Alfred D. Bell, Jr. (1909-1985)

Born on 3 September 1909 in Yonkers, New York, Alfred Dennis Bell, Jr., started working in the lumber business at age fifteen. After graduating with a B.S. degree from Harvard University in 1932, Bell moved to the San Francisco, California, area to work for various businesses associated with the Hammond Lumber Company, which his stepfather A. B. Hammond had founded. From 1932 to 1934 he worked for Hammond Shipping Company; was manager of mill sales for Hammond Redwood Company in Samoa, California, from 1934 to 1939; and was sales manager for Hammond Lumber Company in San Francisco from the early to mid-1940s.

Bell was the president and owner of Bell Redwood Co., a San Francisco-based enterprise, from 1946 to 1969. During the same time period, he also served as partner, president, and chairman of the Hobbs Wall Lumber Company and as president of the Vacaville Lumber Co. in California. He was the editor of California Lumber Merchant beginning in 1964 and remained publisher emeritus of its successor journal, Merchant Magazine, for many years thereafter. He officially retired as president of Hobbs Wall in 1975.

During his lifetime Alfred Bell was quite active in both trade associations and charitable work. He served as president of the North American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA) and of the Travelers Aid Association of America. In the late 1970s he held the positions of vice president of the Forest History Society and president of the FHS Endowment Fund; later he was an Emeritus FHS Board member. He was also a longtime member of the National Wood Council, the Lumber Industry Merchandising Council, and the Bay Area Wood Council.

Alfred Bell died on 20 November 1985 in Hillsborough, California, and was survived by his wife Marjorie Blyth Bell, a son, and three daughters.