Virginia Hardwood Company

In our area we are proud to be . .

The oaly hardwood flooring distributor who sells wholesale only. The aaly hardwood flooring distributor who sells hardwood flooring only. The sab hardwood flooring distributor with a fleet of delivery trucks. The hardwood flooring distributor with the largest inventory in the U.S. The hardwood flooring distributor with a staff of hardwood flooring specialistsboth in the field and in the office. The hardwood flooring distributor for the finest and most widely known m anufacturers featuring :

REDWOOD

A SIMPLE IDEA THAT REALLY SELLS

DESIGN-A-DECK EXHIBITED AT

The Merchant Magazine

Publisher Emeritus A. D. Bell. Jr.

Editor-Publisher DavidCutler

Contributing Editor Dwight Curran

Contributing Editor Gage McKinney

Contributing Editor Al Kerper

Advertising Production Mgr, Ms. D. Hamil

Art Director Martha Emery

Staff Artist Dave Norburg

Circulation Marsha Kelley

The Merch:rnt Masazine is nublished monthly at 4500 tampus br., suite 476. Newport Beach. C4.92660. Phone r7l4t 549-8393 or {714) 549-8394 b1

The Merchant Magazine. lnc. Secondclass postage rates paid at Newport Beach. Ca..-and addiiional ofices.'Adrcrtising ratcs upon request.

ADVERTTSING OFFICES

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA & fACIFIC NORTHWEST 4500 Campus Dr., suite 476, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660. Phone (714) 5498393.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Carl Vann, 1385 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca. 90024. Phone (213) 477-1597 or (714) 549-8393.

Subscriptions

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THE MERCHANT MAGAZINE i.s an independcnt nuqo:ine lor the relail, rholesale orut di.strihttiott levl.s o/ the lunhcr anrl hihling nuttrialr uul h,nne intprovenrcnt indtr.ttry in the l3 Welern .\tole.\. (ilt(cnlruling on ilprchendi.sins, ilnnogeDrcnt ond ocurralc, litttual net.s ft'plrt ing and interprdot itn.

Thunderbird Steel P.O. Box 25647

Albuquerque, N.M. 87 125 (s0s) 34s-7866

Cade Pioneer Company P.O. Box 1268 Richardson, Texas 75080 (214) 231-4621

Cade Pioneer Company 13246 Murphy Road Stafford, Iexas77477 (713) 499-2s31

Hang In There, Baby!

ED ang INDEED are the people who are not ltl i*pr.rr.d with redwood, whether they view it as a mighty tree in a cathedral-like grove, or as a manufactured product that boasts remarkable properties. Equally impressive are those marvelously concentric growth rings that are barred when an old tree is harvested. They graphically relate the tree's life, often over hundreds of years, and experts can decipher an amazingly complete history of the weather conditions throueh which the tree has grown.

The expert eye quickly discerns that drought conditions such as we are now suffering through in the West are nothing new. Indeed, they are the punctuation to those other periods when abnormal rainfall causes problems of another sort. As the old saying goes, ifit isn't one thing it's another.

The scarcity of water in the West is very serious, but critical as the situation is, some among us are already over-reacting. The noises they make indicate they never expect to see rain again. Yet the growth rings on the old redwoods are certain proof that every drought ends.

The potential problems, already actual in some places, include areas closed to logging, production curtailments due to a lack of logs, shutbacks in hydroelectric power, forest fires in unusually dry forests, and cancelled building permits as communities doubt their ability to provide water for additional residents. The list of problems could also include a railcar shortage as rolling stock caught in the record snows of the East is unavailable to transport Western wood products to their usual destinations. The problems go on and on.

But their root cause in this instance is the weather, and that is going to change, of that we can be certain. A drought is trouble, but it's not the end of the world.

Without downplaying the seriousness of the situation, a word or two against over-reacting is in order. Now is not the time to shut down, curtail mindlessly or be unduly pessimistic. Now is the time to cope, waste not what we have, and to poise ourselves so that when our lands are again blessed with water that we can get back quickly to the business of supplying the shelter needs of America.