Tag Archives: Fruit Growers Supply Company

Fruit Growers’ Snag Pusher

December 8, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

During the 1930s, between bark beetle infestation and a long term drought witnessed a large number of snag (dead) trees on Fruit Growers Lassen Operation. Then came along World War II, which created new challenges due to employee shortages. Yet, it is those kind of conditions where creativity comes to the forefront.

Even after the conclusion of World War II in 1945, there were still labor issues. Since the late 1920s, Fruit Growers, as well many lumber companies turned to machines to do the work more efficiently thus cutting down on labor at the same time.

In 1945, with Fruit Growers acquisition of Westwood from the Red River, did have some perks. The machine shop there employed some very talented people, who over years with creative talents improvised equipment best suited for the company’s needs. Their task to design and modify a caterpillar tractor that could knock down a snag tree—a snag pusher. The major advantage was it eliminated timber fallers from doing the job.

In its first year of operation Fruit Growers reported that 6,929 snags were felled by the snag pusher. How long the snag pusher was used, the record does not indicate.

History

Lesser Known Fruit Growers Logging Camps

November 18, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

Camp E395 — Camp E, Fruit Growers Supply Company. Courtesy of Lola L. Tanner

Fruit Growers Supply Company had a total of eleven railroad logging camps on its Lassen Operation, west of Eagle Lake.. Technically, the longest operating, Camp 10, which closed in 1952, should have been named Camp 11. Then again, Fruit Growers had given consideration of a Camp 11, further north of Camp 10.

Anyhow, there were three camps that were quite small and operated for only one logging season during the 1920s. The first was Camp E at Merrill Flat. It was followed by tiny and peculiar Camp Y. Then there was Camp 9, which from most accounts only housed timber fallers, which was located on the Eagle Lake side of Antelope Mountain. Unlike the other camps that had portable wooden buildings these camps had canvas-wooden tents.

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History

Sunkist Lodge, Eagle Lake

November 6, 2021 Tim Purdy 1 Comment

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

In 1921. Fruit Growers Supply Company built a cabin at the south shore of Eagle Lake. They named it Sunkist Lodge. It was built for the recreational needs of its employees. Even though Fruit Growers closed its Susanville operations in 1964, employees of Fruit Growers who worked at Burney, Hilt and Los Angeles still vacationed there.

In 1921 and again in 1922, Fruit Growers sponsored a water carnival at Sunkist Lodge. This was a water competition between the three big mills—Fruit Growers, Lassen Lumber & Box Company and Red River Lumber Company. The event attracted large crowds of over a thousand in attendance. For the overflow camping, a new site was located and dubbed the Circus Grounds.

In 2019, Fruit Growers sold its Lassen Operation holdings to Sierra Pacific Industries. In 2021, Sierra Pacific has placed this parcel for sale.

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History

It Was Just A Matter of Time

November 5, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

In December 1955, the Southern Pacific Railroad track between Susanville and Westwood experienced severe damage from unusual winter flooding in the Susan River Canyon. Earlier that year, Fruit Growers Supply Company announced it was closing the sawmill at Westwood. With the closure of the mill, freight traffic from Westwood would be minimal, so the Southern Pacific decided it was not worth the cost to make the repairs and closed down that segment of the line between Westwood and Susanville.

Two decades later, witnessed the slow decline of lumber shipments by rail with Susanville’s two remaining sawmills, Coin Lumber and Sierra Pacific Industries. It was just a matter of time when the railroad would shutter the Susanville Depot. That day came on October 12, 1979.

Depot 78 — Susanville Depot, September 1978.

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History

Preparing for Winter – Log Decks

November 4, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

Red River's winter log deck near Camp 16 — Red River’s winter log deck near Camp 16

The two largest mills, Fruit Growers and Red River maintained two type of winter log decks. Usually, normal logging operations ceased in November. Yet, to keep the mills operating throughout the winter, required to have a substantial amount of harvested timber. There was the log deck at millpond, and then a second one out in the woods. The latter was not brought into the mill until spring, since the winter mill supply was nearly exhausted. The log decks in the woods provide enough logs during the transition, since it would take some time when the logging camps opened in the spring, to provide a steady supply to the mill.

It should be noted the decked logs in the woods, were protected with heavy snows, thus preventing checking or blue stain.

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History

Camp A – Fruit Growers Supply Company

October 23, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

In the summer of 1920, Fruit Growers started their logging operations near McCoy Flat Reservoir, while their Susanville mill was still under construction. Since logging then, was seasonal in nature, they wanted to make sure they would have a steady supply of logs ready when the new mill would be placed into operation in the spring of 1921.

Camp A was the first of ten railroad logging camps of Fruit Growers Lassen Operation. It opened on July 1, 1920. The operation was comparatively small, only logging 720 acres that season. On April 29, 1921 the first woods crews were dispatched by rail, where they encountered three foot of snow on the ground. The first item of business was to remove the snow from the railroad spurs, so that the timber fallers could start work. Within in a weeks’ time, logs were already being shipped to Susanville. In addition, a second camp, known as Camp B, opened three miles to the north of Camp A. Between the two camps, they housed over 600 men.

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History

Your Questions

October 19, 2021 Tim Purdy 2 Comments

Cross — This cross marks the graves of the soldier’s buried at Camp Smoke Creek

Two interesting questions were posed, which I will address in separate posts. The first is Fruit Growers Supply Company’s “Sunkist Lodge” on the south shore of Eagle Lake. It just happens to be for sale.

As to the military of the 1860s, is an interesting topic. I already have two posts scheduled. The military encampment at Smoke Creek served two purposes. An interesting facet of that operation was to prevent gold bullion from leaving the State of California, on the suspicion that it might be used aid the Confederacy. Of course, there is some interesting political drama with these military encampments. Stay tuned.

Tim

P.S. I just realized I had done a lot of research on Camp McGarry, located at Summit Lake and Soldier Meadows in far northwestern Nevada.

History

Forty Years of Fruit Growers, 1907-1947

October 7, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

A stand of ponderosa pine of Fruit Growers

On October 7, 1907 citrus owners organized the Fruit Growers Supply Company, as a co-operative purchasing agent for the growers. This was due in part, as the growers were having a difficult time securing wooden boxes to ship citrus. Little did they know that within a few years they would be operating a sawmill and box factory at Hilt, Siskiyou County. This turned out to be beneficial. In 1919, with difficulty securing wooden boxes due in part of the conditions of World War I, they expanded and bought 41,000 acres of timberland in Lassen County and established a mill and box factory at Susanville.

In their 1947 annual Fruit Growers report they noted that Hilt had produced 896,824,000 board feet of lumber and the box factory consumed 729,445,000 board feet of lumber. At Susanville the total cut. was 1,597,990,000 feet of lumber and the box factory consumed a total of 902,128,000 feet of lumber.

An indicator of growth with their successful marketing of the Sunkist brand, in the first year they needed 6,628,000 boxes. Forty years later the number of boxes had escalated for 40 million.

Tim

History

A $40,000 Investment Pays Big Returns

September 18, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

Construction of the FGSBox Factory, Susanville, 1920—Ed Standard

When Fruit Growers Supply Company decided to build a sawmill and box factory in Lassen County, they initially wanted to locate either in or adjacent to their timberlands. Fruit Growers Manager Frank Hutchens consulted with the Lassen National Forest which suggested two sites—Pine Creek, near Bogard Buttes and the Pine Creek estuary at Eagle Lake. There was a third alternative—Susanville.

Susanville’s business community was eager to have Fruit Growers build their mill there. So much so, they offered a cash bonus. A total of $41,130 was pledged by 243 residents if the mill was located At Susanville. Hutchens was impressed. On August 13, 1919 Fruit Growers agreed to the location of the mill at Susanville. In October, a check was for $40,070 was presented to Fruit Growers (a handful of individuals reneged on their pledges.

In 1920 construction began on the mill which with cost over runs exceeded over two million dollars. An additional $245,000 was spent to construct employee housing. When the mill opened on April 16, 1921 they initially employed 1,500 people. The initial monthly payroll exceeded $100,000. That $40,000 investment by the community far exceeded expectations!

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History

Logging Reload Stations

September 13, 2021 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

Many may not be aware that truck and railroad logging worked in tandem. Just like transition from horse logging to motorized tractors would take time, it was the same with trucks to be incorporated into logging operations. One of the benefits was trucks could access terrain to difficult for railroad operations. To get the most mileage for buck was the reload station. Trucks were used to log difficult terrain and then instead of driving all the way to mill, the destination was to the railroad’s reload station. The trucks were unloaded, then the logs reloaded onto railroad flat cars, thus an economical way to move volume of logs from the woods to the mill.