Deaths & Injuries
Three people killed in the actual operation of the mill. The first accident was Joseph Nippard who was killed in 1910 while operating a clapboard machine. The end of a piece of lumber which was being made into clapboard flew back from the machine and almost decapitated him. The second death occurred on August 21, 1913 when James Hodder was shoveling sawdust into the burner chute and his sleeve caught on a protruding pin from a pulley and he was spun around several times and his arm was severed from his body along with other bodily injuries. A doctor came from Fogo but was unable to save him; he died at the age of 63. The third death occurred on July 31, 1923. Leonard Hart was in charge of a lathe machine and on the morning of the day he died he was late for work and was reprimanded by his superior. He stepped over to his mate who worked at the receiving end and said that by dinner time, they would not be able to see the heads of the men who operated another lathe machine because the pile of wood would be so high. He then, returned to his position to feed the lumber into the machine and pushed one piece through but the second piece backfired, hitting him in the stomach and he died the next day.
There were several injured or lost a limb working in the mill. Arthur Normore lost his leg sometime prior to 1915 but he continued to work for the company when he recovered. He operated the Jack-up and since this job was controlling levers on the machine which hauled the logs from the boom to the mill, he was able to continue working until he later retired. Albert Hart senior was injured by the trimming saw. His hand was almost severed but despite an operation at Twillingate Hospital he never regained use of his hand and sued the company. In 1925, Herbert Necho lost part of his right hand when he fell forward after slipping on some bark and his hand was caught in the cogs on the rollers used to take the slabs from the mill. He was given $25 to buy winter food. During the winter of 1938, his right hand caught a chill and later spread to the rest of his body. He died on July 31, 1939. In 1947, Harry Noble was working in the mill sawing up junks when one of the belts came off the pulley and he tried to replace it without shutting down the engine. His arm became entangled in the pulley and he was carried around several times before the machinery could be turned off. He received $1600 since he couldn’t work anymore.
There were several injured or lost a limb working in the mill. Arthur Normore lost his leg sometime prior to 1915 but he continued to work for the company when he recovered. He operated the Jack-up and since this job was controlling levers on the machine which hauled the logs from the boom to the mill, he was able to continue working until he later retired. Albert Hart senior was injured by the trimming saw. His hand was almost severed but despite an operation at Twillingate Hospital he never regained use of his hand and sued the company. In 1925, Herbert Necho lost part of his right hand when he fell forward after slipping on some bark and his hand was caught in the cogs on the rollers used to take the slabs from the mill. He was given $25 to buy winter food. During the winter of 1938, his right hand caught a chill and later spread to the rest of his body. He died on July 31, 1939. In 1947, Harry Noble was working in the mill sawing up junks when one of the belts came off the pulley and he tried to replace it without shutting down the engine. His arm became entangled in the pulley and he was carried around several times before the machinery could be turned off. He received $1600 since he couldn’t work anymore.