Twenty Years of Service and Success for Cafifornia Panel & Yeneer Company

Twenty years ago a keen little man named Hor,vell tsaker decided that there lvas a fine opportunity in Los Angeles for a concern to specialize in the stocking and distribution of panels, plywood and veneers. So he put his idea into operation and early in l9l7 he launched the Cali{ornia Panel & Veneer Company, with rvarehouse and office at 955 South Alameda Street.

The business was a success from the very start. In the first place the building world was just beginning to accept panels and plywood as an outstanding item of general and special building material, making it take the place of rvalls and surfaces built of boards, such as they used to use. And at about the same time the makers of panels ancl plywoocl rvere just making their greatest strides forward. They were learning through improved glue and improved construction methods to build panels that for quality and strength and beauty and usefulness far outshone solid woods of the same outside materials.

Likewise Howell Baker made a good guess on what was going to happen in a building way in Los Angeles and Southern California. He got l-ris business going good just about the time the Los Angeles ltuilding boom swept itr, and naturally he shared largely in the tremendously increased building volume. His warehouse g're\\r, so did his lines of merchandise. He rvas a marl who kept up with the tide, and generally just a little ahead of it. In later years I-os Angeles became headquarters for the construction of airplanes, and promptly the California Panel & Veneer Company went into the business of stocking and selling many lines of material for airplane construction. The veneer business fell off, but the panel and airplane business kept increasing.

In 1918 a young man named George Stratemeyer rvent to work for Mr. Baker as salesman. He is right there today. In 1923 a tall, hustling young salesman named R. Mulholland joined the sales force. He likewise is very mttch on the job today. In 1925 another hustling salesman named Wm. F. Fahs joined the organization, and he, too, is playing a big part in the business there todav.

In 1925, on January 15, Howell Baker, who had been in bad health for a long time, died. Immediately the question arose what to do with the business rvhich had ahvays been in his verl' capable hands. Mrs. Baker, who had never until that time had anything to do rvith her husband's business, 'rvent down to the office and looked over the situation. She found there a very healthy, going business. and a group of loyal. active, valuable young men rvho had learrred all about that business from her husband, and were. loath to see anything happen to it. So IVIrs. Baker stepped into the business world, and took over her husband's desk. She turned the work over to those good lieutenants Mr. Baker had left behind. While she is president of the California Pauel & Veneer Company, R. Mulholland is the general lnanager, George Stratemeyer is vice-president. and Wm. Fahs is secretary and treasurer.

In 1936, in order to do justice to their rapidly grotving steel and tube business, furnishing tubing for airplanes and various other industrial lines in Southern California, they organized a new corporation called the Baker Steel & Tube Company, offices right there with the panel and veneer company. I\{r. Mulholland is general manager of this cor.lcern, also, and likewise its president. George Stratembyer is vicepresident, and Wm. Fahs is secretary and treasurer.

With this set-up business is fine with both corporations.

The original California Panel & Veneer Company handles nothing but wood products, and the Baker Steel & Tube Company handles the metal business. Mt. Mulholland particularly specializes in selling the birplane trade and has made a signal success of his efforts in that'direction. Mrs. Baker goes to work every.day, gets along grandly with her group of co-workers, all of whom work with her rather than for her, and the entire situation is an admirable one. Mrs. Baker has admirably changed herself from a quiet home person to a very intelligent and adroit business wom?f,, although she modestly disclaims any such ability. Messrs. Mulholland, Fahs, and Stratemeyer make personal contaets with their very extensive trdde, so that every detail of 'the work of the two organizations is in the hands of their execuiives.

Everything in the line of softwood, domestic hardwood, foreign hardwodd and cabinet wood panels and plywood, are carried in their stocks. ."Business is good," is their invariable response when you ask about it. And it has good reason to be; several good reasons, in fact.

Coast Men Elected At Chicago

Henry Swafford, of E. J. Stanton & Son, Los Angeles, was elected 2nd vice-president of the National Wholesale Lumber Distributors'Association at the annual meeting of this organization held at the Congress Hotel, Chicago, September 17.

Pacific Coast men elected directors were D. J. Cahill' 'Western Hardwood Lumber Co., Los Angeles; C. H. White, White Brothers, San Francisco, and Roger Sands, Ehrlich-Harrison Co., Seattle.

OCTOBER MEETING CLUB NO. 39

Another good attendance was registered at the October dinner meeting of East Bay Hoo Hoo Club, held at the Athens Athletic Club, Oakland, Monday evening, October 18.

President Henry M. Hink was in the chair, and conducted an old-fashioned roll call.

The speaker of the evening was Harold Weber, secretary of the Downtown Association of Oakland, who took as his subject the new East Shore highway from Oakland to San Jose.

An interesting color film entitled "California Highways" lvas pr€s€nted by the Union Oil Company.