Old Missoula

Elmer Findell Dies on Hunting Trip

Elmer A. Findell, 65, who for the past half-century was a figure in the lumbering industry in western Montana, died Wednesday afternoon of a heart attack. He was on a deer hunting trip in the Morrell creek country northeast of Missoula when death came.

Mr. Findell, resident of 211 West Spruce street, died on a trail well known to him years ago when he was a ranger in the old Missoula national forest. He and Lawrence Kincaid had gone hunting Wednesday morning and after trying the Swan river country without success, came to the Morrell creek woods, east of Seeley lake, about 3 p.m. Wednesday. Mr. Kincaid said that he and Mr. Findell separated. When Mr. Findell did not come back to his car about 5 p.m., Mr. Kincaid became worried and fired his rifle at intervals to tell Mr. Findell the car’s location. About 7 p.m. he went to Seeley Lake store and asked the Jim Rother logging concern to provide a search party. A member of this party found Mr. Findell’s body about 10 p.m. along a trail within a mile of the car.

The body is at the Squire-Simmons-Carr mortuary and funeral arrangements are pending.

Born in Minnesota

Mr. Findell was born May 12, 1885, at Princeton, Minn., and came to Montana sometime in 1907 or 1908. He took a job with the Anaconda Copper Mining company lumber department when it began logging a government timber purchase area in the vicinity of Seeley lake. He continued with the department until August 21, 1909, when he was hired by the federal forest service as a forest guard on the Missoula national forest (since subdivided). Forest service records show he was promoted to assistant ranger on July 1, 1910, and to forest ranger April 1, 1912. He resigned on February 28, 1914. At that time F. A. Silcox, then regional forester, said: “Mr. Findell was one of the best district rangers in the region” and that the resignation was being accepted with regrets.

Rutledge Parker, now state forester, was for a time Missoula forest supervisor and says that Mr. Findell “accomplished excellent work as a timber cruiser, fire fighter, trail builder and improvement manager. He and James Girard, who was a district ranger at the time, succeeded in suppressing some very threatening fires in the district.”

Back to ACM

After Mr. Findell resigned from the federal service he again took a position with the ACM company, working as an assistant with George Fox, who was the custodian of the company’s timberland holdings, head timber cruiser and logging engineer.

Mr. Parker provides this account of Mr. Findell’s business life since World War 1: “In 1917 Mr. Findell resigned his position with the ACM company and operated a small sawmill located near Nyak on the Great Northern railroad in Flathead county.

“Two years later he sold his interest in this venture and was reemployed by the ACM company.

“About 1920 he entered into business with J.M. Schiffman of Butte who conducted woods operations furnishing stulls, lagging and other products to some of the mines in Butte, and in addition, he operated a sawmill. Mr. Findell acted as the woods superintendent and also had some business relations with Mr. Schiffmen and accepted a job with ‘Charley’ Richardson, who was the manager of the Western Lumber company, which was located at Milltown and owned by the W. A. Clark interests. Mr. Richardson died sometime in the late 20’s and Mr. Findell was appointed in his place as manager of the plant. He also was given full jurisdiction over the Clark timber holdings. He was very successful in conducting these operations.

“About 1931, the W. A. Clark properties in Montana all were sold and the ACM company bought the sawmill in Bonner and also the Clark timber holdings. This mill was closed down by the company and much of the machinery sold.

“From that time on, Mr. Findell was in business for himself. He purchased his second sawmill and set it up in the Sleeping Child drainage of the Bitter Root river and entered into a contract with the Northern Pacific railway for the cutting of ties. Later he leased the former Polley’s Lumber company sawmill plant in Missoula and operated this until sometime in 1936, when it was sold to the Western Montana Lumber company, the present owner and operator.

“In 1947 Mr. Findell assisted in getting the Intermountain Lumber company organized in Missoula and remained with this firm about one and one-half years.

“His last accomplishment was getting together some of his friends to construct a sawmill planer and dry kiln plant for drying lumber. His plan was to purchase green lumber from sawmills in the region and process and grade the lumber for market.”

In recent years Mr. Findell has been in the lumber brokerage business selling lumber for small operators, in which he has been very successful, Mr. Parker said.

Mr. Findell is survived by his widow, Mabel; three sons, Dan, Olympia, Wash.; Robert, Seattle, and Lieutenant Max, in the air force in Las Vegas, Nev., and two grandchildren. He was a member of Hellgate lodge No. 272, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on November 17, 1950.

 

Firm Incorporates [Intermountain Lumber Co.]

Helena, June 4 – AP – The Intermountain Lumber company of Missoula filed incorporation articles in the secretary of state’s office Wednesday. The firm is authorized to issue 10,000 shares of non-par-value stock and will be directed by Horace H. Koessler, Dayton M. Warren and J. C. Garlington, all of Missoula.

The above notice appeared in The Daily Missoulian on June 5, 1947.

 

Spur Tracks To Serve New Plants

A Milwaukee railroad telegraph crew has arrived in Missoula to make telegraph line changes necessary in connection with new buildings and spurs to be constructed along the Milwaukee tracks west of the passenger station, Agent George Baker says.

Two spurs are to be built to the Intermountain Lumber company site, east of Catlin street, where a plant is to be established on the south side of the Milwaukee tracks, with a planer and a dry kiln planned. The telegraph line changes will be made now, but the spur tracks, of approximately 1,000 feet in length, will not be built until the plant is established, the agent said.

A spur of 500 feet in length is to be built to the W. P. Fuller warehouse now under construction adjacent to the Milwaukee tracks. The foundations are being poured at the present time for this building, and when it is ready for use the railroad spur tracks will be laid.

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on July 17, 1947.

 

New Mill Now Operating

Intermountain Lumber company operations have started at the planning mill and milling plant on Russell and Catlin streets, south of the Milwaukee railroad, Elmer Findell, superintendent, said. The first car of finished lumber was loaded this week on the Milwaukee railroad for shipment to Long Island, N. Y.

With a crew of 40 men, the first of four planers has been put in operation, working one shift. Another planer will be working within a week as machinery arrives, and more will be added until four planers are being used. With the additional machinery it will be possible to work two shifts after the first of the year.

The plant capacity is expected to be from four to five carloads of lumber daily.

Two dry kilns are being constructed and the footings installed. These will be in operation by the first of the year and will have a total capacity of from six to seven cars of lumber. The lumber in the first car was brought in from the Swan river country for finishing, but the Intermountain is buying lumber from several mills in western Montana for custom milling in the Missoula plant.

The carload shipped this week was the first loaded on the new spur built by the Milwaukee railroad to the plant.

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on November 14, 1947.