Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Maude Vaughn

Maude and her husband, Forest; moved into Headquarters in 1939. She as PFI's first aid nurse and Forest as the foreman of the machine shop.

  Logging was still being done with horses.  There were 18 company houses and their rent was $37.50 a month including water and sewer.
Maude was on call 24 hours a day and "was always there when you needed her, whether in her bathrobe or fully dressed" said her long time friend Nelson Fenstermacher, who drove ambulance for many years.
Logging was hazardous work and Maude dealt with many kinds of injuries.  Whether it was from a chain saw or bicycle.  She said "nobody said I should treat the kids, but nobody said I shouldn't either".  "I wouldn't trade it for any thing in the world.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

George & Alice Rauch
In 1942 Howard Bardbury announced that Potlatch-at his urging-had decided to provide housing in addition to the Circle.
I was informed by Howard that our bunkhouse, a 12 x 24 foot building, would be ready so we could take advantage of the May 30 holiday to move in. We had to scramble to get furniture that we could afford and be ready. I was working at Camp 29 as a saw boss, and Albert Houde who was Camp foreman offered me his pickup for the move.
The outside water hydrant and two-hole outhouse were in place. The bunkhouse, while in place, had not been leveled. We used a stump of a tree, that was just in the right spot for a front step.
The next morning I rode the train to work, but when I arrived home that night Alice was visibly "shook up". Gunder Hagen, the bullcook had brought his crew to level the house and found a mother and two kids occupying the building. He ranted at the crew, "Gol' Dang people can't wait 'til we get done before they move in." Alice had never experienced a Norwegian "Dutch' tirade , but she had guts to retaliate with a Pennsylvania "Dutch' tirade. Gunder went to work and had the railroad ties leveled and shims under the skids. Incidentally, Alice and Gunder became best of friends.