Distinctive Homes of West Coast Lumber; Designed for Better Living

<div>From archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv46891 : <br /></div><div>"The West Coast Lumber Manufacturers Association was incorporated in
1911 in Centralia, Wash., with the merger of the Pacific Coast Lumber
Manufacturers Association, the Southwest Washington Lumber Manufacturers
Association, and the Oregon and Washington Lumber Manufacturers Association.
The new trade association, headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., represented the
Douglas fir industry, then centered in western Washington. By 1916 the
organization had become the West Coast Lumbermen's Assocation (WCLA), and its
offices moved to Seattle, Wash.
<div class="top_bioghist top_bioghist-content"><p>By the 1920s, the WCLA had become an important representative for
manufacturers of Douglas fir, West Coast hemlock, Western red cedar, and Sitka
spruce wood products. In 1928, Colonel William B. Greeley, former chief of the
U.S. Forest Service, became the Secretary-Manager of the organization. His
reforms brought loggers, wood preservation plants, mill-work plants and other
related branches of the industry together into a stronger association. During
the 1920s and 1930s, the center of lumber production gradually shifted from
Washington to Oregon, and in 1946 the WCLA transferred its headquarters to
Portland, Or.</p>
<p>The WCLA was incorporated under the laws of Washington as a stock
corporation, with member companies each holding one share. Membership in the
association was entirely voluntary. For decades the association was supported
by dues assessed on logs and/or lumber produced by member companies. In 1949,
the WCLA dues structure was changed to one based solely on lumber
production.</p>
<p>The WCLA provided many services to its member companies, one of the
most important being the rationalization of the largely chaotic West Coast
lumber industry during the 1910s and 1920s. As the industry evolved, the
association's activities became more sophisticated, and by the 1950s the WCLA
supported its members in many ways. The Traffic Department negotiated with
railroad, trucking and shipping lines for favorable freight rates. The
Statistical Department produced regular reports about conditions within the
West Coast lumber industry. The Accounting Service assisted member companies
with accounting, cost analysis, and taxation problems. The Promotion Department
produced literature and advertising publications, newspaper and radio spots,
motion pictures, and a membership directory to market the products of the West
Coast lumber industry. The Technical Service Department, staffed by engineers,
conducted research to develop new and improved uses for West Coast lumber
products and produced publications such as the
<i>Douglas Fir Use Book</i>. The Public Relations
Department produced stories and news releases about the positive impact of the
lumber industry on the economy of the Pacific Northwest and attempted to
counter negative publicity. James Stevens, Public Relations Counsel of the WCLA
and author of stories about the legend of Paul Bunyan, produced hundreds of
issues of
<i>Out of the Woods</i>, a newspaper column about
conditions within the industry. The Educational Program Department, which was
closely related to Public Relations, provided literature, slides, filmstrips
and motion pictures to schools.</p>
<p>The WCLA worked closely with the National Lumber Manufacturers
Association (NLMA) and other regional and national organizations to advance the
interests of the lumber industry. The West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau
(WCLIB), a separate but closely allied organization to the WCLA, established
standard lumber grading rules, maintained uniform grades, trained and
supervised mill graders, licensed mills to use official grade stamps, and
issued Certificates of Inspection when requested. The WCLIB concentrated on
rail and truck shipments in the domestic and export markets. Another closely
allied organization, the Industrial Forestry Association (IFA), promoted forest
conservation practices through educational and public relations activities and
served as the certifying agency of the tree farm program in the Douglas fir
region of western Oregon and western Washington.</p>
<p>By the early 1960s, business leaders determined that a stronger
regional association was needed in the face of growing national and
international competition in the lumber industry. In 1964, the West Coast
Lumbermen's Association merged with the Western Pine Association (WPA), a trade
association which represented lumber interests east of the Cascade Mountains in
Oregon, Washington and California. A new organization, the Western Wood
Products Association (WWPA), was formed from this union, and in 1969 the WCLA
was dissolved as a corporation."</p>
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