Sue’s Views
The World’s Best Summer Job
At right: Tour guide leading a tour of the Long-Bell mill, smoke stacks in the background. Below: Queen Marie of Romania came through town and toured the mill in 1926. Photos courtesy of Longview Public Library
T
he biggest. The best. Ripley’s Believe It or Not. The Top Ten List. Face it, we’re all drawn to superlatives, and Longview is no exception.
I approached my summer job with some trepidation. Equipped with my white hard hat, green jacket, and a bullhorn, I walked across the parking lot in the shadow of surely one of the world’s biggest billboards, proclaiming Welcome to Weyerhaeuser…Home of the World’s Largest Sawmill. As a fledgling tour guide, I was part of a rich tradition, whether I knew it or not. If R.A. Long and the founders had charged per head for all those tours they probably would have improved the balance sheet substantially. Chambers of Commerce, real estate agents, and developers by the busload. And later, in my day, tourists who’d visited Boeing up north and Trees of Mystery in the Redwoods down south (probably with a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory in between, too) would queue up to witness the spectacle of the mighty sawmill. And try to hear me over the noise.
It was the Industrial Age, and it lay the basis for our economy, our livelihoods, our pride, and, surely, the world’s greatest summer job. Oh, by the way, that’s Queen Marie of Romania taking the tour in 1926, accompanied by Long-Bell manager S.M. Morris. In her memoir, she recalled: “In the mill we saw giant trees lifted as though they were pencils, stripped of their bark and split into huge planks and beams as though they had not greater resistance than butter.”
Columnists and contributors: Tracy Beard Carol Boudreau Hal Calbom Alice Dietz Rad Dutz Joseph Govednik Jim McLeod Michael Perry Ned Piper Philip Portwood Robert Michael Pyle Marc Roland Alan Rose Alice Slusher Greg Smith Debra Tweedy Judy VanderMaten Editorial/Proofreading Assistants: Merrilee Bauman, Michael Perry, Marilyn Perry, Tiffany Dickinson, Debra Tweedy Advertising Manager: Ned Piper, 360-749-2632 Columbia River Reader, llc 1333 14th Ave Longview, WA 98632 P.O. Box 1643 • Rainier, OR 97048 Office Hours: M-W-F • 11–3* *Other times by chance or appointment E-mail: publisher@crreader.com Phone: 360-749-1021
I hope you’re enjoying our Centennial series, “People+Place Then and Now,” and having a lovely summer.
Sue Piper
Columbia River Reader ... Helping you discover and enjoy the good life in the Columbia River Region, at home and on the road. ON THE COVER
Publisher/Editor: Susan P. Piper
“Good morning, my name is Sue. I’ll be your guide today. Can you hear me OK?”
City of Longview Urban Forestry crew at work at the Civic Circle, left to right: Danny Olson, Blaine Winter, and Peter Brickey. In the overhead bucket: Kevin Beaty.
Photo by Hal Calbom Columbia River Reader is published monthly, with 15,000 copies distributed in the Lower Columbia region. Entire contents copyrighted; No reproduction of any kind allowed without express written permission of Columbia River Reader, LLC. Opinions expressed herein, whether in editorial content or paid ad space, belong to the writers and advertisers and are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Reader.
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CRR Collectors Club Letter to the Editor Civilized Living: Miss Manners Dispatches from the Discovery Trail ~ Episode 15 Where to Find the Reader A Different Way of Seeing ~ The Tidewater Reach Out & About ~ Willow Grove Bike Ride & Picnic Provisions Along the Trail ~ Museum Magic: The Bush Cabin at Cowlitz County Fair Quips & Quotes The Long View: People + Place Then and Now ~ Chapter 2 The Long View Partner Spotlights Longview Centennial Calendar Lower Columbia Dining Guide Where Do You Read the Reader? Art in the Park Astronomy / The Sky Report: July 15–August 15 Roland on Wine Me & My Piano: Good Vibes for Life, by Rad Dutz Besides CRR What Else Are You Reading? Cover to Cover ~ Book Review / Bestsellers List Submissions Guidelines / Performing Arts / Outings & Events Northwest Gardening: Tips for Gardening Enjoyment! The Spectator: Plugged In to Cowlitz PUD: Considering Solar? Columbia River Reader / July 15, 2022 / 3
