Wood Working
Sawmills, Planing Mill, Cabinet Shop, Veneer/Crate Factory, Construction

"Llano Colonist," February 18, 1928

"Comrade Shoemaker has just finished a kitchen cabinet for his home use. He made it on spare time and it is a beautiful piece of furniture, made from colony grown wood. Soon we hope to have cabinet makers on the job designing and making furniture for all the colonists. It is only a question of manpower."

"Llano Colonist," April 8, 1933 (Story of Llano)

"[In August 1925] the work of building the new veneer plant had gone far enough along, so that the big new veneer lathe was installed...

The timely placing of the new veneer lathe was shown by the receipt of a $3,000 order for bean hampers on September 17th; and on the 11th the new equipment was ready, including the temporary pit for the boiling of the logs...

The big veneer lathe was started on the manufacture of the usual stock of crates on October 15th. A stapling machine, which manufactures its own staples from wire, was also installed, at a cost of about $2,000; and on November 11th this machine began working on the bean hamper order.

So pressing was the demand for crates, that the crew and extra hands worked in the crate factory even on a part of Thanksgiving day."

"In January 1926... the planing mill was turning out cash orders for neighbors... The crate factory was set going by an order for box shook, and an order for a carload of bean hampers. The planing mill had an order for 35 thousand feet of lumber. Part of this material came from the old mill town of Cravens, where the mill company had finished cutting the pine, and the colony had taken over the wrecking of the entire outfit of mill, houses, and all, on shares."

"Llano Colonist," November 12, 1927

"This is the life these people are living and when one dies they make a substantial coffin of native wood, taken from their own woods, prepared in their own mills, and in this they are laid away with an impressive and simple ceremony. They have no need for any outside assistance except in some unusual cases... C.M. Maxwell"

"Llano Colonist," April 21, 1928

"Dad Hoag is making the pipes that will blow the sawdust and shavings from the planing mill to the boilers, which calls him away from his regular work but he has Mother Hoag, Dad Philips and Robert Roe to help do the home work at their Poultry unit and they, too, realize that we have to double teams on most all our jobs."

"Llano Colonist," April 27, 1929

“The planing mill crew has been covered up with work from Leesville and since Llano Colony has decided to go out of debt this year, Billy and Cleve have been on the cash jobs; meanwhile our own work... has to wait.”

"Llano Colonist," July 6, 1929

"We have a planing mill where the lumber is taken after it has gone through our saw mill and there it is made into finieshed lumber, as we not onyl have our planer, re-saws, edgers, stickers, and moulding machines, but we have machinery that will put this lumber into most any kind of a finished condition that is desired.

Right now we have thousands of feet of hard wood lumber piled in our yards waiting for furniture makers to come and put it into furniture stock or the finished product. We also have expensive machinery and the very best raw material for making veneer products, crates, baskets, hampers, and things that are used in marketing our own and our neighbor's farm products.

Over at the planing mill I find Cleve Campbell busy on a job for a Leesville business man. He is building fixtures for a store and also our carpenters are doing some remodeling on the inside of the store."

"Llano Colonist," November 9, 1929

"Comrade Sturman is building the new elevator for feeding sawdust into one of our "Dutch Ovens," this will save much work and fuel in firing our steam plant."

"Llano Colonist", September 13, 1930

"Over at the planing mill they have been turning out a line of school busses for the Parish school board, building them upon new Ford chassis and our fellows have been carrying out the work, building up the bodies in wood and iron braces where necessary, doing the glazing for the windows, and also finishing up in the paint shop and the up-holstery department.

Already new orders have come in for more busses to be built and there is now talk of us getting a job taking on ten more to be built for another parish.

In this work I find particularly Cleve Campbell, Fred Parsons, Ray Bradshaw, Charles Reddy, C.S. Thomas, Bert Moore, J.W. Dean, Wm. Bingham, and a new man by the name of Rand. Unquestionably there are others who have been having their fingers in the pie, but these were the fellows on the job on my first visit to the place.

At the same time I find Roede and his crew, one so big that I would not dare to begin to mention all their names, making crates as rapidly as the veneer factory will run out the veneer and a large crew of workers, principally the saw mill group, who saw out lumber for crate ends, as well as for housing and other purposes, George Collins, John Szpila, Slaughter, and another young fellow whom I just met, but whose name I do not remember. These fellows are working out crate end material. Dad Thomas, Roede, Banta and some others are assembling the parts.

George Stevens with quite a crew of workers is running the saw mill and at times helps to handle the veneer lathe. It is quite encouraging with the saw mill turning out lumber about three times faster than it has ever done before.

Ernest Ekstrom and Harold Kemp are felling trees. Bert Busick and Comrade Banta, Jr., with team and truck are delivering them to the veneer factory and the saw mill... In addition we must take into consideration Dad Tefteller and Freddie Busick who fire the boilers that keep up the steam and Comrade Butts who looks after the filing of the saws to keep this work going."

"Llano Colonist," November 22, 1930

"We have two saw mills, a planing mill, sash and door factory, cabinet shop, turning lathes, a veneer factory, box factory, shingle mill, all of which can be used in building buildings and equipping them with necessary fixtures and furniture."

"Llano Colonist," January 3, 1931

"Much lumber is sawed in the sawmill, and kindling and cord wood is made ready for the colonists as well as for outside trade. The hum of the saws down there is heard every hour of the day."

"Llano Colonist," March 5, 1932

"Fred Parsons prepares for emergencies by conserving suitable lumber for caskets and has it all planed off and properly shaped to be ready at a moment's notice. He has some nice magnolia pieces which take beautiful polish."

"Llano Colonist," August 26, 1933

"Comrade Parsons, Esperantist of long standing, tells us in the international language that he is completing a handsome chiforobe made of magnolia, cypress and cedar woods for an outside order."

"Llano Colonist", October 3, 1936

"Mr. Bartlett, wood-worker, has just finished a beautiful, all-gumwood chiffonier, which he has made for Dentist I.O. Winfree, of Leesville. He has jsut varnished it and put it in readiness to deliver."