Truman W. Collins

Truman Wesley Collins (August 29, 1902 – February 23, 1964) was an American businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist from the state of Oregon. He was born into a wealthy and influential business family. Collins graduated from Willamette University and then attended graduate school at Harvard University. After college, he returned to the Pacific Northwest to join his family's lumber business. Over the years, he was the top executive for a number of Collins family businesses. He was also an active leader in several timber-related industry groups and contributed to selected education and religious institutions.

Early life

Collins was born in Ostrander, Washington, on August 29, 1902, the son of Everell Stanton Collins and Mary (Laffey) Collins. The Collins family was one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Oregon at that time. His grandfather, Teddy Collins, started the family's successful lumber business in Pennsylvania and it was expanded into Oregon by his father.

Collins grew up in the small town of Ostrander in western Washington. His family moved to Portland when Collins was in high school. He attended Lincoln High School, graduating from there in 1918. He attended college at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. During his senior year, Collins was editor of the university's yearbook. Collins graduated from Willamette with a bachelor's degree in 1922. He then went on to graduate school at Harvard University, where he earned a master's degree in business in 1925. He remained on that board for a number of years.

By 1931, the timber supply in the Glenwood area had run low, so the Collins family sold the sawmill and the related local timber land. Collins wanted to use the revenue from the Glenwood sale to purchase the Grande Ronde Lumber Company in Pondosa, Oregon. While his father was not convinced this was a good investment, he reluctantly approved the acquisition. Once the purchase was complete, Collins relocated much of the Glenwood workforce to Pondosa, including J. T. McDonald. The Pondosa operation included a railroad used to haul trees from the forest to the sawmill. However, as cutting operations moved farther from the mill extending the railroad become very expensive, so the company began experimenting with truck logging. This proved successful, and in 1937, the Collins family joined McDonald in a truck logging business called the McDonald Logging Company. In 1939, a second joint-venture logging company was formed in Lakeview, Oregon. A year later, he was elected to the Western Pine Association's national board of directors as second-vice president. In 1938, Collins attended the annual Pacific Logging Congress, where he was elected to the organization's board of directors. The following year, he was elected president of the Pacific Logging Congress.

Collins' father died in 1940. In his father's will, Collins was given the rights to develop of virgin timber land in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near the small community of Chester, California. The property was known as the Curtis, Collins and Holbrook Company lands. Collins continued to manage the Grande Ronde Pine Company as he began developing the Chester property as a long-term sustainable forest. The first logs came out of the Curtis, Collins and Holbrook forest in 1941. However, the onset of World War II made development plans subject to the approval of the United States Government's War Production Board. Nevertheless, the new Chester sawmill began production in early 1943. He was also appointed to the War Production Board's lumber product advisory committee. Despite his busy wartime work schedule, Collins married Maribeth Akin Wilson on March 12, 1943. Together they had four children.

Since 1910, the Collins family had been a partner in the Elk Lumber Company in Medford, Oregon. In 1946, the family along with their chief forester, George Flanagan, bought out the other partners. They updated the sawmill plant and equipment, creating a state-of the-art operation. The new mill facility began production later that year with Flanagan as general manager. He worked continuously to create sustainable forest operations in Chester, Lakeview, Medford, and on Collins family land near Kane, Pennsylvania. The other logging and lumber production operations continued under Collins' leadership until his death in 1964. He eventually became chairman of the university's board of trustees. He served as chairman for eight years prior to his death. Over the years, Collins and his family were major benefactors of the university. He was also a generous contributor to the Methodist Church. Collins also served as a member of the Methodist Church's national board of missions.

In 1945, Collins was appointed to the regional Boy Scout executive committee. He remained an active Boy Scout leader for many years. In the 1950s, he served as interim chairman of Keep Oregon Green Association and later as chairman of that organization's board of trustees. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the Young Men's Christian Association. This included being one of largest individual contributors to Mark Hatfield's successful campaign for governor.

In 1962, Collins was named Portland's First Citizen. The award recognized his many years of community service and philanthropic support for education and religion institutions.

Death and legacy

Collins died of a heart attack on February 23, 1964, in Portland, Oregon.

During his lifetime, Collins created a number of trusts and scholarships that are still active today. They include the Collins Medical Trust, established in 1956 to fund medical research; the Almanor Scholarship Fund that supports students from Plumas County, California; the Collins-McDonald Trust Fund that provides scholarships to students from Lake County, Oregon; and the Collins Foundation that supports a wide range of charitable activities.

After his death, the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center at Willamette University was named in his honor. In addition, the Truman W. Collins Sr. Law Internship Fund also carries his name. The fund helps Willamette law students pursue practical experience in nonprofit and public-interest law.