The Good Old Days
GLADYS SHAY / For the Hungry Horse News
Page one line story in the Hungry Horse News 50 years ago told of Plum Creek Installing Chipper in Columbia Falls.
The April 17, 1959 issue reported construction of the barker and chipper was to start the following week. It was the first one in the Flathead. A similar installation was working at the new Plum Creek mill south of Polson at Dunham Siding.
Chips from both Columbia Falls and the Lake County mill would be hauled to the Waldorf Paper Co. pulp plant near Missoula.
It would require about 2 1/2 months for a west coast firm to install the barker and chipper, according to D. C. Dunham, Plum Creek Co. president. Motors involved would exceed 500 horsepower. The barker peels the logs and the chipper utilizes slabs and other mill waste.
Dunham estimated that from 5 to 10 per cent of the log is presently burned as waste. The waste would now be converted to a material used for manufacturing paper. It was explained that barking cleans the logs which results in less wear on saws.
There were 203 employees at Plum Creek with a monthly payroll of $90,000 plus. Plum Creek mill was started in 1945 in Columbia Falls.
The second Plum Creek mill south of Polson started operations in the winter of 1958. Payroll for the 125 employees was nearly $50,000 a month.
The Plum Creek mill was third in the area. Others 50 years ago were longtime Stoltze Land and Lumber in Half Moon and Superior Buildings Co. in Columbia Falls.
A page one story told of South Fork timber sales slated in an oral auction May 19, 1959. It was for 4,000,000 board feet of timber on Canyon Creek, Coram District. Sale includes construction of five miles of secondary road 38 miles from Columbia Falls.
Another timber sale announced was for 9,200,000 board feet of timber on Battery Creek, Hungry Horse District. This is located on the west side of Hungry Horse Lake near Quintonken Creek. Canyon Creek is on the east side of the lake.
A May 7 sale was for 1,500,000 board feet of timber of Flathead National Forest on Hay Creek flats up the North Fork.
Fifty years ago there was also an announcement for the 4,900,000 board feet timber sale on Keith Mountain, Tally Lake District.
I learned about timber sales from writing these stories. Sorry I cannot remember the percentage of timber sales receipts which were paid to school districts. We did not have lawsuits stopping sales and income.
Perhaps those could be described as the good old days.
Gladys Shay is a longtime resident and columnist for the Hungry Horse News