67 and the harness for them totaled $13,247.07.

“Four horses would skid with wheels about 2200 feet per load. Modern Diesel D8 tractors bring in about 5,000 feet.”

Subscribe

History, News

Fruit Growers Departs from Northern California

1 Comment
Burney, circa 1940

Since 1907, Fruit Growers Supply Company has had a presence in Northern California. It first began at Hilt in Siskiyou County. In 1919, it expanded to Susanville. In 1944, another expansion of the purchase of Westwood and equally important the Burney Tract in Shasta County. After the closure of Hilt in 1972, Fruit Growers was no longer operating any sawmills, the company owned some 400,000 acres of timberland in Northern California. In 2019, Fruit Growers began to liquidate, the first to go was the Burney Tract which was sold to Sierra Pacific Industries.

The water carnival at the Sunkist Lodge, Eagle Lake, 1921. Courtesy of Ed Standard

The next to go was the Lassen Tract. In 2020, it was also sold  Sierra Pacific Industries.

Fruit Growers Mill at Hilt, 1919

Hilt, was of course, Fruit Growers first acquisition and it would be the last sold, which occurred in 2021. It was purchased by a firm known as New Forest based out of Sydney, Australia.  Fruit Growers has focused on purchasing timberland in Oregon and Washington.

Support

History

Camp Poison Lake

Leave a comment
A McGiffert Loader at Camp Poison Lake—Gordon Thelander

This was a short-lived railroad logging camp, located near Poison Lake. It was established in 1944 by the Red River Lumber Company and then taken over by the Fruit Growers Supply Company. There is a scant information about it. Since this was World War II, and the timber industry deemed “essential” coverage by news outlets were censored. In July 1946, the camp at Poison Lake was closed, as well as Camp Bunyan to the north at Halls Flat. The rails from the Poison Lake line were removed to build a twelve-mile extension of the Harvey line that started at Halls Flat and went eastward.

Tim

History

How Bits of History Are Saved

2 Comments
The FGS Burner under construction at the Susanville Plant, 1920–Ed Standard

The tossing of old documents takes on many forms. Believe me I witnessed a lot over the years and became an expert “dumpster diver.”

Recently, Susanville native, Edward Standard (1930-2021) passed away. Sometimes, what was intentionally destined to be destroyed gets a last minute reprieve. Ed was working for Fruit Growers Supply Company at the time the mill was being closed in Susanville back in 1964. He was assigned the task to take a number of records from the office to be disposed in the company’s burner. He carried out most of his duty, except for one packet. What he saved was about 600 commercial negatives of O.O. Winn who photographed the construction of the mill in 1920-21. He never said anything about it.

Construction of Fruit Growers housing, 1920–Ed Standard

Fast forward to the fall of 1998. It was common knowledge that I was working on the logging operations of Fruit Growers. In September I had an opportunity to go to Cornwall, England to meet my grandfather John Tanner’s only living first cousin. While I was away brought the negatives by and placed them between the screen and front door. It was quite the surprise when I returned home.

Tim

History

Timber Fallers of Yore

Leave a comment
Timber fallers, Fruit Growers Westwood Operation, 1947

While researching the history of the Fruit Growers Supply Company’s Northern California logging operations I interviewed and corresponded with many former employees. The following account is from Bob Eastman who worked in the woods at the Hilt Operation. He refers that the fallers did piece work. Timber fallers were not company employees. They were contractual and were paid by the scale, i.e.  board feet felled. In those days, with large trees, fallers made very good money. The buckers and limbers, however, were company employees.

“Just a bit on the makeup of the woods crews. Now, I’m speaking of the steam age, not the modern gas and diesel operations. Then it still depended on huge outlay of brute force and muscle.

“A team of two fallers, usually the most athletic and youngest, took double bladed axes sharpened to brittle edge and a cross cut saw and some wedges. This team felled the tree in an incredibly short time. After all, they were piece working and the more they cut, the more they got paid. Then two buckers with a long cross cut saw and a few wedges bucked the tree, sawing it into lengths of 16 feet, 32 feet or 40 feet to fit on the sawmill rigs. That was hard work and very dangerous because rhe log could roll—and that was it for the bucker.

”The fallers had a dangerous job too. The ‘widow maker’ could get out at anytime. A falling limb was bad enough and could just as well kill someone unlucky enough to be beneath it as it came crashing down. The main cause of damage though, ‘the widow maker’ was something else. A lot of the trees were old and were dead and the fallers didn’t know it. They were already rotten, especially at the tops. It was these huge pieces of trees that would come crashing down like a bunch of bombs and when they struck earth, zing of horizontally. You didn’t even have to be close by. Anyone even hundreds of feet distant could be struck by these flying things. The irony was that most of the loggers were unmarried and there were no widows to mourn them.”

Support