October 10, 1919 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



25 



The Modern Manufacture of Walnut 



Illustrating the Operations of the Penrod Walnut and Veneer Company of 



Kansas City, Mo. 



No American home should he withotit its black walnut furnish- 

 ings, for black, walnut is particularly American, and is considered 

 by many to be the peer of hardwoods for furniture content and 

 for interior trim. Surely, there are but few hardwoods that can 

 compete w^ith the inherent dignity of walnut, its exquisite mark- 

 ings, and oftimes bizarre yet symmetrical figuring elicited from 

 the gnarled burls peculiar to American walnut. Truly this strictly 

 American forest product is deserving the eulogy of the poet for in 

 this hardy w^ood nature has secreted most wonderful treasures of 

 beauty. 



There has in the past been little attempt to generalize the use 

 of walnut in spite of the fact that it was highly prized by every 

 housew^ife who could boast of walnut furnishings. It seems that 

 woodw^orkers in European and other foreign countries were first 

 to fully appreciate the value of walnut, and they could not com- 

 prehend why American manufacturers and w^oodworkers ne- 

 glected to utilize this wonderful wood with its fine grain, its 

 natural beauty and adaptability to the best w^ork of the skilled 

 carver and woodworker. And so American walnut logs were 

 conveyed across the Atlantic for European artisans, w^hile Amer- 

 icans blind to its virtues were ever importing extraneous woods 

 to adorn American homes. Then, too, it seems that American 

 manufacturers were the victims of a propaganda to the effect 

 that walnut was scarce and hard to secure, and that they could 

 not depend upon a necessary supply in the event they specialized 

 in or produced a line of furniture in American walnut. In 

 many of our high-grade furniture houses, little or no attempt 

 was made to sell merchandise of walnut; rather the buyer was 

 led to feel that other woods w^ere preferable, and American dollars 

 were invested in woods of exotic origin. 



However, one of the many things that the demands of war 

 brought out most emphatically is the fact that American walnut is 

 not a rare wood on the verge of extinction. Rather, when pro- 

 ducers found that Uncle Sam needed walnut for war purposes, 

 and lots of it, they not only managed to supply the demand, but 



learned that walnut grew in abundance, and that it is in plentiful 

 supply sufficient to meet domestic demand for years to come for 

 furniture, interior trim and other commercial usages. 



One of the leading American institutions dealing exclusively in 

 walnut lumber and veneer, is the Penrod Walnut and Veneer 

 Company of Kansas City, Mo., of which J. N. Penrod is president, 

 R. L. Jurden, vice-president, and J. C. Rodahaffer, secretary and 

 treasurer. The company was organized in 1896 by J. N. Penrod 

 and Judge S. F. Prouty, the latter retiring from the business in 

 1914. Mr. Penrod has been connected with the walnut business 

 practically all his life, and got his early training in the trade in 

 Indiana where he bought and sold logs. He also was connected 

 with the firm of John H. Lesh & Co., as buyer and salesman 

 for many years prior to establishing the Penrod Walnut & 

 Veneer Company. 



Mr. Jurden, who is also president of the Penrod-Jurden Com- 

 pany, Inc., Memphis, and one of the most progressive factors in 

 the hardwood industry, opened his lumber career in 1 904 with 

 the Penrod Walnut & Veneer Company. He is a thoroughly ex- 

 perienced operator in all the departments of lumbering. Mr. 

 Jurden succeeded Alexander Lendrum as secretary and general 

 manager of the Penrod Walnut & Veneer Company in 1913 and 

 became vice-president in 1917. 



Mr. Rodahaffer was previously connected with Geo. W. Hartzell 

 of Piqua, Ohio, first as yardman and in later years a member of 

 the sales department. He was also on the sales force of T. B. 

 Stone Lumber Company for four years, and in 1908 returned to 

 the Hartzell company as sales manager. 



In toto. the members of this firm are experienced and practical 

 walnut men. Their superintendent of veneer operations, J. S. Stone, 

 who incidentally is a stockholder and director in the company, 

 is recognized as being the best authority in the country on walnut 

 veneers. Mr. Stone has had long experience in the veneer busi- 

 ness, both as a manufacturer and consumer. He had charge of 

 {Coiittnu((l on innjc 29) 



GENERAL VIEW OF PENROD WALNUT AND VENEER COMPANY'S PLANT AT KANSAS CITY. MO. 



