Phillips Brothers Mill

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	Jess Brown Tuesday, June 30, 2020
My stepfather Ray Bibbens and his siblings grew up with the Phillips Brothers and they attended grade school together during the spring, summer, and fall months at the one-room Phillips' School House. My stepdad grew up on a ranch a few miles west of the Phillips Mill on Bullskin Ridge Road. During his high school years, he attended the old Shasta High School on Eureka Way in Redding, but never graduated because he left school so as to run another ranch with his father on the south side of Bullskin Ridge on Oak Run Creek. He owned that ranch till 1977. While the Phillips Mill was closed during WWII, my stepdad and a brother-in-law of his operated a small sawmill on Oak Run Creek in support of the war effort. Back then, one could operate a small sawmill and make a decent living. I grew up on my stepdad's ranch after my mom remarried a couple years after our father died in a 1969 Pit One Grade auto wreck on HWY299. My mom, siblings and I moved from Burney to Oak Run in 1971 and I lived in that area from age 12 through college. I have many fond memories of boyhood adventures hunting and fishing in the Oak Run, Mill, Cow, Silver, and Clover Creek watersheds in areas from our ranch east to Snow and Clover Mountains. It was a fabulous area rich in logging and ranching history and a great place for a boy to grow up and become a man. We had four orchards on our ranch and other timberlands we owned. During good fruit set years, we would pick, sort, pack, and transport apples in 50-pound capacity lug boxes made by and purchased from the Phillips Bros. We would periodically buy 100 to 200 lug boxes per good fruit set season. Now nearly 50 years later I still have and use some of those same boxes when picking apples here in Oregon. I was pleasantly surprised to find this website and to know the Phillips' timberlands, sawmill, and box mill continue to operate and hopefully thrive. Having worked in the environmental management arena my whole working career, I have always been impressed with the sustainable land use practices the Phillips' have implemented and utilized over the years. Now the real story. I remember Eddie Phillips telling my dad he would never have to worry about economic woes or an economic collapse like the Great Depression because he kept a third of his savings in the bank, he kept a third of his money with him on his person in a money belt, and a third was buried somewhere safely on his property. I do not know when Eddie died nor do I know if he disclosed where that third of his life savings was buried, but if Eddie never revealed to any heirs or friends where he buried that third of his life savings before he died, somewhere on tbe Phillips' land or other adjacent timberlands there is a pile of dough to be found. Good hunting.


	Jaime De Avila Sunday, September 13, 2015
I had the best time of my life while visiting this amazing place, it felt like going back in time back to the early 1900's, you can easily spend the whole day learning about the daily operations of this great place, I would definitely want to comeback soon 09-13-2015


	Keith Brewster Saturday, February 15, 2014
The Phillips Mill is located just down the road from where I grew up. Their story is particularly interesting for me since my family was also in the logging business in Dana, California... just north of Burney and Fall River Mills. After returning from WWII, my dad Bobby Brewster built and operated the Brewster's Saw Mill. My uncle Jim, Lewis, and Earl did the timber falling and logging for the mill, in operation from approximately 1946 through the mid 1950s. Of course in those days, timber and its location was very important to a milling operation. Transporting logs was a lot harder then. Once the timber harvest moved too far away from our Dana location, the mill was shut down. Dad and his brothers continued in the logging business for years after. Dad died in August of 2012. All of my uncles died prior to my dad Bobby, except for uncle Jim, who still lives Dana. I would not be surprised if dad and his brothers knew the Phillips family, and possibly quite well.


	Mike Ellsworth Friday, July 19, 2013
Amazing! That's the only word that comes to mind to describe your operation. I was spellbound watching the video of the box factory that I found on BoinBoing.com. I came right to your website once it was over and read the About Us section. It is immensly refreshing, in this digital age, to see things are still done "the old fashioned way". I love it.


	Larry Botts Wednesday, July 17, 2013
As I was growing up, and about 8 to 10 tears old, my mom and dad bought a peach orchard from Uncle Edd Dobson, in Los Robles, on Electric Ave. At harvest we had a packing trailor used to hold all packing needs. So when the peaches were picked an placed in buckets, one of my jobs was haul the from the orchard and put them at arms length for the packers. These Red Haven Peaches were a fresh eating peach, and are the best fresh peach you can find. These peaches are packed using a LA Lug (wooden box), a Paper Pad, either paper cups from Crown Zellerbach or PanaPak cup forms, a cardbooard seperator, which would start a second layer. Two layers to a box. There were packed according to size, the standard sizes were, from large to small, 24, 36, 42, 48, 56 and so on to 82s, the very small guys. The most common were 48s to 64s. The supplies for this part of the peach harvest were mostly ordered from the Crown Zellerbach or PanaPak people, But the most rewarding part was placing an order with the Phillips Brothers from Oak Run in Shasta County. I always enjoyed going to their storage barn and saw mill to get boxes. They also delivered. It was amazing how many boxes they could cram on to a truck. I only had the pleasure of meeting a few of the brothers but what a treat it was. It is sad to hear that time has caught them, and that they are all gone. Just this morning I was having coffee with mom and dad, talking about all most everything, and remembered the Phillips Brothers, and wondered, who they were? where they came from? So I started with the 1940 census. I found many many interesting facts, but also found that the saw mills is alive and doing well, thanks to the descendants of the brothers, and appears to be on track to educate and enlighten the lives of many more for many years to come. The Phillips Brothers were a small part of my life, that became a big part of my memories. If you haven't done so, visit their website and read about their history, it is truley All American.


	George Poole Friday, June 14, 2013
Having worked in a Automobile Stamping plant for 30 years and watching as the human touch disappered while robots took over, this was a refreshing sight. Thank you for keeping simplicity and skills mixed with repetitive jobs here in this country. I hope your company survives for a very long time. The quality of these items is great. Made in America.


	Linze Brockmeyer Friday, June 7, 2013
It is so refreshing to see things done the old fashion way, yet still producing fine handcrafted products. I'd love to visit your mill sometime.


	Ron Braun Thursday, June 6, 2013
This is the way things use to be fantastic simple yet complex but with little electronics & the team appear to be very safety conscious & dedicated to the task. We have to many restrictions in the current way we work bring back the Old Days with Steam & ingenuity Love it credit to you all


	Sam Teague Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Your business is absolutely fascinating. Most of us will never understand the real power of steam! May your facility go on forever. It's loss would be a great loss for mankind.


	Mel Wainer Sunday, June 2, 2013
An amazing operation. Trually intriguing to witness the clip and see all those gears working harmoniously to produce wooden boxes and other boxes. Thanks for being simple but excuisite!


	Gordon Husk Sunday, June 2, 2013
Your website is interesting and informative. Thank you for keeping old traditions alive.