William Francis Ryder has been longer in continuous employment of and association with R. A. Long than any of the Long-Bell Lumber Company lieutenants. This association, which has been uniformly pleasant, began twenty-three years ago.

Mr. Ryder was born in Dallas county, Iowa, on the last day of 1858.

From 1878 to 1881 Mr. Ryder was situated at Ponca, I.T., forty-five miles south of Arkansas City, in connection with the government Indian agency at that place. He left there and went to Columbus, Kan., engaging in the hay business and in 1881 began what has since been many years of his life work with R. A. Long, first going to Opolis, Kan., to take charge of a retail yard. Mr. Ryder was at Opolis until 1887, when a yard was opened at Cedarvale, Kan. He was at Cedarvale until the spring of 1890, when he was sent to Antlers, I. T., in charge of all the saw mills owned by the Long-Bell people in the Indian Territory. He was there until January, 1894, when he was sent to Willow Springs, Mo., to take charge of and ship out a stock of lumber which had been purchased from the South Missouri Lumber Company, then out of business. When that stock was disposed of he traveled for the Long-Bell Lumber Company until December, 1896, when he was transferred to Thomasville, I. T., to take joint charge with W. S. King of the then rapidly growing business of the Long-Bell Lumber Company in that section.