Ryderwood, in the foothills of Washington's Cascade Range, was a model town when it was built in 1923 by the Long-Bell Lumber Co. Founder Robert Alexander Long, whose motto was "Be of service, even if it is necessary to go out of your way," wanted his lumberjacks to be able to live with their families the year around. He spent $1,500,000 to build 400 sturdy, cellarless frame houses (all painted grey), three stores, a school, a church, a modern sewage-disposal plant, a community heating plant and a water system.
But as the great stands of timber around Ryderwood were cut...
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