When it opened in 1878, Tama Paperboard used unbaled straw that was hauled to the plant by horse and wagon to make paper. With only 25 men, the mill operated 24 hours a day. In 1914, the J.G. Cherry Company of Cedar Rapids bought the mill, and J.G.’s son Herbert T. Cherry became manager. In 1916, 44 locals were employed by the mill and received a 50 percent wage increase, bringing their pay up to a whopping 75 cents; 1916 was also the year the first woman was hired at Tama Paperboard.

Of all the different kinds of items that the Tama Paperboard had made in its 144 years of operation, it’s important to mention the war products of the 1940s. As America was fighting the Nazis and the Japanese in World War II, the mill was doing its part. Here in Tama, boxes used for bullets, bomb fuses, and other army equipment were made along with armed forces match covers and waterproof export food cases that stayed afloat and kept their contents dry.

Generations of Tama-Toledo residents have worked at the mill, with some dedicating nearly their entire lives to the place. No better example can be found than that of Tama City Mayor Doug Ray, who spent nearly a half century at Tama Paperboard before retiring.

“My heart’s in that place,” Ray said in an interview.

T-R PHOTO BY MICHAEL D. DAVIS — Duane Pansegrau, Jerry Dolash, Tama Mayor Doug Ray, Sue Patterson, Cherie Mathes and Scott Mathes all helping with the food giveaway at the Tama Paper Mill

On Thursday, May 25, Ray engineered a food giveaway outside the mill for the affected workers. Boxes of food were stacked up on pallets as the mayor and other retired paper mill workers helped. The retired handed out the boxes and eased the day’s tension with conversation and happy faces.

“Some of them are feeling it. You get people that have been there 20, 30, 40 years, it’s left kind of a bitter taste in your mouth. It’s just like somebody knocked the wind out of them, but hopefully they keep their head up and keep going,” Ray said. “The people that are retired out of there, it’s kind of a slap in their face too, so it was good to show the people that we’re retired but we still care.”

Earlier that week, on Tuesday, May 23, a job fair was put on at the Tama Civic Center for the affected workers. Around 40 employers had booths at the fair, resumes were given, interviews were scheduled, and futures were planned. Many of the affected workers at the job fair had been at the mill for decades. The employees then met with GPI representatives at the Civic Center on Thursday, June 1, the day before the closure, to finalize and sign off on their severance packages with the company.

“I think a lot of people are gonna be able to get good jobs,” Ray said. “Three or four or five years ago, you probably wouldn’t have had that many businesses in there… I bet there was about 20 businesses. From talking to some of the employees, they were pretty impressed. Some of them got job offers there. Some of them got interviews, and some are on their second interview. So it’s a pretty good thing.”

Bryan Valline has worked on the production side of the mill for 29 years.

“It’s difficult because of the emotional ties,” he said at the job fair. “This here helps out a lot.”

Ray recently met with executives from Graphic Packaging International (GPI), the parent company that owned Tama Paperboard and ultimately made the decision to close it, and he said that while he couldn’t convince them to keep the facility open — his dream scenario — he did his best to ensure the workers were being taken care of and provided opportunities to find gainful employment elsewhere. The mayor is also working to formulate a plan for the future of the space the mill occupied and said he would share updates as they become available.

Valline commented that he and his fellow workers have put “a lot of blood, sweat, and tears,” into Tama Paperboard over the years, and it’s been difficult to say goodbye as a result.

More than 80 employees have lost their jobs due to the closure. They are listed below.

Tom Anderson, Luis Armas, Larry Armstrong, Michael Beach, Christopher Bearden, Janette Berver, Chris Blocker, Brayden Breya, Levi Brezina, Jerry Brown, Richard Burnes, Robert Carlson, Cody Chamra, Todd Chyma, Manuel Contreras, Leslie Deane, Tommy Dreesman, Brandon Dvorak, Tyler Erickson, Steve Ferrari, Gabriel Garcia, Carl Graves, Dillon Graves, Willy Haughey, Gary Hauser, Adam Henle, Jacob Hermanstorfer, Vily Hernandez, Cliff Herriott, Brandyn Jensen, Richard Jimenez, Jeff Johnson, Jason Kingbird, Lincoln Kingbird, Joshua Kinnaman, Marty Kolars, Realand (Bub) Morden, Bwandekelu Mukendi, Christopher Novoa, Darrell Peska, Austyn Phinney, Joseph (Jody) Prusha, Adam Purk, Andres Rodriguez, Arnie Rushford, Eloy Sanchez, Jeffrie Schultz, Gary (Gomer) Sieck, Jonathan Sieck, Paul Svacina, Bryan Valline, Landrew VanDee, Russell VanDee, Noah Vandewalle, Danny Vodochodsky, Lane Votrobeck, Doug Wacha, Kevin Watkins, Chad Watson, Everett Werner, Cody Wheeler, Jeffrey Whitney, John Wilson, Helena Yanes, Craig YoungBear, Jr. and Stevie YoungBear.