The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1905-01-12

somerset County appeared In The Ai-s-
isslppi Valley Lumberman, mag TT
published In Minneapolis MINI. ~ p
cent da.r. aud will be Of Interest t.
many Of our readers:
has been common remark n Viz
itOrs 10 the far wesf, aud especially fhf
far northwest, that to all apptarabce.
the middle aged and old men il business
are In the decided minority. l. NAY ~
that the atmosphere Of that region ie
possessed OF some Of the qualities Of The
tabled Fountain OF Youth, sought by d.
Soto, and that men forget to grow Old
and take on gray hairs aud wriuKles.
One who spends few DAYS on ths co4sl
may well be convinced that they have
little time for development along those
lines, for those who are not hugtlrrs
drop out OF the running 10 few weeks,
or mouths. II Is case OF natural selec-
ton, sometimes called the survival of
the fittest. Youth and old age 90 west
but the stragglers and the returbiBR
emlgrants are the old and the Incapable
The man who stops to pick up h pin Oh
the street Is knocked down and walked
over by those who keep their eyes on the
main chance.
1t Is peculiar phe, omenon that the
man who does much can do more, while
the one with little To accomplish fails
even In that, and the successful business
man Of the coast keeps both hands and
his head working all the time The pro-
eession goes forward al quick time and
and one must be alert to hold the pace.
And II 's not the pace that kills. Il i
invigOrating, aud it is catching. Those
who are immune had better stay away.
All parts Of this country and many
other countries have contributed Of
their best to make up the population Of
the western slope. but the result IL not
Heterogeneous. Each man looks out for
himself, but they pull together 10 inter
ests that are common, and have yet 10
know OF one who thought any other
part OF the country was worth living in.
The plains of the middle west. the banks
OF the Big Muddy aud the Father Of
Waters, the shores Of the Great Lakes,
the Sunny South, the valleys Of the easf
and the rocky hillsldes OF New England
are all represented. Edwin j McNeene
the subject of this sketch, was born In
Maine.
Not every native of the state Of Maine
is IN the lumber business but every man,
woman and child born 10 that state dur.
ing the past century has heard of it, A
good many natives of the state go off to
the New Foundland banks for fish;
others engage in divers other lines, but
the Chief product OF Nj line in the years
that have passed is lumber, and many
of the chief OF her sons are making lum-
Der there or elsewhere. Some of them
have gone into the business Willingly;
Others have been forced into it by ell
cumstances they could not get away
from. Mr.. Men eeie, who now balls
from Tacoma, in the far west, did not
elect the lumber business as vocation
until he found himself in such a situa-
ton that it seemed the best thing to do.
Then the natural instinct Of native Of
Maine asserted itself, and, being in it. he
has made success
He was born al Skowhegan, on the
kennebec, and lived there for number
of years. He saw good many white
pine logs come down the river to the
mills Of the Pine Tree State, but did not
become especially interested 10 that line
until he had crossed the continent. In
fact, his first business venture was about
as far removed from lumber as ii could
be. lt WAS manufacturing business,
but it involved the making OF candy.
Ii there were any brands and grades 10
the candy trade it is safe to say that his
product ranked at least CLEAR" But
his candy was not sticky enough 10 hold
him TO The business nor TO the State OF
his nativity.
In 1879 he started west and got as far
as Boone, Iowa, before he stopped. For
about nine years he was engaged in the
general merchandise business at that
place. Then he had another attack Of
western itch, and This time 1t took him
to the Jumping off place. In 1855 he
commenced the real estate and loan bus
mess at Tacoma, and handled Tacoma
dirt anu Tacoma money until 1893. He
vas one OF the iuc0rpurators and presi-
dent OF the Tacoma Il Abstract and Title
Insurance Company, until that company
merged with the Commonwealth 4 Title
and Abstract Company. Mr.. MeNeelie
has at all times been loyal to Tacoma
aud Identified with its interests, and was
for several years one of the directors of
the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce
Board Of Trade. He then spent year
IN the east, part of which was at the
Chicago fair, bdt the end OF the year
sgain found him at Tacoma. A comhn-
alton of circumstances pointed to the
single business az the logical step to
take, and he felt that his constitution
WAS strong enough to withstand the
griets that seem TO be a necessary accom-.
paniment. A times he has been sorry.
but in general, his successes have over
balanced his troubles.
+. J. McNeelie & Co. started business
in 1894 AT first the firm WAS merely
engaged in the brokerage business, bur
soon found that in order to be able To
warrant their shingles ii would be nee
essary to control the manufacturing end
This led to the purchase Of what was
known as the Ten-block mill at Everett
II was not long until the growing vol
ume or trade demanded still further cap
acity, and they bought the Hill-Hall
mill, also at Everett. Later they pur-
chased the Cascade single mill at Taco
ma, and in addition to these they have
always contracted for considerable
number Of shingles, by taking the com
plete cut Of other mills. They increased
the capacity of the Tacoma mill TO such
an extent that they found thew could get
along without the mills at Everett, and
have sold them both; one to the Weyet-
haeuser Company, and the other to the
Carlson Bros. Company. The firm has
always bought shingles outside its own
mills and that policy is continued, but
the mills are picked and the customers
OF the firm are sure of good stock.
The firm was Incorporated after 1t had
been in business but a short time, and
John K, Palmer is the secretary, and