Inventory of the North American Wholesale Lumber Association Records, 1897 – 2009

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: NAWLA, formed in 1892 as the National Wholesale Lumber Dealers Association, merged in 1923 with the American Wholesale Lumber Association (formed in 1920) to become the National American Wholesale Lumber Association. In 1972, it became the North American Wholesale Lumber Association.

The records contain typed carbons, mimeographed, and other processed and printed material distributed to members and officers of the association, including reports of annual meetings (1955-1963), programs (1924-1926, 1951, 1960), annual reports (1924-1953), directors' minutes and circulars (1942-67), bulletins (1933-1965), executive committee minutes and circulars (1956-1965), bylaws, and publications of the New York, New York, and Portland, Oregon, offices. Also included are bulletins (1948-1960, incomplete) of the Southern Wholesale Lumber Association; annual reports (1897-1923), programs, certificate of incorporation, constitution and bylaws (1913) of the National Whole Lumber Dealers Association; and the secretary's weekly report of the Pacific Coast Shippers' Association (1921-1923). The addition of 2009 contains bulletins (1990-2008), pamphlets and publicity materials for conferences, Traders Markets, and courses (1990-2008), and other materials. The addition of 2011 contains NAWLA membership directories (1907-2008, incomplete), by-laws (1913-1984, incomplete), yearbooks (1905-1926, incomplete), annual convention summaries (1923-1966), materials from annual meetings (1901-1972, incomplete), NAWLA promotional material, and tape recordings of luncheons and meetings attended by NAWLA personnel. The 2011 addition also contains directories, periodicals and promotional materials from outside sources collected by NAWLA. The addition of 2014 includes annual meeting programs and materials from the 1920s to the 1990s.

Title: North American Wholesale Lumber Association Records, 1897 - 2009

Creator: North American Wholesale Lumber Association

Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives

Call Number: 3416

Language of Material: Material in English

Extent: 12 linear feet (13 boxes)

Historical Note

The calamitous economic climate of the early 1890s wreaked havoc on North American lumber wholesalers' and retailers' cooperative distribution system. Retailers sought "back door" deals with willing lumber mills, and "pseudo-wholesalers" began dealing with larger contractors. While lumber retailers formed associations to protect their interests, lumber wholesalers had no such collective voice.

Lumber wholesaler John Snowden Henry Clark was inspired to redress the situation in December 1892, when he arrived in Poughkeepsie, New York, determined to collect "past due" invoices from a customer. There he encountered two colleagues at the train station, on their way to the same customer with the same complaint.

Clark gathered representatives from 15 established "legitimate lumber wholesalers" to discuss the formation of an association dedicated to the exchange of information and ideas ("to discuss forming an association and to consider some common problems, especially certain abuses by a number of retailers and by some men pretending to be wholesalers"). The original 15 invited more, and the resulting 24 lumber wholesalers held their first annual meeting on May 15, 1893. The National Wholesale Lumber Dealers Association (NWLDA) was formed in April 1893 and held its first annual meeting almost immediately in May of that year. The organization flourished in Northwest America for 30 years.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Wholesale Lumber Distributers (NBWLD) emerged as the NWLDA's chief competitor. The NBWLD, which began in 1918 as a lobbying agency to protest outdated wartime market restrictions, changed its name in 1920 to the American Wholesale Lumber Association (AWLA). The AWLA's subsequent merger with the Columbus, Ohio based Yellow Pine Wholesaler's Association (YPWA) in 1922 made it a powerful midwest-based lumber wholesaler and a perfect complement to the NWLDA.

In 1923 company president William H. Schuette oversaw the NWLDA's merger with the midwest-based American Wholesale Lumber Association (AWLA) to form the National-American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA), and further broadened NAWLA's reach by engineering NAWLA's merger with the Pacific Coast Shipper's Association (PCSA) in 1924. In 1952 President Ned Conklin suggested that NAWLA join with the Southern Wholesale Lumber Association (SWLA), and that merger was completed in 1960.

The National-American Wholesale Lumber Association officially changed its name to the North American Wholesale Lumber Association (still NAWLA) in 1972 to make the name better represent its membership.

References for Historical Notes:

Allen, J. Ward. NAWLA, a Century of Friendship, Dedication, and Vision: The Story of the North American Wholesale Lumber Association. Rolling Meadows, Ill.: North American Wholesale Lumber Association, 1993.

"Who We Are," NAWLA. Accessed December 31, 2011. http://www.lumber.org/who/history.asp

Collection Overview

Collection Arrangement

Reports, Bulletins, and Other Materials, 1897-1974
Addition of 2009, 1990-2009
Addition of 2011, 1901-2008
Addition of 2014, 1920-1996

Subject Headings

North American Wholesale Lumber Association
National Whole Lumber Dealers Association
Pacific Coast Shippers' Association
Southern Wholesale Lumber Association

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Reports, Bulletins, and Other Materials, 1897-1974.

Box 1
- NAWLA "Service," 3 vols. April 10, 1923 to March 29, 1933
- Weekly Letter Contents Listed by Title, Number and Date, 1921-1966
- Pacific Coast Shippers' Association Secretary's Weekly Report, 1921-1923
- North Coast Weekly Letter, 1924-1932
- Western Weekly Letter, 1933-1939
- Western Office Bulletin, 1961-1966
- Southern Wholesale Lumber Association Bulletin, 1948-1960
- Executive Committee Memos and Bulletins, 1956-1965
- Bureau of Information
Box 2
- Board of Directors Bulletins, 1942-1967
- By-Laws, 1913, 1956, and 1974
Box 3
NAWLA Bulletins (bound), April 1933-1943
Box 4
NAWLA Bulletins (bound), 1943-1952
Box 5
NAWLA Bulletins, 1953-1965
Box 6
Annual Reports (bound), 1897-1926
Box 7
- Report of the 11th Annual Meeting, 1903
- Report of the 12th Annual Meeting, 1904
- Banquet Programs, 1903, 1904, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1924, 1926, 1951, 1960
- Allen, J. Ward, "NAWLA: A Century of Friendship, Dedication, and Vision"

2. Addition of 2009, 1990-2009.

Box 8
- NAWLA Bulletins, 1990-2007
- 2009 Membership Directory
- Pamphlets and Publicity Materials for Conferences, Traders Markets, Executive Management Institute, and Wood Basics Course, 1997-2008
- Chairman's Annual Report, 2006-2007

3. Addition of 2011, 1901-2008.

3.1. NAWLA Materials, 1901-2008

Box 9
a. NAWLA membership directories, 1907-2008
- Missing 1914-1923, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1946, 1979, 1990-1995, 2002-2004 editions.
- 1907-1921 editions measure 16cm, 1924-1959 editions measure 23cm, 1960-1966 editions measure 21 cm, and 1967-2008 editions measure 28cm.
- 1910 has two editions (January and May). The May 1910, June 1912, and February 1921 editions are fragile and have been photocopied.
Box 10
- b. NAWLA By-Laws, 1913-1984
  - 1913, 1922 (both proposed and adopted), 1924, 1927, 1935 (two iterations), 1937, 1944, 1955-56, 1960, 1984.
- c. NAWLA Yearbooks, 1905-1926
  - 1905-1911 editions measure 16cm and contain an application, statement of purpose, definitions of committees, schedule of fees, list of officers and members. 1924-1926 editions measure 28cm, and include a complete report on the proceedings of NAWLA's annual convention, and serve as the summarized reports for those years (see Box 11, e.)
  - Cover for the 1924 National-American Wholesale Lumber Association Yearbook, published by Rider Press, Inc., New York. The cover illustration is unattributed.
- d. Programs for NAWLA's Annual Meetings, 1951-1955
  - 1951 (59th Annual Meeting) and 1955 (63rd Annual Meeting) programs only, not inclusive.
- e. Summarized Reports on NAWLA's Annual Conventions 1923-1966
  - Missing 1934, 1937, 1943, 1945-46, and 1954 editions.
  - 1923 edition is 25cm, bound, and notes the merger of the National Wholesale Lumber Dealers Association and the American Wholesale Lumber Association. 1924-26 editions are 28cm, bound, and are renamed Yearbooks. 1927-1963 editions are 25cm, bound. 1964 edition is 30cm, collected in a binder. 1965-66 editions are 37cm newsletters, trifolded.
  - Years 1924-1926 are found in "Yearbooks" (Box 11, c.)
- f. Material from annual meetings and conventions 1901-72
  - Contains meeting notes, programs, registration forms, press kits, reports, newspaper articles, workshop materials and handouts retained from NAWLA's annual meetings between the years 1901 and 1972.
  - This folder also contains annotated photographs and photocopies of NAWLA conventions from 1967-1975 collected by J. Ward Allen for Sherman Leibow. The annotations identify Al Bell, Morrie Belman, Ben Knight, Bob Wells, Bill Wood, Allen-Stoltze, Sam Caldwell, Chris Wales, Marje Shiels, Alec McMillan, Bill Baugh, John Dutton, Art Botham, Jim Hambright and Hilton Lewis.
Box 12 (out of sequence)
- f. Material from annual meetings and conventions 1901-72 (oversized material 1901-1969)
  Material too large to fit in a "banker's box."
  - i. Program for Toasts to President Theodore Roosevelt, March 2, 1904 (mounted on paperboard, with reprint of Washington Post article providing text of Roosevelt's speech to the National Association Convention)
  - ii. Photograph, with caption: "Banquet tendered the members of the National Wholesale Lumber Dealers Association by the Wholesale Lumber Dealers of Pittsburg at the Hotel Schenley, March 7th, 1901" (mounted on paperboard, with text from J.E. Defebaugh's History of the Lumber Industry of America providing context)
  - iii. 1969 77th Annual Meeting dinner menu
- g. Material relocated from Box 12 (Box 12, 3.2, d. Miscellaneous Publications)
  - The New York lumber trade journal. (1800). New York: s.n. [bound issues from July15-December 15, 1893 (fragile)] (OVERSIZE)
Box 10
- h. Reprints of articles for NAWLA customers 1951-1965
  - Reprints of articles published in Congressional Action, Crow's Lumber Digest, Eastern Building Materials and Lumber Trade Journal, Forest Industries, and Southern Building Supplies.
- i. Reprints of addresses, articles and speeches by NAWLA members 1936-1952
  - Reprints of published speeches regarding Lumber Wholesalers and their concerns by Donald S. Andrews, Dr. Paul L. Brown, Wilson Compton, Edward W. Conklin, Dr. C.J. Courtney, Sid L. Darling, Howard B. Harte, Joseph Kolodny, Max Myers and Wm. H. Schuette.
- j. NAWLA Promotional Material
  - Contains material distributed to active NAWLA members as well as material designed to encourage new membership.
- Material designed to boost membership
  - Folder: "NAWLA promotional items" 1945-1971
    - Fliers, booklets and pamphlets designed to interest independent lumber manufacturers and wholesalers in NAWLA's services. Most are undated but range from 1945-1971.
  - Manila envelope: "NAWLA Marketing Pieces"
    - Contains fliers, promotional "Case History" mini folders, no date.
- Material distributed to NAWLA members
  - NAWLA Publications
    - Issues of The NAWLA Forum (February 1961 and July, 1966) and The NAWLA Distributor (December, 1969).
  - NAWLA Progress Reports
    - Progress reports from 1965 and 1968.
  - Envelope: NAWLA Forest Products Marketing Excellence Award Forms, 1970
  - Wholesaler and retailer's rating checklists
  - John L. Mulrooney Memorial Award Announcement, 1979
  - Pamphlet: "A Guide to Services of the Credit Department and the Collection Department", 1963
  - Pamphlet: "Underweights and Overweights", no date
  - Solicitation for a slide presentation: "How the Lumber Retailer Can Make More Money", no date
  - Envelope: "Tips for Dealers" - a series of 12 "tip sheets" for NAWLA members, distributed in April 1975
  - Manila folder:" NAWLA Publications" 1967-1968
    - Contains pamphlets, press releases and directory from 1967, and an appendix to 1968's progress report.
  - Green folder: "NAWLA Promotion Pieces", 1956-1965
    - Contains 1965 Progress report, various advertisements, fliers and pamphlets, circa 1956-1958.
    - Also contains two original cartoons depicting NAWLA members playing golf, no date.
Box 11
- k. Miscellaneous NAWLA Intra-company materials
  - Membership kit notes, no date
  - Outdated disability plan pamphlets, no date
  - Public Relations Review: First Results, Goals and Objectives of NAWLA's Trade Relations and Education Program
    - A collection of press clippings 1963, November.
  - Memo regarding Government Controls; 1973, July 26
  - Manila envelope: "Link Brochures", no date
    - Contains a NAWLA brochure and the art transparencies used to create it.
- l. Non-print media
  - 7-inch reel tape; May 28, 1976; Broadmoor International Center Luncheon
    - Attached scrap of paper reads, "1976 Convention tapes Broadmoor".
  - 7-inch reel tape; June 18 (1974? no year noted)
    - Side 1: NAWLA Luncheon - Tuesday, June 18, Fairholm Room, 12:15-2:00pm; Side 2: NAWLA General Session, Tuesday, June 18, Cascade Ballroom, 9:45-11:45am
  - 120 minute cassette; Tape #1, 4/14/81: North American Wholesale Lumber Association

3.2. Non-NAWLA Materials, 1937-1973.

Box 11
Materials retained by NAWLA.
- a. Directories
  - Forest Products Wholesalers Association 1969
  - National Association of Lumber Salesmen, 1967
  - Crow's Buyer's Guide of Selected Western Wholesale Lumber Dealers, 1937
- b. Economic Stabilization Program booklets
  - United States. (1973). Freeze facts. Washington: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  - United States. (1973). The Freeze. Washington.
  - United States. (1973). Final Phase IV regulations. Washington: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.(with revisions)
  - United States. (1973). Regulations, questions and answers. Washington.
  - United States. (1973). Phase III. Washington.
  - United States. (1973). Freeze and Phase IV. Washington: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  - United States. (1973). Items not controlled. Washington.
- c. Folder: National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors Wage & Price Control Bulletins
  - Number 28 (Update), August 8, 1973
  - Number 29, 1973
- d. Miscellaneous publications
  - Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. (1967). Associations and the law. Washington: Association Dept., Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America.
  - Edlund, S. W., Sales Executives Club of New York., & National Visual Presentation Association. (1953). Your visual presentation and how to use it!. New York.
  - The New York lumber trade journal. (1800). New York: s.n. [bound issues from July15-December 15, 1893 (fragile)] (relocated to OVERSIZE box 13)
- e. Article removed from magazine:
  - 1957, May 9. "How Lumber Can Unite to Beat its Competitors", Crow's Pacific Coast Lumber Digest XXXV
  - Miller, W. (1992, July/August). Wholesalers Celebrate 100th Anniversary! The Softwood Forest Products Buyer 7(4)
- f. Non-NAWLA Promotional Material
  - Kennedy, W., & Kennedy, D. (1960). Our daddy is a lumberman. Fresno, Calif: Kitty Kat Pub. Co.
  - Pamphlets, advertisements and booklets published by
    - National Building Material Distributors Association
    - Wholesale Stationers' Association
    - National Association of Wholesalers
    - National Wholesale Dealers Association? (NWDA) 1962
    - Allen Industries

4. Addition of 2014, 1920-1996.

Box 13
- Folder 1
  Annual Meeting materials, 1920s
  - Cover of the 1926 National-American Wholesale Lumber Association Annual Banquet program. Event was held April 16, 1926, at the Ambassador Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.
- Folder 2
  Annual Meeting materials, 1940s
- Folder 3
  Annual Meeting materials, 1950s
- Folder 4
  Annual Meeting materials, 1960s
- Folder 5
  Annual Meeting materials, 1970s
- Folder 6
  Annual Meeting materials, 1980s
- Folder 7
  Annual Meeting materials, 1990s
- Folder 8
  Annual Meeting materials, misc.
- Folder 9
  Misc. Publications and By Laws
- Folder 10
  Annual Meeting photos, 1991 and undated

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], North American Wholesale Lumber Association Records, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Processing Information

Processed by Staff and Amanda Ross, January 2009; Addition of 2011 processed by Wes Collins, November 2011

Encoded by Amanda Ross, January 2009; Addition of 2011 encoded by Wes Collins, November 2011

Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission supported the encoding of this finding aid. Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.

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