Cape Breton's Magazine

wanted anything, where I was, we pretty well got it. Because it was harder to bring a girl in and train her in our posi? tion than it was to bring a girl in and train her to put a screw down in one lit? tle spot. It took a good month's training before you could actually sit there on your own and do these tuners. There were a lot of different little ideas, little cores--you had to know, before you could actually sit there and do as many tuners as you should. You know, it was a slow process at first. Gee, sometimes it would take you an hour to do one tuner when you first started out. There were a lot of little things you had to understand at first. Of course, to me now, it seems silly, because I did it so long, and so many, that I can't under? stand how someone could come in and, you know. I'd be sitting there training a girl, and I'd say, "Oh, my God, this girl is stupid." But then when you look back, you were the same way. I'm doing this for 5 years. I mean, I can whip through that like it was nothing. But you take someone in off the street and try training them, I guess it's the same with any job.... (Why do you think that they hired mostly women to do this work, when you look back on it?) I don't know. I'd say that women were more--especially, they wanted more married women than single, because married women are more dependable. They're not out on Friday night having a good time, and can't show up for work. I guess because with men, too, maybe it was the wages. You take a married man, supporting a wife and two kids--they need more money than a married woman whose hus? band's working, and is just out for--to help make ends meet-- sort of thing. So I'd say a lot of it was due to that. And then again, a lot of women, to sit down and do the piddley little things--men just weren't --you know, they didn't have the patience to sit there, all 8 hours a day, and do the same thing for 8 hours. Women are more able, have got more pa- tience. Because they look after kids. But they do. Women have more patience, to sit down. I could not imagine my husband sit? ting down in a line all day, and doing the same little thing all day long. Because he just couldn't sit there. (The women didn't find it a hardship?) No. No. I don't know, maybe today a lot of people say women complain more than men. But they don't. You look at a plant, you take a lot of plants where there's more men working than women. There's a heck of a lot more disputes, than with a bunch of women together. There's a heck of a lot more fights. (Why do you think that is?) Men don't have the patience that a woman does have. A woman can take a lot more than a man, I find. Now, most of the men that worked there, they were going and bringing in heavy box? es of--like, this one was on screws--they brought in a big case like this, carrying, you know. Mostly carrying. And then driv? ing the forklifts. And bringing the stuff out and putting them on the trucks, and stuff like that. (Women never did this?) Ocean 'entateltd. Lawn & Garden Equipment Tillers Sod Cutters Air Eators GLACE BAY South (Campbells Comer) • General Engine Hoists Jacks Tow Bars 849-1616 P.O. Box265 Much More... rOSlSr S Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia Z' We're MacLeod-Lorway Insiurance / CALL US NOW and discover why more Cape Breton residents are insured through MacLeod-Lorway than any other independent agency. We represent more than half of Canada's leading insurance companies. Call or visit 215 Charlotte St. one of our 12 licensed agents for prepurchase counselling. P.O. Box 1354 MacLeod-Lorway offers personal and commercial lines including home owners and Sydney, N.S. tenants packages and mobile home, travel, auto, builder's risk, commercial fire, crime, B1P 6K3 commercial liability, madne, bonding, business interruption and boiler and machinery. .... 539-4064 24 hour phone - call collect 539-6666