AN INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY AT FORESTD ALE, VERMONT 



By Austin F. Hawes 



[State Forester of Connecticut and Formerly Field Secretary and Forester, National Association of Wood Turners] 



NO one has tramped in any of the forest regions of the 

 United States without stumbhng onto deserted lum- 

 ber camps, mute evidence of an industry which sprang 

 up and flourished for a brief period and as quickly with- 

 ered away. Such a camp, half gnawed to pieces by hedge- 

 hogs, with its evil smell of tar paper, old shoes and other 

 refuse, might be taken as a symbol of prodigal America, 

 which has taken its immense material resources as a mat- 

 ter of course and squandered them without thought of the 

 generations yet to come. 



To one who has traveled in Europe and seen the com- 

 fortable little industries nestled in the center of a forest 

 region which is managed with a view to the permanent 

 maintenance of the industry, our American methods seem 

 crude and wasteful. Most of our large wood using in- 

 dustries are located hundreds of miles from the source 

 of supply. Grand Rapids, for example, became the cen- 

 ter of the furniture industry when the city was sur- 

 rounded by forests. Today the purchaser of Grand 

 Rapids furniture pays a high freight rate not only on 

 the finished product, but in addition probably $10.00 to 

 $20.00 freight per thousand feet of lumber used. Only 

 a small part of the lumber which enters a factory comes 

 out as a part of the finished product; most of it comes 

 out as waste, but the man who buys a chair pays the 

 freight on this waste. 



It is an unusual satisfaction to find a locality in one of 

 our own forest regions where the forest has been main- 

 tained to supply a particular industry- Such a condition 

 exists in Brandon, Vermont, and is well worth a trip up 

 from Rutland for anyone who is interested. The New- 

 ton and Thompson Manufacturing Company has been 

 making wood turnings in the little village of Forestdale 

 since 1846, and has gradually built up a forest property 

 of 8000 acres to support the industry. It is said that in 

 their early days they practically supplied New York City 

 with button molds and other wood turnings, used in the 

 clothing industry. This plant has been much enlarged 

 under the able management of Mr. Louis Bump, who is 

 now president of the National Association of Wood 

 Turners, and is making a wide variety of wood turnings. 

 It would probably be a revelation even to a small boy to 

 know how many toy balloon mouth pieces this company 

 makes in the course of a year. If one goes into a Chinese 

 laundry he will see a counting board with colored beads 

 strung on wires. Similar devices are used in many 

 schools. It probably never occurs to anyone to ask 

 where these are made, but if anyone is interested he will 

 find one of the large sources of supply at Forestdale. 



The newest addition to this plant is the toy depart- 

 ment which is not wholly a turning proposition. Here 

 white pine logs are converted with great speed into 



neat little lock cornered boxes and each box is filled 

 with an attractive set of toys, all on a miniature scale. 

 These include such things as a wash tub and scrubbing 

 board, cups, saucers, and other useful utensils such as 



'^^} m^- 



-ninn-fi , 



-^^iBte 



^^^^^^^ 



GENERAL VIEW OF THE NEWTON AND THOMPSON PLANT, 



FORESTDALE, VERMONT. WITH TOY DEPARTMENT ON 



LEFT AND TURNING PLANT ON RIGHT 



INTERIOR VIEW, SHOWING TUMBLER IN FOREGROUND. TURN. 

 INGS ARE POLISHED BY TUMBLING AGAINST EACH OTHER 



STACKS OF FOUR-FOOT WHITE BIRCH SQUARES LEFT IN THE 

 OPEN SEVERAL MONTHS TO DRY BEFORE TURNING 



