Looking Back’s theme for 2024 was Many Streams, celebrating our rich history. Scandinavians began arriving in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1800s, with many working in logging, lumber, and construction industries. In 1921, Swedish-born Ed Westman, pictured here, founded the Olympia Veneer Company, which was a revolutionary experiment in cooperative ownership as well as innovator in the veneer industry.
Courtesy American Plywood Association, 1969
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2024