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In the late 1920's, a skilled carpenter, Vance Millard was hired by Frank and Charlie to construct new buildings and replace others that had burned. He was a widower about the same age as Charlie. He lived with Charlie and Rosie until many of the projects were completed. Charlie and his sons often worked with Vance. The boys hauled boards to him, sometimes did some sawing, and occasionally applied the first coat of paint. About 1928, Frank, Joe and Charlie began construction on a large dance hall down by the river, as well as cabins to rent across the river. The hall was also used as a town hall. An innovative man like Charlie saw all the possibilities– dancing, skating rink, meetings, celebrations, programs, food, drinks and fun. Many events were held there over the years. It was used year round as a social center for the town. Because the winters were especially cold and the building had no heat, an old pot bellied stove kept the inside warm enough for community events. Almost everyone in town showed up for happenings held there. The Saturday night dances at Defa's Famous Park (as it was named) were most popular. The 4th and 24th of July were big celebrations in Hanna and the hall was used for programs and dancing. The hall was also used on a regular basis for roller skating. The building was a beauty in its day–hard wood floors, tall ceilings with steel beams, and a stage, with both a refreshment and ticket booth out front. At the south end, under the stage, a small room was used as a school for a short time, during 1930 or so. The dances were famous and added to the social entertainment of that small town. Charlie hired some dance bands to play for these dances. Frank Clark, a neighbor from Tabiona, wrote about the completion of the hall and of one local band:
People in the valley enjoyed getting together, regardless if they chose to dance or not. Here they met to eat, socialize, drink (some excessively), and listen to good music. Read more in the book . . . Hanna was thriving during the middle to late 1920's. The pioneering minds of the residents were looking to continue the establishment of a community. The Frank Defa families needed more space in their living accommodations. Frank and Mary’s children had married and were having children of their own, so more homes were needed. In the past they had purchased their lumber for their building projects from neighboring companies. The Defa’s and Fabrizio’s decided to venture into the sawmill business when in 1932 an opportunity presented itself to buy an existing sawmill business. After all, they lived next door to some of the most beautiful timber in the world.
This sawmill was located about a block west of the store on the south side of main street. As with all other endeavors, getting this sawmill functioning took some ingenuity to set it up. This sawmill was steam operated and had a large boiler on the premises that was fed slabs for fuel. Devastation hit again when a fire took its toll on this business. A new sawmill was built in its place with the newest and latest equipment. "Defa and Fabrizio’s Sawmill" was a productive business for many years. Frank made Charlie the Operations Manager. This position meant Charlie was responsible for the company’s success. Many men in the community were hired to work in the operation. Permits were purchased and roads were built up to the timber line. Bert Lazenby was hired as the sawyer (the boss in charge) while the Webbs and Leflers worked at the portable sawmill in the timber. Charlie followed the Ranger through the timber while he marked the trees that could be chopped or sawed down. Then the men who worked in the portable mill cut the trees, hooked their horses to the fallen tree, dragged it to the mill where the branches were cut off. Then it would be cut into lumber or the excess logs were taken to the sawmill in Hanna by truck. Neil tells about the operation. "One of the sawmills was located in Hanna, and the other one was a portable mill that was moved from one canyon to another where the crews were cutting the timber." The mill yard in Hanna was several acres in size with big stock piles of logs and lumber throughout. With a lot of hard work it soon became operational. At an early age, when Charlie and Rosie’s sons could lift a piece of lumber, they, too, worked at one of the two sawmill locations, learning to do all that the job required. At one time or another, all of them drove the big flat bed logging trucks loaded with logs down off the skinny, one-lane logging roads. For the most part their sons have pleasant memories of those times. But it was also one of the most tragic events in their lives when the youngest son, Delbert, was killed instantly by a load of logs accidentally rolling off the truck and pinning him underneath. All four sons learned about responsibilities at the mill yard as well. The big diesel motor that kept the mill in operation wouldn’t pull all of the equipment at the same time, so the regular day crew sawed the rough timber during the day shift, and then in the evenings Charlie and his sons hooked the planer to the motor and planed the lumber. The sawmill was very profitable for many years because
Hanna and other areas of the state were prospering as well. The logging trucks were rolling off the
mountain shuffling timber at a steady pace while the smooth stacks of finished lumber were
constantly being loaded onto Charlie’s flat-bed truck. People were making this happen. The hired
cooks who fed the timber crews were as vital to the operation as the men stacking the lumber on
Charlie’s truck. Everyone who worked for Charlie knew that he valued them as an individual and as
an employee. Therefore, most employees were loyal to him and that made the sawmill operation
successful. Read more in the book . . .
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