Volume 25 www.legionnl.com 21 Newfoundland Labrador Command Wallace H. Pike continued ... In 1914, I spent the summer with father. World War I broke out in August and from then on the price of lobster dropped and father was unable to meet his bills. He then went to work in the lumber woods to try to obtain the wherewith all to feed his family. I remember around this time accompanying two local boys, who were called into the Navy, part of the distance to the railway station. When I returned to my home that night I said to my mother, "l wonder if the war will continue on long enough for me to go?" Her reply w as "I hope not, my son", as the tears gathered in her eyes. Next I wrote to a cousin of mine who was working in a lumbering camp on Red Indian Lake, asking him to try and get a job for me. He replied saying that he had work for me. First my father would not give me any passage money as he did not want me to leave home because I was so young. After a lot of talking and persuading on my part, he finally gave me the sum of five dollars which was little more than enough for my passage. On November 20, 1914, my cousin, Alfred Pike, who was a year older than me, and myself left home to go to work in the lumber woods. Neither of us had ever been away from home before nor had we ever been on a train. First we boarded the S.S. Dundee and after spending three or four hours aboard her, we arrived in Port Blandford where we got the train around 10 o’clock that night. We were soon rolling along over the rough old railway and at first we were a little excited but we soon settled down as we got more used to it. Around noon next day we arrived at Millertown Junction and after a very short wait, we took the train in to Millertown. Here we knew no one and no one knew us. We soon found the Office and got our numbers to go up with Frank Hicks on Costigian River about thirty-two miles up on Red Indian Lake. This was where my cousin who had got the job for me was working. We stayed in Millertown that night, and around dinner-time the next day, we started up the lake on the S.S. Lady Mary, with the wind about east blowing a gale and snowing fast. We arrived at Harbour Round that evening just at dark and stayed there all night. The next morning the wind was about west, clear and fine, so we left for the rest of our journey. About 10 a.m. we reached the Depot and landed, then started to walk in to the camp which was three miles further and we arrived there just in time for dinner. We worked around the camp for the rest of the evening. The next morning I was sent in chopping with three other men. That was about November 24. I worked in the woods for a little over a week when I suffered an accident. While clearing away from the trunk of a tree to cut it, the axe glanced and split my big toe open, whereupon I crippled back to camp and stayed there the rest of the day. The next day I went to work in the woods again, but the following day I was taken out and put on the landing where for a few days I had to pile timber for two horses. Then one of the horses was shifted to another road and the work became a little lighter on me. By this time I had made friends with all the camp crewe, and, as I was the youngest, I went by the name of "Pikie". They all seemed to take to me and I got on fine and was soon quite used to the lumberjack's life. One evening while finishing up my landing, I had to lift a heavy log and in doing so I strained my chest, back and arms. I rested in the camp for a day or two, but I was soon on the job again. I worked along on the landing until the last part of April when the ‘drive' started, and I was sent 'nipper' or 'flunkey’, having to carry food and boil the kettle twice a day for eight or ten men. That was a fine job! On May 9 we had a heavy thunder storm, with some very heavy rain and I got a real soaking and caught a bad cold. I still tried to keep up with my work but my cold got worse and this was impossible. I packed my bag, had it pulled to the lake where I boarded a motor boat and went to Millertown. Here I drew my little bit of money and started for home. * MEMOIRS * - Wallace H. Pike - Covering the Period 1914 – 1964
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==