Guide to the Records of the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania, 1905-1971
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Records of the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania
- Creator
- Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania
- Collection Number
- MSS#139
- Extent
- .50 cubic feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1905-1971
- Abstract
- Since its founding in 1907, the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania has provided for its members a forum to address issues facing the lumber industry, particularly those unique to the Western Pennsylvania region. In addition, this organization facilitated communication and projects that enabled its members to respond efficiently to changes in the American economy and building trades. These records include banquet and convention programs, bulletins, a 1959 membership index, certificates of good standing, a 1955 Survey of Operating Results, a 1967 Lumber Pricer, and other sundry items.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History of the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania
Since its founding in 1907, the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania has provided for its members a forum to address issues facing the lumber industry, particularly those unique to the Western Pennsylvania region. In addition, this organization facilitated communication and projects that enabled its members to respond efficiently to changes in the American economy and building trades. Membership in the Association allowed dealers to achieve a spirit of cooperation, price stabilization, and a system of certification. The impetus for the Association was to provide local dealers with a forum specifically addressing their needs. Prior to 1907, regional lumber dealers were often members of the Union Association of Retail Lumber Dealers, an organization that included retail lumber dealers from Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. In 1908, members of the Retail Lumber Dealers' Association, the first name of the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania, withdrew amicably from the Union Association, believing that their interests would be better served as members of a statewide association, given the variation of state laws. Since many of the members of this new organization were located in Western Pennsylvania and a Philadelphia-based association had already been established in Eastern Pennsylvania, it was mutually agreed to operate the two associations as separate entities. In 1928, the Retail Lumber Dealers' Association changed its name to the Retail Lumber Dealers' Association of Western Pennsylvania. In 1938, the name was again changed to the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania.
The Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania began holding annual conventions in 1908, and beginning in 1910, these conventions were held in Pittsburgh. From its beginnings, the Association was closely allied with other organizations that support the lumber industry's owners and managers including: the Retail Lumber Dealers and Supply Men's Credit Association, the Pittsburgh Lumbermen's Club, and the Pittsburgh Lumbermen's Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Between 1920 and 1939, the Association published seven editions of a plan book titled "Pennsylvania Homes." Blueprints and material lists for each plan shown in "Pennsylvania Homes" were available from the Association at a low cost. This service was the first of its kind in the United States, and was largely successful in encouraging Americans to build their own homes. The Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania also published a Yearbook, Directory, and Buyers' Guide.
Scope and Content Notes
These records include banquet and convention programs, bulletins, a 1959 membership index, certificates of good standing, a 1955 Survey of Operating Results, a 1967 Lumber Pricer, and other sundry items. The banquet and convention programs list menus, song lyrics, speakers, and other entertainment planned for the Lumber Dealers Association's annual gatherings. Often listed are special programs that were held for the women who accompanied their husbands at annual conventions, as well as those for the Pittsburgh Lumbermen's Club and the Credit Association. Speech topics listed in the programs cover financial, political, and practical matters affecting the retail lumber business, such as sales techniques, trade ethics, competition with other industries, and technological advances. An occasional topic of discussion is marketing approaches to women customers to increase sales. Of particular interest are the conference programs during the years following World Wars I and II and those during the Great Depression. The 1943 annual conference was re-titled the "War Conference." These programs were printed on standard paper or thin pieces of wood, making them logical keepsakes from the conventions. The authors of the Lumbermen's Club programs often took a humorous approach when writing the menu by replacing the names of actual menu items with wood products and lumber terms.
Other material includes bulletins, membership information and other sundry items. The bulletins produced in 1967 highlight the changes in the Fair Labor Standards Act, the national law passed in 1963 and amended in 1966, including a copy of these amendments. Also included in the bulletins are Association announcements and descriptions of publications that were of interest to retail lumber dealers. Of note is a copy of the Retail Lumber Dealer Digest of Occupational Safety and Health Standards, given to lumber dealers as a means of notifying them of their obligations under the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The 1959 membership index consists of postcards submitted by member companies. Information includes name of company; mailing address; yard location; company structure (corporation, partnership, or proprietorship); names of officers, partners, proprietors or managers; phone number; railroad; and location of branch yards. This index is arranged alphabetically by location. An alphabetical list of lumber dealers is also included. The miscellaneous materials include certificates of good standing, all of which are blank except for a 1929 Certificate signed by Association Secretary R. F. McCrea, for the South Hills Lumber & Supply Company of Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania. Also included with miscellaneous materials is a 1955 Survey of Operating Results, developed by Miller, Moyan & Company, as a guide for lumber dealers to evaluate their operations costs, productivity, and efficiency in comparison to businesses similar to theirs.
Arrangement
The Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania Records are housed in one archival box and are arranged alphabetically by folder title with miscellaneous material arranged to the rear.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials were received in two accessions and were combined into one collection in 1994.
Acc# 1982.199 Gift of Robert P. Greiner, (Records).
Acc# 1992.0185 Gift of Helen M. Greiner, (Photographs).
Preferred Citation
Records of the Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania, 1905-1971, MSS# 139, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff in c1982. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Jocelyn L. Liang on August 9, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on June 6, 2001.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Lumber Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania
- McCrea, R. F. (c1900-?)
- Munn, James J. (1855-?)
- Pennsylvania -- Commerce
- Associations, Institutions, etc. -- Pennsylvania
- Buildings -- Pennsylvania
- Dwellings -- Pennsylvania
- House construction -- Pennsylvania
- Industrial Safety -- Pennsylvania
- Lumber Trade -- Pennsylvania
- Lumber Trade -- Societies, etc.
- Trade and professional associations -- Pennsylvania
- Trade-unions -- Lumbermen -- Pennsylvania
- Women--Pennsylvania
- World War, 1939-1945 -- War Work -- Pennsylvania
- World War, 1914-1918 -- War Work -- Pennsylvania