Between 1914 and the late 1960s, the Champion Fibre Company published an internal newsletter, called The Log, to share news about the Canton mill, the community, and its employees. After 1940, news from the entire “Champion Family,” which included mills in Hamilton, Ohio; Houston, Texas and Sandersville, Georgia, was featured in each issue.

• Creator
  • Champion Fibre Company
• Format
  • Newsletters
• Type
  • Text
• Alternative title
  • The Log Birthday Number 1851-1926
• Date
  • Date original: 1926-12-16;
  • Date digitized: 2016-11-11
• Extent
  • Dimension: 11.75" x 8.75"
  • Pages: 17 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • Autobiography
  • Champion Fibre Company
  • Champion Fibre Company -- Buildings
  • Champion Fibre Company -- Periodicals
  • Employees' magazines, newsletters, etc.
  • Executives
  • Forests and forestry
  • Industries -- North Carolina -- Canton -- Periodicals
  • Paper mills -- North Carolina -- Canton
  • Thomson, Peter G. (Peter Gibson), 1851-1931
• Location
  • Canton (N.C.)
  • Haywood County (N.C.)
  • Appalachian Region, Southern
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • Canton Area Historical Museum
• Identifier
  • Champion_TheLog_1926-13_Vol09_NoBN
• Repository
  • Canton Area Historical Museum

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CJ j\'~ . ~It~ c. 1. -\·C / o c\ ."..\r1.. .\.C ;.-:./, ~~~?} THE CHAMPION FIBRE COMPANY ~~ f1~~; CANTON, NORTH CAROLINA (5i€J. t:,..... .:l·~ t:;.'. .. ....; :, p . . <"') ~.r." "•·Q :.1 \() OFFICE RS (~~) ~ ..... ·:.!> -c t: ....... 6 D -~ ~~ \ . ... ~; P ETER G. THO~·LSON, C ltainnan ~~~J (j\·;0 Re"t:~EI" B. R o uEHTSON, Presiden-t fj\(t~ \C} A T Jl ' P d \~\[./ f:-:::~~1 . I,.E.XA ' OER H0~1SON, I Ce- resi ent 8;:;:~~ . t\:\ ' l:J\,.....;-.. ·e. . ....\ ~1 \1 ALTER D. RA DALL, Jlice·P1·eside t1t ~ ""\/\ ,.; ~,:, 6.r. .. ~ w.j·:t~J'9'~-·:· CH.-\HLES S. B RYANT, Secretary and Treasurer Q:.~~~)\~(. ~:: • :e.j-J....\. (} ·. V": 7~ t..~~ ... ~...; w~ 0 ~~ c~ : :...v. ',,f..:::l; "t:_Y. ...\..C- .6; ~ .. --::j v;.--· ";-,.""} /J~tC-.. This special i sue of T he L og is devoted to the story of the ach i~ven1ents ()\((.,\ tY.~J of Mr. Peter G. T hotnson , founder of T he Champion Coated Paper Con1- hY~J ~:j\' ",\ ~ny, Hamilton, Ohio and T he Champion F ibre Cotnpany, Canton, N . C ., fj\"·.\ .'1 1 , and who eontinuc ' to be the active leader of both organizations. ~")/ J . ~ .... . .. ;. -..,_, .. . . . ""-"" ... . .. . . ;.....; ~~ 0 ~~ • Oecetnbe.r 16th, 1926 ~~ ~-~ ~~·=(c..Jc - o · fJ\it) , ... ·"..'', "..-.Y" " ~ 't. . ...... :.., ~~ The Log is publi bed by The C hampion Fihre Company, Canton, N.C., L.~~ ~-;j' lr] and js issued mouthly and d isttibuted free of ch ur~e to a.ll lhc employees fJ\t~\ Q!.\C~ of the Cornpany, i:::""Y'C .. t)\/(~ J·.Jited hy, Wood-Oriflith-Philli,,s :J\/C~ /Y'<:l ·.~'C.: ... ........ .. - t::, ... _ ...... ' 'JIU'i lSSUh 18 I'Ul N Tt ~ IJ 0 1': CHA:\<IJ ' to COA f h D P1\ I'HH i!;. .. ·· ' ... , ~ ....... .,. .. 7 .t ) ft. l J\ /\:.-. y'~' \j1\(i ~. ~·Q c~,.,.. . ~.. ·~c --... 9...1 '!... ~··. . ~--~~,r: ·J·~{.!fi:·j·y·.,~. <i.Jl'' ~y·· ....... )~J ( 9~: Ji"·~y~t:·~!Ci~y~:;; ~··Qv"1 .... rQ~~9 J · \>C··· · .,Q<; ·· .. ·~6"·~,~· · n~:~·-fi t• ..--' --'~ • "'< .,"=:: ~· - ·~\r _,.. ~fr· .._,_., ~ ....~ ~. . ,_;::;t'·.r '· ;:;v .z~_,. .! ! "'- t: _ • _ , ... ...._ ,~ _,. l~-... i· ~- ;< .;:. ':;~ ~~~:i ~- •: ~ F ...C~ t _.--. 11 ~J~ ..&C~. i~_.<~i\ ,.::;:~J.1 ~i• 1\ -:::::-...1\, • - :: -"::::r...~~ ·~i.~ -"::a. · (;,.:~r.!J~'. . !.':"{ i~!7~<J:'!.0'!J1;-.J!~.~ i~ .. ,~6<~ .,t:[J(. ~~ ;D~ .... !.>·.Jc .. ~·~o ·~ ~.{.)~·-.~~ ·OG· '~ -J~·-... ~ ·JU . (.~ •.. . !,.~· ~~• .. _, .. ;.1 •·. .. (.?)(}~~ ~,~:~f .. j~:)~ ~ • ' , . • • - • • eter ~. ~ omson jfounber anb lLeaber· of • • • anb • • • • - • .. ' • • - - • • • • • • • • OG 3 t I 1 I T T f ·r ·y T J' f T1 l. T T y·l '• y·t r t 1 I y· y I T T t rt T T 1 T I t f T T t t T T T TT lll- ]t ~!1: T -T t .l l I r T T. T r T' TTnn·r"Ttltrrrrr1rrr • • 4 I-IE I J G ·rr 1 t 11 y·r t r 1 t t y·r r r t rrrrr rt·r·r t-r r t rt 1 r 1 r'T'r t r1 ·r T"l t t t n n rr rt 1 IT1' Tt .. rt r.T . rrt...._ . - . . ... • THE HAMJLTON MILL IN 1900 AEROPLANE VIEW OF HAMIL­TON MILLS IN 1926 MR. THOMSON ' S FIRST OFFICE THE HAMILTON OFFICES IN 1926 • • • - - ' I • • J • • • • • 'Flll~ I..~OG 5 11 rtt1 rr rt -.T t 11 T : r rr 1 r r T t rT 11 TTl t t, n ·rTl1 t rt t r t r r rt r rr r TTTT r r r tti rr r t 11 t t ·r r=t t r1 r n 1·r r PE • .. tl ppreciation 011 tne Occasion of hi 75th Birthday A ~ e\:t~'n(lin to )lr. P eter G. ThonL on , the congratul a tion~ and good \Yi. he. t..)f the Chatupio.n l·'an1ily re .. jding )n · ~ orth a rolina. upon the attainment oi hi~ i ~th Birthda ,. it a fiords u~ * ~re.at p1ea .. ure to celebrate the occl.. ion ... bv- re~itinc....... the ...l Or.'r of ~orne of )lr. Thon1_on ·. grea aLhievetnents in the world of indu~tr-Y. 1"he opportunity to re,-ie"· ~1r. ThoJn .. on la~r i~ seldon1 afforded becau.~ e of the fact that ~lr. Tbotn .. on .. till continue in actiYe control of the indu ~tries ,,·hich he founded and \Yhich hi. in.:.piration ha. caused to gTO\" to giga:n6r :-ize firon1 u \·erY humble be~,l nning. , ~ ~ . Jn th€ n1id~t oi hi~ . trenuous acti Yit,·. )lr . • I 'homson "~ Yi .. ion is no'r. a ~ it alwaY: ha .. been . • a i or\vard looking one a.nd the experience oj the pa:::t j- to bin1 hut a g-uide for a future of larger UEel~u1ne ~ "' · . recital of ~lr . ThonJ.Son· · achje,-e-aent: h all £he elen1enr · of a rotnance1 be,g in-nin~ ·with the 1nodest and e\'en hun1ble urround-i n~~ of hi. earl'" bovhuod. Then his con1merrial r ~ trainincr i11Howed by the plunge into the hazard:' of i ndu~trial enterpri .. e. ,, i th it · up.: a n<.l down . and finally tr1utnphant O\~er all diflicultie: we find hhn in the enjoyment of hi~ re'' ard for hi · in­tlomit(\ hle c<>u ru<''e and ~ treuuou:' labor. But :\fr. ~rhom.~;.on· _ <.areer is n1ore than a rotnance: it i an ia:-pirat1on and t e_ flfie~ to the .. oundne.:-s of the lJJa·Gtice of the: lromely virtue:-- of honesty and har{j . ·orl· . . ~rlv'"se vimtH~- ~lr. 'I horn,on inherited fron1 hi l>arent- ··a ~ \:otch father and a \Vd"'h n1otber -to \·hon1 he ~'d.$ a de\·oted ~Qn and ha. ever reo1ain d 1GYa1 to the;r tneJnor\'. , , 'I lie inherent ·haracter of d tJlHin in ni youth • utuloubted1y dorninat(' hi~ cour~c throt.tgb li fc ' and h iaS con ... rderable i11i,u~ncc on hi .~ ultirna:t · ~uc e . .. fn hi~ youth. _1r. 'fhoul.On de ·lop "<l a ken tntt: c t' 1n book· .anci bccan\e a .:tudt:nt of good 1iltratur · and t~ 1ir~t po it ion b · ore upied (!fter lc.:~u,·in g: hool \a ... that of a ·J rl jn the ( iu­d nn':l.ti Book tc,r<.: of Rnbert ( lar.k \:' fr on1pany. ""hb pol'litit~n gaY " hin1 the rt!>ppotluni tv 1u pay i'afilir ulur. !ttl ·ntirjn tc~ thL 1nr•c hani 1 1 of hook~ - tlu~ir l indi1l '· tht J:.~fill t 1!1!' :lnd tln (JU~lil\ of 1hc paf' ·r aJ"td o \\:11 did lte ma .. t r thi f ·aturc of ' • • hi. work that as a judge of the rt.uahty of the printer's art. there a.re few· 'vho can equal hin1 to thi ~ day. 1 he qualit .. of the paper u~ed in the 1naking of book inlere. ted young :\Jr. 'fhon1~on tre tnendo u ~ ly. for after all the ba .. i. of the pernln­nence of good literature· i crood paper. .~t that time, the quality of A.merican machine made paper was not the Yery be -t. but in1pro\·e­ment \Yere being made and ne~v qualities of paper were beinu put on the n1arket. One of these new type of paper \Va called "coated paper .. and posses ed a beautiful n1ooth urface and a bright fi.ni h. The 11ew coated paper had many attracti\·e feature .. for the printer but it \vas by no n1ean~ <' perfect product at fi rst. A.t this time, 1VIr. Thon1Son had launched upon an independent bu sines~ career and had opened a book store of his O\Yll, and also conducted a ~ n1all publi bing bu ines~ . Those qualities of leader­ship 'vhich "·ere o abundantly n1aniie'"red in 1 a ter year · "'ere deye] oped in ~I r. T hom: on in hi ... youth and he cornmenced to blaze hi .. o~·n • trail in life, stin1ulated by hi- inheritance of • gterling qualities and a capacity to think .. oundly. A. ~ a sn1all publif-her, l\Ir. 1'hom~on \Yas a buyer of paper and he berarne interested in coated paper. A mall branch of the C'han1pinn International Cotnpan~r, 1ocated at }{anli1ton, Ohio, wa .. engaged in the production of coated paper anJ because of his confidence in the iuture of thi-.. type of paper, ~[r. 1'hom on grn·e up his own hu:'ine'-... and as~ociatrd hin15elf \ith thi.s company ~ as it~ \Ye .. tern ~l anager. l-Ie occupied thb po ilion for a fe"· Year ·-. but the Yearnincr to 4 • ~ he in businc.;~ for hin1self fin ~llh· led hitn to • challenge fortune anJ en~bark upon \u ~nterpri ~e of his own to n1n n u factur ~oa ted pa pt•r, <HH.l l..,r org:\nizcd rl'he Chanrpion Coated J),\pcr t \ .>tn­pc. lny. :\t that t ilne thl' coating of pnper wa~ a ~ pnrn.te hu~inc~"' to that 0f paper rnnl·ing thL\. n1a 1Ht farhu-cr of coated paper buying hi" n.'quire­t11eub frorn the pctp~r n:1aker. _ [r. l ' hon1~on l"\­per\(\~ tc<l _ "cunc difll~ult\· \ith th~ qua lity of pap(•r lh d tn h1 rnating tnill and rather th,\n h~\'' thl' q~l.tlit~ ot h i.~ pt\.ldu ., contn..)t h.',l h~· the qua 1 it: n1 thP paper ~u pphul tu hin1, he dt tertnint.·(l to ·ontrul Lht qu~tlit~ nf hi~ p t~H·r b: heco1njng hi" a • • r111 ~ 1 .~ (_, ·1 r 1 1 t r t rt y·y t, r t t r rr r l rrt r r t 'T1TI"t"T r-r t 1-1 r t·rr·r t-t Tn& Tl 1 r1n r rTl r r1·r y r t r1 rr z rrTrT nn . ' O\YD paper maker. This "·a a natural and logical tep and it marked the beginnjng of an industrjal enterprise \vhich ~· a .. de tined to haYe a great in­fluenct' on the \Vhole paper indu try. 'Mr. T hom­son purcha-ed a .-ma11 paper mill at F ranklin , Ohio, and thi .... very qujckly den1onstrate.d the soundne. of hi reasoning. In a yery :,hart time the little paper n1ill proved inadequate for the demand.- n1ade upon it, and \·ithout he. itation M r: Thomc.on took :teps to erect a ne\V paper n1il1 equipped \Vith six large paper rna chi ne at Hamilton, Ohio, and thus con1bined the paper mill " ·ith the coa ting mill. ~ uch an undertaking re<.juired a great dea 1 of courage and confidence becau. e of the large capital expenditure inv·olved, but the qual ity of the o1npany,~ product was being ~·tab] i~ hed and received a good repuh.ttion so that success fo1lo'"'ed very quickly. Dame ,. ortune has a '\ray of leading one on to ta ~te the fruit. of succe;::: only to natch thcn1 a~·vay before they a re fully enjoyed, and it may be that her apparent fiek len s~ i'!i only her. \vay o f tc~ting the 1netal of a man. l "or a~ on1eone ha. said • • THE PLANT OF THE CHAMPI O N FI BRE IN 192.6 . O V ER 1500 EMPLOYEES ARE WOOD INTO PULP AND P A P ER AS W ELL AS ' Ifs ea ·y enough to be plea. ant, \iVhen L ife flow by like a. song; But the tn an \Yorth ~~hi le ) I. the n1an 'vho can mile, When everyth ing goe "' dead " 'rona .'' Jt \Ya ju. t '"'hen the plant a t f-l an1ilton w .t. getting on a ha is of profi table operation a nd the outlook \va. br ight, that a fire bu1·ned the n1ill and completely cle:troved it. ' f hi. \Va ... a s ver • set-back for 1r. ~""fhon1:->0n, but \"ithout \VaitintY for the yn1pa thy of hi: fri end ~, he had plans for a n e\~· plant vvhich would be an itnprov ·nlent upon the old , and \Vhich very shortly rose phoeni x­like f ron1 the a. h<.! . or it p revious t n ( . . For 1he next hvc lv yea rs ·rh (.'h ~unpion ott tcd P ·qJer ( 'otnpa ny gr\ a nd pr )pt\n.'d . rf hvn OCCU rr •d a noth r cat a '" trophe \Vh it h \ ould have d j couragcd and di s h e:.~.rt n ·d llh> t rrwn. ln 1 C) 13 a Aood . '"' pt through t hv I\ I ian1i \ ;tl h.·,. and swamped thL· ·ntir · n1ill , a nd ;"'uch cLll1hl''~"e ·1~ :':'\ th n1uddy ,,va t r fa iled tu do \ \ :l S \" ·r.v :::.ha rtl ,Y c omplished hy a fi re whi h quickl )· f llLO\(:d th • • • I 1"'l-ll~ LOG 7 t T"t t t t 1 r 11 t 1 r y·y 11 t t r t 1 t t t t "l rr 1 r t t r r t r r t r r t r t,.i t t rrr cr r 1 r t t t r r t 1 1 r t t t TTl r ·y t ·y t r 1 1 y·x r rr r T COMPA~Y. CANTON N. C .. AS IT APPEARS ENGAGED lN THE TRA NSFORMATION OF lN TP.E PRODUCTION O F CHEM ICALS. • Aood and con1plelecl the destruction of the coa.ting • mill. Thi.' di a ter furni~htd 1\Ir. Thon1 on '"ith an <Jpportunit)' to 1n.a ke another record with that dis­play of courage and energy w~hich has been so characteri~tic of him, alJd w·hich would not accept defeat. In an incredibly_ ~hort lirne, ~~T r. 'f hon1- .:on ha.d the n1ill in operation and the production J as never heen . eriou ~ly interrllpt<:d ..., jnt.:e then. Jn the meantirne rdr. 'Ihom. un hnd ui :--cerned that \Vhile the- tnanufac lure of tiLe be 't <.1ual ity of c..oated paper de: pend~ t(J a lar~e ex tent upon Lhc quality of tht paper employed hi ' cxperienC{" as a paper n1tr kt:r ~o..oon detllOnstratcd the fa t that the qualitv rJf papc:r in turn depended upon lhe qu£'lity of th~ pulp u:"lcd. 'fhe Charnpi on ~ 'untcd Paper Co1npany \tl~ building it~ repuh~tt,on on quality and \tl r. 1 'lton1son was n?t sat l ~ ftt:d. lu leave the quality of the pulp u~c~ t 1u the JnakJn.g of lJi. IJ'tpt r 1o the elet nclll uf ( hatHl' beyond lll ~ ronlroL 'J o eni'"'ure not only the quality, but al o tl t < ()J'Itiuuity of a uuifl)rJn ' llpply of wood ptdpt . 1r. ' lltont "'uu deLid ·d tu launl h 1nto the Jnanu­factu r~ vf wood pu1JJ. • • • 'uch an undertaking involved a tremendous ex pend itu re of cap ita] 1 accon1panied by hazard peculiar to an indu. try which \Yas entir ely separate and di stinct f1o1n the paper indu-try. The fir5t consideration \Yas the locat·ion of a pulp n1ill, and this required that it should be · ituated with reference to an abundant upply of the raw rnaterial for pulp) which is wood. The trend of the pu.lp industry had been) up to this tin1e, north and we .. t and had followed the trail of the lurnbern1e11. The enonnou~ titnher resource · of the South had not attra..:ted rnuch attention fron1 the \·ootl con: tun iug inthtslri e~. but the po ·. ibilitie or the utili 7.ation of Southern wood had been brougltt to 1~J r. Thotn ... on'~ attention, ,,·ith the n:su lt that he n1aclc a very thorough in ve. tig:-ttion and 11 11 a \ly d \r idcd to locate hi~ pulp n1ill. in \' c~te rn \.orth Cn rol ina, n.1 Canton, a ~tna ll con1n\u n i tY of about 150 pe-oph:, locnted on fhc :\ Turpll\' br".nch or Lhc .""oulhern r,lilw,ty·-a : iugle tJal'l~ line running :-.<Jnle, 120 J ni l ~~" hd\ l.! ·n ~\~he\'ill e and ~[urph;·, 1 - ( . lt was h Ptt that in IOl)(') ?d r. Thornson e~tal di ~ hell 'f he l 'h:.unpilHl. l• ihre ( on1pany, a ~eva.rat " ()rganitation to thut \)f hi .., paper iu- • • Jl : 1 .. () 1 11 rl' IIJ ~ lJ ( )(-; 9 .. TT "':' T T' • • l. T*T f t f • r; r !"T 1 ! ·r ! T T T 1 T T 1 T "!1' ! 1 1 !"! 1 r !" • J 1 ! 1' t 't • Tn E MOUN:f J , COOt...~ Q I ~NS. T R N f 0 1 H C~AOLlN .,. THE \1 000 J< • E • ' 1!.6 • r: Tl' C ~A N PI O N F li3RE CC"M PAN 10 1 .111~: )., r t t 1 r : ·r ·r r 1 r rn . -y r rrrT T r r rr rrr TT T T 1 T r-r1 r 1 T r r r1 1 1 t 1 1 T r r rr 1 T r r r1 i 11 r1 T 1 r 1 r • • • MAtN STR~£T OF C~<NTON IN f908 ANO TH AM6 6TAl!£T I N 1:9:!6 • .... • _ _ _ 'I'J E ~OG _.. . _. __ _ . ,,. . .. _ . "1 ~ T 1 l 1 ! 1 t t 1 T t 11 1 t t f 11 T T ·r r t t 'f T t T'l 'T I T t t t' T l' t"T T 1 1 f 11 t ·t t 1 t T 1 1 T f T 1 r ITT1 1 t t T t t 1 f 1 1 I t 1 I 1 I t 11 t T T T • tere~t..... ·) nton ~non be ~une the -cenc ot in­du. .~ trial ~cti,~itY ..u ~"h a~ fe"' .. ection. . of the outh- • land had ,,r)tne ~eel up to that tiine. ,~-e$tern arolina i · a 1uountn.in re~ion, tich io tin1ber re ource~ of every variety. including che.:tnut and oak , hetn1ock and pruce, pine and poplar. The predon"l1nant .. pecie~ i the che tnut the \rood of which contain about the ~ ame a1nount of tannin a .. doe- the bark and thi · ' voocl ''"a~ readily aYailable in great quantity through­out the territorv·. Che""tnut 'vood as a ource of • \vood \ ulp wa~ son1ewha.t ne.w, but it '''a kno'' n that in order to convert the ,,·ood into pulp ~ jt would be necessarY.. to tir t extro.ct the tannin. The plant ~·a . .ft.rst de igned to incl4de a 'ulphite ~Ii1l , a oda l\'liil and a T annin Extract plant in thr1:!e separate units: and each one large enough to con~titute a .. eparate indu try by itself. '"fhe .. ize of the pr0ject becan1e more evident a: tbe work of ron. truction progressed and the difficulties incident to a pioneering indu trial enterpri:-e V\·ere encountered. So great were the. e difficulties that at tirr1e thev., ·ee1ued in ·urmount-able and only a n1an of \'i ion and of courage and with phy ical ;trength could po. sibly have seen it through. '- There 'rere unforeseen engineering djfficulties encountered during con .. truction. There \Vere no ._ hign ,·a y~ O\rer V\ hich to haul the n1aterial. Dur-ing the period of con truction it r ained continu­ously which added to the di fflc u}ties. The huge n1achiuery and equipment required in the opera­tion of a pulp n1i1l were found to be too large for the railroad pern1anent \Vay to accom1nodate in tran ... jt, and delay occurred to pern1it the ''ioeninr.~ of the railroad permanent way at many poinr . There -were unexpectdd difficultie in everr direction which had to be faced with that ~ ( ourage and fo rtitude 'vhich ha£> di :tingui. heel tbe pioneer:- uf 0ur country and added to the glory of their accOinph;-..hrnents, and a ~ a pioneer in indu.ctria.l de\ eloprnent, ~Jr. 'J'homsc)n i!' entitled to the honor~ of a veteran. 'fhen a if hi~ pirit had not been suffLciently tri~rl, the ) c.a r 1 907 hrought an unexpecteci. busi­ne. . lunlf;t \dtich hetarnc known as the IJUnir of 1907. ;flli , tinandal di~turban ce arnvcd just about the tilne that 1fr. 'fl1on1 - on · ~ dlfl'tcultit<... in th • constructl(Jn of the Canton n1ill "vere being . u<.;re,.., fully overcornc, nnd caused h.in) one of th("' ~~ven· ... t unJeal~ '"hich he hnd C-\Ct e~peri­CTlt: cd. y, t he wa. tHJt di~n1a_ ,~cl, but fought hi. ,~·ay out of tile ftn;•n<..ial <..hrt<lS \'hich .. nlangl ~d the C(Juntry and e-n1crged f1nan ially intact. Th i~ W(.t a tr·ihuh!t to ~vi t. 'I'hon1 on >s sou ud business nleth-<)d.li and n-putation and w·t& in a • very real :;e n ~e a triurnph in which the citizens of \Ve. tern !. orth Caro]ina had cau:e lo rejoice. 'The erection o[ the pulp mill · at ·anton tnarl·ed the beginnipg of an epoch in the in­dustrinl (lcvclopn1ent of the South, a11d the entcrpri :.:;e had a tren1endous economic . ignifL­cance. l f p to that tiJne the mountain people of v e tern 1 orth Carolina. 1 ived a rnore or less j olated existence and had formed no contact with the industrial develop1nent which other . eclions of the country had experienced. ~' bile the potential "'ealth of the ecti on, in natural re ource , principally lu1nber, "·a very greu,t the tate der)ved little revenue fron1 it. Be­cau e of the lack of n1ean of comn1unication, this n1ountajn countrv, wa. ]ittle known to the ouLide \Vorld and it ren1ained in ob .. curity while the great indu trial developrnen t of the country pro­gre ed \Ve"tward .. There ,were fe\Y road in any part of the ec­tion and these were only pas"able in the dry ~ ea .. on. Oxen 'vere .used for 1noving heavy freight and the n1ule tean1 furni hed the n1eans for rapid transit. Gradually conditions throughout the Carolina mountain · began to change. \. ood \vhich had no value as lumber could be· sold to the Canton pulp 1nil1 and payment recei·red in ca J1 and the currency of the ·e nited tate becan1«: a fan1iliar sight throug-hout the section. Property located in the n1ountain. took on tangible value~ \Yhich steadilr increa ed. -·rnall indu tries and • stores catne into being to cater to the increasing need of the con1n1unities, n.... the economic in­fluence of tht! pulp n1i ll · spread throughout the territory. :\. better den1and for labor \Yas created, and the mall farn1er found a readv rna rket for ; hi produce on a ca.:h basi . New higlrway ... through the mountain.J "~e re graded and in a hort tin1e hecan1e hard-surfaced road. \rhich equalled the best highways in the country. 1'he po,Yer requ)ren1ent: of the pulp n1ilb were enonuou;"'lt and w hil ~ the coal con. urnption n1ounted to SOU ton:\ per day, the power production wa. in uff1cient for the requiretnent. uf the rnill, and the nei?hhor1ng power con1pany Wi<\~ obliged t.o e~pand 1t. !Jlant to :-;upply the e~ tra d.en1ancl tor pow r required by llH~ tnilb anJ b, the in­creasing need~ of the local conu1n.U1 it ies. · 'f'he ap]Jetitr or th\. indu~tnn.l ~i,tnt Jor r~l\Y n1aterial \Va~ in~at1ablr and ib dcn~1,1nd for n\" l~n.tcricd~ pl_lK1 UU!d in ucighhorj ng Southern ;)tate<; l1 Cte~~t htl d tht:> -;hiptnent t)f thou-...anus of ton~ of c~m l ancl hn1L: Cr nn 'fcnn('Ssee~ hundl'L'd" of to 11s oJ ~u l phur fro1n T ,ou i"'ian~ , nul hundrt'd-; of ton~ or. ( 1 kn li. fro.nl Yirgini, , 'l'he l>rincipu.l ra.\v n1u.ten al, ,,~luch 1~ wood1 j:-, • uppli d not unly • 12 'T' Ill~ l JO<; . T f! T l t f1 n 1' T r lTT"t T"l t T t~TI rTTTT n1 1 n 11,1 T T rr fl f T T THE BLACt< OI.O.MONO COLLI e:R lt:'S AT COAL C R E:Et< TENN. AND iHli L IM C KILNS AT KNOXVILLC TENN. BOTH OWNED ANO OPCRA 1 0 V THE COMP ANY. 11 • • • THE LOG 13 t f T t t*f l t' T t' t Y: 1 T T 1 T f t T r t T T! T :Y T 111'1 t"T t t 'T t f t 'f t f t t t t t T t f '"l t' T T T 1 f 1 rt T rr f"'f 'T TTl t T t f 11 f f t l 1"1 f t T T hY, the lnountain . ection or the Carolina 1 orth :1:nd .' outh, but al~o bY ( .-eorgin and 1'enne~ ee, 1n • •• quanti tie~ tha t con~titu te train lon. l. each day. n thi~ wa". the Canton 1uilL not onlv r reaterl ~ wealth in tbe1r in1lnediate vicinit.,, ·, but di tributed \~ealth oye.r a large a rea of t}\e ~outh and value~ •• ha,· been created in ;\orth Ca rolina. \Yhich have <:"ont ril uted hand~on1~l-r to the reYenue of the ~late. and fu rn i~hc:d the 1nean" to enable the State of ~ orth Carolina to n1a ke that progres..; which has di- tin~ui~hed the ~tate in recent year . ~Ir . 'Thornson \Yould not clain1 any credit for the progre~.. of the tate ot North Carol ina, but "·auld attribute 1 t to the ... terl ing quali tie" of the citizen of the "'tate, particularly tho .. e jn the n1ounHtin .. e tion I \-hom he carne to knovv very \Yell. and for wbon he has the Yery highe t regard. But it is obviou ~ that an organization uch a. The Chan1pion }'ibre C'm1n1Dany could not pay out n1illion~ of dollar~ on it.. payroll and hun­dreds of thou.:and: of dollar i'n taxe.~ 'vithout contributina YCTY n1aterially to the progres and econon1ic advancen1ent of the surrounding -ountr\'. " ~{eanwhile the C'anton 1nil1s were making ~t:ead} progress antl ~ r t , T hom:-'Oll had delegated the adn1ini . .;trarion of the plant to hi 1 _on-in-law, · _ tr. Reuben B. Robert. on under '"ho .. e direction • rhe plant ht.t: ren1a ined for n1any year . In a fe"· yeat: after the plant began to oper­ate, the n~ed for expansion becan1e eYident and in order to make n1ore efficient u. e of available re. ource$, a new pulp W1it wa£ added ior the produC'tion of ~ulphate pulp. Then the great ''"ar interfered witb the upply of chJorine, ":hi ch j ·· e~sential f<lr the bleaching of pulp and paper. and in order to prot ct the large I)rorluction of pulp, an e]ectrolytic plant for the 1nanufacture of r hlorine \a:-- in~talled .. with a .apacity of forty tons pE:!r day. · 1 ... he r.apid progres '' hich the ... outh ''a::; nlak­in~ indi "atcd thnr her need' or ftll(' qur11ity paper must l, catered to \ithin her horder ·, and in order that lhe South rnay ha \'e S JLtlhcrn-rnadc paper, on '' hJLh to tell her ~tory of her p,ro~r:e~. and hC:-r '-tin greal(~r opportun i ti ,, a pa:pcr tnill ,,., .. a built alo.n~.-:idt the pulp n1ill ~ . ha' 1ng. a eapacity of onr hundred ton:-. of book and bond paper per day. In building up the ]H'e~cnt or­ganiz- tlion at C,tnton a h .;:.tfp ha:- been a logical d '(tlopm(·nt tron1 the pr ·viou~ on ·, an I i.u ~.:.c far a it l as l> ,.~t~ n t,nu tif a1 and cOH(Jln i ·"I to dn ·o, ' he hrttnt ion }'il.Jn 01 < 'on1pauy ha.. ought tn contrul it e"':-.cntial n1\ llJatL·ria1'"' in hannony \ ith the poliry which .td r. rfl Olt'l nn or.itti n, t d. Ste;.nn po" (.. r d<. . pt·nd on oa l J n nd a ...,lC(Hll i .~ a vital nece~ ity to the oper(;lt1on of the plant. the ( ,on1pany protecL this need \vith its O\vn coal mines at CoaJ Creek, Tennes. ee. Lime i: Lhe basj · of 11early aJ 1 chemical industry. l n the tnaking of pulp it i. largely used in both the Sulphite and Soda pro ce~ses and i: used as tlte basi of the bleaching proce. s. Tennes ee marble tone i" hi ghly rega rded a a source of f1 uick-1ime and The Chan1pion Fibre on1pany operate a tnodern equjpped ga ftred lime kiln at I<noxville, Tenne . ee. Ho,vever the principal re ource of the Com­pany retnain a a beautiful background £or a '"'ell rounded organization and thi:- i the moun­tain woodland from " ·hich the chief ra"'' materia) i derived. The "on1pany own- and control: nearly t\vo hundred tho\.l and acre of n1ountain vv·oodland which i capable of upplying the greater part of the wood requirement ' of the · Canton ~~Iill , if the need ~ hould ari e. l'he Con1pany's policy include~ a .. cheme for reforestation , so as . to en ure a _upply of pulp­\ Vood within an area contiguou .. to the tnill:, in­definitely \Vith the practice of sound forest prjn­ciple _ It 'Na"' the in1pul. e to control quality \Yhich urged nfr. ~fhomson , a. a manufacturer of coated paper, to :earch for quality until he found iL -ource in the ~Iother Earth of \Ve "'tern .l - orth Carolina, and thu-- he \'a. able to cmnplete the C-Ycle of hi indu trial acti ,·itv. and to be in a po. ition to offer his flni "bed product a · cotniog direct fron1 the forest to the printer. _-\: one cobten1plate .. the re .. ult of ~lr. 'fhom­: on' . activities 1t becon1e · evident that there \Va:; an idenl a~ "·ell a ~· an idea in the tnind of the founder. which have both been .. ucce~~fuh· aC'hieYed. in. ofar a .. it is hun1anly pos.= ibJe to do ·o. .a. 1aoy sucre .. ~ful rnen achieve their triun1ph~ far rctnoved fron1 their . tarting point, but ~[r . T.hotn~on fouad his li fe '"·ork near at hand and all hi ~ li fe he ha~ lived \Ylthin a _ hort distance of hi~ birthplace. ~Ir . Thon1~on·. carer ha~ been an open bul.>l... to hi$ friend...; and neighbor , who kuo'' that he enjoyed no unu~ual adYantage'-', but that he hi tn­.~ el f creat .. d the opportunitic.; \'hi ch hav~.: cn1\ n d hi~ effort. with ;-,urce-...:--. I f r. TI1on1~nn hi tn ..... r lf i~ '-( <t n ~1 y r on'l. iou~ of th{' :-.urrt. ~ which he ha;, ~o hrill\antl a~.. . hievcd I and h ~ ~ Ot1hta nd ing d un act ri .... tic t"­hh tnoch :ry. He j.., une of tln. IHO~t cnnlp,lnian­~ thle c.Jf n1ell, who'e bru!Hl ... ynlpalhte' interc::'t hin' til tit\ f'v~ry .. d.t\' tH.'li,·ihrs and tht juy, and ~or~ row..; r1f hi :-. f ·llown,an. · H<; hq~n n hi. bu~ ine ~ rarecr wi th book' and • 4 ,.rJ-f E t.~t)(.J f t t r I" l f T 1 ·r t ·y t f f T fl T 1 t J"T1 fl1 t rTt I T l"To'T'"li'l" I ·y T"l t l"T T'Tfl ... TTI T rt T J l, T t 1 T T T rt T T J T T T . MR. THOMSON'S BEAUTIFUL\ HOME AT COLLEGEl HILL. NEAR CINCINNATI. 0. with the leisur-e "·hich he can nO\Y enjoy. he bas returned to hj~ fir:t Jove, and in hi. palatial ho1ne in College HiJJ , near C'incjnnati, ()hio he ha indulged lli ta te for good liter ature and the fine arts to the utn1o_ t \·i tbout o. tentatiGn. ~fr. Thon1 on ha. al \·a v:-. been a f an1ilv mall , J " "'hose intere.'='t centered and radiated fro1n hi. O"'Jl hearth. and all hi familY have been identi fied • \·ith hin1 in hi bu .. ine. ~ undertaking.~ . :\ir. Thorn. on· ocial intere:t h ave been connected \'\'ith good citizen. hip, although n ev~r tak;n.a an active part in politic . · The greater part of hi. life, - 1lr. 1' horn on ha~ been an acti ,·e n1ember of the F ir st J>re: by­terian burch at oll-ecre 1-l ilJ and ha · contrjbuted lilJeraHy to it~ ~upport a-., "·ell a. to rnany cha r i-table organization~ . fie ha~ ahvays adn1ired and upported the '\ork of tJte ·voung ~I en '~ ( hri - tian A s~ociation, and i. one of the laru.. e t con-tributor~ to the J-I ~unihon \ ~. A f. C'. \ . 'T'hc lJeautiful ll(H1lpi<Jn \ . . 1. C. & • building a t th .. ranton ~fill 1:- evidence nf ~ 1 r. rfhon1son ). in­tertsi in the , ·alue of the ... e in. titLnjon,; to the \ Outh "' of a cornmunitv. ~ • [r.. 1"hon'l on ha1.1 ah.\'ay:- beJiev d 1.n the prin-cjp} e. of a ~ ound n1jnd in a ... ound body ~nd h ha ... De\·er nccr]ected to kecjr> hilnct] f in '0Ulld phy:,;ica] condition. l-Ie ba been jntere "ted in ath1 etj c ~ all h i.. life and i the olde t active n1ember of the Cjncinnati :Gyn1. ' He held the chaJnpion hip in lifting ccdead \'eight and is an expert in the '"'Ninging of 1ndian Club . 1\fr. rfhon1 ~ on de­veloped a ren1arkably fine phy ·irtue o that he \·a.- in demand for exhibition .. of living ' tatu­a ry. 'fo thi · day he i a fonnidah1e opponent in a \Vrestling bout " 'ith n1en n1any year hi. .. • • JUDlOT. ln . pite of hi. year , ~ ir. Thon1son is till ::t younv n1an in· appear'tnce, as \vell a , rnenta lly and phy. icall y, and J10\T no cvid ·nee of hi .. . trcnuou. career in founding ·tucl rondu ·ting g reat indu:-;tria] enterpri!-1 ~. Tho ·e who have been ns..;o iatrd \ itb _fr. ' f'h on1 ·on know his rea l worth anclltulll hirn 1n tlll.~ highe. t e. teen1 und cheJ·i. h th hope that ht: 1nay long be 5parcd to c )ntinu · in the ll'tHI r-~ hit in ''hie h hi · '' i ~clorn and ·}.1. lf'ri f' (l l'l' :\ r"· "O n l>u nJ­a 11 tJ ) n I a n j f CS t d . Hy all the ord inary Jnc,Hls In 'hi b ~Ucl·t·~~ in life i" n1casurL'\d , Jr. ' fh orn..,on i-... u ~Hf " ·~ (ul tna n. Tiut gr nt ·r fa r than llldt{-rLd ~u r.: ~ i_ th re~ pec1 and 0. t c1n enthrorltd iu the h n rt ~ f one'::-. fcllcHv..;. 'rhi. i:; . Jr. "I ho tn on'~ ~rt> .. ttt.'r \1 ~:"\~. rrhi . i.., hi .-; triun11 lt. - • .. • • • • Tl-1 1~ LOG 15 T! rr·t T1 .. f T t T'T T t 1 t T r f 1Tf 1 T T r tTl 'l TT"l r tl·T-f'l"t "l t T"l t rn-rJ__. ..r..-..r -1""'"1 -or1...-l...,..TITTT'l"TnTr T1 1T T r=t T T 1 T't T t r·t T IS E\Y l~l) \' Lf:R. \'ho h a ~ rharg of ' The "on1pany ·' coal nnJ lin\e inter- .. l~ at Kno~ ville. 1 enn .. h a. been a~~oda t d with ~ l r. Thotn ~on longer than an,· oth r nHUl and Le"·'s re- • c:a rd for ~lr . ~fhonlSon i ... a ~ deep "ct~ hw ,an aff ction can he. This a cl~1riration of ~ fr . 'Thon1son i .. not just hero w·orship on Lew' part. but i .. ba_ed on ob ... ervalion und long experi­ence. Le"" telL a ~tor-Y of bein(T out on a ]a ke in l\hchig.an in a po\ver launch. jLt~t he and ~1r . Thou1~on. "hen suddenly a : torn1 ble\Y up as freqnentl~ on.urs in that part of the country in tbe ~un1n1er nn1e. Le·w \vas at the engine and " ·us ?xceedin.g h.· anxiou lo 'g- et back to . hare "·ithout a rno111ent·:5 de1aY- , but l\Ir. Thom·on ·who "·a- ... n.l>erin g .. a w no occa. ion for a 1 arm and although the .... tonn increa ... ed in fury, he kept calm and cool in the face of unkno·wn danger tH1ll con­tinued to ~teer a cour::-e '"bich brou~ht the craft '- ,afeh· to ~hore in a verY short tirne. ~ - .. fr. Thon1~nn i ~ al wo. ,.~ cahn and cool and • ha .... ~o often --tee red an enterpri~·e out of the ud-den :-.rorn1. in the bu:inei-.: "·orld that he i~ an experienced ~ teer~t nan. on land or \ ater. * * \~·hatc·v:a r ~ 1r . 1' hcHn;-.;on u.rHh~rta lu·s h) lo he put: hi heart t"t nd ~oul inh it, "hether it l>e ''or\.. or p] a y. l\1 r. Thm n ~on wa;; a 1" :1 y..; po~ .. et..;-,ed of ·l o-ocJd vQil.e and for Tnan-" . ·rae -...all.L~ in the Church Choir. F.f\; wa ~ an excelh:nt a n1a tc~u r actor <1ncl t()ol· a l ea din ~ part in n1;1n: :\ln.nteur perforn1~tnt'-= " of n1u ~i<..d C()lnedi ·~. ( )ut.~ in par- 1icular, "' f'lP 'Little. l 'vcnon,'' j.., r-ecalled 1)\ "nn1e • • <.~f 1\ l r. 'l'hr>n1:=-CJO . old frh\IHl" \dth k~..·~~n lkli~h l L"' 1u--e of llH'" thorqugh wa' in \hi ·h lh· lottl o n~ • • o ·the leading p.lrt .. ~ . hl 'lui ·1 detne~ ll<)r ql lt~nd e-.. \ n1c~ n fr('qUPtlll) tlli h,ad. tlte tHtll ying t)' Jt~ of H~<~ H IHt•) ~upptJ''"'! thtll rnill nlann · r~ f\J'G the :-iitrn I r \\'ah rH·: s. (hi on· o{t a ~i Jll fi larg1 .. nq.;r l 10 \, 'tut\ ~ J r ' l'hoTI)- E CES t~ • l ·on had ·hown his usual courte.;y, refu. ed to take hi ~ depa rture fron1 i\lr. 1' hotT\ on·, office \·hen politely requested to do so. ~[r . Thom·on quietly arose fron1 his de, l·, .. eized the man in a vLe-like grip and before the ·1 ·toni.-hed negro qu ite realized what had happened, he found hin1.:elf re'ting peacefully on the outside. * * * •..•..•. _1r. Thon1 on tell · a .. torY of an interYie\" • \Yith the HC'itv 1~ ather:;'" o[ the town of Canton, • at the titT\e that he decided to locate the pulp n1ills in thi$ ton~n . 1 he question of the village t a~ wa.. being di -cussed and one of the rnen1bers of the local goYerning body ren1arked that they \"Otud like t0 exen1pt the n1ill fron1 the village tax for a period. but that this ,,·ould be impo~sible a ~ tbe town \Ya~ in d-ebt to the extent of ~e\·enteen dollars and frftv cents. "' 1 HRF.E Ot~TIN~U ISt-11 . 0 I. AOrRS t.;X· f>tf flllO r,; 1 TAl f. I ttr6rP.a;"--T ('00Lh.' 'N&.\ !'lft. PIT ~ ~ . "l'IIOl.tf,40N • 1 1 T rn T T 1 ' . MAIN OFFICES OF THE CHAMPION FIBRE COMPANY. CANTCN. N . C. • THE CkAMFION V ' AT C/.. . NTON. N.C. z r 1 J"'T1 1' '1 Tiii •. . • ..,, . ...