Drive Safe Tonight - Rollover accident on 5th and railroad

Luckily there were only minor injuries here. Please drive safe tonight!

(I'm willing to provide larger copies of these images for parties who were involved)

6th and railroad at about 6pm 12-31-2011

Man crawls in and then out after getting some stuff out of the truck

Happy Calendar New Year!

My Calender ends today.. will it be the end of the world? Have a good one.

1980 something Kiss


(1967) Rolling Stones

Simpson Investment / Paper Company Wuz Here

Thinning for "forest health" incresases carbon output

Forest thinning to help prevent or reduce severe wildfire will release more carbon to the atmosphere than any amount saved by successful fire prevention, a new study concludes:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111220133913.htm

Shelton NEON Project before and after pictures- Pine Tree

Pine Tree Inn Before

Pine Tree Inn After

Shelton Neon Project before and after pictures - Stewart Realty

Santa burnt out his two lead reindeer today...

Grandma Got Indefinitely Detained (A Very TSA Christmas)

Santa's reindeer spotted on highway 101 near Brinnon this morning

These can't be elk, elk don't wear collars!

The one on the left has a NORAD tracking collar!

One of three that I almost hit, is that an "elk crossing" sign in the background?

Reindeer with broken antler








I yust go nuts at Christmas

My spouse will be shopping tomorrow. But I bought myself a new carpet sweeper last week.

The 12 pains of Christmas

Happy New Year!

Who's ready  for another wild ride around the sun?  Ready or not, dead or alive, I predict it's gonna happen.   Northern Winter Solstice is at 5:30 am on December 22, 2011 CE.

Then a few days later on January 5, 2012 CE, Earth will reach perihelion and Earth will slingshot around the sun one more time, if we are all lucky.

Pepper spray Pike wishes you a Happy New Year!

Monkey boy Hupp makes one last gaffe in honor of Jack Miles

monkey boy Hupp made one last gaffe in honor of Jack Miles today

  Ok, I probably should not post to Shelton Blog when I'm full of holiday cheer, but I don't see anyone else stepping up to the plate, so I'll just have to knock the ball right over the fence.  Today was Jack Mile's last POS meeting.  I bet he's glad to be free of that place.  With Jack gone, POS meetings will probably be about as exciting as watching Jay Hupp's belly grow. Where does  Jay special order his XXL mobster suits anyway? I guess I'll still pop in from time to time just to take compartive photos of Jays ever growing belly. I  know they are always glad to see me there at the good old POS!

I keep meaning to photoshop scrooge into Huff's seat but I can't find a good picture of scrooge to do it with. Poor Jay, I wonder if he is still all wound up about  phantoms sitting in his chair? I've half a mind to get in line to sue the Port. Wendy, by printing my pictures every week you are breaking the law and I know the port has deep pockets; they rob me and everyone else who owns a home in the port district at least twice a year. I want my money back! Should I take a ticket and wait in line to sue the POS?

It seems that Dick Taylor had a bit more sense than Jay Hupp today and he opted out of being sworn in while Jack Miles was still on duty. Jay Hupp had wanted to swear Dick Taylor in at the start of the meeting while Jack Miles sat and watched as commissoner for the POS. Here is Hupp explaining why being petty and mean is just business and usual at the port. I guess Dick Tayler did not want to start his port career as a petty asshole. Sorry puppet master Jay, you did not get the pull Dick's strings this time. I'm sure you'll get another chance though.

No one will be able to fill this seat quite like Jack did!

Citizens thank Jack for standing up for the 99%

In other POS news today:

Moneybags Matt explained why the new race track will not make any money in 2012

A picture of Matt's money losing clear-cut forest, uh I mean race track.
 Someone please explain to  the port that money is GREEN, not brown!
OH yeah I can smell the exhaust fumes right now...

Camp Govey Trail System

A few years back a bunch of money was awarded to someone to put in at trail system at Simpson's Camp Govey.  The trails were never built and we want to know what exactly happened to that money?  Do any of my dear readers know what happened to that $50,000 and why no trails were built?

http://www.co.mason.wa.us/ac/parks/minutes/2007/11122007.pdf
http://www.co.mason.wa.us/news_releases/2007/parks_grant.pdf

Ancient forests and Spotted Owls on the Olympic Peninsula

Hmmm, whatever happened with those ancient forests and Spotted Owls on the Olympic Peninsula? From current press coverage, or the lack thereof, one might assume all’s been well resolved, but one would be mistaken.

The small fraction—less than 10 percent—of the Olympic peninsula’s original old growth forest, still standing in all its irreplaceable splendor, continues to face threats, and is still worth protecting, just like the endangered species that are tied to the forests’ health, like the struggling Spotted Owl. A group called OFCO (Olympic Forest Coalition) is on the job.

Rewind 20 years. Western Washington Federal District Court Judge William Dwyer had just shut down old growth timber sales on national forest lands throughout the Pacific Northwest pending implementation of an acceptable management plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). The owl had recently been listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The media talked daily of the “War in the Woods,” the favorite script being timber families out of work and hungry, all because of a little bird that urban environmentalists wanted to protect. Many rural homes had yellow signs in their windows: “We Support the Timber Industry.”

In fact, it was the shift from human to mechanized labor and decades of boom-and-bust logging, driven by capricious market forces—not owls, which had wrought such distress on the timber towns. But never mind; owls vs. jobs made a better story.

It was never just about the birds themselves; the Northern Spotted Owl had been identified as an indicator species for forest health, living on the voles that live on and disperse mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi grow on, and sustain, the roots of the old growth trees, and so on. If the owl lives, so does the forest.

The owls throughout their range in the Pacific Northwest had been seriously declining for decades as logging ate into ancient forest tracts. The Olympic Peninsula’s remoteness kept its forests largely unscathed (except by periodic forest fires) until about 1900. However, massive logging on corporate lands and the quickening pace of timber extraction on public lands following World War II has resulted in serious fragmentation of old growth habitat. (The peninsula’s major forest land owners are the federal government, with the 1400 square mile—slightly smaller than Rhode Island—Olympic National Park, no logging allowed, surrounded by the heavily logged Olympic National Forest; Washington State; tribal governments; and private, mainly corporate, landholders.)

By the late 1970s, it was clear that the pace of logging was unsustainable. The dawn of the Reagan administration in the early ’80s brought on, instead, a redoubled, deliberate assault on remaining old growth stands, seen by reigning bureaucrats as decadent and worthless. The stated goal was to replace them as fast as possible with vigorous, young stands—that is, tree farms.

Environmentalists went to court, and the Dwyer injunction on old growth logging temporarily silenced the chainsaws. In 1994, the Clinton Forest Plan, resolving years of litigation, set logging limits on the Olympic at 15—20 million board feet per year, about 5 percent of the peak output a few decades earlier.

Relief was at hand, but not exactly; some will recall the agony of the “Salvage Rider,” a short-term timber gambit that promoted more old growth logging in the name of “forest health.” Major efforts, however, had turned to the Herculean task of restoring devastated watersheds. OFCO was the catalyst for forming the 15-member Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative Coalition; Congressman Norm Dicks, then Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, whose district includes most of the Olympic Peninsula, found the necessary funding.

OFCO’s roots date back to 1989, when its progenitor, the Quilcene Ancient Forest Coalition, founded by Audubon member Alex Bradley and Sierra Club member Bob Crowley, began work to protect the ONF’s northeastern edge. In 2002, Alex and a small group of friends proposed a new organization (OFCO) that would cover the entire national forest. A few years later the organization began its state program, particularly focusing on the Olympic Experimental State Forest (OESF), about 270,000 acres managed by the Department of Natural Resources on the northwest corner of the Peninsula. The 1992 legislation establishing the OESF called for scientific management to integrate protection of Spotted Owls and other wildlife with generation of timber revenues for schools and other state trust land beneficiaries. OFCO has worked tirelessly to make sure the ecological values in the equation are honored.

OFCO then and now brings together concerned citizens who have always been in the forefront of forest protection. Contrary to today’s relative calm, these forests still need advocates, and the onset of global climate change means that protecting them is more critical than ever.

The arguments over logging levels—in state and national forests alike—have never really been resolved, and probably never will be. Timber-oriented interests within government agencies still use the restoration mission—the “good for the forest” rationale—to justify increased logging. There is continued effort to increase board foot production from the Olympic National Forest. Today, an unfriendly congressional majority favors legislation to greatly expand resource extraction; there is even talk of privatizing our national forests.

The latest threat, especially significant on the Olympic Peninsula, is the use of slash from logging operations, as well as live trees, as biomass fuel for energy production. Promoted as an alternative to burning after-logging slash piles on the hillsides, this technology once sounded “green” and sensible, but proposed facilities would create renewed logging pressure while putting public health at risk. The American Lung Association, for example, opposes development of this technology. The issue has brought OFCO together with local human health advocacy groups.

OFCO’s work, nearly all by volunteers, includes monitoring, public education, advocacy, negotiation and—when all else fails—litigation. Your support and participation is hugely welcome. Please visit http://www.olympicforest.org./

One that Simpson missed

This is how big trees would get, if left alone

Occupy Olympia eviction has started

Police have arrived in riot gear at Occupy Olympia and have started going through the tents.

Occupy Olympia has been served an eviction notice

Submitted by Peter Bohmer:

December 15th, 2011

At about 8:30 A.M, this morning, Thursday, December 15th, the Washington State Patrol and Department of Enterprise Services delivered a "Notice to Cease and Desist Camping" effective 12:01 A.M., December 16th., midnight tonight. The notice  stated they will come in and seize all property at Occupy Olympia. In addition, they will not allow any future camping equipment at Heritage Park. They reduced what is going on to an encampment although it is much more than that, a site of protest and resistance, a movement for economic equality and more.

Shelton has the worst air by far

Of all the ORCAA monitoring stations, the Shelton station reads the dirtiest air most of the time. Here are three for comparision:  But don't just take my word for it go compare them yourself HERE

Burn ban does not seem to be helping our air quality

Why was this left this HERE?

Why was this left here ?  I love to eat elk, I'm not complaining about that; I just wonder why the left overs were left in the road?  This is near the High Steel Bridge that goes over the Skokomish River.    I've never seen an elk in this area before.  Was this shot somewhere else, butchered somewhere else and then the left overs dumped here?   There were poles near-by that could have been used for butchering, but there was no sign of blood or guts under the poles or on the trees and I would think that this animal was too big to hang.   One last question, why are the hooves cut off? Elk hoof rattles? This is all a mystery to me.  Maybe it's a horse?

All I know for sure it that it will be a while before I take my kids back here to roast marshmallows.  I'm sorry if these pictures make you sick.

That's the neck on the far right

Dog added for scale, this is much larger than a deer carcass

 butchering poles?

Stage 1 Burn Ban called for Mason County

A Stage One Burn Ban is being called for  Mason County effective 5 p.m. today and continuing at least through the end of the week.

Simpson incinerator smoke blocks sunrise and Mount Rainier

Dec 13th 8AM

Simpson smoke hangs low over Evergreen Elementary School

So much for the voluntary burn ban

Simpson and the Industrial Workers of the World -The history they don't want us to know

Smog hangs low at the base of the Cascade Mountains

Workers don't want to sign an unfair contract?  No problem, just threaten to throw them off a train..
Those who spoke out against the 4Ls, could be found hanging from nearby trees...
To provoke the timber barons could result in loss of life...

http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/ageofirony/aoizine/cindyro.html

Barons of Decision
by Cindy Roaf
The better element of our citizenship should realize the dangers that confront every community and organize to combat them. The disturbing element should be treated with a firm hand; other communities will send them on their way and less protected places will suffer. If allowed to go on without any restraint we shall soon find our working people and business will suffer in what should be the most prosperous year of our history.

The disturbing element the Mason County Journal is referring to were the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a radical union condemned by other unions for their insurmountable wall of prejudice they created between capital and labor. To appreciate the impact the IWW had on the lumber industry, one must understand the demographics of their recruits and the antagonistic style this union used to organize. The members of the IWW were mainly migrant workers from lower socio-economic levels. Using tactics such as work stoppages and violent attacks on nonmembers, this radical union spread their message of revolution against the capitalist society and promoted the “dictatorship of the proletariat”.

The Industrial Workers of the World brought trouble to the Mason County area as a lawless element into this small logging community unprepared for such agitators. As World War I loomed on the horizon, the IWW increased its presence while the US Government intervened with its own program which eventually would be the catalyst that helped change the face of the lumber industry in the Pacific Northwest.

The timber industry in the Olympic Peninsula during the early 20th century was rugged and violent. Loggers from the east migrated to the Northwest because the timber harvest was so abundant. Often faced with dangerous conditions, the men, known as timber workers and loggers, endured long hours, less than suitable living conditions and were isolated from civilization for long periods of time. Because the Northwest had an abundance of trees, land and men in the forest, the logging companies, like Simpson Timber Company earned immense profits but passed little on to the loggers. Many of the lumber workers did not have any particular ties to one place or area and frequently moved on whenever it suited them. The isolation and transient lifestyle of timber workers made union organizing extremely difficult.

Prior to the entrance into World War I, there was a surplus of labor due the increased number of new residents arriving in the Mason County. Those who were fortunate enough to have a job, would not protest against unfair wages and long hours giving the company the upper hand in the lumber industry. Union organizing in the timber industry was nearly nonexistent in the Olympic Peninsula prior to WWI. In the hostile environment created by the timber barons, many of the small unions were unable to last or make significant changes in wages and working conditions. Even unions such as the IWW tried to infiltrate the woods, sending in individuals to test the waters for organizing. This proved too be a very dangerous job, as seen here in a letter from the General Manager of Simpson Timber Co. 1911.

It is very difficult to eradicate this element entirely from our employees as they are certainly actively engaged in soliciting membership and stirring up discontent. For instance: Last week we had the misfortune to kill a man, and we had no idea until after he was dead that he was a member of this order, but found his membership card and by-laws among his effects.

The IWW was not welcome in the camps, and to provoke the timber barons could result in loss of life.

By 1917, the United States entered World War I. With the booming wartime economy, labor turned into a prime commodity. The IWW quickly focused its attention on the lumber industry when they saw the leverage the logger had on the timber barons due to the demands of war. For the overworked loggers, the IWW was a remedy to their fight against the poor working conditions and low wages. With its ability to bring together a union and organize a strike, the IWW created pro-labor propaganda in attempts to persuade the local communities to support their efforts. However, as a result of all the work stoppages precipitated by the IWW, many people including the local authorities and employers denounced the IWW for its un-American propaganda and radical behavior.

Due to the War, the US government needed warplanes and ships to fight in Europe but lacked the raw materials to build a strong air force. The Pacific Northwest was one of the few areas that produced the much-needed spruce lumber to build a powerful fleet of war planes and ships. With the government’s need for increased lumber production, labor troubles became complex. The draft and demands of wartime industries such as shipbuilding created a shortage of labor, which resulted in the recruitment of forest engineers and a number of experienced loggers and sawmill men to Mason County. This opened the door for the IWW to increase its organizing. They were able to take full advantage of the situation to create labor unrest in the Olympic Peninsula and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The Simpson Timber Co., located in the small community of Shelton, Washington, had several logging camps in the old growth forest near the Olympic Mountains. Many of the residents in Shelton worked in the logging camps to support their families living in town. With the new demand of increased lumber production, the IWW increased its pressure on the workers to become members of this organization to build strength in numbers and to encourage loggers to strike for better wages and working conditions.

However, these soap-box agitators tried to force their influence upon an unsympathetic community during a time of extreme patriotism. The IWW’s fight created turmoil when the timber barons believed they were responsible for spiking saw logs at the mills, creating mysterious forest fires and stories of workers being beaten. This caused the timber barons to close the logging camps and sawmills, which put many men out of work. To the people of Shelton these unionist were anything but patriotic as recorded in the Mason County Journal July 27th, 1917,

The propaganda is appealing to men with no family ties and upon whom the duties of citizenship fall lightly, if at all: eight hours work for ten hours pay; then six hours; then no work, control of industry, and life without labor.

With the increased threats of violence and the impending strike from the IWW, all but one Simpson camp was closed down. The workers were relieved to be out of work during these tumultuous times. Though some loggers supported the IWW’s goals, others felt threatened by the organization’s tactics and left the camps on their own terms. The Mason County Journal, July 20th, 1917 reported,

"While less than half the men who have left the camps are members of the organization the others have been intimidated, or else have funds to prefer to take it easy until things quiet down or work is necessary again."

Unfortunately, the fight between the IWW and lumber barons would not come to an end so soon. When the lumber strike became inevitable in 1917, fear quickly spread across the community and the Olympic Peninsula. The IWW pushed for the lumber industry to give in to their demands for better working conditions, better pay and an eight hour work day.

The loggers who cut down trees were called fallers. Using their axes, they cut notches in the trunk for springboards. They then stood on the springboards and felled the tree with a crosscut saw. Cutting above ground level was easier because the trunk was narrower, and there was less pitch to gum up the saws. Even so, it might take two days of hard work to cut down a large tree. Photo Credit: Darius Kinsey.

A Solution to the Lumber Strike

As the need for war materials increased the U.S. government felt the pressure to seek a solution to the lumber strike. Col. Disque, who had a long history with the armed forces and a reputation as being good with labor relations was assigned to bring an end to the lumber strike and “bring the lumber supply up to standards for the army”. As the new lumber czar, Disque was convinced the lumber barons “were genuinely interested in reform and the IWW was what stood in the way of a better life for workers and increased output of spruce”. Under Disque’s leadership, the creation of the Army’s Spruce Production Division was born. The program was responsible for building sawmills, railroads, recruiting laborers, and filling open positions with army soldiers. These woods soldiers were to remain neutral, neither favoring the lumber owners nor the unions, at times overseeing sawmills against the threat or reality of industrial sabotage by the IWW.

The labor relations continued to be an intense battle between the timber barons and the workers. Col Disque saw this as an opportunity to solve the labor disputes. Although Disque held anti-union beliefs, he did sympathize with some of the loggers’ desires for better working conditions. However, he deeply believed that, “All sides were selfish and neither shows any patriotism”.

After studying the situation and conferences with industry men, Disque concluded that some of the IWW demands would have to be met to improve production. Working with Mark Reed, General Manager of the Simpson Timber Company and a trustee of the United States Spruce Production Corporation, they both became convinced that the eight hour day should be accepted. In 1918, a meeting was called with the Mason County loggers to offer the eight-hour work day and reforms in camp conditions. Although it looked to be a victory for just the loggers, Disque would benefit from these changes as well. With the timber barons’ support, Disque created a grassroots organization in opposition to the IWW.

As the lumber strike continued through the fall of 1917, Disque changed his direction from fighting the union, to creating this new organization that would allow employers and employees come together for the common good.

The Creation of the 4Ls

In the spirit of patriotism, The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen (4Ls) was created. Local workers were put back to work, working side by side with the woods soldiers under a newly formed organization that would resemble a labor union. With the creation of the 4Ls, spruce production increased and the strength of the IWW all but disappeared. The tension and fear within the local communities had eased with the newly formed government union; unfortunately this would not last long.

The loggers who joined the 4Ls had to be anti-wobblies or they would not be hired. Col. Disque went even further and established a pro-American community to maintain American prosperity through nativism, patriotism and anti-communism. This was Disque’s solution for labor unrest and squashing the IWW. The anti-wobbly sentiment worked well in establishing the community by eliminating the radicals by persecuting anyone who held their beliefs. Ironically, the central focus of the 4L community was the ideals of democracy, equal rights, and patriotism.

This is a nice old WW1 Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen Badge. The badge features a forest, a ship, an airplane and a logger with Authorized by the Secretary of War. It symbolizes the need for spruce lumber for the war effort.

The 4Ls – saint or sinister?

Though most historical texts refer to Disque’s 4Ls union as a civilian organization that would outlast the war and bring industrial peace to the embattled Northwest, there were others who said that the 4Ls stood for “little loyalty and large loot”. Soldiers were placed in camps where lumber was not being produced which made it evident to the IWW that the real objective was to break the lumber strike. Army officers and woods soldiers were used to organize the newly formed union by increasing membership through terror tactics. All enrollees had to sign a loyalty oath and agree not to strike. Enrollees could be members of the IWW or AFL, but they had to promise not to organize workers into any union other than the legion. Anyone who would not join the 4Ls were accused of being a communist, a traitor and pro-German. These workers were immediately fired from their job and beaten by soldiers. Those who spoke out against the 4Ls, could be found hanging from nearby trees. Some would be threatened with a forceful airborne ejection from a speeding train they were riding if they declined to sign. Taking advantage of the state of public opinion during the war, Col Disque used the hatred of the IWW to continue his reign of terror under the disguise of military discipline. The local communities who feared the radical tactics of the IWW, now found themselves feeling uneasy with Col. Disque and his lumber dictatorship.

As the lumber production increased, Disque began to make enemies among the timber barons because of his power-hungry and selfish determination to be the victor in the labor dispute. He threatened to commandeer lands, mills or whatever else he deemed necessary for timber production. Despite the numerous accounts of terrorism and his power induced dictatorship of the woods, he was given credit for successfully urging the implementation of the eight-hour work day; medical facilities and food were made available to all timber workers.

These measures substantially increased spruce production in late 1917 and early 1918. However, after the war, timber executives tired of the Disque’s threats assumed leadership of the legion and turned it into a conservative, industry-wide company union.

In 1919, the United States Congress investigated charges of corruption, favoritism and that Disque and the legion had treated IWW and AFL (American Federation of Labor) members unfairly and spent too much money to accomplish limited results However, with the help of the United States Spruce Production Division Corporation, he was exonerated and awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

Permanent Mark on Industrial Relations

To the extreme disappointment of the IWW, and the timber barons, Disque took credit for the improved working conditions in the timber industry. However, there were some discrepancies as to who should take credit for the change in working conditions and the new 8 hour work day. The 4Ls took credit because they felt positive changes were made in working relations with the timber barons. The I.W.W. believed they should have received the credit because of the timber strike and the timber barons said they gave in to their demands as a gesture of good will.

Although membership in the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen declined after 1919, its constitution, by-laws, code of practice, and working methods continued as the controlling factor in the lumber industry in the Pacific Northwest until the Great Depression. Nearly fifteen years after the close of World War I, one writer observed,

The basis of operation which General Disque set up for emergency purposes developed into the classic agency of labor relations in the timber industry.

The long lasting effects of the lumber strike and the creation of the 4Ls had a huge impact on the lumber industry and lumber production. The residual efforts of the spruce army helped prepare companies such as Simpson Timber for large scale logging due to the hundreds of miles of permanent rail lines making spruce and evergreen accessible. Although because of the accessibility, after WWII timber became scarce. This eventually led to one of the biggest timber agreements in Washington State. In 1946, Simpson Timber Company signed an agreement with the United States Forest Service that placed the company’s lands and adjacent national forest lands under unified management. (Shelton Blog Note, this was the 100 year sustained "steal")  This agreement gave Simpson Lumber all sales from the reserved area through 2046, transforming the logging industry in one small town and making a permanent mark on the Pacific Northwest.


Works Cited

“Agitator Closes Bordeaux’s Camp: I.W.W. Visits Camp Six and Calls out Loggers Tuesday.” Mason County Journal. 20 July 1917. Print.

Avery, Mary W. Washington, A History of the Evergreen State. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1965. Pg.231 – 241

Brice P. Disque photographs, PH159-[item number], Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1299

Canterbury, Chris. “A History of the International Union of Timberworkers: 1911-1923”, Seattle General Strike Project. Web. 1999.

Ficken, Robert E. and LeWarne, Charles P. Washington, A Centennial History. Seattle, University of Washington Press. 1988. (pgs.92-97)

“Give Trouble-makers No Rope.” Mason County Journal. 20 July 1917. Print.

Holbrook, Stewart Hall. Green commonwealth; a narrative of the past and a look at the future of one forest products community, Seattle: Printed by F. McCaffrey at his Dogwood Press, 1945. Print.

LeWarne, Charles P. Washington State, Seattle; University of Washington Press. 1986.

Mabel, Joe. Photo: 13 January 2006. The object itself would be circa 1917. Http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LLLL_brass_button.jpg

Mickelson, Eric. “The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumberman: The origins of the world's largest company union and how it conducted business”, Seattle General Strike Project. Web. 1999.

Rowan, James. “Victory, but not the Final Victory”, Industrial Workers of the World; A Union for all Workers. Web.

Reed, Mark to Ames, Edwin. Edwin Ames Papers, accession 3820-1, Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/cpnws/.

Spector, Robert. Family trees: Simpson's centennial story. Bellevue, Wash.: Documentary Book Publishers Corp., 1990. Print.

Thomas, Berwyn B. Shelton, Washington: the first century, 1885-1985. Belfair, Wash.: Mason County Historical Society, 1985. Print.

“The Strike Situation.” Mason County Journal. 27 July 1917. Print.

United States Spruce Production Corporation. History of Spruce Production Division, United States Army and United States Spruce Production Corporation. Portland, Or.,192

Williams, Gerald. The Spruce Production Division. USDA Forest Service, Forest History Today, Spring 1999. www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/sitka_spruce

Wilma, David. Mason County Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org Essay 7730. Web. 30, April 2006.

“Give Trouble-makers No Rope.” Mason County Journal. 20 July 1917. Print.

Holbrook, Stewart Hall. Green commonwealth; a narrative of the past and a look at the future of one forest products community, Seattle: Printed by F. McCaffrey at his Dogwood Press, 1945. Print.

LeWarne, Charles P. Washington State, Seattle; University of Washington Press. 1986.

Holbrook, Stewart Hall. Green commonwealth; a narrative of the past and a look at the future of one forest products community, Seattle: Printed by F. McCaffrey at his Dogwood Press, 1945. Print.

Reed, Mark to Ames, Edwin. Edwin Ames Papers, accession 3820-1, Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/cpnws/

Mickelson, Eric. “The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumberman: The origins of the world's largest company union and how it conducted business”, Seattle General Strike Project. Web. 1999.

Holbrook, Stewart Hall. Green commonwealth; a narrative of the past and a look at the future of one forest products community, Seattle: Printed by F. McCaffrey at his Dogwood Press, 1945. Print.

“The Strike Situation.” Mason County Journal. 27 July 1917. Print.

Agitator Closes Bordeaux’s Camp: I.W.W. Visits Camp Six and Calls out Loggers Tuesday.” Mason County Journal. 20 July 1917. Print.

Avery, Mary W. Washington, A History of the Evergreen State. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1965. Pg.231 – 241

Mabel, Joe. Photo: 13 January 2006. The object itself would be circa 1917. Http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LLLL_brass_button.jpg

Mickelson, Eric. “The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumberman: The origins of the world's largest company union and how it conducted business”, Seattle General Strike Project. Web. 1999.

Ficken, Robert E. and LeWarne, Charles P. Washington, A Centennial History. Seattle, University of Washington Press. 1988. (pgs.92-97)

Williams, Gerald. The Spruce Production Division. USDA Forest Service, Forest History Today, Spring 1999. www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/sitka_spruce

Mickelson, Eric. “The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumberman: The origins of the world's largest company union and how it conducted business”, Seattle General Strike Project. Web. 1999.

Spector, Robert. Family trees: Simpson's centennial story. Bellevue, Wash.: Documentary Book Publishers Corp., 1990. Print.

Holbrook, Stewart Hall. Green commonwealth; a narrative of the past and a look at the future of one forest products community, Seattle: Printed by F. McCaffrey at his Dogwood Press, 1945. Print.

Thomas, Berwyn B. Shelton, Washington: the first century, 1885-1985. Belfair, Wash.: Mason County Historical Society, 1985. Print.

Brice P. Disque photographs, PH159-[item number], Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1299

United States Spruce Production Corporation. History of Spruce Production Division, United States Army and United States Spruce Production Corporation. Portland, Or.,192

Avery, Mary W. Washington, A History of the Evergreen State. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1965. Pg.231 – 241

Avery, Mary W. Washington, A History of the Evergreen State. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1965. Pg.231 – 241

Ficken, Robert E. and LeWarne, Charles P. Washington, A Centennial History. Seattle, University of Washington Press. 1988. (pgs.92-97)

Mickelson, Eric. “The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumberman: The origins of the world's largest company union and how it conducted business”, Seattle General Strike Project. Web. 1999.

Rowan, James. “Victory, but not the Final Victory”, Industrial Workers of the World; A Union for all Workers. Web.

Williams, Gerald. The Spruce Production Division. USDA Forest Service, Forest History Today, Spring 1999. www.oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/sitka_spruce
Wilma, David. Mason County Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.org Essay 7730. Web. 30, April 2006.

Shelton NEON Project - Ming Tree

How to cold smoke salmon - Recipe

1) Wait for a winter time inversion in Shelton, Washington
2) Cut your salmon into two fillets
3) Put on a NIOSH-Approved N95 particulate mask
4) Drive to Shelton,Washington and look for the metal lumber jack
5) Drape your two fillets over the lumber jack's shoulders
6) Wait about an hour

It has not been safe for children, elderly or people with heart and lung disease to breath in Shelton for the last 24 hours and it's getting worse. We might hit the red zone tonight.

FOX News Caught Using Fake Video Of Riots

Los Angeles says corporations are not people

At about 3:18 in this video the vote takes place. Notice how everyone stands up and cheers. If this were a Port of Shelton meeting, Jay Hupp would be whining about the clapping and claiming that the port is not a circus.  But this is not a circus of Shelton meeting, this is the City of Los Angeles. They have more important things to do there than whine about people cheering.
http://lacity.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=130&clip_id=9874

Shelton sign project

As luck would have it I started taking in interest in photographing old neon signs early this year.  Later I learned that many of the neon signs in Shelton were going to be repaired.  Now most of the repair work is  done so I will start posting the before and after pictures of these signs.

What does the word "occupy" mean to you?

Submitted by Tom Davis:

For some people the word “Occupy” suggests military action, such as recent events by U. S. forces in Iraq. But the current “Occupy” movement sweeping the country is something far different, more like occupying one’s own home.

If there is a negative occupation movement taking place in our country, it is being led by a minority of Americans who control the majority of wealth. And while it is futile to enter into discussions of how such economic inequality came about, it is entirely reasonable for those on the “losing end” of that condition to take action, because the battle is not so much about money as it is about political power, and history reminds us that the greater the economic disparity the greater the threat to our democratic process.

The “Occupy” action of Nov. 28, at our state capitol galvanized many concerns in a single exhibition of democracy at work. Having participated in that action, my wife and I were encouraged by chants of “This is what Democracy looks like” and “Whose State? Our State” rising from the crowd.

Positive social change involves sacrifice and dedication, both of which were in abundance. Participants were well organized and peacefully determined. Perhaps more importantly, all age groups were well represented. A particularly poignant moment came when hundreds of educators joined the demonstration, marching, raising banners and chanting “No more cuts to education!”

Citizens from Shelton carried professionally printed signs that read “We are the 99%” on one side and “Occupy Shelton” on the other. We chanted and “Occupied” the Capitol – our Capitol - though always mindful and respectful of others.

This month marks the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, and I can think of no better time to stand up for principles of equality and freedom on which our country was founded. And while the day was aimed at a better tomorrow, the undercurrent tribute was to yesterday, and to all those who fought and died to protect the very rights being exercised.

photographer Dorothea Lange