Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1894-03-01
A TALE OF COSMOPOLIS,


At last accounts the crew OF female
shingle weavers at the mills OF the Grays
Harbor Commercial Co., Cosmopolis,
WASH, was still at work. Rumors have
been flying around lately that the shingle
weavers' union was about to make
sortie, marry the young ladies and thus
break up the only female shingle mill
crew on the Pacific coast. So far the
sortie has proven lamentable failure.
When the lady employees first appeared
on the scene the male shingle weavers
made merry over the event. They would
come around the mill and inform the lady
knot sawyer that it was full of rats, much
to that lady's embarrassment, because she
had to keep one eye on her work and the
other on supposed rodents. Many times
did she scream at something moving
among the pile Of shingles, and on several
occasions she jumped five feet into the
air onto supply of bolts, holding her
skirts tightly and screaming like one pos
sessed. However she found that the cry
of traits" did not mean anything, and she
is now the best worker in the mill.
The lady packers were annoyed, too,
by the male ex-employes. who told them
that their hands were full of sivers.
When White finally heard OF his lady
weavers' complaints he gallently came to
In xvi s,, Il ~; ,
working hours. Then the wicked male
shingle weavers went on Il new tack.
They patronized the barber frequently,
invested in store clothes, spats, yellow
neckties, perfume and boquets, and every
evening endeavoreI to escort the lady
weavers home from work. Now comes
the report that the ladies have turned up
their pretty noses (snub noses, it is said)
at the dudish looking young men and the
union is consequently in despair. And
persons who have visited Whites mill
say his lady employees are rosy-cheeked,
healthy, modest and sensible girls. We
believe it, Of course, because young lady
who is Independent enough to make a
living for herself in such prosaic occu-
patton as that Of saving and packing
shingles is certainly sensible, modest and
healthy-and health and hard work gen.
orally produce rosy cheeks.
There are ten persons connected with
the shingle mill, and outside of the fore
man, sawyer and roustabout, the balance
are young ladies. They do their work
we'll, and Whites shingles are model of
good packing. Less shims, feather ends
and bad shingles find their way into the
punches than when male packers were
worked. If The Lumberman circulated
principally among the ladies the question
of what do they wear?" would naturally
come. But this journal goes to business
men who are not at all interested in fash
ions. However we do not believe that
Whites crew wear diamond rings while
packing shingles; and silk dresses would
not look we'll in an atmosphere of saw
dust. The young ladies dress modestly
and becomingly, and look like stenogra-
pliers OH the street. OF course they 90 not
look SO trim in the mill, and if you should
dig one of them out OF the sawdust for the
purpose of introduction you probably
would not be apt to want her photograph.
But these are matters OF detail that White
does not bother his head about. The fact
that he has the only crew OF female mill
employees on the Pacific coast and that
the mill is success is enough glory for
him.-Puget Sound Lumberman.