Cape Breton's Magazine

John Joseph Gillis, Cook: If they did talk at the tables, the foreman either stopped them or I walked out. Really the important man for the working man was the fella that filled his stomach. And I knew some cooks there that was a cross as hell. But they were good and everybody put up with them. What's the good of having a nice fel-. la if you get raw biscuit? When you went in there you had to be the boss. There was no talk at the table. Absolute silence. Well, the reason for that was, everybody start talking and the fellows watching the tables • cookees as they called them • wasn't watching what was in the dishes. When everything was quiet they paid strict attention to their work. And another thing, you had to get them in there on time in the morning. If you didn't, some of them 'ere coming in all morning. You just could? n't run the place. Wake them 5:30, half hour before brealffast. I was up at four. Beans • oatmeal and beans • the standard morning breakfast. And hot biscuit. And do- nuts. And I'd make a cup of tea for 60, sometimes 75 men at one time, I've made as high as 120 on river drives. You fed them four times a day on river drives. For breakfast: applesauce, prunes, stuff like that. No such a thing as oranges or bana? nas. Apples came as dried apples in 50 pound boxes. Pared and dried. Most of them carried lunch outside. Pack lunch. Usually cold meats, different kinds of sweets. Some of them would prefer to take beans to the woods. They made their own tea. They took enough • if they wanted to eat 3 or 4 times a day, well that was up to them. Dinner was generally roast beef, roast pork, mostly corned beef in the summertime. Came in in barrels and barrels. Once in a while tney'd try to get in a feed of fresh beef but there were no facilities to keep it. They grew a lot of their own pork too. Probably each camp would have 8 or 10 pigs. And they kept farms for vegetables. Moore's Electric Co. Ltd. GENERAL ELECTRIC Appliances for Better Living 67 Stanley St & Commercial St Phone 794-4707 Phone 794-3711 NORTH SYDNEY PHARMACY ONE STOP SH0PPIN3 for Health & Beauty Operated by Mansons Over 70 Years of Service 564-8151 INFORMATION MON. thru FRI. Vaughan Desjardins TRAVEL ON MON. thru FRI. 4:00 to 6:00 PM MORNING 6:30 to 9:00 AM Brian Sutcliffe ISLAND ECHOES CBI SAT. AM 8:20 to 9:00 John Cable • .-Jfc Glen Bilawey j'H'H'''I CAFB BRETON'S MAGAZINS/4 RADIO 1140 On Your Dial RADIO NOON MON. thru FRI. 12 to 12:30 PM NIGHT SHIFT SUN. thru THURS. 12:15 to 1:00 AM Rosemary Hutchison Ted Wood