Men from many parts of the country and with many backgrounds having nothing to do with logging or lumber ended up during World War 1 at Vancouver Barracks. Two such men of the Spruce Production Division were artists who already enjoyed some recognition for their work before coming to Vancouver.
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A recent visit to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site took me to the museum inside the former airplane hangar at Pearson Airfield. This, one of the early hubs of military aviation in the Pacific Northwest. Besides the airplanes on display, there is a magnificent model of what was the world’s largest sawmill in 1918. On the wall surrounding the model are panels explaining the unique story of the Spruce Production Division. This unit encompassed over 100,000 men by the end of WW1 in one of the lesser remembered episodes of the war. Hanging on the wall is the haunting portrait of the commander of the Division – one Brice Disque.
Brice Disque was one of the many officers seeing rapid advancements in rank during WW1. He moved from captain to brigadier general in a under a year. After spending fourteen years as a captain, the rise dizzying. His energy and ability to accomplish extremely difficult tasks were equal to the meteoric journey.
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So went one of the mottos of the Spruce Production Division during World War 1 – “Bill” being Kaiser William. The huge Cut-up Plant was erected on the Polo Grounds at Vancouver Barracks to better provide the needed correct lumber for American and Allied airplane production. “Spruce for the air”. “Fir for the sea” was for shipbuilding, a secondary purpose of the huge plant.
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