48 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



August 25, 1919 



will begin operation as soon as the first story o( its new factory Is com- 

 pleted. The construetlon of a two-story factory, 60x150 feet, is being 

 rushed so that early production can be had for the holiday trade. The 

 directors of the new company, which was formerly known as the Kangaroo 

 Toy Company of Chicago, arc E. J. Burnside, R. S. Stuart, E. W. Barnes 

 and A. B. Carter, the later being temporary treasurer. , About fifty men 

 will be employed when work starts. 



The Moline Plow Company operating a wagon plant at Stoughton has 

 decided upon the erection of a large addition to its present plant. The 

 new addition will measure 04x90 feet, three stories and basement, which 

 is expected to be completed within sixty days. The company engages in 

 the manufacture of wagons of almost every type, particularly heavy farm 

 wagons. Due to the fast expanding business the company was forced to 

 enlarge its works. 



The Collins Land and Lumlier Company of Madison will erect a new 

 mill at Rapid River, the upper peninsula, to take the place of the former 

 structure completely wrecked by Arc several weeks ago. The Collins com- 

 pany also gave the assurance that the new mill will have a tw-enty-flve 

 per cent greater capacity than the old one. 



The stockholders of the Dependable Baggage Company, Stanley, at a 

 meeting August 9 elected W. II. Hoeppner president, F. S. Grubb vice- 

 president and L. I. Roe as secretary and treasurer. The officers of the 

 company were also elected as l)oard of directors. The company which has 

 been recently incorporated will engage In the manufacture of high grade 

 trunks and baggage. It is expected the new factory will be completed 

 within a week and operations will .start immediately as all necessary 

 machinery and stocks are on hand. 



The OllhofF Lumber Company, Jlerrill, has filed papers of Incorporation 

 with a capital stock of .fTS.OOO. of which .'i;«0,000 is claimed already paid 

 in. The mill of F. W. OlIhoJE was destroyed by fire in May this year and 

 since that time Mr. Ollhoff has been busy organizing the new company. 

 .V twenty-acre site for mills and yards has been selected. 



A representative of the Scott Player Action Company a recently or- 

 ganized company for the manufacture of player pianos, which Ls claimed to 

 have a cash capital of ifl00,000, paid in, has been negotiating with the 

 Oshkosh Association of Commerce for a suitable factory site at Oshkosh. 

 Ray W. Scott of the new company declares that it is backed by the Smith, 

 Barens and Strohber Company, which maintains its principal factory in 

 *'hicago and another branch factory in North Milwaukee, Wis. 



The Timber Worker's Union of the northern Wisconsin and Michigan 

 district will hold a convention in Rhinclander to establish a uniform and 

 fair wage throughout the entire district and determine what a "common 

 day" shall constitute. The organization has experienced rapid growth 

 and is estimated that they now have several thousand members, with 

 local chapters in practically every mill town and city in northern Wis- 

 consin and Michigan. This marked the first general meeting since the 

 organization of the two states unions. Lumber manufacturers are lending 

 every co-operation to aid the union as they feel that it is another step 

 forward toward establishing a definite type of work which might lend 

 inducements for outside help, and lessen the shortage of lumber help. 



The Stoughton Wagon Company, Stoughton, manufacturer of wagons, 

 sleighs and spreaders, has decided to take to another type of factory out- 

 put and will start immediately in the manufacture of Stoughton motor 

 trucks. The first truck produced at the factory was recently given a 

 severe try-out with most gratifying results. The trucks will he made In 

 three sizes — a one and half ton truck, a two ton truck and a two and 

 half ton truck. 



At a recent meeting of the stockholders of the Schwartz Manufacturing 

 Company, Plymouth, it was voted to sell the present business at its ap- 

 praised value and reorganize it into a larger industry. The company now 

 manufactures kitchen furniture and cabinets. As soon as the conversion 

 Is completed it is planned to greatly increase the working force. E. Curtis, 

 E. W. Robertson and Ceorge Brickbauer were elected directors in the new 

 company to serve with Walter Kaestner and Carl Elmer, the old directors. 



C. P. Crosby, Rhinclander, has purchased the timber rights on a 1,200 

 acre tract of birch, basswood and hemlock belonging to the Gagen Lumber 

 and Cedar Company. A large quantity of camp material, logging equip- 

 ment and shacks are included in the transaction. Mr. Crosby is making 

 arrangements to start timber cutting this winter. 



The Robinhood Toy Company, Sturgeon Bay, has Just closed a contract 

 for more than 500 gros.s of its toys. The company has been extremely 

 successful from the outset and already has large contracts with the 

 Krcsge and Woolworth stores. Mr. Ollinger and Mr. White at the time 

 of signing the contract in Chicago, purchased considerable additional 

 machinery so the output of the company could be increased from 7 000 

 to 10,000 toys a day. 



The John Schrocdcr Lumber Company with headquarters in Milwaukee 

 started on August 11 to operate a night shift in its mill at Ashland. The 

 plant has been running days only since early spring but it has enough 

 logs in sight to run until early winter, with night and day crews. Ap- 

 proximately 10,000,000 feet of logs arc available at this time, nearly half 

 of this amount in the Ashland mill pond, the balance ready for rafting 

 among the Apostle Islands, with only a <ew hours run. The company's 

 new logging road built on Michigan Island this summer is in operation. 

 Ice conditions along the shores of Michigan Island are so uncertain that 

 winter logging will not be attempted, and a railroad was built this season 



for summer logging only. The Schrociler Lumber Company has winter 

 camps on two more of the Apostle Islands, Stockton and Oak, but the 

 camps on these islands will not be opened until late in the season for winter 

 logging. 



The Johnson Lumber Company, Milwaukee, has purchased the electric 

 sawmill of the Brown Mitcheson Company at Marinette. The mill has 

 a capacity of aljout 40,000 feet daily and will be moved to Escanaba by 

 the new owners, due to lack of yard space. The mill was formerly operated 

 in connection with the Brown Mitcheson Box factory, recently sold to tlie 

 Uepublic Lumber Company, Chicago. 



Thi' American Rule and Block Company, Menominee, in the upper penin- 

 sula, has ijeen recently incorporated with a capital of .f20,000 to engage 

 in the manufacture of rules, yard sticks. "A. B. C." blocks, fan handles, 

 mechanical appliances and patented articles. The officers of the new com- 

 pany arc Axel Thomson, president, also a member of Thomsen Brothers 

 I'ompany this city, Robert J. Cairns, vice-president and Prank A. Redner. 

 secretary and treasurer. The former factory and warehouse of the Fisher 

 Box Factory has been leased for a term of yejirs. Several new additions, 

 including an electric sawmill, dry kiln, etc., will be erected. 



Operations on three tugs for the Emergency Fleet Corporation, in course 

 of construction at the Leathem & Smith Shipyards, Sturgeon Bay, will be 

 resumed. Work has been suspended for the past several months pending 

 government cost investigations. The tugs being constructed at this yard 

 are of the 150 ft. type for sea coast operations. 



The Indians employed at the Odanah mill on the Bad river Indian 

 i-escrvation refused to work in their demands for increased pay. Ira- 

 Miediately following the strike a union wius formed taking in most of the 

 strikers. According to the J. S. Steam Lumber Company, Odanah, opera- 

 tors of the mill, the men were payed $3.50 per day for driving one horse 

 and ,$3.75 for driving two horses. They asked for 50c increase, which 

 was followed by the same demand from boom tenders and river men. Con- 

 ditions on the reservation are different from those elsewhere, inasmueli 

 as the lumber company operates a general store at Odanah where if 

 receives time checks from the Indians and others who work tor the com- 

 pany in the mills or in camps. Striking Indians have asked the Indian 

 agent at Ashland for assistance claiming that they are unable to get fooil 

 at the company store, which of course they cannot get without money or 

 time checks, the later now being cut off by the strike. 



GRAND RAPIDS 



The Flottorp Manufacturing Company, airplane propeller manufacturer, 

 has taken up the production of phonograph cabinets. 



An addition to the plant of the Nichols & Cox Lumber Company Is being 

 erected. The addition will he used as an extension of the flooring mill 

 and for storage. 



The Welsh Manufacturing Company, which recently took over the Heinz 

 pickle plant and which is remodeling the building, has taken out a building 

 permit for the erection of new dry kilns to cost $G,000. 



Residence construction continues below normal, but there are indica- 

 tions of increased activity for the fall. 



The Grand Rapids Furniture Manufacturers' Association is preparing to 

 build a two-story warehouse for the car loading department, the first floor 

 to l)e used for car loading and the basement and second story tor ware- 

 house purposes. 



The Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company is erecting dry kilns to cost $8,000. 



A house building corporation has been organized at Ionia and twenty 

 five houses will be constructed at once. 



The Michigan State police have organized a permanent fire patrol to 

 protect the forests of the Grand Traverse regions from fiames. 



.\ new three-story office building, of cement block construction, is being 

 erected by the Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company. The first floor will 

 be used for oflJces, the second for showrooms and the third for factory 

 purposes. The old office huibling will be used for factory purposes. 



The largest July lo.iding in its history is reported by the carloading 

 department of the Grand Rapids Furniture Manufacturers' Association. 

 During the month the department handled 145 cars, one of them being 

 for Havana. 



The Grand Kapids Furniture Company has increased its capital stock 

 to $75,000 7 per cent preferred and $75,000 common, wtih $05,000 of each 

 c'lass subscribed. 



The Louis Sands Salt & Lumber Company of Manistee has decided to 

 divide its holdings of 12,000 acres of land into tracts of forty acres and 

 apportion them to its 300 employees, the only condition being that the 

 employees remain in service until sawmill operations are discontinued, 

 which, it is estimated, will be in about three years. 



The Michigan Seating Company has asked bids on an addition to its plant 

 at Jackson. 



Land has been purchased for the site of the new plant of the Northern 

 Auto Wheel Company, a new concern at Alma, and building operations will 

 be begun immediately. The company, which will manufacture wooden 

 wheels for commercial and pleasure vehicles, is capitalized at $1,000,00(1. 



The BoUstrom Motor Company, Inc., is being formed at St. Louis, Mich., 

 for the purpose of manufacturing a four-wheel drive truck. The first unit 

 of the plant is expected to be completed before winter. 



.V corner of the plant of the Grand Rapids Bookcase & Chair Company 

 at Hastings was badly damaged by lightning during a recent Btorm. 



