Part 3

I don't know what luck he had with his White Pine ranch. I never seen them again. I had a lot of other things to tend to and clean forgot it till you sent me Mr. Sowell's letter. Maybe that man was a Spaniard I don't know.

Yours respectively, P. Bunyan.

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From 1917 to 1920 Paul Bunyan was busy toting the supplies and building camps for a bunch of husky young fellow-Americans who had a contract on the other side of the Atlantic, showing a certain prominent European (who is now logging in Holland) how they log in the United States.

After his service overseas with the A. E. F., Paul couldn't get back to the States quick enough. Airplanes were too slow so Paul embarked in his Bark Canoe, the one he used on the Big Onion the year he drove logs upstream. When he threw the old paddle into high he sure rambled and the sea was covered with dead fish that broke their backs trying to watch him coming and going.

As he shoved off from France, Paul sent a wireless to New York but passed the Statue of Liberty three lengths ahead of the message. From New York to Westwood he traveled on skis. When the home folks asked him if the Allegheney Mountains and the Rockies had bothered him, Paul replied, "I didn't notice any mountains but the trail was a little bumpy in a couple of spots."

In the forests of the Red River Lumber Company Paul Bunyan can cut his lumber for many future years in the region where Nature found conditions exactly suited to the growth of pine of the finest texture and largest size.

Early in the closing decade of the nineteenth century the Red River people took a long look into the future. Foreseeing the exhaustion of their Minnesota white pine, which came a quarter of a century later, they set out to find the pine that would take its place. Their search covered several years and reached all the important stands in the western States. This was well in advance of the westward movement of the industry and Red River had the pioneer's opportunity for choice and rejection.

Sugar Pine, "cork pine's big brother," is botanically and physically true white pine, with all the family virtues. It is the largest of all pines.

California Pine is the trade name for pinus ponderosa or western yellow pine from certain regions where conditions of growth have so modified the nature of the wood that it is more like white pine than it is like its botanical brothers that grow elsewhere. Some say this change is due to volcanic soil. Whatever the cause, California Pine from Red River's forest is exceptionally light, brightly colored, soft and even textured and second only to Sugar Pine in size.

Red River "Paul Bunyan's" California Pine and Sugar Pine meet the strict requirements of trades that have made white pine their standard. Where freedom from distortion is essential, as for example piano actions, organ pipes, foundry patterns and the best sash and doors, Red River pines are used. They finish economically with paints, stains and enamels and are highly valued as cores for fine hardwood veneers. They work easily, smoothly and cleanly with edged tools and do not nail-split.

The durability of these California pines is shown by their sound condition in California buildings that have stood for generations, many of them in regions where climatic conditions are more conducive to decay than in the middle western and eastern states.

Paul Bunyan tackled a real problem when he came to Westwood. The site of the mill and town was unbroken forest in 1913, sixty mountainous miles from the nearest railroad. Trails were graded into passable roads and materials and machinery were freighted in. When the railroad arrived in 1914 the first mill was in operation and the town well under construction. Town and plant had been detailed on the drafting boards in Minneapolis. Sanitary sewers, water system, electric lights and telephones were extended as the forest was cleared and Westwood, with a population of 5,000, enjoys all the facilities of a modern American community.

The electrically operated sawmill has an annual capacity of 250 million board feet. Dry kilns, one of the largest plywood factories in the country, sash and door factory and re-manufacturing departments round out production of a complete line of lumber products.

Red River operates its own logging railroad, 20 miles of which are electrified, hydro-electric plants and the foundry and machine shops, where many units of the logging and plant machinery are designed and built.

Back in the early days, when his camps were so far from any where that the wolves following the tote-teams got lost in the woods, Paul Bunyan made no attempt to keep in touch with the trade. What's the use when every letter that comes in is about things that happened the year before?

Since he came to Westwood Paul has renewed old friendships, formed new ones and kept close contact with the world. Everyone expects great things of Paul Bunyan and with the Red River outfit back of him he has the chance of his life to make good. Continuous production keeps a full assortment of stock on hand. Customers in all parts of America find Westwood a dependable source of supply.

Here is an instance. This old friend of Paul's a prominent furniture manufacturer in the Lake States, was disappointed because an item he wanted for immediate shipment was not in stock in the grade and thickness required. He wrote the letter shown below and was given an explanation of the facts in the case in the accompanying reply.

Paul Bunyan Makes Plywood

Paul Bunyan says that making plywood reminds him of the way Mrs. Bunyan made pies during the hard times of pioneer days. She would take pancakes, spread molasses between and sew around the edges with yarn.

Plywood panels differ from other wall coverings in that the natural texture of the wood is not altered. While the lathe-cut sheets are thin, they are solid wood with the cell structure just the same as it grew in the tree. In making plywood the inside sheets are placed crossgrained with the face sheets. These sheets are then united with a glue bond that is stronger than the wood itself. This cross-grained construction prevents splitting and produces a panel much stronger than solid wood of the same thickness.

Paul Bunyan's California Pines give Red River plywood's a distinctive character. They carry the qualities that have given "old-fashioned white pine" its long-established preference by craftsmen and builders. The soft, even texture takes up paints, stains and enamels economically and gives a fine finish, unmarred by checking and "grainraising" when properly handled.

Red River construction embodies special features in the process of re-drying and in cutting for straight grain. The latest and best developments in the manufacture of glues and in their scientific application are utilized. Painstaking workmanship and careful inspection and grading make Red River plywood's outstanding in quality.

Plywood panels have revolutionized the use of wood in building and in industry. From the growing list of industrial uses we might note the following as typical: trunks, concrete forms, furniture backs, drawer bottoms and cores for fine hardwood veneers; cabinets, car bodies, boxes, table and counter tops, door panels, signs, toys and ship bulkheads.

Builders use plywood panels for interior walls and ceilings and for insulation, sub-floors, sheathing, shelving, cupboards and built-in units. The richness of wood-paneled rooms can now be enjoyed at a cost that compares favorably with other wall coverings. The paneled interiors do not go out of style or require redecoration. They are not damaged by water or shock and ordinary breakage. They do not crack or peel.