Bill Lougheod's Memory Foreyer Green in His Poul Bunyon Legends

William B. Laugheacl, 74, Western Pine artist and advertising man and creative genius of the Paul Bunyan legend, died April 14 at Susanville, California, a few miles from the old Red River Lumber Company's domain at Westwood, where 40 years ago he began plantir.lg Paul and the Blue Ox in American folklore. A heart attack struck down the tall, scholarly-looking champion of the great lumberjack hero only months after his recollections of the early days of the Bunyan legend had been tape-recorded by Historian W. H. Hutchinson of Chico, California, for tie Forest History Foundation of St. Paul.

Laughead, born in Xenia, Ohio, quit high age of 17 to go to work in the Red River pany's camps out of Akeley, Minnesota, as During an eight-year hitch in the woods he school at the Lumber Coma chore boy. advanced first to "assidtant bullcook," then to cookee, timekeeper, timber cruiser, surveyor and construction engineer.

In 1974, when Laughead was doing freelance advertising and illustrating as a sideline for his work for Red River, A. D. Walker prevailed on him to come out to Westwood, rvhere the company was establishing one of the great operations of the Western Pine region. It was there that he brought the legend into full flower.

Walker encouraged Laughead to go ahead with the Paul Bunyan stories that Bill had heard in the camps and was embellishing adroitly as advertising gimmicks. At Walker's bidding, Laughead designed a postcard-sized pamphlet of 30 to 40 pages which sandwiched ad copy between tall stories about Paul and the mighty Babe. Laughead illustrated the booklet himself, consolidating features of two colorful lumberjacks he had known intb the jovial, distinctive face of the master logger.

This was real literary pioneerir-rg. The pamphlet was a complete flop, I-aughead later reported. Apparently nobody had ever heard of Paul Bunyan.

"As an advertising symbol, Bunyan meant nothing then," he remarked. "Only a few loggers-not all loggers by any means-had ever heard Paul's name. The men to whom our advertising was directed-sawmill men, wholesalers and lumber dealers-didn't know what we were talking about. And of course Paul was completely unknown to the public."

Archie Walker and Laughead refused to drop the idea. Walker ran full-page ads in The CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT and other trade magazines. Laughead continued to exploit Paul Bunyan. In 1922, Laughead became the Red River Lumber Company's full-time advertising man at lVestwoocl with carte blanche on the Bunyan promotion project. His first act was to prepare a new pamphlet, intriguingly illustrated by himself, beamed to the general public. It caught on in a big way. Requests for the booklet came from all over the globe. Up to 1946, Red River had printed 100,000 copies in 13 printings.

Laughead continued as advertising manager for Red River Lumber Company until the big Westwood operation was sold shortly after the close of World War II to Fruit Growers Supply Company. For many years he served on tl-re Promotion committee of the \Mestern Pine Association. Over the years he produced a number of oil paintings featuring woods and mill scenes. These have been acclaimed of high merit. Originals are prized today beyond Laughead's hopes when he was cloing them. Paul's benign countenance, wire whiskers and all, became the trademark of the Paul Bunyan Lumber Company of Susanville, headed by Kenneth R. Walker.

The magnitude of Laughead's corrtribution to American folklore has been assayed by Jim Stevens, a co-chronicler of Bunyan story indelibly linked to the legend's genesis in the public prints and mind. Said Jim: "It is a true American legend now, for Paul Bunyan is absolutely American from head to foot. He epitomizes the American love of tall tales and tall doings. He has become the creation of whole generations of men. Thousands of narrators by camp fiies have contributed their mites to the classical picture of him, and he at least will live as long as there is a forest and shadows and whispers of trees, which should be forever."

Fqirhurst lumber Compony Opens New Beverly Hills Offices

Fairhurst Lumber Company of California has opened wholesale sales offices in Beverly Hills "to get out of the downtown traffic," said Mike Walsh, Southern California local manager. The new offices are located at 195 South of B.

Beverly Drive, just one block south of Wilshire Boulevard and two blocks north of Olympic' New telephone numbers are BRadsharv 2-0641 and CRestview 2-2562.

Fairhurst has maintained offices in Los Angeles for many years, offering shipments of old-growth Douglas.-Fir and other west coist species of softwoods to the retail lumber dealers. Mike Walih, newly appointed district manager, is well known throughout the souihern sales territory, having been identified in Lumber sales since the close of World War II. Luz Estrada, for the past four years secretary in- the downtown of6ces, is also making the move to Beverly Hills. Luz lias wide experience in lumber and for several months before joining Fairhurst was employed by E. J. Stanton & Son. Inc.

The University of Portland, Ore., has received a CFA loan $1,460,000 to construct a dormitory and dining hall. Refer: A. Petterschmidt, controller; Project No. Oregon 35-CH-21(DS).