beech weighs from 150 to 200 pounds, and a 5x22x9 

 foot road plank of the same material weighs well over 

 MOO pounds, it can be seen that a little skill is needed 

 1o handle them without disaster. They would often be 

 piled up on the skids behind the resaw to a height of 

 5 or () feet. I juggled cross ties at this position for some 

 five months and can swear to the aforementioned 

 weights. They are too conservative if anything. 



The slats were bundled with hay wire into bund- 

 les of 100 and allowed to accumulate until there 

 were orders for a carload or two. The cross ties 

 were shipped as fast as produced. The stevedore 

 crew loaded them on railway cars at the depot. 

 Sometimes the stevedores worked nights if there 

 were no trucks or teams available for hauling in 

 the day time, and sometimes they worked day and 

 night both if they got behind. We had a very small 

 mill yard and it would be filled in three days if the 

 products were not shipped. Slabs in excess of what 

 was needed for the boiler and kitchen were also 

 shipped to hospitals, etc., for fuel. The saw dust 

 was used for bedding in the stables. 



The quality of the materials produced varied 

 from good to awful. The " awful" grade was 

 especially noticeable in the last few hours out- 

 put ul' the night shift. However, a high official 'of 

 the regiment told "Pat" and me that we were 

 wasting time and effort trying to produce fancy 

 looking eross ties. I should like to see his idea of 

 a cull. 



The French owner of the mill had be6n producing 

 some .")()() to 800 feet a day of lumber with the mill 



5 



