Page 14 - GLL test

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“ ”14 Great Lakes Logging • Expo Edition 2025
and ties, reported the Escanaba
Morning Press in 1913. Their
shingle mill was replaced with a
There was just so much
“modern” sawmill in 1907, and
after that point the Jerry Madden
that changed in the
company produced lumber, lath,
ties, posts and pulpwood.
Some products were collected by
industry so fast that
steamer at a dock in Rapid River
and transported to Chicago and
the previous owners couldn’t even really
elsewhere. Jerry Madden’s dock
also received wood, including cedar
from Jos. F. Mallman by way of the
guide us.
Little Cedar River and the bay. Rail-
road tracks reached the mill, too.
Becki Smith
In 1910, Jerry Madden sold most
of its timberland to the Escanaba
Co-owner of Smith & Sons Lumber Co.
Lumber Co. but retained enough
wood to operate their mill for sev-
eral more years. In 1917, they sold
out to the Collins Land and Lumber
Company. Since forests had been
largely depleted by this point, Col-
lins ceased running the mill in 1926
and soon decided to liquidate.
“In 1931, Stone Anderson was
induced to acquire and operate the
sawmill,” and he was able to bring
bustling business back, according
to a 1936 article about Rapid River
history in the Escanaba Daily Press.
Stone Anderson, an immigrant
who left Sweden in 1902, was
already called a “sawmill owner”
back in 1920, but it is unclear
where his other premises might
have been. Reference was made in
1927 to the “Anderson Lumber Co.
of Ensign,” so it’s possible he also
owned another operation nearby
from 1908, when Anderson Lum-
ber is said to have been formed. (If
a reader knows more details, please
write to rbranstrom@dailypress.
net.)
Magnus Anderson, presumably
Stone’s brother, was also part-own-
er of Anderson Lumber Co.
In 1936, Anderson Bros. of Rapid
River, with a two-digit phone num-
ber, manufactured lumber and lath
and sold other building materials,
like shingles, cement and flooring.
They had a woodworking shop that
made windows, door frames and
cabinets — Jack Smith believes this
was housed in the cement building
that previously served as the finish-
ing shop.
Stone Anderson sold the mill to
James Andrews in 1941 and then
bought it back about five years later.
In 1949, Stone Anderson reported
that his sawing and planing mill
in Rapid River had produced four
million board feet the previous year
from soft logs purchased from the
Buckeye mill in Gladstone.
Anderson Lumber Co. joined the
Delta County Area Chamber of
Commerce in 1976.
Among other local parties, Ander-
son Lumber Co. “contributed to
help make Masonville Township a
better place to live, work and play,”
stated Masonville Township Super-
visor Waldon “Punch” Johnson
upon his retirement in 1984.
Gerry and George Anderson,
Stone’s great-grandsons, were the
faces of Anderson Lumber Co. in
2019 when customer Jack Smith,
a residential carpenter, made an
off-hand comment along the lines
of, “Hey, if you’re ever looking to
get out of the business and retire…”
It turned out that they were.
During the latter part of 2019,
Jack and Becki met with the Ander-
sons and began formulating their
own business plan.
Both parties were eager to finalize
the deal and planned to close on
March 1, 2020. There was some
holdup to do with financing, and the
date got pushed back until April 1,
but then —
“Well, what happened in March
of 2020? The world closed down,”
Becki said. “The bank put a hold on
everything, said there’s too much
risk… they literally stopped every-
thing in its tracks.”
She said they had to fight to push
things through, making calls to
Lansing, etc., and doing a lot more
work than they had expected. The
deal finally became real on June 1.
The timing made for a unique
experience. Because “non-essen-
tial” businesses closed, people
weren’t working but were issued
stimulus checks, and the lumber
yard was considered essential and
kept open, business at Anderson
Lumber Co. went through the roof.
“(2020) was the best year on
record for this place, because people
had time off and extra money in
their pocket,” Becki explained,
While waiting for the sale of the
business to go through, the Smiths
helped out with the work at Ander-
son Lumber. Jack made deliveries,
and Becki worked in the office.
Besides helping the Andersons
manage the sudden demand, it also
gave the Smiths a period to some-
what learn the ropes before they
took the reins entirely.
It was a turnkey deal — they
Continued on page 16
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