The labor movement received a big boost during World War I. However, unions lost some momentum after the war as nation went into a recession. Industry on the other hand came up with strategies to counter act the union movement. One of these was the American Plan. The plan had its origins from the labor turmoil of World War I and was first adopted in November 1919 by the metal trades. In time, the Industrial Relation Association of California got behind the movement. It recognized that the model had to be flexible, since there were many variables between industries.

The plan deemed unions a nuisance—a barrier between the employer and the employee. In the simplest of terms, both the employer and employee had to maintain certain obligations. For the employer, one of the critical factors was to design its business wherein the employee was guaranteed steady employment.

In 1921, the Red River Lumber Company adopted the American Plan as a way to stave off the union movement. Actually, during the 1920s Red River’s labor issues were nominal. By the end of the decade, things changed. It was not just from Red River’s own financial turmoil, but the lumber market was headed in a downward
spiral, even before the stock market crash of 1929. Like many lumber operations, Red River was forced to curtail operations.  On July 28, 1930, Red River reduced wages by 15% and adopted a five-day week, with an eight hour working day. Red River did make a concession for its employees. It reduced the rents in Westwood accordingly and board at logging camps was reduced to $1.25 a day.

The American Plan at Red River was put to the ultimate test, but circumstances were overwhelming. Red River sought other solutions and company would experience labor turmoils during the 1930s.

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Last Friday, (10/6/23) featured a photograph of Westwood’s Hotel Saville. It confused some readers, as they did not think that the Red River Lumber Company allowed and/or operated hotels in Westwood. Those readers are correct.

Red River, in its own peculiar way, named their boarding houses “hotels.” These facilities housed single men, while houses were reserved for families. The Hotel Saville was built in 1913, and was one of the first rooming houses constructed there for Red River’s employees. It was a substantial structure with 250 rooms. Initially it housed Spaniards. In a bit of trivia, when T.B. Walker visited New York City on financial matters, he always stayed at the Hotel Saville.

On Sunday night, March 30, 1918 a fire broke out on the the lower floor of the Saville.  The fire spread quickly and some five hundred men battled the blaze. Every effort was made to contain the fire, for fear it might spread to neighboring Westwood Club and Opera House.

Tim

Truth be known in the beginning Red River Lumber Company had three sawmills at Westwood. The first was a portable circular sawmill powered by an old hay threshing machine engine. This mill was assembled  in September 1912 and sawed its first piece of lumber on October 1. This mill would provide lumber for construction of Mill B. Mill B would in turn supply lumber for Mill A, the permanent one.

Mill B had a 40,000 board feet daily capacity. The mill was pushed to its limits and it became around the clock operation. Of that output, common grade lumber was utilized to build the town and highest-grade lumber was stored awaiting shipment for when the railroad arrived.

There are discrepancies as to when Mill A was placed into operation. Some accounts have that the first board produced occurred as early as May 1, 1914 and others as August 1. Interestingly, both Mill B (temporary) and Mill A (permanent) were running at the same time. The record is not clear what Red River’s plans were for Mill B. Unfortunately, the issue was resolved when on September 8, 1914, it was destroyed by fire. The fire had originated when sparks ignited the nearby sawdust pile. The fire was fanned by strong winds, which quickly spread to the temporary mill and destroyed it. All efforts were made to contain the fire to the mill, which they succeeded thereby saving the nearby planing mill and lumberyard. While the mill was equipped with automatic sprinklers they malfunctioned during the fire. After the fire, it was discovered there was a piece of wood inside the pipe blocking the flow of water.

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Awhile back I wrote about Frona Colburn’s’ 1922 book The Kingship of Mount Lassen. As promised from her book, is her account of Westwood.

”Like a trip on the magic carpet is the transformation wrought at Westwood, a model town in Plumas County, set in the heart of a virgin pine forest skirting the southern base of Lassen Peak. All about one clean, sweet smell of newly cut pines, and the whole atmosphere is one of humming activity among an intelligent and contented populace. The five thousand inhabitants live in modern homes in a natural forest park. An eye for the beautiful has left the big white pines standing wherever possible, even along the graded streets, and the approach roadways leading into and out of town.

“It was the author’s good fortune to arrive at Westwood at noon, hot, thirsty and covered with volcanic dust. Imagine the surprise and joy of finding an up-to-the-minute department store—large, airy and cool—where a delicious crushed pineapple ice cream soda all but saved one’s life.  And the price, fifteen cents! This drink was served with all the daintiness of a metropolitan soda fountain, by a chap in white coat and apron spotlessly clean, and with manners to correspond.

Westwood has just ‘growed up’ in the heart of the woods, sixty miles from Nowhere, and is the last word in a logging camp. What gave it impetus? The constructive imagination of its founders.

“It is the pride and glory of the Walker family to have a nearly a perfect plant as it is possible to create and this desire includes evrything connected with the industry of lumbering. The whole atmosphere of Westwood is one of work. No loafers are permitted to stay long enough to breed dissensions. Every person bears his or her share of the work to be done, consequently there are no paupers and no destitution. Nor is there a shack in the town.

”Westwood baseball teams are not only natty in appearance but they can and play ball. Like the neatly-uniformed band they are an inspiration to all the surrounding countryside. Westwood musicians are in demand wherever good music has an appreciative hearing. The men at the head of the Red River Lumber Company not only know how to live themselves, but are willing that others may share in benefits derived from an intelligent, constructive attitude toward a big problem—that of pioneering in and out-of-the-way neck of the woods. The situation at Westwood would have delighted the soul of Peter Lassen, who was something of a sawmill man himself, and had a true woodsman’s love of trees.

“The Red River Lumber Company gives the following as their attitude toward the industry:

”It is our hope, by forestry practice, to so conserve the trees spite of our cutting (the largest of its kind) the actual amount of timber will never grow less but will remain forever a permanent thing of beauty, a field of labor and a source of supply.”

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