Oak paves the way for cars

IAPAN's enormous success in lUmarketing automobiles in the United States is in contrast to their earlier efforts to penetrate the American hardwood market with imports of Japanese oak.

Captain Robert Dollar initiated the importing of Japanese hardwoods to the United States in 1906, according to lumber historian Gage McKinney.

"Dollar most enthusiastically promoted Japanese oak," McKinney says. "He first purchased oak railroad ties in Hokkaido in 1905, brought them to California, and had them resawn and made into furniture. A very convincing salesman, Dollar approached the Southern Pacific Railroad and succeeded beyond his own expectations in securing a huge contract for ties. Back in Hokkaido in February, 1906, he supervised the loading of the Bessie Dollar with several million feet of oak ties, the first cargo of Japanese hardwood to be stiipped to North America.

"In addition to shipping ties to the railroad on a continuing basis, Dollar was soon inventorying oak logs at his lumber yard in San Francisco, Ca. He erected a sawmill nearby for converting these logs into lumber. Five independent sawmills soon began operating near San Francisco for the same purpose, including one that White Brothers Hardwood Co. operated in Petaluma, Ca. During this period the Western Hardwood Co., Los Angeles, was purchasing as much as two million feet of Japanese oak logs from Dollar p€r year, which they converted into lumber and veneer at a sawmill near San Pedro, Ca.

"E.J. Stanton and Son, Los Angeles, was busy remanufacturing Japanese oak lumber into flooring. Inexpensive, soft-textured Japanese oak also proved to be an ideal wood for the manufacture of the Mission style furniture that was popular at that time. Its importation revitalized the West Coast furniture industrv.

"The foreign oak trade thrived for several years before manufacturers of our domestic oak succeeded in having import duties imposed on Japanese hardwoods," McKinney concludes.

After World War II in 19,16 the Hokkaido Hardwood Lumber Exporters' Association was formed. They reportedly handled as much as 9090 of the lumber export from Hokkaido, sending shipments to Europe as well as the U.S., Canada, South America, New Zealand and Australia. Houston, New Orleans, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Tacoma as well as Los Angeles were ports of entry for the Japanese hardwoods.

Capt. Dollar initiated imports of Japanese oak nearly 80 years ago. .killed by tadffs, the trade revived afler World War ll, bul floundered again.

that without such a favourable turn of its export market to encourage inchboard makers, any expansion of inchboard lumber production could be hardly expected."

Another indication that all was not well was found in a letter to American customers printed in the same publication. In part, it said "One of the most serious problems is found in connection withthe shipping dry condition of our export lumber. While all our lumber for Pacific Coast ports is shipped in bundles, it sometimes happens that owing to a rainfall at time of shipment or at time of discharge the inside of bundled lumber parcels gets wet and that after it is left for a considerable period, the result is to cause stains on even welldried lumber of superior quality.

"While we hear a rumour afloat among American buyers of Japanese lumber that our lumber is being exported in unsatisfactory dry condition from our ports, it may be recalled that this matter is closely connected with the problem of bundling lumber, to which your special attention may be called for the smoother business relations between American and Japanese merchants."

ln addition to promoting exports of oak, they encouraged exports ofbirch, beech, sen, katsura, ash, elm, basswood, asada and maple. Hardwood lumber, floorings and plywoods which were processed or manufactured items were on the free export list. Government approval was required for the exportation of softwoods.

The outlook for continuation of hardwood exports was far from encouraging according to a publication issued in 1957 by the export association. ". .it may be safely predicted

Now, almost 80 years from the time of the arrival of the first Japanese oak imports in the U.S., it's cals, not lumber crossing the Pacific and flooding the market, but maybe everyone learned a lesson from the earlier experiences with wood or maybe they didn't. Who knows.

Gage McKinney is the author of Hmdwood People, o 70 page historY of the Pacific Coast hardwood lumber industry which contains stories of the colorful hordwood pioneers as well as I0 pages of historic photos.-ed.

Designing a new or remodeled kitchen can be a matter of minutes rather than days for the homeowner using the Comp-U-Kitchens computer design service being tested by Wickes Lumber in seven locations across the country.

Wilmington, N.C., College Park, Ca., New Braunfels, Tx., Baton Rouge, La., Bakersfield, Ca., Endicott, N.Y., and Exton, Pa., stores have been testing the design system for about nine months. Future plans call for expanding the service to most other major markets throughout the counIry.

Comp-U-Kitchens enables homeowners to select from a variety of cabinet sizes and styles and then position them to accommodate appliances, sink, doors and windows. Modifications can be made instantly in the store with the assistance of a Wickes sales professional if the initial floor plan does not meet the exact requirements of homeowners.

A detailed floor plan, an elevation drawing showing actual selected cabinet style and an itemized printout rvith a complete list of all cabinets and accessories required along with current pricing for the materials are included in the package.

According to Wickes Lumber, Comp-U-Kitchens can save homeowners $50 to $ 100 in design fees and a week in production time for drawings when compared to services typically offered by custom kitchen dealers.

To begin, homeowners receive a six-page worksheet of instructions fbr measuring all kitchen components. Included is a sample sketch of the step-by-step sequence of eight calculations needed to assure that all cabinets and appliances are precisely fitted into the kitchen.

The worksheet also offers advice on laying out the kitchen efficiently, horv to position the sink, range and oven fbr marimum safety, how to insure that doors do not conflict with work areas, and help on using ali corners so there is no wasted space.

After homeowners measure all components, including doors and windows and the direction of the door-swings, the figures are entered onto a graph and fed into the computer. In minutes, an accurate floor plan and detailed elevation drawing of the selected cabinet style is ready. The computer also can show how any one of six other cabinet styles will look in a new kitchen.

"Depending on how elaborate the kitchen will be, or how many changes are entered into the computer, ir is not unusual for homeowners to have a customdesigned kitchen completed in less than 30 minutes," said John R. Wicks, merchandise manager of kitchens, baths and appliances for Wickes Lumber. "Changes can be seen immediately. Being able to see what the kitchen will look like gives homeowners confidence that they have made the right decision before leaving the store."

Higher monthly payments for less time are bccoming more attractive to today's homebuyer, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association of America's survcl' ol l2 major mort gage conrpanies.

While the bulk of applications (73%) arc for 30-yr., fired rate mortgages, the survey revealed a considerablc increase in l5-yr., fired rate mortgages, norv l29o of all applications.