Quality Contfol Starts at ,,D

a Very Early Stage at Pacific Southeast Forest Products

Whatever happened to . . .?

By Matt Moulder

Whatever happened to "Mill Rats"?

This term refers endearingly to offspring of lumber mill workers. Mill Rats hang around the mill a lot an-d'eventu;lly g'o to work there. lt hasn,t been all that unusual for two or three generations of a family to work at a sawmill. moulding plant, etc.; if not foithe same firm. at least within the industry. These people provided a base for skilled workers such as knife grinders, saw filers, sawyers, set up men, foremen, and so forth. Unfortunatei-v, this is not as prevalent as was the case in the "good old days."

Sleye Powning,.our plant superintendent, comes from a family of ,,Mill Rats." Steve's g,randfather was in the lumber business in Tacoma, Wa. Steve,s father, the late Stanley "Bud" Powning Sr., worked for the Elliot brothers at Ponderosa Moulding in Redmond, Or., in 1937.In the years following he spent time in Alturas, Ca.; Corning, Ca.; Reno, Nv.; Bend, Or., and Aublurn, Ca., as a set up man, foreman, and millwork olant owner.

Stanley's two sons, Steve and Stanley .1r., aiso known as "Bud," followed in their dad's footsteps. Bud lr. was general manager of Walled Lake Door Co., Cila Bend, Az., until the plant cloied in1987, having previously worked at various moulding and millwork plants on the West Coast. Bud jr. passed away last September.

Steve Powning worked for Bend Millwork, Nikkel Moulding, Eagle Moulding, Cal lda, and his father's firm, Bud's Lumber Milling in Auburn, prior to going to work for this company in 1971. His daughter, Donna, is odr office manager and his sister, Connie McCool, and her husband, pat, own a competing firm, the name of which escapes me at the moment, but I recall that it is named after a bird of some sort.

Numerous uncles, cousins, nephews and in-laws have worked in the lumber industry and the wood proddcts game. Their names are familiar to many 9l .youl I am sure. Ceorge Powning, Vern Powning, Harry Powning, Bob Richards, Lloyd Leonard, loe Leonafo, Luther Arledfie, Kevin Mcco6l, phil Powning,, Nick..Powning, and last,.but certainly noileast. Karen powning, Steve's wife, office maniger for lenkins Forest pioducts in Cameron park, C5.

OwlDroppings

Quote of the Month: Pro golfer Johnny Miller on the subject of the venerable Cypress Point Colf eourse being replaced by R.T. Jones's new layout, Poppy Hills, as one of the courses fo"r the Bing Ciosby (AT&l Colf Tournament: "Comparing these two courses is like comparing Bo Derek and Roseanne Barr."

lohn A. Winner recently ran for the board of directors of the El Dorado County (Ca.) Chamber of Commerce. He was a winner. Dr. T. Brush is practicing dentistry in Folsom, Ca. Marshall Dillon is the rrame of the new county marshall of San loaquin County, Ca. Honest.

Manufacturers: Ponderosa & Sugar Pine Mouldings and Cutstock

Located in the Heart qf Big Timber Country

Gomposite Lumber Invades Northwest

Although the Pacific Northwest has dominated the lumber market for years, new products like Arrowood are reversing the trend, using southern weed trees to produce composite lumber that is being shipped out to the Pacific Coast.

The product has some builders and dealers switching from conventional lumber. Cascade Lumber Supply, Camano Island, Wa., is a strong advocate of the new composite. "Arrowood is the future," Evan Hoznecht, president, said. "The logic for using it will only get better. "

As the supply of wide and long length lumber decreases, it is inevitable that lumber prices will increase, making the cost difference no longer an issue, he added. Hoznecht expects to replace a line of conventional lumber with Arrowood.

Dave Lund, a MacMillan Bloedel Building Materials technical representative, also is enthusiastic. "Arrowood is better than both lumber and I-joist," he said. "The best and easiest to use engineered lumber product available, Arrowood has a niche in the market as an affordable, easy to use, quality replacement for conventional lumber."

Produced at the Fibreboard Technologies plant in Roxboro, N.C., Arrowood is an engineered structural framing product. Made of hardwood species by combining parallel laminated veneers with oriented strand board, the product is rated by Fibreboard as stronger, drier and straighter than traditional sawn lumber without quality problems. Although less expensive than other engineered framing products such as wood I-joists and laminated veneer lumber, it costs more than conventional lumber.

Arrowood is produced in longer lengths and wider widths to allow for design flexibility. Since it does not require special engineering, bracing and blocking, it can save builders time and labor costs. A lack of bow, crook, cup, twist and warp is another asset.

"Once builders use Arrowood. they don't want to use anything else," said Bill Jordan, Fibreboard Technologies sales manager. "lts unilorm stiffness and strength helps them to bLrild a belter quality honre that honreowners altpreciate."