Well, our house was a first-aid station when there were any accidents in the mill. My mother and I were there. I’m like the old Dutchman who said, “It come natural to me.” My mother, she was a practical nurse and [I learned] a lot of it by experience. You think I’m lying, but them times it had to be done and you did it.”

Course, I’m not doing it anymore... Once they started going to the hospitals and my mother got sick I had to give up all that work. And wartime [World War II] came and, of course, it emptied the mill of young people. We were running on very short [supply]. We were just running the rotary and a few things ’cause most of the boys went overseas.

My own son went [overseas], and just shortly before he went the mill was burned. There was 40 or 50,000 dollars went with it. I don’t know [how]; it just happened. There’s just a small building there now where the mill used to be... . It was quite a loss.

Something woke me up — I think it was an explosion. I sat up in bed, and looked around, and I saw this glow on my window. I got up and went to the window, and there was the mill with fire coming out the eaves. I had a visitor from Boston and I woke her up..., and woke my daughter and her cousin up, and then I went and woke Dan. My mother was there, too, and I told her to get up and dress, and I went and got the stuff out. I was sure the house would go, too, you know.

The hired man and my nephew and Dan went down to the sawmill...but there was no saving it. It was too far advanced. The strange part of it, it was going at both ends at the same time.

So we felt bad... . Well, you ’ve got to accept things as they come, the best

you can.

98 BELFAST PEOPLE