[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 10 (Wednesday, February 11, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E143-E144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MEL McLEAN: EXAMPLE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

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                            HON. FRANK RIGGS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 1998

  Mr. RIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I call the attention of my colleagues to Mel 
McLean of Humboldt

[[Page E144]]

County, California. Described as a moral, caring and generous man by 
residents in the community of Fortuna and the Northern California 
County of Humboldt, Mr. McLean is an example of the American Dream.
  Mel McLean still greets visitors with a twinkle in his eye and a firm 
handshake, despite a stroke that limited his speech 11 years ago. 
That's appropriate for a man who, for many years, sealed important 
deals with little more than a handshake.
  Though he is known locally as a philanthropist, Mel got where he is 
today by hard work, despite setbacks along the way. He started his 
career in logging more than 50 years ago with various jobs in the 
woods. In 1938, he and a partner contracted to run a tie mill just 
following his marriage in 1937 to Grace, his close friend and companion 
for over 50 years before her death in 1989.
  The young couple struggled through the Depression, even hauling away 
logs discarded by the loggers. They peeled the bark off by hand and 
sold it for 35 cents a truckload. Beans and potatoes were their supper 
most nights.
  In 1946, Mel and another partner became involved in the grocery 
business, a venture that grew to include four stores. Two years later 
he moved his timber business to Humboldt County and formed a 
partnership named Lindsey Lumber Company. They bought the East family 
sawmill and the logging operation at the Bar W Ranch near Bridgeville, 
hiring 15 men.
  In 1950, a fire destroyed the mill, so they moved to McCann. The 
company grew to own 10 tie and stud mills, and built a planing mill at 
McCann. The planing mill was destroyed in the 1955 flood, but they 
rebuilt it and continued operations. In 1958, he and his partner bought 
another sawmill just north of Rio Dell. This was the beginning of Eel 
River Sawmills.
  To keep an eye on his diverse interests, Mel became a pilot. His 
wife, Grace, usually accompanied him on these trips. The couple enjoyed 
visiting other countries, but their hearts were with the people of the 
Eel River Valley.
  Mel McLean believes strongly in seeing that residents of the Eel 
River Valley have jobs. He has proved that several times by rebuilding 
instead of just walking away from the disaster. When fire destroyed 
two-thirds of the mill in 1961, he rebuilt immediately, using the 
sawmill employees in the reconstruction so that not one man lost his 
job.
  The company incorporated in 1963 and built a new planing mill. It had 
about 90 employees, up from 33 in 1961. The following year was a good 
one and saw the addition of a new debarker and a new chipper plant. 
Then came the Christmas flood of 1964. More than 8 million board feet 
of logs and 5 million feet of lumber went down the river, along with 
most of the mill.
  This gave them a choice, according to Grace McLean in a 1989 
interview. ``It was either go down the road with a sack on our back, or 
hard work and start it over again.''
  For Mel, the answer was clear. The men of the Eel River Valley 
deserved jobs, and he would provide them. The company reopened and had 
men back on the payroll in 3 to 5 months.
  By 1979, the company had added mills in Redcrest and Alton. And in 
early 1987, the company added the Fairhaven power plant on the Samoa 
peninsula, utilizing waste products from the mills to produce clean 
energy. In 1989, the McLeans took another step in looking out for their 
employees when they set up an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Under the 
plan, the employees will eventually own the company.
  Mel McLean wants to improve the quality of life for all residents of 
the Eel River Valley. He has made, and continues to make, generous 
donations to local groups, schools and organizations. He always treats 
his employees fairly and the respect between him and the workers is 
evident whenever McLean tours the plant. He always lets each man know 
he is important and leaves the impression that the entire staff is his 
extended family.
  On February the 12th, 1998, Mel McLean will be honored and named to 
the Republican Hall of Fame in the Humboldt as a devoted advocate of 
Conservative causes. The honor is well deserved for his generous and 
fair spirit. We wish him many years of continued and rewarding 
accomplishments.

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