Boise Wood Products, October 27, 2011-November 7, 2011
File
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection contains recorded interviews with Boise citizens. Notable topics include Boise Bench history, Greenbelt history, Foothills Levy history, Boise Fire Department history, Boise Police Department history, and personal and political histories of former mayors and councilmembers.
Dates
- October 27, 2011-November 7, 2011
Creator
- Johnson, Robert A. (August 11, 1929-) (Narrator, Person)
Extent
1.27 Gigabytes (3 audio recordings and 2 PDFs)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
In an interview with Brandi Burns and Terri Schulzman on October 27, 2011, and in a second interview with Brandi Burns on November 7, 2011, Robert A. Johnson discusses his employment history at Boise Sash and Door Factory and his ownership of Boise Wood Products. He describes his experience working in the wood product industry in Boise beginning around 1945, the various men and businesses he worked with, and how he came to own Boise Wood Products.
Topic Timestamp for October 27, 2011 Interview
00:00 Introduction
00:13 Robert Johnson gives his birth date is August 11, 1929. He is 82 years old. Has lived in Boise all his life. Was employed by the Boise Sash and Door Factory when he was 16 years old. Worked there for 10 years before it closed. This is where he learned the trade he used his whole life.
01:55 Johnson explains how he got his job at the Boise Sash and Door Factory. Started out doing delivery worked until he eventually got his apprenticeship. Explains that windows were not glazed at the plan but rather they were glazed at the W.P Fuller Company Warehouse. His job was to take them to this warehouse and picked them up.
03:34 Johnson describes the W.P. Fuller Company as being by Ennis Furniture, Fairview Avenue and 24th Street. Johnson remembers working on VJ day and everybody celebrating.
06:13 He discusses how the warehouse got its power from steam shafts and line belts. Explains the engineer of the steam machine blew steam whistle at noon and 1pm every day. Tells story of how one day he screwed up and blew it at 11AM and it screwed up the whole town!
08:27 Johnson explains how the steam power used coal and how everything was shoveled by hand. Describes how all the black smoke that came out of it would never be allowed now. Air quality wasn’t a concern in those days.
10:03 He spoke of Murray’s drive-in. Says he didn’t go over there often because he always packed a lunch or came home. Explains how him and his wife or he and his family would go there occasionally.
11:15 Johnson elaborates on his apprenticeship. He graduated from driving the truck to having to carry everything that was fabricated on the first floor to the second floor. Says he had great leg muscles. After carrying items, he moved to operating equipment. Says the most complicated machine was the molder.
14:18 Johnson says that his company put in the cabinets and mill work in many commercial buildings in the Boise area. Says the company produced a lot of materials but did not install.
15:38 Johnson tries to remember why Boise Sash and Door closed. Says it was around 1954 or 1955. He explains it wasn’t making any money. He says that J.G Doerr bought it from Gertezky. Johnson says the competition was difficult for the company.
18:10 Johnson says the Boise Sash and Door company was on 8th street. Says average number of workers was about 16. Johnson remembers gentlemen that he worked with: Talks about Perry Virgil. Says he was a booze runner during Prohibition. Also talks about Ernie Harper. He was an assembly man and a good member of the Elks Club. Lauren Foutz is also a member he remembers. Charlie Beamer was the book keeper who lived over at Murray’s. Manager is Jim McFarland. Lillard Gilly was from Arkansas.
24:25 Johnson explains one of his strange duties was changing the oil of his Jim McFarland’s car. One day he told Jim that he wouldn’t change the oil because service stations across the street would do that. Jim got mad and told him he was fired and Johnson believes he only kept his job because one of the other workers calmed him down.
26:16 Johnson describes what he did after the shop closed. He went and worked at Wescraft Industries which hired Jim McFarland. Jim asked him to work for this company which lasted maybe 3 months at most. McFarland moved to Wood Products and Johnson became foreman at this company.
28:20 Johnson explains that Jim became lazy and wouldn’t come to work and Johnson ended up doing all of the work. McFarland was fired so Johnson became the official manager. When Carl Lauch, the owner, died in the 1960s it came out that he had two wives.
31:03 Johnson says that when Lauch died he was approached and asked if he was interested in buying the company. He said he would have bought it if he had the money. Turns out he had enough to buy it! He explains how he changed the format of the place and got new equipment and good employees.
31:50 Johnson explains that the old Boise Sash and Door equipment came at the company because when Jim moved to the Wood Products company he knew where the old equipment was stored and bought it for cheap.
32:27 Johnson says that Lauch was involved in construction in Boise. Says that he moved to Boise from Montana. Discusses how Lauch was the lowest bidder for all the school houses in Boise yet when he died he had nothing. He doesn’t know what happened to the money but assumes it was because he lived extravagantly.
33:36 Johnson clarifies that Boise Sash and Door and Wood Products were two different companies. Says door making is a lost art because all the doors come from foreign countries where they are mass produced. He explains that the last few years that they were making doors they were more into high- end, specialized doors. A lot of doors went to Sun Valley. School houses, hospitals, Joe Albertson’s house, Simplot’s house, etc. have doors made by Johnson.
35:32 Johnson says he bought the business in 1956. He explains that he was the number one craftsmen in town. He was the go-to guy for specialty jobs. He mentions the new technology that makes cabinetry is quick.
38:38 Johnson mentions his feelings on the new technology. He explains how the craftsmanship is lost. All you need to know now is how to program a computer. Says that there are a lot of retired people who still do wood working as a hobby.
40:31 Johnson says that the molding in his house was done by the same man. His name was Petter Jensen. He explains that he was Scandinavian and was a wood carving master.
42:16 Johnson explains that the doors sold in the stores are died down to zero percent moisture but normal moisture is about six percent which makes the doors swell and not fit right in the frame.
44:51 Johnson describes the transition after buying the business. He kept the same crew because as the manager he had built them up. He says that making a profit was about bidding jobs and using common sense.
46:35 He discusses the employees that stayed with him for multiple years. Tells story of Gary who began working for him just out of high school and stayed at the company until he retired. Now whenever Johnson sees him he gets sentimental and is grateful that he had such a good job.
47:46 Johnson says that when they started they were a union shop. The cabinet members were affiliated with the carpenters but did not get representation. Johnson says he paid his workers more than the union scale and put the bug in their ear that they were wasting money putting in union dues and not getting anything out of it.
49:20 He never had to look for any one because he treated his employees so well that people came to him looking for work. Paid more than minimum, gave Christmas bonuses and Christmas parties.
50:31 Johnson mentions that he didn’t expand the business too much, although he did add on more storage room. He could have expanded but it would not have been worth it because he would have lost control.
53:32 Johnson discussed how his products stayed mainly in Boise and its surrounding areas. He says that it went probably no farther than Pocatello and Twin Falls. They occasionally did work in Sun Valley. As far as installation, that part of the business stayed local.
54:47 Johnson talks making brass doors. Says he still has some in his garage.
End of Part One
00:15 Johnson’s wife describes him making desks for every First National Bank in Idaho. They had the idea to deliver them together so that they were able to visit every little town in Idaho.
01:38 Johnson explains how times changed because at the Boise Sash and Door they just produced the materials and they didn’t install but at Boise Wood Products the bidding included the installation.
03:23 Johnson mentions furnishing doors on old building which he didn’t make but says that today anybody that furnishes the door they are all pre-machined to fit the door, frame and hardware.
04:09 Johnson talks about delivering. Says that the contractors had to pick up the material at the Boise Sash and Door Company. Explains that all the parts were assembled on the second floor and they developed a sort of ramp to be able to get the assembled pieces out to a truck.
05:45 Johnson describes the old Boise Sash and Door building. Johnson says the building wasn’t designed well for the type of work that it produced. He lost track of what happened to the building but believes it was torn down soon after the company went out of business. Talks about how dark it was inside the company because there was only one light bulb in the building. Also mentions that it was cold in the building as well because there was only one wood stove. Continued to discuss the conditions of the building.
08:55 Johnson talks about the sawdust from the building and how much was in it. Says that one of the engineers would collect it and sell it because places like butcher shops would buy it because its good for soaking up oils and dirt, almost like cat litter.
10:20 Johnson explains the accidents that could occur when working. Tells a story of Perry Virgil which shows the power of the machines. Johnson says that he is lucky that he kept his fingers.
00:13 Robert Johnson gives his birth date is August 11, 1929. He is 82 years old. Has lived in Boise all his life. Was employed by the Boise Sash and Door Factory when he was 16 years old. Worked there for 10 years before it closed. This is where he learned the trade he used his whole life.
01:55 Johnson explains how he got his job at the Boise Sash and Door Factory. Started out doing delivery worked until he eventually got his apprenticeship. Explains that windows were not glazed at the plan but rather they were glazed at the W.P Fuller Company Warehouse. His job was to take them to this warehouse and picked them up.
03:34 Johnson describes the W.P. Fuller Company as being by Ennis Furniture, Fairview Avenue and 24th Street. Johnson remembers working on VJ day and everybody celebrating.
06:13 He discusses how the warehouse got its power from steam shafts and line belts. Explains the engineer of the steam machine blew steam whistle at noon and 1pm every day. Tells story of how one day he screwed up and blew it at 11AM and it screwed up the whole town!
08:27 Johnson explains how the steam power used coal and how everything was shoveled by hand. Describes how all the black smoke that came out of it would never be allowed now. Air quality wasn’t a concern in those days.
10:03 He spoke of Murray’s drive-in. Says he didn’t go over there often because he always packed a lunch or came home. Explains how him and his wife or he and his family would go there occasionally.
11:15 Johnson elaborates on his apprenticeship. He graduated from driving the truck to having to carry everything that was fabricated on the first floor to the second floor. Says he had great leg muscles. After carrying items, he moved to operating equipment. Says the most complicated machine was the molder.
14:18 Johnson says that his company put in the cabinets and mill work in many commercial buildings in the Boise area. Says the company produced a lot of materials but did not install.
15:38 Johnson tries to remember why Boise Sash and Door closed. Says it was around 1954 or 1955. He explains it wasn’t making any money. He says that J.G Doerr bought it from Gertezky. Johnson says the competition was difficult for the company.
18:10 Johnson says the Boise Sash and Door company was on 8th street. Says average number of workers was about 16. Johnson remembers gentlemen that he worked with: Talks about Perry Virgil. Says he was a booze runner during Prohibition. Also talks about Ernie Harper. He was an assembly man and a good member of the Elks Club. Lauren Foutz is also a member he remembers. Charlie Beamer was the book keeper who lived over at Murray’s. Manager is Jim McFarland. Lillard Gilly was from Arkansas.
24:25 Johnson explains one of his strange duties was changing the oil of his Jim McFarland’s car. One day he told Jim that he wouldn’t change the oil because service stations across the street would do that. Jim got mad and told him he was fired and Johnson believes he only kept his job because one of the other workers calmed him down.
26:16 Johnson describes what he did after the shop closed. He went and worked at Wescraft Industries which hired Jim McFarland. Jim asked him to work for this company which lasted maybe 3 months at most. McFarland moved to Wood Products and Johnson became foreman at this company.
28:20 Johnson explains that Jim became lazy and wouldn’t come to work and Johnson ended up doing all of the work. McFarland was fired so Johnson became the official manager. When Carl Lauch, the owner, died in the 1960s it came out that he had two wives.
31:03 Johnson says that when Lauch died he was approached and asked if he was interested in buying the company. He said he would have bought it if he had the money. Turns out he had enough to buy it! He explains how he changed the format of the place and got new equipment and good employees.
31:50 Johnson explains that the old Boise Sash and Door equipment came at the company because when Jim moved to the Wood Products company he knew where the old equipment was stored and bought it for cheap.
32:27 Johnson says that Lauch was involved in construction in Boise. Says that he moved to Boise from Montana. Discusses how Lauch was the lowest bidder for all the school houses in Boise yet when he died he had nothing. He doesn’t know what happened to the money but assumes it was because he lived extravagantly.
33:36 Johnson clarifies that Boise Sash and Door and Wood Products were two different companies. Says door making is a lost art because all the doors come from foreign countries where they are mass produced. He explains that the last few years that they were making doors they were more into high- end, specialized doors. A lot of doors went to Sun Valley. School houses, hospitals, Joe Albertson’s house, Simplot’s house, etc. have doors made by Johnson.
35:32 Johnson says he bought the business in 1956. He explains that he was the number one craftsmen in town. He was the go-to guy for specialty jobs. He mentions the new technology that makes cabinetry is quick.
38:38 Johnson mentions his feelings on the new technology. He explains how the craftsmanship is lost. All you need to know now is how to program a computer. Says that there are a lot of retired people who still do wood working as a hobby.
40:31 Johnson says that the molding in his house was done by the same man. His name was Petter Jensen. He explains that he was Scandinavian and was a wood carving master.
42:16 Johnson explains that the doors sold in the stores are died down to zero percent moisture but normal moisture is about six percent which makes the doors swell and not fit right in the frame.
44:51 Johnson describes the transition after buying the business. He kept the same crew because as the manager he had built them up. He says that making a profit was about bidding jobs and using common sense.
46:35 He discusses the employees that stayed with him for multiple years. Tells story of Gary who began working for him just out of high school and stayed at the company until he retired. Now whenever Johnson sees him he gets sentimental and is grateful that he had such a good job.
47:46 Johnson says that when they started they were a union shop. The cabinet members were affiliated with the carpenters but did not get representation. Johnson says he paid his workers more than the union scale and put the bug in their ear that they were wasting money putting in union dues and not getting anything out of it.
49:20 He never had to look for any one because he treated his employees so well that people came to him looking for work. Paid more than minimum, gave Christmas bonuses and Christmas parties.
50:31 Johnson mentions that he didn’t expand the business too much, although he did add on more storage room. He could have expanded but it would not have been worth it because he would have lost control.
53:32 Johnson discussed how his products stayed mainly in Boise and its surrounding areas. He says that it went probably no farther than Pocatello and Twin Falls. They occasionally did work in Sun Valley. As far as installation, that part of the business stayed local.
54:47 Johnson talks making brass doors. Says he still has some in his garage.
End of Part One
00:15 Johnson’s wife describes him making desks for every First National Bank in Idaho. They had the idea to deliver them together so that they were able to visit every little town in Idaho.
01:38 Johnson explains how times changed because at the Boise Sash and Door they just produced the materials and they didn’t install but at Boise Wood Products the bidding included the installation.
03:23 Johnson mentions furnishing doors on old building which he didn’t make but says that today anybody that furnishes the door they are all pre-machined to fit the door, frame and hardware.
04:09 Johnson talks about delivering. Says that the contractors had to pick up the material at the Boise Sash and Door Company. Explains that all the parts were assembled on the second floor and they developed a sort of ramp to be able to get the assembled pieces out to a truck.
05:45 Johnson describes the old Boise Sash and Door building. Johnson says the building wasn’t designed well for the type of work that it produced. He lost track of what happened to the building but believes it was torn down soon after the company went out of business. Talks about how dark it was inside the company because there was only one light bulb in the building. Also mentions that it was cold in the building as well because there was only one wood stove. Continued to discuss the conditions of the building.
08:55 Johnson talks about the sawdust from the building and how much was in it. Says that one of the engineers would collect it and sell it because places like butcher shops would buy it because its good for soaking up oils and dirt, almost like cat litter.
10:20 Johnson explains the accidents that could occur when working. Tells a story of Perry Virgil which shows the power of the machines. Johnson says that he is lucky that he kept his fingers.
Creator
- Johnson, Robert A. (August 11, 1929-) (Narrator, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Collections Repository