ONtOIAIg lnoo v
Mason and Grays Harbor counties has grown in
80 years into a corporate giant with
international operations and worldwide
merchandising.
From Sol G. Simpson's primitive logging
show in the Mason County wilderness the com-
pany has developed into a leader of the indus-
try in progressive timber aanagement and so-
phistieated manufaeturing methods.
Headquarters for logging and manufaetur-
ing operations of the Shelton Working Circle
are in a colonial style building at Third and
Franklin in downtown Shelton.
From this are directed logging operations
at Camps Grisdale and Govey, manufacturing
plants at Shelton and McClea ., tree farming,
forestry, fire fighting, and better methods
study.
A renovation and rebuilding program for
the Shelton plants has been in progress since
1962 at a cost exeeeding $20,000,000.
Mill 3 is an innovation in eleetronie milling
where 13 men can turn out enough lumber on
a shift to build two three-bedroom houses.
Mill 4 is the largest automated sawmill in
the United States. With Mill 3 it combines to
saw logs as small as five inches in diameter
and as large as five feet. Larger logs are
quarter sawed.
During 1970 the company invested
$414,000 in improvements at its Shelton and
McCleary plants. A mobile home products line
was added to the Insulation Board Plant to meet
a new market opportunity. A 50% increase in
chip production resulted from a new facility at
Shelton Veneer.
Other manufacturing facilities are the in-
dustry's most modern veneer plant and an in-
sulating board plant in Shelton and a door
plant in McCleary, just over the Grays Harbor
County line.
Simpson has approximately 600,000 acres
under sustained yield forest management in
Washington, Oregon, and California, of which
235,192 combine with II 1,108 of national
forest land in the Simpson Sustained Yield Unit,
totalling 346,300 acres of perpetual timber
supply.
Shelton Working Circle employment
averaged 2,073 during 1970. Although this was
slightly less than the previous year, the year's
payroll of $20,587,820 topped all records. The
company's payrolls since 1947 have totalled
$290,147,000.
Timber harvest in 1970 totalled
202,745,720 board feet, approximately
3,000,000 more than in 1969. The harvest
included old growth from the national forest
and second growth thinnings from Simpson tree
farms. Thinning stands 35 to 60 years old
accounts for 15% of the harvest total.
Essential to stability of company and com-
munity is a cooperative contract with the U.S.
Forest Service which established the Simpson
Sustained Yield Unit in 1946.
This was authorized by a 1944 Act of Con-
gress. It enables Simpson to harvest old growth
timber on Olympic National Forest while sec-
ond growth is coming along on its own refor-
ested lands.
Seventeen contractors employing 56 men
thinned and salvaged 27,351,590 board feet last
year. This added $1,026,060 to the county's
economy in payrolls and equipment rentals.
More than 75 families harvest greenery on
70,000 acres leased from Simpson. Other minor
forest products are cedar shake boards, alder
plug poles, and Cascara bark.
Daily tours of Simpson Timber Company's
Shelton plants are held during the summer from
1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays
only. Tours begin at the Mill Street Gate,
reached by turning east on Mill Street from First
Street at the stop light.
THIS HUGE band saw wheel, 11 feet in diameter, was presented to the City
of Shelton by Simpson Timber Company and emplaced as a viewpoint
attraction on Olympic Highway South.
Cover P|dure:
I
•
In the picture on the cover of this issue,
George Simmons, on the spring boards, is
engaged in "jumping a spar tree" on a Simpson
Timber Company operation in the Camp
Grisdale area of Olympic National Forest where
old growth timber is harvested.
This intricate and highly skilled maneuver is
necessary because the tree chosen for a spar
stands on the edge of a steep slope in the wrong
position with relation to the timber which will
be yarded up the slope to a landing at the base
of the tree.
The spar must be moved away from the edge
so that when the yarding engine hauls in the
main line through a lead block high on the spar,
the logs will land in the right place.
After the tree is topped and guyed with
three steel cables, two diagonal notches are cut
in the butt to form a "v" just below a binding of
heavy steel wire which will prevent splitting
during the movement.
A big log is then skidded up with one end
snug against the foot of the tree, the other
pointed in the direction in which the spar will be
"jumped."
Next a caterpillar tractor is spotted close to
the end of the log and its main line choked
around the butt of the spar tree. The three guys
are slacked, the tractor's line is slowly tightened,
and the butt of the tree is moved on to the side
of the log, held in place by the notch cut by
Simmons.
Once the spar is firmly set, the tractor's
power causes the log to skid with the result that
both the log and the spar mounted upright on its
back move about 40 feet to the location desired.
This requires delicate slacking and tightening of
the guys and precise tension on the tractor's
line.
When the spar arrives at its destination, it is
then completely guyed, the various blocks are
hung, and it is ready for business.
Jumping the spar was the method chosen to
solve this particular logging problem because it
was cheaper than falling another tree some
distance from the landing, moving it to the right
spot, and raising it from the ground.
The spar is between four and five feet in
diameter at the base. The lead block is mounted
130 feet from the ground, some distance below
the top of the spar where the guys are attached.
This color photo was taken by Len Hunter,
U.S.F.S., of the Shelton Ranger District of
Olympic National Forest.
TALL AS a 6-story building, this tank stores and
blends fuel to improve combustion and reduce
cinders.
Simpson's concern for ecology patterns is
manifested by substantial investment in
anti-pollution methods in manufacturing and
accelerated efforts to indoctrinate personnel
with the need for protecting the environment.
During the past year executives and
operating managers participated in a two-day
seminar to discuss environmental issues with
university forestry school teachers, students,
conservationists, and politicians.
The company also initiated studies on the
relation of manufacturing and log storage to the
tidal waters of Oakland Bay at Shelton which
has been the scene of log rafting since logging
began on Puget Sound in 1853.
Page .5-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 17, 1971
/
Services
• Commercial Printing
Under the new ownership of Mike Byrne you can still depend
on the friendly reliable service and quality materials that have
been available at Eacrett's for the past 24 years. Stop in for
help with your building and painting problems.
• Colored Matched
Business Stationery & Envelopes
• Lithography
Lumber
Plumbing & Hardware
Pittsburgh Paints
Olympic Stains
Building Supplies
LUMBER
BYRNE BUILDING CO.
1332 Olympic Hwy. S.
4264522
Sanderson Field, dedicated to Major General Lawson
Sanderson, Ret., is one of the five major properties managed
by the Shelton Port Commission. The 1100 acre field has two
runways of 5,000 ft. each. It also offers space for light
industry and commercial use. Other properties managed by
the Port are the port dock and small boat moorage; a boat
launch at Arcadia Point; the industrial park on John's
Prairie; and Eagle Point planned for future marine oriented
developments.
Only 2Vz miles from Shelton, the airport is convenient for
business travel, and serves the county's resort and recreation
areas.
Commissioners: Jim Pauley, Herb Vonhof, Oliver Ashford
Angle Building - John Temple: Office Manager
• Social Stationery
• Office Supplies
• Typewriter Sales & Service
Stationery Co.
Expert Installation
All Floor Coverings
Counter Tops
Carpeting • Ceramics • Formica • Linoleum
Quality Work Guaranteed
Bob Ogden - 2136 Callanan
1 3 Years Experience, Licensed, Bonded
Call anytime for free estimates, or sample showing.
Phone
Thursday, June 17, 1971 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page S-89
