Owen Fenwick, who has been a Dryden resident since 1937, has worked various jobs throughout the district. He farmed in Oxdrift, worked in the bush cutting pulp, worked as a labourer building the Minnitaki bridge, operated a small business, and has worked as a contractor plowing many of the roads in the area for the Ministry of Natural Resources. Mr. Fenwick has a wealth of knowledge and experience of the working conditions confronted by labourers throughout the years.
In 1941 Owen earned a flat rate of 35 cents an hour as a manual worker building the bridge at Eton Rugby and Minnitaki. Owen worked 6 days a week, 10 hours a day. Unlike manual workers today, one did not wear a hard hat or steel toed boots while on the job. One was often required to lift and carry 100 pound sand bags off a loaded truck. Manual wheel barrels were used to carry sand and cement that were used to fill the pilings that would support the bridge. Men would manually pry sixty six foot steel pilings onto to a sleigh that was pulled by a truck. There were no safety precautions for the workers, you learned while on the job. Owen does assert that workers for large companies such as the Dryden Paper Company had more safety measures for the employees. Finally, there were no Workers' Compensation benefits for workers, if one was injured on the job, one simply went home without the expectation of remuneration.
The following are pictures of loggers. Pictures date to the 1930s. Picture provided by Charlie Rankin
Owen has also shared his experience working in the bush cutting pulp for the Dryden Paper Company. One awoke at 6:30 am to a hearty breakfast of eggs, porridge, bacon and potatoes. The work day started with a three mile walk into the bush. One would saw a tree down, then cut the tree into 4 foot sticks and then pile it into a chord that was eight feet long and 4 feet high. Experienced bush workers were able to cut and pile five cords of wood per day. Owen, being a less experienced bush worker was usually able to cut and pile about three cords a day.
Often Owen was contracted to cut eight foot railway tie blocks. There were three grades of tie blocks. Number one ties were eight feet long and ten inches thick and were put on the main railway lines. Number two ties were nine inches thick, number three ties were eight inches thick, and these were used on branch lines or railway sidings. Mr. Fenwick commented that one had to really work hard. A worker had to cut and hew the tie and carry it on one's shoulders out on the sleigh road and then pile it on to a box car.
Owen eventually purchased a farm where he grew and harvested grain and hay that he sold to the Dryden Paper Company to feed their horses. When Owen retired in 1984 he was farming and was contracted by the MTO and CPR to clear snow on the local roads and railway sidings.
The following picture shows a tractor that was probably powered by steam. The man in the picture is Samuel Stephenson. The picture was provided by Judith Moline
