the West Coast 10th Anniversary

miles ofi Point St. George. Hobbs Wall chartered a biplane to fly over the scene in a search for survivors. Ironically, word of the tragedy reached San Francisco as Hobbs Wall's port captain, Ralph Myers, and members of the Propeller Club were preparing to stage a humorous entertainment sketch entitled "20 Minutes Aboard the South Coast." Captain Stanley Sorenson and his 18 man crew were never found; in 1930 the hulk of the "South Coast" was recovered in a wire-drag survey by the Department of Commerce.

As redwood emerged into its own as a beautiful and use{ul building rnaterial, the emphasis was put on meeting the demand for this durable specie. To round out thc organization, Hobbs Wall also built a modern planing and remanu{acturing plant.in San Francisco at Islais Creek. Lumber lvas slripped there for drying, refinishing and wholesale distribution.

The firm was a California Redwood Association member when CRA was incorporated in I916. Hobbs W'all executive J. Miller Hotchkiss was CRA president {rom l92l to l93L

In the decade following 1928, the hub of activity shifted to the San Francisco plant and yard. Del Norte County holdings were gradually reduced by liquidation for estate and other reasons. Eventually. in

1938, the San Francisco center became the main Hobbs Wall unit, engaged in remanufacturing and selling the output o{ several redwood mills.

While the company's first 75 years was a story of pioneering and expansion with many facets, the past 25 years reflect a successful transition and Hobbs W'all's emergence as a major wholesaler through stability of service and ability to meet the needs of changing times.

Transition

The personality responsible for starting this transition is a popular figure in the California lumber industry, Lewis A. Godard, now a director of Hobbs Wall Lumber Co., Inc. A native of Dayion, W-ashington, Lew Godard joined Hobbs Wall in 1927 alter several years of selling for another firm, worked at its No. I Drumm Street business office in San Fran' cisco, operated the wholesale departmrrnt, rose to general sales manager, then to vice president.

In 1941, with the start of World War II, raw material became so limited that the San Francisco plant had to be closed. With his accrued stock interest, Godard was determined to carry on the Hobbs Wall name. He reorganized Hobbs Wall as a wholesale distribution set-up specializing in redwood, with executive and sales offices on Montgomery Street in San Francisco and a branch office in Los Angeles. The firm bought and sold the output of several medium-sized mills under contract. And sales proceeded to grow at a very steady rate.

Teaming up with Godard in 1947, was Alfred D. Bell, Jr., a man with a substantial background in lumber. Bell, a native of Yonkers. N.Y.. had worked for Hammond Lumber Company in various capacities after graduating {rom Harvard, became Hammond's general sales manager in l94l and returned there after a tour of service as a Lt. Commander in World War II, leaving Hammond finally to enter business on his own. The vigorous policies and dependable dealings of the Godard and Bell management enhanced Hobbs Wall's reputation as one of the largest redwood wholesalers in the West. Salcs continued to grow and the stafi was gradually enlarged.

In 1957, with an eye to the future, Hobbs Wall decided on a company-owned building to house its own offices and purchased property at what is now 2030 Union Street in San Francisco. The smart and contemporary design of the new twostory structure made nervs because it was (Continued on Pa.ge 66)