Vocal Point: Changing times mean changes in life

Sawdust, that pungent, often unsightly compound associated with lumber mills, home and neighborhood construction projects, has been a common environmental factor in many communities throughout the Northwest.

Tipi burners, with their endless plumes of smoke, marked mill sites throughout the region during my childhood. Rail cars laden with huge logs, parked in sidings and seen rumbling along behind steam locomotives, were a common sight in Western Montana.

But I must admit I was impressed – astonished may be a better word – when I saw the size of the logs being hauled to mills in Seattle in 1948. Those gargantuan specimens made the logs being hauled to the mills in my hometown look like “toothpicks.”

You won’t find many of the people who worked in the forests and mills of Western Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington during the last half of the 20th century listed among our nation’s “rich and famous.” Still the mills were a steady, and a relatively secure, source of employment for a lot of people. Further, they paid a decent wage.

Before you rocket out of your chair let me share my rationale for the last statement. I worked as a common laborer at the Anaconda Mining Co.’s mill at Bonner, Mont., for three years prior to my graduation from college. I swallowed a $300 cut in pay and lost a week’s paid vacation when I signed my $5,000 teaching contract with Powell County High School in 1965. The timber industry was alive and well when the LaCombes immigrated to the Spokane Valley in 1968.

One requirement for our new home in the Valley was that it have a fireplace. As luck would have it, the house we purchased had two. It’s safe to say that our family enjoyed many evenings surrounded by the welcoming warmth of a blazing fire.

But things change with time. Gathering a “winter’s supply” of wood for our fireplaces is no longer a weekend stroll in the woods for this man. Consequently, we chose to purchase a pellet stove a couple of years ago. While we miss the snap, crackle and pop of a good piece of tamarack burning in the fireplace, neither of us miss the fuss and muss associated with burning wood.

Shortly after purchasing the pellet stove we found a merchant who sold pellets by the ton, but allowed us to take only the portion we needed for our immediate use. The arrangement has worked beautifully. We have been able to enjoy the essence of a fire, as well as a few added delicious morsels of heat, without feeling we were in the process of buying Avista Corp., one month at a time.

I’m a loyal person. Once I’ve found a good deal, I stick with the business/ person who has extended the helping hand. Consequently my day went south when, in January, I discovered I couldn’t add another ton of pellets to my account.

I asked: “How Come?” The cashier responded: “Well, we’re looking for another manufacturer. Our storage program isn’t feasible unless we have a guaranteed supply of pellets.”

Discombobbled, I muttered, “Thank you,” and shot out the door.

As the warehousemen loaded my order into the pickup’s bed I asked: “Hey, what’s up with this pellet deal?” adding, “I certainly value this process and your service!” The older gent responded: “The company which manufactures and supplies our pellets, is no longer able to find a reliable source of sawdust.” My first thought was, “Those guys and their plant must be located somewhere in Kansas!”

Shortly after pulling into the driveway I yanked one of the pellet sacks off the load, looking for clues on its label. Surprisingly I found that company’s manufacturing facility isn’t located in Kansas, rather it’s in Sandpoint.

Whipping my cell phone from its holster, I called one of my “Timber Beast” buddies who lives in Bonner. My question: “How many sawmills are in operation in Western Montana today?” His answer: “Either three or four.”

One could have found four sawmills operating within Missoula’s city limits 40 years ago. Stunned I asked: “Where have all those good jobs gone?”