NHLA Celebrates 125 Years of Service to the Hardwood Lumber Industry

Celebrating 125 Years of Service to the Hardwood Lumber Industry

By AMANDA BOUTWELL, Marketing Communications Manager

NHLA 125th Anniversary Celebratory Open House Wednesday, April 12 in Memphis, TN | RSVP to 125years@nhla.com

As the National Hardwood Lumber Association celebrates its 125th anniversary this month, consider what the hardwood industry looked like 125 years ago. In April of 1898, most sawmills were steam-powered, and while electricity had been invented, it was not widely used until the 1900s. New machines were being developed, but oxen and horses were still widely used. The world was different as well. William McKinley was the president of the United States. Aspirin hadn’t been invented yet. Railroads had expanded significantly, bringing remote areas of North America into a national market economy.

Axes, machetes and two-man saws were used to fell and buck this large white oak.

It was against this backdrop that approximately 40 men met in the cramped, dimly lit office of the Chicago Hardwood Lumber Exchange in Illinois to establish “uniformity of inspecting hardwood lumber.” The result was the formation of the National Hardwood Lumber Association. William A. Bennett of the Bennett and Witte Company served as the first president of NHLA, and his first order of business was to form a committee to draft rules for hardwood lumber inspection. The NHLA Rules Book the committee created was much more than just a list of rules. The Rules stabilized the industry by acting as the basis of values. Without the Rules, prices were senseless. The Rules turned chaos into something meaningful.

The industry’s respect for the NHLA Rules continues to this day. Tom Oilar with Cole Hardwood (a member of NHLA for 117 years) said, “Cole Hardwood continues to be a member of NHLA because we use the NHLA grade standards every day. We take advantage of the grading school and the grading short courses and participate in the grade certification program. We use these to keep our inspectors in check and on par with NHLA standards.”

It isn’t just sawmills that benefit from the NHLA Rules. Scott Norton, Vice President at USNR (a machinery and technology company), echoes his gratefulness for the Rules, stating, “We appreciate that NHLA maintains the standard for grading hardwood lumber — particularly from an optimization standpoint. Those rules, those processes, that sort of standardization of a baseline across the industry, is beneficial to us because it helps us understand how we need to design our systems so that our customers benefit.”

After NHLA created the Rules for the Measurement and Inspection of Hardwood Lumber, it quickly became apparent that the Association needed a way to ensure the uniform application of the Rules. Thus, the birth of the National Inspector, a position that is greatly valued and respected by all in the hardwood industry to this day. National Inspectors are called upon to act as impartial experts to settle disputes, and they can step in as a company’s lumber inspector when requested. They also provide indispensable insight into mill operations and how to yield the highest profit.

By the 1940s, the demand for lumber inspectors became so great that NHLA established a school to train people to enter the profession. What began as a temporary experiment to measure support rapidly transformed into a vital trade school. At the time, Memphis, Tennessee, was known as the “hardwood capital of the world,” so it made sense to situate the Inspector Training School in Memphis. A Memphis business, Nickey Brother Lumber Company, generously donated land to build a school. In 1948 classes were held at another location while the new school was constructed. The new building was designed to teach hardwood lumber grading, so it came equipped with a large classroom, an area for lumber storage, and facilities to practice grading lumber. The Inspector Training School celebrates its 75th anniversary this month as well.

Lillard Nicely served as the school director from its beginning through 1956. At the time, the NHLA Inspector Training School was a 20-week (5 months) program held twice a year. In 1971, the program was shortened to 12 weeks (three months) thanks to the introduction of visual aids and improved study material. This was again changed in 2020 when modern technology allowed the class to be shortened to eight weeks (two months).

Between the 1940s and 1970s, space at the School was limited, so there was a waiting list for students who wanted to attend. In an emergency effort to relieve the backlog of students, in 1979, the School began to operate on a “double shift” basis, with a morning session and an afternoon session. Working in this manner was not sustainable for staff or students. But in 1980, the problem was solved by moving the classroom to an even larger building at the newly built NHLA headquarters in Memphis. The move increased student capacity from 50 to 70, precisely what was needed to meet the demand for attendance. The new school was considerably larger, with areas for instruction, a lounge, a lumber grading facility (with lumber storage), ample parking, and sections for recreation.

Since its inception, the NHLA Inspector Training School has provided a wealth of new inspectors as well as mill operators, owners, sales executives, and more. The value of attending the Inspector Training School cannot be overstated, as it has served as a launching pad for careers throughout the industry. Phillip Pierce, President of Holt & Bugbee Co. (an NHLA member for 116 years), explains, “Both my brother and I started off our hardwood lumber careers over 40 years ago by attending the NHLA Inspector Training School in Memphis. It jump-started our knowledge of species identification and the basic principles of kiln drying. It also gave us a solid understanding of the grading Rules. Since then, many of our co-workers have taken advantage of the short courses, and it has helped Holt & Bugbee Co. strengthen our team.”

In the 1970s, NHLA made the monumental decision to move its headquarters from Chicago to Memphis, and the Lumbermen’s Club of Memphis played a big part in that decision. The Lumbermen’s Club of Memphis went to the NHLA board and encouraged them to move the headquarters to Memphis. They agreed – if

NHLA didn’t have to spend any money for the move. It was the hard work of the Lumbermen’s Club of Memphis and the generosity of NHLA members that made the move to Memphis possible. The Club managed to get everything needed for the new headquarters donated by members, from the purchase of the land to the office and School buildings. Today, the Lumbermen’s Club of Memphis is one of the oldest and most respected industry organizations in the region and remains active in networking, education, and charitable causes in the Memphis community.

In 1979, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to begin the construction of a new building with 8,500 square feet of office space and an additional 10,000+ square feet to build the new Inspector Training School. The building was expanded in the 1990s to accommodate more office space. These new buildings present a beautiful showcase of various species of hardwood lumber. Each office is paneled in a different species, from soft maple to walnut, with hardwood floors and paneling throughout both buildings.

NHLA has been present for some remarkable points in history. The Association provided exceptional service to the United States and Allied Nations during the first World War when NHLA created a War Service Bureau to oversee the procurement of the large quantities of lumber needed for the war effort. NHLA also aided the government during World War II, developing rules for the

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