Old Heads Retire, Younger Men Take Over in Long-Bell

Announcement was made in the May 15 issue of THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT of important changes in the management ranks of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, in the Northwest.

Retiring as of6cers of the company are R. P. Combs, Kansas City, who has been a vice president and chairman of the company's finance committee; J. H. Kenesson, vice-president and generat manager of the Longview Division, and vice president and general manager of The Gardiner Lumber Company, wholly-owned subsidiary; and R. F. Morse, vice president in charge of Timber and Logging for the Long-Bell and Gardiner Lumber Companies. All three will become rnernbers of the company's advisory committee.

Theo A. Deal, who has been assistant general rnanager of the Longview Division, becomes general manager of the dir.ision; and A. J. Myers, Gardiner, Oregon, assistant general rnanager of The Gardiner Lumber Company, stePs up to the position of general manager.

Following are brief review's of the history of these five gentlemen, the three retiring vice presidents and the two new nrill division managers: year, started with the company as a water boy at the KingRyder Lumber Company, then located at Thomasville, Indian Territory. When the King-Ryder operation, a Long-Bell subsidiary, moved to Bonami, Louisiana, he was transferred to the new location and remained there until joining the Ilng-Bell sales department at Kansas City in 1912. A short time later he returned to Bonami as superintendent, a post he held until being named general manager of the Rapides Lumber Company, a Long-Bell operation at Woodworth, I-ouisiana. He moved to Doucette, Texas, as general manager of that property, remaining until his promotion to general manager of all Long-Bell southern operations in 1939. He was transferred to Longview in 1945 as assistant manager of the Longview Division. In April of 1948, he was named general manager of the Longview Division, and vice president and general manager of The Gardiner Lumber Company. He was elected a vice president of Long-Bell in 1951.

R. P. Combs first joined The l-ong-Bell organization in l9S rrhen he entered the manufacturing phase of the business at Bonami, Louisiana. A short time later he left the company and returned to Kansas City to enter the banking business rvhere he rose to the vice presidency of a Kansas City bank. ffe returned to Long-Bell in 1922 and rvas elected a director of the company in the same year. He rvas elected treasurer in 1923 and vice president in 1944, a position he held until his retirement. He will continue as a director.

Roy F. Morse, who started his association with the cornpany in 1906, has taken an active part in the management of the I-ongview Division and in regional and national forestry and logging associations, as well. Ife came to Longview, Washington, during the .construction days of the mill and city. Morse became a part of the Long-Bell organization when the BradleyRamsey Lumber Company at Lake Charles, Louisiana, was purchased. He joined the Long-Bell sales department in l90B and was shortly thereafter made superintendent of export manufacturing. A trip to Europe in 1911 gave hirn the background to organize and open the company's export department in 1912. He returned to the manufacturing branch of the business in 1913 as general manager of the Ludington Lumber Company at Lundington, Louisiana, which was a Long-Bell subsidiary. Five years later he was transferred to Quitman, IVlississippi, as general manager of that operation. With the development of the Longview project of the cornpany, he moved west in 1923. Morse was elected a vice president of the company in 1947. He has been in charge of the company's railroad properties in the Northwest, holding the presidency of the Willamina and Grand Ronde Ry. Co. and the vice presidency of the Longview, Portland and Northern Railway Company. He has served as president of the Pacific I-ogging Congress z'nd the West Coast Lumbermen's Association, and is currentlv chairman of the Industrial Forestry Association; director of Harbor Plywood Corporation; and is a member of the advisory board of the Bureau of Land lVlanagement pertaining to the Oregon and California land grant.

Theo A. Deal has been in the employ of Long-Bell since 1921. He started as a member of a survey crew in the woods of the Quitman, Mississippi, division of the compan-y. I_ater he entered the manufacturing department of euitman and was a foreman at the time he transferred to Longview in 1924. He became foreman of the West green chain at the new Longview mill and later held a similar post on the West timber dock. He entered the Sales Department in 1937, and after a time in the office, was assigned the southern Washington and northern Oregon sales territory. During World War II, he rvas in charge of handling government orders for lumber to aid in the war effort. He was named manager of the Wholesale Department at the conclusion of the war. lle left the sales de- partment in 1952 to become assistant general manager of the Longview Division.

A. J. Myers has been in the employ of the company since 1924. He joined the company at Weed, California, and in 1931 moved into the Shipping Department and office sales staff. He transferred a short time later to a similar position at the LongBell operation in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and refirained there until the property was sold. Returning to the Weed Division, Myers entered the Factory and Plywood Sales branch of the business. He entered plywood manufacturinginlg4? at Weed and left the superintendency of the plant in 1951 to become superintendent of all Long-Bell plywood manufacturing. He rnoved to The Gardiner Lumber Company during the construction of the plytvood plant. He was named assistant general manager of The Gardiner Lumber Company in 1952.

Monqrch Lumber Compcny Tcrkes Over Spclding Operction

Don Rozell, president Monarch Lumber Company of Southern California, fnc., announced his organization had acquired the Spalding Lumber Company operation located at 7227 Telegraph Road, Los Angeles, and that the general offices of the firm will be maintained at the new location efiective immediately. They are presently expanding the offrce facilities by constructing three additional privete offices and a shipping office adjacent to the old building. With the completion of this space private offices will be available for the accounting stafi, sales staff, shipping department and the executives of the company.

Scott B. Zachary, Jr., vice president of the firm, left im_ mediately for the company owned mills located at Gold Beach, Oregon, to assure a steady flow of Redwood and Douglas Fir rnto the new ten acre yard to service Southern California retail lumber dealers.

Phil Kelty, formerly with the Spalding organization, will remain with the new company in charge of yard operations and Redwood sales. Joe Petrash and Ben Evans, well known lumber salesmen of Los Angeles, will handle all direct mill shipments of all species of Pacific Coast lumber products and Howard Zachary, assisted by Florence Johnson, will handle the general office duties of the expanded business.

Mrs. Frances N[eyers, formerly associated with Collins and Meyers, Ally Lumber Company and Builders Redwood has been elected secretary-treasurer of the new corporation. As an officer of the firrn she will be responsible for the business administration policy and general accounting.

"We will continue to offer carload, L C L and truck shipments of properly manufactured and graded Douglas Fir and Redwood from our own mills direct and through our Los Angeles yards," said Don Rozell. "And we'intend to builcl an organization of experienced lumber people to offer a service second to none in this large trade area. \Me will place key people in charge of each and every department to see that our customers receive exactly what they want and that our policies of good service along with good lumber are carried out," he declared.