Brothers Warren, left, and Tom Ownbey stand in the Princeton sawmill they own and operate in this David Johnson photo published in the March 1, 1981, Lewiston Tribune. The family-owned mill had burned a couple of years earlier. The two, along with another brother, secured lumber-milling equipment at an auction in California and less than a year after the fire, the mill reopened, according to the accompanying story, also by Johnson. About the mill’s rebuilding, Johnson wrote, “They (the brothers) engineered the entire complex themselves. Almost all of the construction was done by mill employees. Thus, layoffs were kept to a minimum. Less than one year after the fire, the mill was operational.” Readers who would like to share their historical photos (20 years or older) from throughout the region may do so by emailing them to blasts@lmtribune.com or submitting them to: Blast from the Past, P.O. Box 957, Lewiston, ID 83501. Questions? Call Jeanne M. DePaul at (208) 848-2221.
