The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1917-06-09

with operating the oldest wood
working plant in West Duluth.
March 1, 1890, just a little over
q years ago, the business was
started with a few old machines,
a ramshackle building, four
hands and about $500 in cash
capital.
Today, Mr.. Wallinder operates
a modern sash and door plant,
representing an investment of
$4,000, employing over fifty
hands and covering half a dozen
states with the output. Since the
enterprise was started, only Is
days have been lost because of
shutdowns and not single pay
roll ever has been missed. Two
bad panics have been weathered.
The original factory building,
36x4O feet in area, has grown to
a main building 70x1S0 feet, with
a basement and two upper floors,
supplemented by a modern dry
kiln, moulding shed, a large dry
shed, garage, power plant, mate
rial yards and, nearby a modern
residence that any man might
envy.
Along with all this progress
and accomplishment, Mr.. Wallin-
der has reared a family of six,
been more or less active in poll
tics, aiken a heavy hand in min
ing enterprises and acquired
some valuable real estate hold
ings in the industrial section of
the city.
This creditable career is that
OF a man who entered this exist
ence just a little over half a
century ago; who was left an or
phan when just beginning an ed
ucation as engineer; and who
came to America from Sweden
when only 16 years of age.
Yet there are those who con-
slider arid Arizona, barbarous
Mexico or the distant isles of the
South Seas as better adapted for
profitable investment than Du-
luth and northern Minnesota.
When Mr.. Wallinder first
started his woodworking plant,
he ran it with power from a wa
terwheel, turned by the waters
of Keene's creek, a little stream
that, when the season is not too
dry, brawls it's way down the
hillside, through West Duluth
and into the peaceful waters of
st. Louis bay.
The proprietor, when engaged
in attending political meetings or
drumming up factory orders, left
the operation Of the little plant
to a foreman. He finally came
to the conclusion that a proper
quantity of work was not being
turned out and called the fore
man onto the carpet.
The foreman frankly admitted
the inadequacy Of his output and
explained the cause as follows:
GAS we know, Misther Wallin-
der, there's no more Wather in
this domned creek than will turn
yer wather wheel. And as we
also know, or should know,
there's a monstrous lot of cattle
up feminist this hillside.
"Now these domned cattle, bad
cess to 'em, seem to have a spe-
cial liking for the wathers of
this same creek. They insist on
shaking their thirst out of it an
nowhere else. AS a result, Sor,
they often stop the wather wheel
by drinkin' up all the wather
before it gets to the mill, which
means that the wheel and the
mill must stop. Then, when I
chase away the domned cray
thures from the wather, I cannot
run the machinery. A man can
nat be in two different places at
the same time, Sor. I'm domned
if I chase 'em and I'm domned if
I don't"
Wallinder saw what he was up
against and carried out VOW ia
build up a business that would
warrant steam power.
Joshua N. Richey, one of Du-
luth's oldest human landmarks,
came to Duluth in 1869, 4S years
ago. He has the distinction OF
being the oldest colored barber
in the entire Lake Superior re,
gion. Although born in Dresden,
Ontario, his parents came from
Oswego, N. Y. He learned his
trade in Port Huron and Sarnia