Unveiling the 126-year history of the Wisconsin Rapids Paper Mill (2023)

WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Throughout its history, the paper mill on the rapids of the Wisconsin River has been more than just a mill.

Of course, it was first and foremost an economic engine and job generator, and in that role it became the bedrock of a city once known as Grand Rapids to the east and Centralia to the west.

But the story of today's Verso factory is also a story of perseverance, innovation, creativity and community relationships that extends well beyond its walls or the millions of tons of paper produced in the factory's 126 years. .

These ties began to unravel since the Mead family, who had run the company since the early 20th century, bought Consolidated Papers Inc. to Stora Enso Oyj in 2000. Layoffs and job losses continued over the years. and Verso Paper Corp. each took turns running the factory. And with each move, the factory's involvement in the larger Wisconsin Rapids community diminished.

Now, what's left of that community connection may be coming to an end after Verso announced in June that it would indefinitely shut down the Rapids plant, laying off all but a small number of employees while it was over thinking about the future of the plant.

As the indefinite closure of the Verso paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids continues, the Daily Tribune has trawled through more than a century of news archives and other reports for a better look at the mill's history and its impact on community growth and health. .

In August 1894, the Tribune praised a group of men who were plotting to form a company to harness the hydroelectric power of the Wisconsin River. Nearly a dozen men decided to consolidate their lands, small businesses, and hydropower efforts and work together to build a single, stronger company. Together they would build a dam to harness the energy needed to run a paper mill and provide excess electricity to the community.

"Everyone said, 'If only it could be done'. Some brave ones even dared to prophesy: ​​'It will be done, but it will take time to happen'. The history of twin cities has begun," the April 4 article read. August 1894.

The group organized the Consolidated Water Power Co. of Centralia and Grand Rapids, often referred to as the Twin Cities, in July of that year and acquired almost all of the land on both sides of the river. They wanted to build a dam on the river to harness the power and bring industry and residents to the area.

It turned out to be a complicated process as some of the landowners in the group who initially agreed felt “cheated, cheated, cheated, cheated” about the intent of the project. They gave their possessions to the group charters, but not everyone was willing to give up their lands or control.

After some lawsuits, Consolidated Water Power Co. returned the deeds to their original owners, but company directors Nels Johnson and J.D. Witter eventually bought Consolidated's land and built a dam on the river.

The next step was to set up a paper mill. Preparations began in 1903 when the company, renamed Consolidated Water Power & Paper Co., purchased two paper machines for $95,000 and began construction of a mill to be powered by power from the company's hydroelectric power plant.

George W. Mead I, Witter's son-in-law, came on the scene in January 1903 after the deaths of the company leaders.

Mead planned to return to Rockford, Illinois, having arrived in town the previous year when Witter died following surgery. But they convinced him to stay after Johnson, the only remaining member of the original partnership, died in December.

Initially, the Tribune reported, he had already "showed signs of being a crook" and was very interested in the position.

Mead began as the company's secretary and manager and was elected president of the company in 1916.

The new factory was built between February 1903 and April 1904, with the first product being produced on June 2, 1904. The Daily Tribune commemorated the opening of the factory with a feature in its July 27, 1904 issue. The newspaper on which it was printed consolidated paper, and the articles presented the history of the mill, introduced its founders, and explained to readers how the company made paper.

The company regularly modernized its equipment and buildings over the years and in 1911 bought the factory at Biron, 4 miles up the river. Five years later he bought a factory in Appleton and Timberland in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Canada. In 1918 the Consolidated Water Power & Paper Co. built a new paper mill at Stevens Point.

When the sawmill began operations, the company sourced much of its pulpwood from local farmers, who sold it to Consolidated for $4 a rope. But the wood supplies in the area were running out.

This shortage not only motivated the purchase of logging land, but also some unconventional sources, including permission for villagers to fell trees on company-owned land near the river.

A January 24, 1918 report called the removal of dead trees in Hunter and Long Islands a "lively time in this neighborhood".

In 1921, the company again faced shortages of pulp, and Consolidated began shipping large quantities of lumber from Canada for the first time. “virtually sold out” in the country. To replace it, Consolidated began work on processes to make paper from birch, poplar, maple, and cottonwood.

Consolidated began investing in forestry in the 1930's when it began replanting spruce forests in northern Wisconsin to secure future supplies of papermaking raw materials. Over the next few years, Consolidated acquired thousands of acres of land and began planting trees in Forest, Langlade and Oconto counties. Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Co. and the State Department of Conservation joined Consolidated in the reforestation effort.

Employees organized a union in 1919 and intended to work with the American Federation of Labor. At first, the company's president, George W. Mead I, told them that the company would not recognize the union, but he encouraged them to disband and form an independent local union that would not be associated with outside influences. As a result, the plant and around 200 employees stopped work and let the plant rest.

A union leader explained that the workers were making $200 less a year than other factory workers, comparable to $3,441.76 today. After a brief shutdown, employees returned to work and formed a union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.

The union negotiated an eight-hour day effective December 1, 1919. In 1920 the union and company agreed on a new pay scale in all consolidated factories that raised wages from $3.60 a day to $4.50 a day, which matched other factory rates. in the state. Each department introduced the eight-hour day to all departments, as some worked nine-hour days.

The five-day week emerged at Consolidada in 1931 when the company faced layoffs of 30 to 40 workers. The company slowed its expansion efforts and needed fewer employees as operations became more efficient. Instead, employees offered to reduce their work hours from six to five days a week to spread the workload among them. Instead of laying off employees, Consolidated was able to hire new ones.

A September 1, 1931 Daily Tribune article said the move set an example for the industry in Wisconsin and across the country.

"The solution to the problem of unemployment must be found through a better distribution of work," says the article. "If the industry continues to put some men on long hours, the inevitable result will be that other men become unemployed."

By 1933, the Wisconsin Rapids and Biron factories were working multiple shifts and had added over 100 workers between the two factories.

In November 1948, Consolidated announced that it would create a pension fund to supplement employees' Social Security benefits. All permanent employees of the company who are at least 25 years old and have worked for the company for at least three consecutive years can voluntarily join the plan to receive a lifetime annual pension upon retirement. The program was a joint effort by the company and its employees.

J.D. Witter's descendants played key roles in the company for over a century.

George and Ruth Mead had two sons and one daughter: Stanton Witter Mead, Walter Langworthy Mead and Emily Mead Baldwin. Both Stanton and Walter Mead returned to Wisconsin Rapids from school at Yale to work for the company. Both held management positions within the company and held positions on the board of directors.

After George W. Mead I suffered a stroke and resigned in 1950, Stanton Mead became president of the company and Walter Mead took over its Chicago sales office.

Stanton's son, George W. Mead II, joined the company in 1952 and became President and CEO of Consolidated when his father retired in 1966.

Consolidated also focused on the communities where its factories operated.

In 1944, Consolidated donated its Hotel Witter and Eagles Clubhouse properties along the river to the city, along with several other properties on the east side of the riverfront, for conversion of acreage into riverside parks. Today, several parks are located along the east side of the river, including Legion Park, Mead Rapids View Park, Veterans Memorial Park, and the East Riverbank Conservancy.

George W. Mead I, John B. Arpin, and L.A. Deguere served on a committee raising funds for a public swimming pool built in 1913 as a safer option for swimmers than the Wisconsin River. It was built in Legion Park near the river and the water was originally diverted from the dam into the pool. In December 1945, George W. Mead I donated $6,000 to improve the pool. His son Stanton wrote a letter to the city saying his father wanted to use the money to help improve the existing swimming pool in the park along First Street North.

Consolidated also donated $55,000 to rebuild the concrete pool in 1955 and $75,000 to renovate the pool in 1986. This pool closed in 1999.

The family was also involved in the development of Riverview Hospital. The hospital was built in 1904 as part of the renovation of a private home on the South High Street. In 1912 it was given to the Riverview Hospital Association, headed by George W. Mead I. In 1941, the city gave a park south of Dewey Street at Fourth Street South to the hospital and the family of George Mead I and Witter donated land at the side of the hospital. Riverview moved to a new building in 1942. In 1963, Consolidated partnered with Nekoosa-Edwards Paper to provide $1.2 million to build a new Riverview Hospital, and Consolidated officials pledged an additional $175,000 to the project.

La Consolidated Papers Foundation Inc. I began giving money to various community programs such as the Arts Council of South Wood County, the Lowell Senior Citizens Center, the hospice program at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, the town zoo, the South Wood County Humane Society and more. The organization changed its name to the Mead Witter Foundation in 2000 after Consolidated sold its factories to Stora Enso.

After rumors circulated around the city in late 1999, Consolidated announced in February 2000 that it was selling its factories in a merger with Helsinki-based Stora Enso Oyj.

Residents and business owners in the area were shocked and concerned at what it would mean to put the local mill in someone else's hands, but George W. Mead II said it was a good fit and he was looking forward to working with Stora Enso.

"The company has been in the Mead family for almost 100 years," Mead said in 2000. "But there is no longer a family [involved in the business]. So it was obvious and inevitable that something had to be done. … We did what was best for the company and what was best for the community.”

Sales ended on August 31, 2000.

The next few years were difficult for the paper mill and its employees as Stora Enso North America laid off hundreds of employees.

In December 2007, Stora Enso sold its North American business to NewPage Corp., a company based in Miamisburg, Ohio, for US$2.6 billion.

NewPage filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and emerged from the company in 2012 with a new restructuring plan. It sold its Biron and Rumford, Maine plants to Canada-based Catalyst Paper Holdings and sold its Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens plants. group

Verso filed for bankruptcy protection in early 2016, but announced in July 2018 that it had paid off billions of dollars in debt and was emerging successfully from the restructured bankruptcy. Verso sold its Stevens Point factory to Pixelle Specialty Solutions in February and announced in June it would indefinitely shut down its plants in Wisconsin Rapids and Duluth, Minnesota. The shutdown began in Wisconsin Rapids in July and will continue in phases through the end of the year.

Verso told the Daily Tribune at the time of the announcement that it would continue to evaluate options, including marketing the facility for sale, restarting the facility when market conditions improve and closing the facility permanently.

Published11:31 a.m. UTC 22 Sepupdated13:04 UTC Sep. 22,