The Coconino sun., 1925-08-28
ROTARIANS SAW LUMBER
In THE MAKING AT THE
A. |. & 7. co. SAWMILL

There's hackneyed saying that the
big pork packers use everything
touching on and appertaining to the
hog but the squeal. Well, they have
nothing on the local lumber mills, it
was proven Tuesday when the Rotar-
ians and their ladies and friends Wis
tied the plant of the Arizona Lumber
& Timber Co. There they use every
thing, including the bark.
The chairman for the day was |. B..
Koch, vice-president and general
manager for the company So he in
vited the gang out there. Picnic lunch
was spread on two big tables in the
planning mill. President Mart Fronske
with a mine wedge for gavel, called
to order as soon as deglutition was
enacted, turned the gavel over to |. b.,
who turned the gang away from the
tables at once and on their way to a
tour of the big plant in operation.
They saw the huge logs unloaded
into the pond from the railroad cars,
jerked thence up stairs into the mill
and carried through the big band
saws; watched the resaws and edgers
behind do a lot of the work that the
big saws considered too trivial; saw
the scraps made into lath and the
saw-dust carried around to and over
the huge boilers where it was fed au-
tomatically into the fires; saw the
planers, the car-loaders, and all the
rest at work.
Here are a few interesting facts
handed the gang by Mr.. Koch and they
give a graphic idea of the immensity
of the company's operations:
Number of men employed, 440.
Number of dependents, 1900.
Annual payroll, $500,000.00.
Annual expenditure for material and
supplies (mostly disbursed in Flag
staff, $250,000.00.
Approximate amount of taxes paid
for 1925, $22,000.00.
Full capacity of sawmill for one
year double shift, 100,000,000 feet
board measure.
Number of logs sawed to produce
this footage, 100000.
This product if sawed into pieces
one inch in thickness by nine inches
in width and the pieces placed end to
end would cover distance of approxi-
mately $4,000 miles, or completely en-
circle the earth.
There was a question or two we
would like to have asked, but when
all that machinery is humming the
only person you can ask. anything and
get an answer is yourself, and it has
to be sotto voce at that, also, at that,
a.. os,.,,yo,. x,,o.r he. ~,
We'd like to know if the noise in the
mill is all caused by the bark of the
logs, and whether male or female
mules are found most satisfactory in
hauling the lumber trucks. These two
were propounded by one of the
guests, and despite the hospitality Of
Mr.. Koch and the company, leaving
questions such as these unanswered
reflects greatly on their thoughtful-
ness. In all other respects the visit
was made perfect for everyone and
most enjoyable.
Among visiting Rotarians present
were Van Petten, DR.. r. j. Hight and
Lee Jones of Tempe and Harry Tell
yer of San Diego, and among the other
guests: Mr.. McIllwaine, Cecil Miller
of Glendale, Bob Oliver, David Bah
bitt Sr., Charlie Gillian, Roger Birds
eve. Joe C. Dolan of Los Angeles,
George Myers, Rotaryanns J. P. Will
SON, Sid Gassman, Ed Babbitt, Art
Riordan, I. B. Koch, B. A. Cameron,
A.. ]. Mackey, Henry Albers, Elsa
Myers and Betty and Billy Harrington
and young Messrs. Mackey, Simpson,
and Pearson.