40

Beater Tank
Circa 1946
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
N06640

41

We made anything that had to be made out of sheet metal. I was extremely fortunate when I was there. The variety of work that we did then. We made a lot of stuff for the mill store, like the oil cans that they use in the mill. We made all those - we made them for mill stores stock..Vents, and all the ductwork that was used in different areas for ventilation and stuff like that, we did all that. We put the wires on the molds, like washer wires and decker wires and all that kind of stuff that had to be put on just right and soldered and stuff like that, we did all that kind of work. It was a big variety. And then the stainless steel age came along, and everything they wanted then had to be made from a sheet of metal.

We had to do all our own layout - you had to lay out patterns for elbows and Ts that you're going to cut out of the metal and then roll them up, we did all that ourselves. We all were trained to do that. There was no lay out man like they have in some big shops - they've got somebody that does nothing for that. We all did our own, every one of the fellas that was a journeyman in there did our own layout. So the experiences that we had were good -well-rounded.

Taped interview
People of the White City

42

Tin Shop
16 November 1945
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
N02157

43

It's probably the least understood department in the mill by the rest of the mill. Very few people in the mill actually understood what we do here. When I train people from other parts of the mill…they're always amazed at what we do. People who've worked here for 25 years have no idea.
We don't inter-act with the guys on the floor. Our reports go to their supervisors, their engineers, their superintendents, and decisions are made, and I think most guys in the mill don't have an appreciation for the work that goes into the decisions that do affect them.
I think there are a number of salaried people who don't understand the work we do here, or the importance of it, and so I don't think the lab always gets the support or the credit it should.

Lab Technician
Taped interview
People of the White City

44

Laboratory exterior
September, 1955
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
P01431

45

Our work has changed over the years. We used to have a component, when we were MB, which did a lot of research. We actually had a component in Vancouver called MB research. Years ago we had the biggest lab of the mills. [That was researching] new kinds of paper, new kinds of processes, new kinds of printing, new kinds of equipment - you name it. We used to be very actively one of the bigger labs. I think we still have the biggest lab setup amongst the mills. And we used to do a lot of training here - we were the standard - we trained lots of the other mills' people, and trained people for MB research. Now we don't have a research facility (that changed when Pacifica bought us out).

Lab technician
Taped Interview
People of the White City

46

Research chemists
Circa 1954
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
P01434

47

Basically there was a line of progression. You'd first get in the lab, and you'd do mostly training. You were trained on the daily jobs that had to be done, and then you'd be training with whatever engineer you were assigned to. Then you'd probably work into a regular job, like mixing acids. We had an acid lab there that you had to mix different acids that are used in the kraft mill, and used in other parts of the mill. And there would also be paper testing, in the paper testing room that we had. It would test the strength and test the colour, and test all the things that they do down in the mill. That was a steady job. They were ongoing tests. Every day there were tests that you had to do and every day you had to write up reports of what tests you did and what the results were. It meant a lot of statistics piling up, but t was quite important that they knew what brightness (etc.) was coming through. If there was an observation from a paper tester that the brightness of the paper that he was testing, which was going into the marketplace eventually was off---a lab technician would go down there, pick up a sample of the paper and bring it up and test it, and then we'd determine why the colour would be going down, and what the machine crews would add to it to bring the colour up.

Technical Dept.
Taped interview,
People of the White City

48

In the Lab
Circa 1989
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
S1070

49

It used to be good - when we had a gang. I really enjoyed it then. The only thing I didn't like then was that we were on a 24-hour call. The year I came over from the old mill to the new mill I couldn't believe the amount of overtime we were getting. It would be nothing to get three or four calls in the night. And you tried to answer - when you hired on, you knew all this.

Taped interview for
People of The White City

50

Changing the wire
1949
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
P00654
The Powell River Mill Story

51

The very existence of Powell River -and, consequently, the life blood of a district of 7,000 people - depends upon water-water in the form of horsepower to turn the wheels of the Powell River plant. Today, 72,000 horsepower, sufficient to supply a city of 200,000 people, is generated almost entirely for mill purposes and supplying electric energy to the Townsite and surrounding districts.

Few, even among our own employees, appreciate the full story behind the Powell River Company water-power reserves. He knows that Powell and Lois Lakes are the sources from which our power is derived. That settles the question, and little thought is afforded the minor drama enacted behind the scenes - the computing and measuring of the water supply - the determination in advance of the reserve - and what supply will be available in the current season.

For behind water again is rainfall and snow - and in the snow lies the reserve of water that keeps the wheels of industry turning in the dry seasons. And that is why the Powell River Company undertakes each year modern and scientific surveys of the snow area in the mountains behind Powell and Lois Lakes.

Under the direction of the Engineering Department the annual snow survey is now under way. High up in the mountains three or four thousand feet above the waters of Powell Lake, company surveyors are busy at work measuring snow - computing its water contend and preparing accurate date on run-off for use of operating staff.

The present survey, as suggested, is the recognized modern method of obtaining accurate and reliable information on the water content of snow. Years ago the rather haphazard method of calculating by observation of the snow depth was in vogue. This does not attack the root of the problem. The apparent depth of snow has little actual relation to its water content. Hard-packed snow and powdered snow might have equal depths, but obviously they would be no accurate guide to water content.

The modern method drives core tubes into snow. The depth is taken and the water content computed. Samples are taken at different stations and the average compiled.

Powell River Digester
Vol. 13, No. 7
July, 1937.

52

Snow survey cabin
Circa 1956
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
A17-20-4

53

In this almost unknown land behind our lake system, company surveyors found mountain flowers growing in profusion. The wild rhododendron made a magnificent showing - and at 3,000 feet, quiet lakes, their surface a mass of peaceful water lilies. Here and there the blaze of the old prospector may still be seen. The panorama, says R.H. Simmonds, surveyor in charge, is beautiful beyond compare. Towering peaks and rugged ranges are visible for miles in all directions. The great snow-clad domes of Jervis Inlet appear with startling clearness - and giant Mount Waddington, 13,800 feet in height, may be seen away to the northwest. Ranges averaging from 7,000 to 9,000 feet are common. The whole picture is one of vast rugged beauty.

It is in this difficult country, with its gulleys, ravines and dangerous paths that the Powell River Company surveyors are working. It is unostentatious work - of little interest to the general public. The big machines whir their twenty-four hour shift; the waiting freighter stores the paper in its hold; electric stoves are preparing the day's meals. Life goes on. But behind, high in the clefts and glaciers, the snow survey quietly proceeds, helping to ensure the continuance of our daily existence and the output of our plant.

Powell River Digester
Vol. 13, No. 7
July, 1937.