D. S. Qainter

One of the most popular and best known men in the lumber industry in California is David Staples Painter, manager of the Lumber Division of the Fruit Grower's Supply Co., San Francisco. "Dave",as he is known to his intimates, was born in San Francisco in 1878. His father was a manufacturing chemist and his mother was the daughter of D. J. Staples, president for more than 30 years of the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., who adopted him on the death of his father in 1888.

He attended the Clement Grammar School in San Francisco, which was on part of the present site of the Clift Hotel, on Geary Street. In 1892 he went to White's Preparatory School at Oak Grove, now known as Burlingame. Graduating from White's in 1895 he entered Stanford University in the class of '99. After two years at Stanford the desire to enter business caused him to leave, and he started to learn the insurance business with the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.

When this young man went to McCloud, Calif., on his vacation in May, 1900, he had no intention of leaving the insurance business, but he was offered and accepted a job at, swamping for the Scott & Van Ardsdale Lumber Co., and when his vacation was over he felt sure he knew what he wanted to do, and went to San Francisco to resign his job in the insurance 'business, and returned to McCloud to become a lumberman.

He worked in the woods fora while and early in 1901 was given a job in the Ash Creek sawmill, 15 miles from McCloud, also owned and operated by Scott & Van Arsdale Lumber Co. In this mill he worked on the carriage and later on edging, and in the fall took a job in the McCloud mill as timekeeper.

When the Shevlin-Hixon interests bought out Scott & Van Arsdale in 1903 and incorporated the McCloud River Lumber Co. he was made requisition clerk, and several years later was promoted to purchasing agent. In 1916 he was made assistant general manager of the McCloud River Lumber Co., and after filling that position capably for four years left in 1920 with a record of 20 years' service at McCloud to become manager of the land tax and insurance department of the Fruit Growers Supply Co., in San Francrsco.

In l928.he was appointed assistant to the manager, F. B. Hutchens, of the Lumber Division, and on the retirement of Mr. Hutchens in January, 1931, was made manager.

This concern, a subsidiary of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, a gigantic organization consisting of L2,5n growers of citrus fruits, operates sawmills at Susanville and Hilt, Calif. The Susanville mill has an annual capacity of 200 million feet and the Hilt operation has a capacity of 60 million feet. The cut is California Pondefosa, Sugar Pine and White Fir, and these mills furnish 65 per ceni of the shook requirements of the California Fruit Growers Exchange for packing their "Sunkist" oranges, lemons and grapefruit. The Fruit Growers Supply Co. is the purchasing agent -igt tltg p-arent concern, whose purchases last year exceeded $13,000,000.

Mr. Painter is married and his home is .in San Mateo Park. He has a son, David S., Jr., who is also married and made him a grandfather in May of this year. He has one daughter, Barbara Frances, aged, 12. He is a director of the Western Pine Association, an old timer in the Hoo Hoo order, a member of the Transportation Club, the Crystal Springs Country Club, and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club. He is Past Master of McCloud Masonic Lodge No.430, F. & A. M.

He is an aviation enthusiast, and probably has flown more miles in 'commercial planes than any lumberman on the. Pacific Coast. For some years past he has made it a rule to fly on every oocasion where he can save time by doing so, and has now spent nearly 100 hours in the air on his various trips. rNot long ago he got a great ki.ck out of flying from San Francisco to Susanville in a plane owned bya friend, Floyd Hart, of the Timber Products Co., Medford, Ore. This is a regular 15-hour trip by train, and they made it in the 6-passenger Lockheed-Vega in two hours, eight minutes. On this trip Mr. Painter tested his knowledge of the Northern California country by acting as navigator. Just recently he tried out the new Varney Air Lanes service from San Fran.cisco to Los Angeles, leaving his office at 9:30 a.m., making the air trip in I hour and 58 minutes each way, spending a full three hours in the company's Los Angeles office and arriving at the airport in Alameda at 6 p.m.