_ Wood hewers come and go ©

Most events occurring-in‘our valley during the past three or four decades affected Lars
Widget and his woodlot in some way. Most significant perhaps was a major amendment to
the B.C. Forest Act in 1947 which established “sustained yield units” to aid the small
operator and bolster local economies. Then there was the granting of TFL #1 to iG
** Columbia Cellulose in.1948, - : , no
This was an event that tied up a large portion of timber in the area. Other major |
companies were bidding on and getting most of the balance of supply available timber.

Smaller companies simply moved or-closed down in subsequent years. co ,
| The actual.effect on Lars and his family, though, was hard to gauge. He relied
* on getting outside work.and sources of. supply in those years, but he at least had his
woodlot operation to-feed his small mill: ne oo

There were other events Lars remembers well. Prior to TFL #1, The Terrace
Co-op opened its doors on January 1, 1946. That same year the first telephones
were installed in Terrace... And the village bought an old military crash wagon and .
shed complete with air raid siren to enhance their firefighting capabilities.
These were years of growth. Lars remembers a proud announcement in 1950
by the power commission. The number of customers linked to the local power
generating plant had grown from 49 to 413 in just five years... And there was
much.more to come.: a oo : ;

In 1952, Carl Pohle began construction on a sawmill on the south -
| '. ° side of-the CN tracks just west of the mill built by Lars’long- q
a time friend, Clair Giggey. Giggey had sold that mill in 1947 ag
, to Ernie Sande andhisson. . __ BS i
._The Pohle mill burned down int a spectacular blaze :
in 1959 and reopened in 1960. But Pohle retired in 1962 :
due to poor health. He eventually sold his mill to Hans
Muehle in 1963. Muehle in turn sold the mill to :
Columbia Cellulose late in 1969. The Sandes operated a
Giggey’s mill unit 1965 when it closed due to difficul- ot
« ty in obtaining’ sufficient timber.
The 1970’s came and passed. In the 1980's
' Lars witnessed the sale of Columbia Cellulose _
assets to Repap. Yet another revamp of the forest
act that caused, many heated debates. And some- :
thing new to the public mind that Lars had
preached about in the 1930's... The “fall down
effect”. :
As significant as all these events were to
our community, though, Lars watched in a
sense from afar. From afar, because he was
managing his woodlot in a way that provided
for the future.
In the early part of this decade, in fact,
his management practices were gaining |
some recognition. Officials would visit, talk

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