Knutson, Spencer

Interview 153a : In this interview with Jonathan Gerland, North Dakota native and long-time Temple logging supervisor Spencer Knutson reminisces about the changes in the logging industry as a whole and the Temple companies in particular, over his career from the 1950's to the 1990's. He started in the western forests and then moved to East Texas and adapted some of the western practices and equipment to the southern pine forests. His career spanned the era from animal-based logging with extensive rail networks to lead-based logging operations to the wide-spread use of skidders and chippers and large trucks. Mr. Knutson talks about the challenges of managing forests for varied types of fiber needs, the growing movement for sustainable forests, and Arthur Temple, Jr.'s vision of what his company could be and how the lumber industry should adapt to changing times and technology.