The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-04-20
WOMEN AT WORK
IN WOODYARDS
THEY MAKE GOOD WAGES AT
MANUAL. LABOR.
Husky Slavs and Teutons Seek Employ
ment and Tho the Work Is Hard,
They Perform It With Ease Many
Of the Minneapolis Woodyards Are
Now Using Feminine Wood-pilers.

In luxurious rattan baby carriage
with drop front, heaped about with
pillows and wrappings, Master Franz
Polacek, aged year, sat yesterday
afternoon kicking his heels and gurgling
and Growing with delight as he watched
his sturdy young mother throwing green
wildwood with steady swing to the
100 feet each side Of her.
This was the odd sight witnessed in
the great woodyards Of Skellet & Go.
and Of Meagher & Co., under the Fifth
street N brid ge, two minutes walk
from the West hotel: Working with
Mrs. Polacek were, eight other women,
Slavs like herself or German, not one
carry on a conversation. The proud
mother of the prattling youngster ex-
pected to finish her nine-load stint be-
fore o'clock, when she would go home
to prepare her "man 's' evening meal,
care for mother too i'll to look after
the baby, and feed and put to sleep the
baby whose open-air day would insure
him both appetite and sound slumber.
"We don't make any difference be-
tween men and women who apply for
work. said the foreman when cues
such an unusual occupation. "The
work is done by the load and the women
are good, steady workers. They like
the work because they can do it when
they please and they can make more
money this way than any other the
are likely to find.
Many Women Employed.
"Oh, this is a popular job, and I
think all the wodyards in town employ
women now. Often whole families
work together in the yards and it is
very common for a man and woman OF
family to work together as a team.
Yes, the children of the family often
the younger ones playing around and
taking care Of themselves and of each
other The children often bring baby
to loko after under the eyes Of the
mother. It ism It common for woman to
bring a baby and have to tend it her
self, but that youngster over there
seems to be having good time without
needing much looking after,,,'' he added,
the baby carriage.
eve pay II cents a load this sea-
son. continued the foreman, and the
best piler we've got now does her ten
loads a day in about eight hours. You
can readily figure out for yourself why
the women are DESTROYS Of doing this
kind of work. They live In this vlc!nl'
ty and can look after their. families be-
fore they come in the morning, 20 home
for their dinner and leave off work at
night in time to get their evening meal
meanwhile earning from dollar to
dollar and half a day. I don't know
any place where they can do better II
work requiring no particular skill, &c
you9 AS long as those conditions pre-
vail I think we shall find plenty OF
wome mare glad to do the work.
The women employed are typical peas
ant women of sturdy physique who seem
to find the work quite within tthei7
power and do not regard it as at all al
Unusual occupation. No hats are worn
ali having either a kerchief or scarf o.
going bareheaded. The The, violence 10 OF IN
coat and nearly all were protected onl,
by small kerchief or scarf crossed
over the bosom Of their plain, stron'
gowns.