In the mid-1920s, Red River Lumber Company had two hydro-plants in operation to generate power for Westwood. This abundant power supply created an unusual man-made landmark. Red River was able to conserve its sawdust/wood waste pile, which took on a life of its own as it started looking like a small mountain. This created a nice reserve of free fuel that was readily available at any time should there by interruptions from the hydro-plants. To comprehend just how large it was, a Ripley’s “Believe it or Not” column once designated it as the world’s largest waste pile. In 1941 it lost its status to Portland General Electric Company who reported having a 130-foot high pile of sawdust. Continue reading Red River’s Saw Dust Pile →

After the rioting broke out from the court hearing a small group of CIO sought shelter in their building, (it being a small structure measuring 16 by 24 feet). It was only a matter of time that angry mob would descend. Aid arrived in the nick of time before matters got completely out of control with Lassen County Sheriff Olin Johnson and his deputies. Johnson had Jack Granger, a respected AFL member, be his spokesman. Granger’s is plea to the angry mob stated: “Fellows I ask you on behalf of Sheriff Johnson and those women and children in the building to open way and let them be taken out of here. We are aware of the hysteria that got us all and there is no thought of fear. Let’s play ball with the Sheriff.” The mob obliged and all those inside—29 to be exact—were escorted unmolested from the structure by the sheriff deputies. It was still a harrowing experience as the crowd had slashed the car tires of the sheriff deputies and they had to drive away on the rims!

The AFL resented the CIO headquarters; many considered it a symbol of the labor problems of Westwood. Exactly what the AFL’s intention were was anyone’s guess. Once the evacuees were escorted out of the building, the mood of the crowd changed and then someone yelled, “Let’s do something.” Within in moments, the American flag on top of the building was lowered. Then in a wild frenzy the mob began dismantling the building. Within thirty minutes it had been reduced to rubble.

Tensions between the two labor groups would continue for years. Even after the AFL in a 1941 special election to become the sole union to represent Red River Lumber Company employees, resentment lingered with many CIO’s for decades.

The Red River Lumber Company faced many issues during the 1930s at its Westwood operation. Two major factors were finances and labor. Two labor unions were involved, first the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) followed by the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Initially, the two groups appeared to be on the same page in demanding wage increases. By 1939, that was no longer the case, as there were friction between the two groups.

The anxiety between the two, especially the AFL, worsened while the men grew impatient from being idle during the weeks passing in February during a strike and blamed the whole situation on the CIO. It was just a matter of time when the situation would once again become volatile. What ignited the spark is not clear, though one account stated it started with an encounter between Marjorie Scott, wife of a CIO and Earlton Shannon, the business agent for the local AFL. Scott, according to one account, made some insult to Shannon in front of the post office and Shannon retaliated with some extreme vile and abusive language. He also advised her to get into the car with her companions for her well-being. So incendiary were his remarks that it warranted his arrest.

On March 2, 1939, a preliminary hearing concerning Shannon’s behavior was held in the Westwood Justice Court to determine whether there was sufficient evidence bind him over to the Superior Court for additional charges. After Judge J. M. Lamson adjourned the hearing is when the chaos began. The courtroom was crowded with spectators. After the adjournment, a fight broke out between Ben Nissen (CIO) and Riley McComas (AFL). From this other fights erupted; some fifty or more were reported and the crowd slowly worked their way down Ash Street, to the CIO headquarters next to the Westwood laundry.

To be continued tomorrow.

During World War I witnessed an increased demand for airplanes for the war effort—a first. The preferred wood was the Sitka spruce found along the coastal regions of Oregon and Washington. There were numerous problems associated with not a only a limited supply, but problems with labor unions in that region.

In January 1918, a representative from the war department arrived  in Westwood for purpose of selecting sugar and/or yellow pine timber for building a fleet of government airplanes. Early tests indicated that California pine was superior to Oregon fir for the purpose intended. The government official was to select 300,000 board feet of Lassen County timber to be processed by the Red River Lumber Company.  Whether this transpired, the record is not clear, due in part of the censorship of certain types of news during the War.

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Now, a part of American folklore is that of Paul Bunyan and Babe his Blue Ox. The story behind him, could possibly been lost to time from its origins in the logging camps in the Great Lakes region. It was William B. Laughead who brought Paul to life as part of Red River Lumber Company’s advertising campaign for its California expansion.

A variety of communities over time adopted the mythical lumberjack, and statues were erected in his honor. The first one constructed was at Bemidji, Minnesota in 1937. When I visited there, it was undergoing restoration.  My next stop after that on this research expedition was Akeley, Minnesota, the location of Red River’s last Minnesota mill. This quiet community is dominated by a Paul Bunyan statue. Of course, locally, Westwood would erect one, long after Red River was gone.

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