Venerable hardwood wholesale firm hits 70

IrOUR GENERATIONS of active Ff.rnilu involvement have earned American Hardwood Co. the reputation of handling any type of lumber requirement with a professional attitude and quality products.

Founded in l9l4 by the late E.E. Taenzer and his son, C.R. "Bob" Taenzer, who went to California from a hardwood sawmill business in Memphis, Tn., the Los Angeles firm has an interesting origin. As the story goes, E.E., one of the founders of the National Hardwood Lumber Association and an early president of the Memphis Hardwood Lumberman's Club, was part of a family business heavily involved in exporting hardwoods to Europe.

At the time Germany invaded Belgium in 1914, the Thenzers had just shipped 250,000 board feet of oak, ash and other Southern hardwoods to Belgium, but the material was confiscated by the Germans and never paid for. Deprived of their European business, the family was forced to close the sawmill.

They then made the decision to head to the West Coast to represent fellow lumbermen from the Appalachian Mountain region through the South.

Story at a Glance

Hardwood wholesaler is one of the oldest and most diversified on the Pacilic Coast... World War I provided founding impetus . . . family management has sterling reputation ... fourth generation now involved.

They set up offices in downtown Los Angeles and brokered carloads of hickory, gum, oak and ash to the growing city. Seeing the opportunity to maintain an inventory and sell from it, they opened a lumber yard on l4th St. and Alameda. After four years, the business outgrew this location and was relocated at 1900 E. l5th St., its present location on "hardwood row."

E.E. was respected by all who knew and did business with him. He was trusted because of his sawmill knowledge and his relationship with hardwood sources across the country. When he died in 1929, management responsibilities were passed on to his two sons, Bob, who moved to California with his father, and Milton, who joined the company after completing his military duty in World War I. As president, Bob led the company through many periods of growth, setbacks, and changes. At one point, before the introduction of fork lift trucks, over 100 men were employed to handle the materials. Running a lumber business through the depression was the toughest job he had to tackle. They trimmed employment to skin and bones. Milton and Bob even held off getting their own salary to keep the company going.

Milton as vice president was heavily involved in sales. Everybody liked Milton. He loved to work with customers and supply their lumber requirements. When he became interested in developing a new market for American Hardwood Co., in softwoods, he set up relations with many of the best pine mills in Oregon and Northern California and sold carloads of pine to the furniture, cabinet and manufacturing trades. He died in the early 1960s.

The two brothers watched out for each other and successfully managed the company through World War II, and the soaring residential growth of

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