Imperial Valley Dealers Start Strong Home Building and Modernizing Campaign

One of the keenest efforts at co-operative and co-ordinated promotion of buildings and building improvements ever attempted in a rural district of California, has just been launched in the Imperia.l Valley. It starts out like a winner, and should certainly give the builders and building prospects of the famous Valley something interesting to think and talk about right along with regard to their buildings and their homes.

The campaign has been in the m,aking for several months. It is sponsored, financed and directed by the Building Service Bureau, an association of the lumber and building material merchants of the Imperial Valley, and they are all in it and enthused over it. The idea originated with and the campaign was promoted by a very virile and thinking building official, Mr. W. W. Wheatley, Secretary of the Association, at El Centro.

The campaign consists, in short, of a two page spread of ads, editorials, news, etc., on the subject of building, published in The Imperial Valley Press, .and to appear once every week beginning with the initial issue of September l6th.

All the well known merchants of the Valley interested in building are represented on the two pages by separate advertisements. There are lumber dealers, building and loan associations, refrigerator dealers, electric refrigerator

Texas Lumbermen Visit California

Among the visiting lumbermen seen on the streets of Los Angeles during the past two weeks were E. R. Wicks and Frank 'Womack, of Houston, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Womack were making their first visit to California, while Mr. Wicks has been here frequently. Mr. Wicks is head of The Vaughan Lumber Company, the world's biggest wholesale lumber concern, and Mr. Womack is head of The Foster Lumber Company and the Trinity River Lumber Company, both Texas sawmilling concerns.

systems, the gas company, building insurance people, title guaranty people, contractors of various sorts ofiering t9 do building and repairing, furniture dealers, roofing dealefs, etc.

The educational features of the two pages consist of an attractive house plan and picture, a column of hints for home-builders, a list of building permits and prospects, a_n interesting story on what modernizing means and how it can be accomplished, and a well written three column ad from the Bureau itself high lighting new conveniences for the home. In the first issue a built-in breakfast nook was featured. This will be changed every issue. Also in the first issue on the editorial page of the newspaper there appeared a very complimentary editorial concerning the building department.

It's greal stuff, and very well done, indeed. In a letter to The California l-umber Merchant Mr. \\rheatley says: "It goes to show what can be done by co-operative effort in a small local group, for our association sold the idea to the paper; we sponsor it; our Bureau provides the copy, the weekly plan, the building statistics, and through our Bureau w-e handle the 'Question Box,' and the 'Hints for Homebuilders'."

The progress of this splendid local effort should be watched with keen interest bv the lumbermen of the state.

E. H. BIGGS BACK FROM ARIZONA

E. I{. "Ed" Biggs of the Union Lumber Company, Los Angeles, has recently returned from a ten day business trip to Arizona.

Back From Sunny South

Steuart Bothwell, of the sales department of the Chas. R. McCormick Lumber Co., San Francisco, is back from spending two weeks' vacation with his parents in San Diego.