Master Builder

Winter 2017

Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/901018

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While this functional green wood company may just save the world one day, Belling-Wood doesn't need a cape or outlandish costume. Its superhero magnifi cence resides in its superior strength and functionality and life-sustaining green qualities. W e all know how the superhero origin story goes. Small, unassuming town. A need for hope and change. Something big happens—and then BLAM! Enter our hero. In this case, all things ring true except one: this superhero story is real. Our protagonist even uses masterful disguises to mask an otherworldly identity. But this is no ordinary protagonist. No, this character is unlike anything you've ever seen—but at the same time, so uncannily familiar. This is a story in which reality blends with science fi ction, where the impossible becomes very much possible, where good and greatness rise from humble beginnings to reign supremely strong and sustainable. Stories never have a linear plot. Not the good ones, at least. T his one is no different. And the coolest part? T he stor y is still in act one, unfolding as you thumb through these pages. We go now to the source. BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON In the 19th century, Bellingham was busy supplying building materials for cities across the land, harvesting droves of hardwood from groves of old Northwest trees. Today, earth has more than seven times the population of that time and few old grove trees to cut. So, what do you do when you need a hard, versatile wood but no longer have the trees that produce it? You engineer it, of course. Well, someone who is really smart does. Picture an unassuming residence, the only light on in the community in the wee hours of the morning. We see a man feverishly working in a garage, sparks fl ying and tension rising like a phoenix from the ashes. Finally, with a wipe of his sweaty brow and anxiousness in his eyes, he reaches down and picks up his creation. His back turned, we slowly pan to unveil… a slab of wood. Wood? 23 master builder WINTER 2017 master builder

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