This catamaran was one of the many home built boats. Many people had a boat both on Link Lake (fresh water) and one on the 'salt chuck'. Fishing was big! I tried to concentrate on work for the next few months. I have always been an avid reader and now I was finding myself reading both during work and on my time off. There were many break-downs in the mill and although I had to be there for the whole shift, there was not always a lot to do. It was rare for all four paper machines to be running in fine form.
I was learning more about the union mentality most mill workers were operating on. I was quite frankly disgusted with the attitude that the company was the enemy. Not all employees were of this mindset, but it was very common. I had chosen to not attend union meetings and that resulted in a fine every month. It was a small price to pay to keep from hearing the constant rhetoric about how the company owed us this and owed us that. I always wondered why some of those guys didn't just up and leave town if they were so disgruntled. Many had been born there and had worked there all their lives and had no thought for the fact that if it were not for the company, they would not even be there.
One night I learned about job descriptions. I was caught up with my duties and was watching a new recruit trying to keep up with his workload on one of those rare times when all the machines were running full tilt. His job was to push the finished rolls of paper to a scale where they were weighed and labeled. He was getting behind and the backlog was interfering with the winders. I went to help him with the thought that if I helped him push rolls for five minutes, he would be caught up and the rough, burly winder man would get off his case. I was pushing the third roll when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to face Dick Haas, the winder man with an attitude. He jabbed my chest with his thick finger and said, "What the h**l do you think you are doing?"
"I am helping Mike get caught up so you guys stop yelling at him and calling him names." I was sure my altruistic motives would calm him down.
With his powerful hands, arms and shoulders, he grabbed my shirt under my chin and hoisted me off the ground. I suddenly recalled that he was one of those guys staring me down at the union meeting where Gordon and I were the only dissenting voters. I would be telling a lie if I said I was not afraid.
"If Mike cannot do his &*$# job, the &%&^$^&# company has to hire another union brother to help him. Now you get back into your cubbyhole and do your own &^$&^#@ job."
Poor Mike was more frightened than me because I could escape but he had to stay out there and endure more verbal abuse. Moments later there was a paper break and Mike got his reprieve. We were both very relieved that Dick was very occupied the rest of the night trying to problem solve on his machine. Up to that point, Dick and I had treated each other coolly, but after that there was an animosity about him that made me very happy when we drew different shifts. Ever since that incident, I have disliked muscle shirts and tattoos of anchors.
14 comments:
Interesting..that same "strong-arm" behaviour continues to exist in most unionized environments, albeit mostly underground. No wonder some folks just come to work, do their job...and go home without an apparent commitment to their job or pride in their performance....mostly it is survival in a challenging environment.
It was serendipity that brought me to this blog. I was watching PGA golf, saw Bill Haas drive, thought of Dick Haas who was a backtender when I was a winderman back in 1970 and boom, here I am. I recently found an album of photos I took in 1969 and 1970 before I headed back to SFU with a healthy bank account and plans to finish my degree. Thanks for sharing your memories and photos of the Ocean Falls I remember.
Who are you? I mostly remember the guys in Tech Control but you never know.
Jack Busst. Now living in Calgary.
I am sorry Jack, but I do not remember you. I dealt with foremen and backtenders more than with windermen. But, we do share many of the same memories of a place and a time that is now lost forever. Do you have any photos of the interior of the mill? That was quite the place that struck both awe and fear in me.
Unfortunately no. Quite a few photos of the town and friends but none of the interior of the mill. It was quite an experience walking in there for the first time. I was nineteen and had never seen anything like it before.
I lived in the Willows and mainly hung out with the papermakers.
On my first shift as a pulp tester trainee, I was taken on the rounds on the night shift. I had to climb up a few outside tanks and dip a metal cup into the bubbling pulp below, hanging onto the rickety wooden safety rail while the wind and rain were blasting away at me. Then I had a tour of the machine room and a big paper break happened as I was between #1 and #2 machine. I thought the whole thing was coming down when a chunk of the ceiling landed inches from my feet, the result of incredible vibrations. Believe me, I had second thought about working there, but in the end, stuck it out for three years.
Looking back, there were a lot of unsafe conditions. As a helper I was sometimes under the winder while it was running and the backtenders were on the machines and between the stacks with paper rushing past. Did you work with Bob Duncan? He was so tall that when he played darts, he just had to lean forward and place the dart in the board ;-)
I vaguely remember him. I need a pictorial directory to jog my memory but I know there is not one available. My memory is getting old and tired.
Forty years does play havoc with the memory. I wish I had taken more photos and kept in touch with more people.
Being newly married, I was not too dependant on work relationships. Most of my photos were of our outdoor activities. I had a life back home in the Fraser Valley with plenty of friends and family and only made a few close friends in my three years in Ocean Falls. For some people, it was their entire life and those are the ones who attend the annual reunions. I am happy for them, but overall, I see my time there as a unique adventure among my many life experiences. I will never regret having lived and worked there.
There was quite a turnover at the junior ranks and the long time residents didn't bother socializing other than at the bar or the Legion. After about six months I started getting invitations to go fishing both on Link Lake and on the salt chuck. I spent a lot of time in the pool hall, and some at the trap and skeet club. I've got some photos of the town from the telephone repeater on Caro Marion, (I think). I wouldn't mind going back but I understand the NDP government allowed the slopes around the channel to be clear cut and with most of the buildings bulldozed it likely be a disappointment. I did enjoy my time there.
Mostly, the apartments were reserved for married folks but I knew a few singles in the Willows. I take it you were single, being only 19 at the time. Today the townsite is decimated. Few homes remain. The mill site is cleared off totally and only the Hydro building remains on that side of the bridge.
There used to be an Ocean Falls Yahoo Group but it was shut down by the administrator due to a circumstance I am familiar with. There was a multitude of photos and stories, a real wealth of information and a connection place for all former residents. Tragic, really, how we lost the site and all the info therein.
I was in a bachelor suite on the third floor facing the mountain. One large room, a bathroom and kitchen but better than a room at the Martin Inn. It's too bad about losing all the info about Ocean Falls.
Post a Comment