The Logging Camp Christmas Boom
Thousands of dollars in wages hit the Shelton economy as loggers prepare for a holiday of debt-paying and celebration.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Shelton is preparing to celebrate the Christmas holidays in great style. The lumbermen will receive all, or nearly all, of their wages, which will bring about $10,000 to Shelton, nearly all of which will be expended here in various ways by the loggers, in paying debts to the merchants, outfitting, and celebrating. F. F. Williamson paid one of his camp crews $4,600 Monday, and has about the same sum to pay his other crew on the 22nd. Thomas Bordeaux will also dispense several thousand dollars among his men. Joe Doyle, who has about 4,000,000 feet of logs in the Skokomish, has not yet sold anything, but his proposition is first-class, and he can secure the necessary funds until his ship comes in. There is considerable rejoicing in Shelton.
“The lumbermen will receive all, or nearly all, of their wages, which will bring about $10,000 to Shelton, nearly all of which will be expended here.”
In 1893, Shelton's economy hinged on the semi-annual cycle of logging wages, creating a 'boom' town atmosphere every payday. While the town remains a hub for the timber industry today, the direct dependence on cash-in-hand logistics for local retail has been replaced by more modern, if equally volatile, economic cycles.
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