THE SPIKE THAT WON THE WEST

On May 10, 1869, a golden spike joined Union Pacif ic and Central America's first transcontinental and ushered in a golden era.

symbolically Pacific as railroad -

The wilderness of the mountain men and adventurers was tamed for settlement. lts grazing and grain lands, forests and mines, enriched a nation united f rom coast to coast by rail, in days instead of months of covered wagon travel. And the age old dream of a shorter passage between Europe and the Orient became a realitv.

For Union Pacific this centennial year is a time for / rememberingand looking ahead. Just as steam gave way to diesel power and the telegrapher's key to microwave communication, there are even / greater achievements in store. Of new advancements in power, computerized instant car reporting, containerization and special purpose cars, all designed to provide another and even greater century oI service.

/ G.LDEN sPrKE

APRIL, 1969 Y0tuME 47, ll0. 10 lmmnnmrmmrmttlrfl$ltnnnilmnl MAJOR NEWS and FEATURES uuuluruttt!ilrurflufluurumrs

LMA HAS A STRONG PROGRAM FOR THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL

L.A. CLUB SLOGS OFF TO PARTY DESPITE RECORD RAINS

MASSIVE PROMOTION CAMPAIGN FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT MONTH

WESTERN MAY BE 66 YEARS OLD, BUT IT'S PLENTY LMLY

OAKLAND CLUB ENTERTAINS AM1DST HEARSTIAN SPLENDOR

EXTREMELY COMPREHENSIVE NEWS WRAPUP_NEWS BRIEFS

CONSERVATION, FOREST MANAGEMENT IS OLD PALCO STORY

ARIZONA ANNUAL, MAY 1-3, LOOKS LIKES A REAL DANDY PHOTOS OF THE L.A. HARDWARE-HOUSEWARE SHOW PRESIDI]NT NIXON ACTS TO LOWER LUMBER PRICES

HUD'S GEORGE ROMNEY MAKES ANTI-TRUST NOISES

SAN FRANCISCO HARDWARE SHOW CALLED A BIG SUCCESS

CLUBS COMBINE TO SAY THANKS TO THEIR BOSSE]S

INTERNATIONAL CONCAT DRAWS FROM ENTIRE U.S.A.

CLUB STRONGLY AFFIRMS MULTIPLE USE POLICY FOR FEDS

B,EPD,TSENTAT.TVES

NOB:IIIEBN CAIITON,}IIA & PACIFIC NORTITWEST

Gal Wood, advertlsing and news, ,r 5 Genoa Place, San Franclsco, I Calr. 9.n3:1. Phone (415) 391-0913. { gan Franolrco Bllllnc Offtoo. 2O3O Unlon St., San [.ranclsco, Caltf. 9,112i|. Phone (415) 346-6006. SOIITTTDISN CALIr.OI|NIA

Tod Tls., advertlslng and newt 5?3 So. Lake Ave.. Pasadena. Call- fornla 91101. Phone (213) ?92-3628 or (213) 792-40ga. NEW ronf,. IIaI It. Porltz. advertlslng and news, 369 Lexlngton Ave.,- New York. New York 1001?. Phone (212) MO 1-0!180.

MID\/|rEST Jerrv Crabbe. adverttsln! and news,-P.O. Box B, Xenla,-Ohlo 45385. Phone (.5]..3) 372-U77.

DDITOBIAL OTFICES

WESTERN LUMBER & BUILDING

MATERIALS MERCHANT Is pub. llshed monthly at 673 So. La&o Avo,, Pagaden&, C&Uf. g1l0l, Phonc (g1S) 792-8628 or (218) 70t-40O8 by Caltlornia Lumber MerchanL Inc. Please address all correspondence to Edltorlal Offlces. Secondclass Dostase rates Dald at Paga- dena, -Callf- and dddltlonal of- llces, Advertlsing rates upon request.

Subrcrlptlon Ilates-U.S., Canada. Mexlco and Latln Amerlca: E4one year; ff-two years; $9-thtge ;lnD years; S9 - thlee $5-one year; $8- year& (Jv€ two years. year-s, o\ieiseas: g5-one year; g8Slngles coples 50r. Back coples 75l when avallable.

California, Los Altos; Montana Buildins Materials Dealers ASroclatlon,- Helena; Mountaln Stater Lumber Dealers Assoclatlon, SaIt Lake Clty and Denver; Lumber Assoclatlon of Southern Cautor- nla, Los Angeles; Western Bulld- lng Materlal Assoclatlon, Seattle. TIIE ilIERGHAIIT is &n indepenilent ,na,gaz,i,ne published monthlg ,'or those membere of the lu,mber omd building material* in&rstri.es who need and u;ant fact'ual, a,ccurate neuts and, an obiecthte analgsis of euents and products of concern, to them'in buei,ness.

Sold exclusively through Lumber dealers. Decorated by Nature...lmproved by Man Lam-Loc Pecky Cedar owes its heritage to sunshine, water. and a tree fungus with an artistic sense of humor. Man takes it from there. Laminating to strengthen and insure against through pecks. Milling to straighten and create edge design. Sandblasting to remove fungus residue, if desired.

The designer then adds his talents. A dramatic entrance flanked by a natural setting for plants. Or perhaps a friendly acoustical wall for stereo, family or music room. A durable surface for high traffic commercial applications or a fascinating disclaimer for kitchen or bath. Mountain, beach and resort homes add their accolades to Lam-Loc Pecky Cedar. A com- patible paint and stain holding temperament offers unlimited opportunity for expression, with little or no maintenance. Excellent insulating characteristics make Lam-Loc Pecky Cedar a fitting companion for surf, snow or sand.

Sold By You Lam-Loc Pecky Cedar has been a good money-maker for many dealers throughout the West. It's a lumber product with specialty item mark-up, and one inventory goes both ways...inside and out. At the same time Lam-Loc Pecky Cedar is promoted for you in consumer media and directly with decorators and architects. The surest way to g€t your share of this business is to have Lam-Loc Pecky Cedar on display. A new multiplex unit, which will fit-in with your existing display or stand on its own two feet, is yours for the asking.

Ed Fountain Lumber Company 6218 South Hooper Ave., Los Angeles l, California.

It's More Thqn Price

fN THE past month we have read as many as r twenty different reasons why the price of lumber and plywood sailed so high this spring. The reasons range from the convincing to the slightly ridiculous.

The price rise has been dramatic, all along the line. Stumpage prices go up, the mill pays more. The mill passes the cost to the wholesaler who naturally enough shifts it along to the retailer. So there is the retailer, asking perhaps twice as much for the same lumber as the last time his customer requested a price.

What does the retailer say? Sorry, pal, it's just a classic case of supply and demand, it's log exports to the Japanese, military purchases are huge, winter has been bad, etc. ? Any time you have to tell your customer he has to pay 30%-50%-rc0% more than last time, you can pretty well figure out what he'll say in response. And what the retailer's customers have been saying we can't print here,

So there is the retailer, right up front, taking the brunt of the oomplaints, dissatisfaction and the like. How does our industry tell the man who bought plywood at $140 that now, in his next lot, he can get it for $1lB?

Why hasn't the industry found more effective ways of protecting all concerned from such grief? What can presently be done ? What can the industry, at all levels, do to avoid a repetition of the current mess?

Tough questions all, not easily given to solution, but certainly they are not unsolvable. Certainly too, we should not waste our time, talents and temper trying to fix the blame. We should point ourselves towards possible solutions and away from fruitless accusations.

The problems may be long in the tooth, but they .can be solved, we are sure, by concerted action. We must put the past behind and take appropriate steps to see that in the future the dirty linen is washed in private, away from the searing fallout of front page publicity.

A Piece of the Action

fN YEARS past, the reaction to May as National r Home Improve.ment Month has heen'something less than thrilling. Not so this year. I{appily, most levels of the industry now see the huge present market and the enormous future of home improvement. Even if housing starts went to two million this year, hardly a likely proposition, the dollar value of the present home improvement market would still exceed it by a country mile.

Next month we will have a big special section of The Merchanr devoted to t}lis market. On page 11 of this issue we have a story on the promotions, programs, parts and pieces available for dealers to use in promoting May as National Home Improvement Month.

If you have been lax in pushing this ever expanding part of the American business scene, make sure that this year you take part, get involved and get your piece of the action.

California's Plumas National Forest is the Prime source of softwood timber for Nikkel lumber. Sugar pine. ponderosa Pine, white f ir and Douglas f ir grow here among bltre lakes and streams at elevations up to 8,000 feet. Tree covered Rattlesnake Peak, shown above, rises 7,341 |eet above sea level. The surrounding area comprises a vast wilderness of almost 200 thousand acres. lt is one of the most popular deer hunting spots in the entire State. Twenty-two miles to the south in Sloat, California, one of three Nikkel sawmills in the Plumas National Forest convert this highquality timber into some of the world's finest softwood products.

Four-Forty Drake Circle Sacramento. California 95825 Phone 916-487-8675