Editing Westwood, California (section)

==History==
Westwood was built by [[T. B. Walker]] to be the operations center for the [[Red River Lumber Company]] in 1913,<ref name="CGN" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAFQAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA52 |title=American Lumberman |publisher=American Lumberman |year=1920 |pages=2–}}</ref><ref>[http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00093.xml T.B. Walker and Family: An inventory of their papers at the Minnesota Historical Society, Manuscripts Collection, accessed March 8, 2014]</ref> and serviced by the [[Fernley and Lassen Railway]] built in 1912–14.  The first post office opened in 1913.<ref name="CGN" /> The Red River Lumber Company is credited as being "the world's largest electrical sawmill of the times."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lassen County History |url=http://www.cagenweb.com/lassen/his.htm |access-date=March 8, 2014 |website=Lassen County, California Genweb Project |publisher=CagenWeb}}</ref> Red River Lumber Company also operated one of the first electric railways in the state built in 1927.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History and Philosophy |url=http://shastaforests.com/history_philosophy.php |access-date=March 8, 2014 |publisher=Shasta Forests Timberlands, LLC}}</ref> The mill was equipped with the most modern equipment for its time;<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fg9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA49 |title=Western Machinery and Steel World |year=1921 |pages=49–}}</ref> and the surrounding territory was crisscrossed by [[forest railway]]s bringing logs to the mill. The railway shop at Westwood was home to [[2-8-0]] No. 102 and [[2-8-2]] No. 104 when forest railway operations ceased in the early 1950s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Bob |last2=Gibson |first2=Jack |year=1954 |title=Four Logging Railroads Go |journal=The Western Railroader |publisher=Francis A. Guido |volume=17 |issue=172 |pages=3,4&9}}</ref> The four woods engines scrapped in 1953 were [[2-6-0]] number 1, [[2-6-2]] number 2, 2-8-2 number 3, and 3-truck [[Shay locomotive]] number 4.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1953 |title=Fruit Growers Supply Lumber Line Being Torn Up |journal=The Western Railroader |publisher=Francis A. Guido |volume=16 |issue=167 |pages=supplement}}</ref>

William Laughead, an advertising copywriter who had once worked in [[lumber camp]]s, took the stories of an old lumberjack and reworked them into the modern character.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tall Tales and Lumber Sales |url=https://foresthistory.org/tall-tales-and-lumber-sales/ |access-date=March 1, 2021 |publisher=Forest History Society}}</ref> He sold the stories of [[Paul Bunyan]] and his Blue Ox "Babe" to the Red River Lumber Company, which published "Introducing Mr. Paul Bunyan of Westwood, California" in 1916 as an advertising pamphlet.<ref name="Laughead">{{Cite web |date=June 30, 1924 |title=Complete Laughead pamphlet |url=http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/tp,58090 |access-date=October 8, 2012 |publisher=Content.wisconsinhistory.org}}</ref> Among other things, Laughead gave the name "Babe" to the blue ox, originated the idea that Paul Bunyan and Babe were of enormous size, and created the first pictorial representation of Bunyan.<ref name="Laughead" />

The Red River Lumber Company's electric mill at Westwood made wooden Venetian blinds, plywood, boxes, doors and windows which were shipped all over the U.S. and the world.<ref name="soil">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XtDwAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA2 |title=Soil Survey |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture |year=2004 |pages=2–}}</ref> The Westwood mill set a world record in 1942 by sawing 212 million board feet.<ref name="soil" />

Westwood High School's nickname is the Lumberjacks. Westwood had a very large indoor shopping mall as far back as the 1930s, as well as a large theater, skating rink and club for the mill workers. The town was sold in 1944 to the Fruit Growers Supply Company (sister cooperative of [[Sunkist Growers, Incorporated|Sunkist Growers]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=T. B. Walker |url=http://www.slphistory.org/history/walkertb.asp |access-date=November 28, 2009 |publisher=St. Louis Park Historical Society}}</ref> The plant closed in 1956, and the town was sold to residents and developers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 20, 1957 |title=GHOSTS MOVE OUT: Lassen Town Booms Again Despite Lumber Mill Loss |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/california/oakland/oakland-tribune/1957/10-20/page-18?tag=westwood+fruit+growers+supply&rtserp=tags/westwood?pep=fruit-growers-supply&psb=date&page=2&ndt=by&py=1950&pey=1959 |access-date=February 14, 2015 |work=Oakland Tribune |pages=19}}</ref>

Westwood also had a very early form of cable television. The owner of the local variety store took it upon himself to provide television service to the community. At the time three channels were available to view in Westwood, Channel 3, the NBC affiliate in Sacramento, Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Redding and Channel 12, the CBS affiliate in Chico. Multiple antennae were mounted outside of town and coax cable was laid up and down the alleys. For a small monthly fee a home could have television service without having three separate antennae on the roof.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}