Starbird Lumber Co. sawed, planed and trimmed the "shook" (materials) to produce apple boxes in their box shop in Strong. When the demand increased they also contracted teens and retired folks to assemble boxes at their home shops. Bundles of "shook" and kegs of nails were delivered to the home shops. The home workers could work at their own pace and make a few extra dollars. Thousands of apple boxes were assembled in the community.
"Shook" consisted of the pre-assembled end pieces, as well as the sides and the bottom. All of the pieces needed to be nailed together square and true.
