W. T. Joyce Lumberyard

JOYCE, THOMPSON

Posted By: david reineke (email)
Date: 12/8/2004 at 00:52:57

I translated the following article from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published in a special 25th Anniversary Edition of the paper on Friday, 20 September 1899. I have not changed the place or name spellings. Information in brackets and notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

W. T. Joyce, the Oldest Lumber Dealer in the Town

The business operating under the above name is among the most established and successful business institutions in the town, and is one of the most well-known in the state. Mr. Joyce established his lumberyard in 1875 and has one of the largest yards along the Northwestern Railway. He is the owner of [some of] the largest sawmills in Clinton, Iowa, which work non-stop for the great demands of his many lumberyards. From the time that the tree is felled in the woods, is properly cut into boards, posts, beams and joists, and then is stored in the lumberyards, the entire process is conducted by their own workers under the supervision of their careful inspectors, and because of this fact alone, the business can compete with any rival. The business, with its many branches, is under the management of very competent men who have been connected to the company for many years. Here in the large yard at Carroll, it is Mr. J. Thompson, a well-known and well-liked distributor.

Mr. Thompson came to Carroll in 1876 and at first opened a grocery business which he operated for 10 years. For 10 years now, he has been in the lumber business, and the honest methods and dealings of his business management, as well as his great courtesy, ensure him the respect of all his fellow-citizens. He occupies one if the most beautiful homes in the town, and his wife is well-liked and respected among all her acquaintances. We are pleased to be able to say that management of this large firm is entrusted to good hands and that this man is the right person in every respect.

The Building:
The building is a massive and fine structure, two stories high (a picture of which appears in another place), behind which is connected the roofed lumberyard. The colossal wooden building, which is overlaid with sheet iron, is 50 feet wide and 150 feet long, filled from top to bottom with all imaginable sorts of the best and dryest lumber, as well as moldings, fine doors, and certainly all materials available in better lumberyards, suitable for a smokehouse as well as the palace of a millionaire. The lumberyard also has a complete supply of roofing material, plaster, cement, drain pipes, etc., and the calculated prices in every order are as low as any firm in the county can estimate.

Coal:
The large business also has on hand soft and hard coal, for sale by the ton or the wagonload, as well as coke, etc.

The reputation of this business for honest dealings with its customers throughout the long time it has existed has spread and is well known among all the people in the town and in the country, and this reputation, along with the excellent quality of the wood, recommends the firm to all those wanting to build.

Mr. Joyce has 15 yards in this and bordering counties. The business is truly one of the most extensive and reliable lumberyards in the great northwest.