Consequences

Pioneer Press Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:00:35 -0700
St. Paul East Side / Lumberyard bows to housing crisis

It seemed business as usual Thursday afternoon at W.B. Martin Lumber Co. on St. Paul's East Side. ... Florence Kulisheck, 77, has worked as a bookkeeper at the lumberyard since 1948, just after graduating from Mechanic Arts High School. It's been her only job. "Fifty-nine years," Kulisheck said with a smile while sitting at her small, paper-cluttered desk. "I think that's an accomplishment." The longtime East Side resident worked alongside Hoppe's parents, Howard and Maysie, and his uncles George Martin and Ole P. Jensen. "They were very kind people to work for," she said. She recalled how the city used to be home to more than 20 lumber companies, most of which were family-owned. "Way back when," she said, "Ole Jensen had made out a list of all the lumber companies that were in existence, and there were 20-some when we were first going strong, probably back in the 1950s."

[[keywords: Living;Metro;]]