Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-04-12
BUILDING THE BIG DAM IN SOMERSET

upon the reader so much as an account
of the labor camp would do Peck's
Mill was a deserted village Of not more
than dozen houses away back in the
Vermont mountains one year ago. To-
day nearly all the marks of that village
have disappeared and in place of 1t, oc-
cupying new sites, a modern community
has arisen, lighted by electric lights,
having great ice-house, a fourishing
store. great dining halls, a hospital,
system of gravity water, bathrooms and
toilets and sewage systems, stables, ma
chine shop and power station and a bill
lard room. The new village contains
about everything that would promote
the health of the employees and conven-
fence on the work. Nothing has been
spent on needless accessories but the
engineers at the head of the Power
company know by experience that mon
ey spent upon sanitary equipment is not
wasted.
Two mountain brooks have been dam
med and provide reservoirs from which
an excellent and abundant supply of
water for all uses is derived. At the ex-
IRENE western end of the camp, a little
higher on the hillside, the quarters for
the Italian laborers are located. These
are not the sod-roofed shacks, such as
are often seen where construction work
| is going on, but are wooden houses av-
! eraging one and one-half stories in
| height. Each one is provided with a
stove and two tiers of hunks. A glance
within shows them to be as orderly and
| clean as could be expected. There are
| 10 of these houses. In this settlement
! there is also the Italian store and
| bakery. The Italians board themselves,
! satisfying all their needs at the store
and the bakery, and doing much of their
! cooking in their quarters. There is a
! caretaker of the Italian camp whose
! duty it is to see that the camp is kept
| ing good order and that the orders of
the resident physician who makes daily
! trips of sanitary inspection through
! the Italian section, are carried out.
Well Equipped Hospital.
The camp hospital a building of the
bungalow type is situated to the north
| of the central part of the settlement and
! on high ground. 1t contains two wards
/ small one and a general one, an oper-
ating room and a consultation room.
| This is in charge of the resident phys
| ician, DR.. Arthur l.. Patch for whom a
/ house has been built nearby The doc
tors house and Is others, southwest of
! it., for the families of the married fore
men, are attractive little buildings, set
among the trees like the cottages at a
camp meeting ground or summer lake
resort. In fact, one finds it easy to
envy these people their opportunity to
iNt up there III the Hills ana WOODS all
| this coming spring and summer. In the
| centre of the camp there are the large
sleeping bunk houses for the unmarried
white men, the commssary building
administration headquarters. or office,
and the large ice house that has been
put up this winter for the storage OF
| 1000 tons of ice that have been harvested
| for use next summer.
Up beyond the hospital and little tC
| the east OF II there is a community saw
mill which has been worked to the full
est capacity all winter in order to supply
enough firewood to warm all of the
houses. over in the direction of the
dam, which is east of the settlement
there is the "round-house" of the rail
way system. The tracks run directly
into it, and any one of the cars or 10.
comotives can be sent in there for re.
pairs. The building is equipped with
FORCES and serves general black
smith and machine shop for the entire
outfit In connection with the round.
house is the boiler house, generatine
power from extensively transported coal
to drive the 80 kilowatt marine genera.
tor which provides electric power to il.
Illuminate the settlement within AM
without. East of the round house" ant
power station there remains one of tn,
houses of the original Pecks Mill vii
lage. 1t is the residence and office head
quarters of Mr.. Moore, the resident en-
gineer. 1t will have to go, however, be
fore the great dam has been completed
Railway Connection with Outer World,