Almost 25,OOO Attend Lumber Deolers'Show in Clevelqnd; See New Products, Get New Soles ldeos

A record 24,893 total attendance, branding the 6th Annual NRLDA Building Products Exposition held in Cleveland, November 14-17, as the largest such event ever staged by and for the nation's retail lumber and building material merchants, has been announced by Exposition General Chairman Oertell Collins of Forest City Lumber Company, Savannah, Georgia. Heaviest attendance was recorded on the second day, Sunday, November 15, when 7,659 visitors thronged NRLDA's four exhibit halls in Cleveland Public Auditorium.

During the four-day program of exhibits, demonstrations, and management meetings, a coast-to-coast representation was registered from throughout the United States as well

Socol Deolers ot Exposition

The Southern California dealer members of the Southern California Retail Lumber Assn. attending the Exposition in Cleveland included:

Thomas J. Fox and wife, John W. Fisher Lumber Co., Santa Monica; Guy Barnett, Rossman Mill & Lumber Co., Ltd., Long Beach; Arthur L. Dickenson and wife, Dickenson Lumber Co., La Habra; Frode B. Kilstofte, Rossman Mill & Lumber Co.. Ltd.. Wilmington; Walter F. Taylor and wife, Walt Taylor Lumber Co., Anaheim; Bud P. Walling and wife, John W. Fisher Lumber Co., Santa Monica; Horace E. Wolfe, Marquart-Wolfe Lumber Co., Los Angeles; Mr. Wuori and Orrie W. Hamilton and wife. SCRLA. Los Angeles.

1959 NRLDA Exposition, swept the full length of the hall setting a vibrant theme for the entire show. Thousands o{ interested, inquisitive dealers were attracted each day to the Exposition's five action demonstrations.

Component ffouses Are Star Features

as from such farawav ooints as British West Nicaragua, France, Britis^h Columbia and Bermuda. than 135 visitors were registered from Canada alone,

Indies, More representing eight Canadian provinces. rng Lanadlan provrnces.

Displayed for dealers' first-hand consideration were more than ten thousand of the industry's newest products, services, and equipment-many of them in firsttime showings. The 252 exhibitors participating scored another high point for the lumber dealers' 1959 show, marking a 2lo/o increase over the previous high of 208 suppliers who exhibited in the 1958 NRLDA Exposition in Chicago.

Spectacular and colorful displays ran the gamut of the builcling materials field-f rom nuts-ancl-bolts to cement mixers; from full-scale houses to swimming pools. The ultra-modern Avenue of New Dimensions in Selling, with 23 "sky's tl-re limit" displays designed especially for tl-re

"Glamor" feature among action programs was the lifesize, three-bedroom contemporary model house built on the doorstep of Cleveland Public Auditorium. Spokesmen for Parents' Magazine and Lumber Dealers Research Council, joint sponsors of the feature, stated that more than 12,000 persons toured the house during the four days. Because of the unusual public interest created by the rapid Lu-Re-Co component construction and the attendant publicity in local newspapers, the public was permitted to tour the house on the final day of the show.

With more than 30 dealers already signed to participate, the house will be duplicated in as many as 50 com-

Lumberdeqler Stonley Reed(rightl, lAorcco, Po.. tries his hod ql ossmbling q miniqlure Weldwood Poneling Deportmenl c USP'g Russ Lulz lendc q h@d df the Expositiff dirploy munities from coast to coast by June 1960, when it will be featured editorially in Parents' Magazine. Tying together a nation-wide "open house" celebration, the promotion is scheduled to take advantage of the spring and summer home buying seasons.

Inside the exhibit hall, an entirely separate component construction demonstration took place each day. Built by Heritage Homes, another 3-bedroom house was completely enclosed and covered within eight working hours. Two complete houses were built, each within a single working day, and left standing the following day for dealer viewing.

"Brain Sessions," conducted each afternoon in connection with the "House-A-Day" demonstration, were designed originally as small information discussions but quickly turned into standing-room-only programs as many dealers returned a second and third time for more information.