J. Neils and Sons

[barbender]

 We were recently on a family vacation out west, when we got back I was sharing pictures and such with my 87 year old Grandpa. We were talking about Northwest Montana, and he reminded me that he had family that moved out to Libby, MT many years back. He got telling me about a sawmill in Cass Lake, MN (where Grandpa grew up) owned by J. Neils and Sons. Cass Lake is towards the western edge of Minnesota's timber country, and as the timber was playing out in the early 1900's these mills really couldn't go farther west (in MN) to find more timber.  Grandpa said J. Neils had the biggest mill in town (there were several in Cass Lake back then)n and that he "built half the town). Neuls ended up buying a mill out in Libby, MT and moved the operation out there. Grandpa said that, "about half the town went with him", including some of his relatives. He said that J. Neils was really good to his employees, for instance he would provide the materials for an employee's home. Employee's would help each other build, and the employee that recieved help was expected to help on subsequent homes. Almost a "Habitat for Humanity" type of program, before that was around.  Anyhow, I took Grandpa's memories and did some internet searches on J. Neils, and found an informative article about his company. He is praised for his innovation, civic mindedness, and being the first to practice sustainable forestry on their Montana timberlands. I'll post the link.

J. Neils Family ? Montana DNRC