Julius Neils

Greetings, Nelson Olmsted here. Today, listen to a true-life Montana success story that might have come from the pen of Horatio Alger. Now, King Gruber has a brief message for Pacific Power. Welcome once again to Stories of Pacific Powerland, a presentation of Pacific Power and Life, the company that has been serving the electric needs of the region's homes, farms, and industries through more than half a century of progress and growth.

Back now to Pacific Powerland's favorite storyteller, Nelson Olmsted. Nine years after Julius Neils arrived in Wisconsin from Germany, he had saved $400. With this, he went into the hardware business with his brother August. Before long, the Neils brothers found themselves the owners of a stack of pine logs they had taken and traded for merchandise.

They had the logs cut into lumber at the Thayer Mill and sold the lumber at a good profit. So, almost by accident, the Neil's boys became lumbermen. Julius particularly took to the business. For about four more years, the Neil's combined hardware and lumber business flourished.

Then one hot dry day in 1886. F, the town's on fire! Don't try to save anything! Just save yourselves! Julius Neill surveyed the ruins and said, the tear mill went and all our lumber with it.

I guess we're out of business here in Wisconsin, but there is a hardware store in Salkrappers, Minnesota we could take over. Although no one knew it at the time, that year was a fateful one for the remote settlement of Libby, Montana, more than a thousand miles west of Salkrappers, Minnesota.

After several highly successful logging and milling ventures in Minnesota, It became evident to Julius Neal that an ill wind was stirring in the Midwestern timber industry. Forest resources had dwindled. There was barely enough raw material left to keep the established mills in operation.