MEMORIES OF THE MILL Living a teenage dream

BY MARIE RUMLEY

The year was 1965. There was excitement in the air in our little town of Powell River. Prepa ration and construction of the new Kraft Mill within our paper mill was in progress, as well as the construction of #10 paper machine and a new saw mill. Employment in the mill had reached an all-time high of 3,000 employees.

I was a teenager in grade 11, attending Max Cam eron Senior High School. I was enrolled in the Com mercial Program which consisted of all courses de signed to prepare me for a career as a stenographer/ secretary within the office world. My grades were outstanding and so were my typing skills, being able to type on a manual typewriter to the tune of 90 words per minute. In Grade 12 my reward was a trophy on Awards Day.

One day my shorthand teacher, Mr. Strang, asked me if I would be interested in working part-time at the mill, in the wharf office. Each year the mill per sonnel department reached out to the school to help provide them with employees who were good stu dents. I was ecstatic, a little nervous, but very happy to accept this opportunity. This was my chance to start making some money and also a step towards my anticipated career. For a 17-year old, I felt rather privileged.

I was interviewed by the Mill Personnel Manager, Mr. Benny Birt, in the main mill office, which they called the “Top Office.” My job would be part-time, working mostly on weekends and holidays, and after school if need be. This suited me fine. My rate of pay was $1.75 per hour.

My first day on the job I was introduced to my supervisor, Claude Smith, also Hudson Pirie, super intendent over the wharf. Other staff members con sisted of Harry Blasius, Art Dodsworth, George Rich ards, Hilda Martin, Mary-Lou Mould (Bombardir), Marnie Henderson (Edwards), and Shannon Phillips. My primary job as a “Lister” was to add up the rolls of paper which were being shipped out to the vari ous main ports such as Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The numbers assigned to each roll of paper were recorded on sheets that would be brought into the office. With the use of a very large mechanical Burroughs adding machine, I would punch in the figures, which would then be printed onto a roll of paper that used inked ribbon. The ribbons had to be changed by hand when the ink started to fade. It was a continuous job just changing the ribbons and re filling the rolls of paper. The mill supplied numerous newspaper businesses with paper all over the world. The rolls of paper came off the paper machines and were transported via the railway to the warehouse and from there they were fork-lifted to the cargo ships. These ships with their names of David Salmon, Michael Salmon, and Francis Salmon, were actually owned by MacMillan Bloedel Ltd.

GLAM AT THE MILL: Marie Bailey and Marie Rumley outside the Powell River Paper Mill’s Safety Office, where Marie Rumley worked from her high school graduation in 1967, until 1971. Photo from Marie Rumley’s personal collection.

Upon my graduation from high-school in 1967, I applied for a full-time position at the Mill and was able to obtain a temporary one in the Mill Stores working on the Kardex system. One day, Rex Need ham, the mill safety supervisor, approached me and asked me if I would like to work as a stenographer in the Safety Office. I was thrilled to pieces and accepted immediately.

The Safety Office was situated almost directly be hind the Wharf Office, over the railroad tracks so I was familiar with the area. I began my job as a Stenographer which was exactly what I wanted. It was awesome. Rex was a wonderful boss and I got to work with all five of the First Aid Attendants. They were Marie Bailey, Dorothy Allister, Norma Fraser, Millie Crilly, and Elsie McDonald.

My duties as stenographer consisted of answering the phone, taking shorthand and typing letters and reports for the safety supervisor and his assistant, Doug Morrison. I also did filing, and kept track of all accident and first aid records. Another one of my duties was to perform eye examinations for all new employees. The Safety Office was a great place to work and MacMillan Bloedel treated their employ ees well. My boss came to me one day and said he was going to get me an electric typewriter. I didn’t think it was such a great idea because I was quite happy with the manual one I had, but he insisted. I still remember the first time I tried to use it and as soon as I put my fingers on the keyboard it went ev erywhere. Eventually, I got used to it. At Christmas the office employees were all invited to a Christmas party held at Dwight Hall. Everything was paid for by the company.

I remained employed in the Safety Office until 1971. My husband and I were expecting our first and only child and because there was no maternity leave at that time you either quit your job or you returned to work after the baby was born. I was looking for ward to being a stay-at-home mom and so I quit. It was a few years later that I decided to return to work and tried the Mill again, but it wasn’t meant to be. I landed a job at the Royal Bank where I remained for 17 years. From there I was successful at obtaining my position as manager of the St. John Ambulance Training Center. Ironically, I was once again work ing with first aid attendants and instructors, just as I was at the very beginning of my career. Back in the early days, in 1933, the Powell River mill estab lished a safety engineer and required all foremen to have first aid training and that is another story.

What I enjoyed most about my work in the Mill was not just the experience I gained, but the many people I got to know and the friendships I made that have lasted a life-time.

Memories of the Mill Part 3

In the summer of 2022, anyone with memories of the Powell River paper mill was invited to submit stories to a special project, which was coordinated by the Library and the Museum, and sponsored by the First Credit Union. The mill, of course, closed indefinitely in February of this year, after a 110-year-long run. qathet Living magazine started in October running a series, based on some of the stories heard.