Hardwood Vol. 1, No. 2 Is Now Online
The second issue of Hardwood Magazine is now scanned and available in the archive. Vol. 1, No. 2 (February 1971) picks up right where the first issue left off, and it's clear that Dale Whitfield had found his footing by the second time around.
What's Inside
The cover girl is Linda Thurston, photographed in what appears to be old-growth forest somewhere in the Cascades. Dale shot her in an orange halter dress against dark timber and ferns—it's a striking cover, warmer and more confident than the first issue's. Linda gets the centerfold spread, seven pages in total, and a profile where she talks about her VW Bus, her love of the coast, and her plans to teach elementary school.
Teri Bancroft is the second feature, shot in what looks like a rustic cabin—wood stove, quilts on the bed, afternoon light through small windows. It's intimate in a different way than Linda's outdoor shots. Teri's profile mentions she's a dental hygienist from Bend who drives a '68 Bronco and spends her weekends cross-country skiing.
Bonnie McAllister rounds out the three features with a shorter spread shot in what I believe is Smith Rock State Park, based on the distinctive basalt columns visible in her outdoor shots. Bonnie is described as a graduate student at Oregon State studying marine biology.
The Articles
Two feature articles this issue, both excellent in their own way:
"Winter Camping the Cascades" is exactly what it sounds like—a practical guide to snow camping in the Oregon Cascades, written by someone who clearly does it regularly. There's real advice in here about layering systems, snow shelters, and winter water purification that holds up fifty years later.
"The Taverns of the I-5" is the standout piece. It's a two-part bar guide running from Eugene to Seattle, written by a guy named Bob Crawford who apparently drove the entire route twice in the course of researching the article. He stops at places like Tiny's Tavern in Eugene, the Cottage Grove Tavern on the old highway, the Hotel Oregon in McMinnville, and the Hung Far Low in Portland. Some of these places are still open. Most aren't. It's the kind of article that could only exist in a small regional magazine—too local for the nationals, too niche for the newspapers, but absolutely fascinating if you've ever driven that stretch of highway.
The road test covers the 1971 Chevrolet K5 Blazer, tested on logging roads near Mt. Hood. The reviewer, Chuck Reeves, puts the Blazer through its paces on forest service roads, creek crossings, and snow-covered passes. His verdict: "The best truck Chevrolet has ever built for the kind of work we do up here."
The Advertising
The ads continue to tell the story of the Pacific Northwest in 1971. Cascade Chevrolet in Sandy gets a full-page ad for the K5 Blazer (tying into the road test), complete with a coupon for free BFGoodrich mud-terrain tires. Other advertisers include Pacific Timber Supply, Cascade Brewing, Northwest Outfitters, and Mt. Hood Skibowl. The back cover is a beautifully typeset ad for a regional tobacco brand.
The classifieds section is a time capsule: firewood for $45 a cord, a VW Bus for $1,200, a cabin on the Deschutes for $85 a month, and a personal ad from a 34-year-old outdoorsman "who doesn't mind fish smell." The free puppies listing—Lab/shepherd mix, $0, Lebanon, Oregon—is peak 1971.
Condition Notes
This copy was in excellent condition—better than the first issue, actually. The cover has minor edge wear but the interior pages are clean and the centerfold is intact. The binding is tight. It was stored flat in the archive box, which helped. Some very minor foxing on the text pages, more on the edges than the centers, consistent with fifty years of storage in a dry environment.
The scan was done at 300 DPI on the same Epson flatbed I used for the first issue. Processing time was about three hours for the full issue. I've left the aging visible in the scans—the yellowing, the slight foxing, the softened edges—because that's how the magazine looks, and cleaning it up digitally would feel like cheating.
What's Next
I'm about halfway through scanning Vol. 1, No. 3, which should be online sometime in April. That issue has a summer theme—beach shots on the Oregon coast, a feature on salmon fishing the Columbia, and what appears to be the first issue where Dale started getting reader-submitted photos. The "PNW Girl Next Door" feature, which debuted in this issue with a girl named Autumn from Coos Bay, apparently generated a lot of mail.
More soon.
— Glenn