Southwest Dealers eye and buy at double-header hardwood shows

T t MBER DEALERS FROM throughout L California and Arizona put on their hardware hats last month and headed for a double-header put on by two of the Vest's largest hardware distributors.

Several hundred lumber dealers attended the annual exhibitions of Great Western Hardware and American Wholesale Hardware, whose shows, coincidentally, fell on the same weekend.

American Wholesale swung open the doors to their huge Long Beach, Calif. warehouse on September lI for their an- nual "Sales Galaxy" featuring 106 booths displaying the wares of more than 160 manufacturers.

Merchandise discounts ranging Irom 5/o20% and hourly prize drawings attracted dealers from a 300-mile radius, including a strong contingent from King Lumber's yards in Bakersfield, Taft, Wasco, and Shafter.

Dealers H. F. Betts and R. W. Betts of Palm Lumber Co. in Los Anseles walked off with the show's grand prize - $l-000 in merchandise at retail. Other prizes in- cluded a $2,000 outboard motor boat, a silver -.ervice set and mink stolcs.

"It was a real selling show," commented Norm Orwig, American's sales promotion manager, who added that sales volume was considerably ahead of last year's show.

Great Western Hardware devoted the entire weekend to their annual o'Merchandise Roundup," converting their 107,000 sq. ft. Santa Fe Springs warehouse into a show' room for 220 booths representing 330 manufacturers.

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Center, Garden Grove, Calif.; Dave Lizotte, Stanley Sales rep demonstrating Stanley Saber Saw; George Eyer, owner of Plains. (6) Red Devil sales manager W. D. "Bill" Austin (right) writes order for Bob Reed of Barr Lumber's Santa Ana yard. (7) Dealers H. F. Betts (left) and R. W. Betts, owners of Betts-Sine Lumber Co., Culver City and Palms Lumber, Los Angeles, with Skil Corp's sales rep Ernie Domenico. (8) John Vombaur, Disston Sales rep and

Ed Paslak, Two Rivers Lumber. (9) Rainbird sales rep. William "Bill" Conrad shows line of sprinkling equipment to dealer and wife. (10) San Dimas Lumber's Dick Wismer (right) gets sample of Elmer's Glue-All from Borden Chemical Sales reo. William Miller. (11) Tom Lewis, Seal Beach Lumber & Supply; Marty Reitzin, taking over Trewax sales booth for his dad, Jason Reitzin, Trewax's v-p sales; Bob Temple of Seal Beach Lumber. (12) John Brown (left) and Eugene Honer (right) of Kernville Lumber pause at Amerock's booth to get details from sales rep Steve Chown. Sunbeam Corp. wrote more than $200,000 in sales at list.