NEIL MACDONALD’S MILL

Neil MacDonald was born in Mt. Royal in 1884, son of John and Maury (Gillis) MacDonald. In 1906 he came to O’Leary. Being a versa- tile person, he did many different types of work. He was a cheese maker, a butter maker, and a contractor. He moved many buildings, and owned and operated a saw mill for many years. Neil was a skilled workman who aimed at perfection no matter what the task - a master workman. In 1921, Neil bought Russell Webb’s mill and moved it behind his (Neil’s) house next door to what is presently McKenna's Furniture. After this building burned in 1926, Neil constructed a sec- ond mill - a two-storey structure, 32’ by 50’, across the street from the present Valu-Mart. This mill was first powered by a stationary engine - a six horse- power International. Later, a tractor engine was, and still is used. The mill] equipment includes saw table, surface planer, tenoning machine, morticing machine, sharper, bandsaw, matcher, and joint- er. With the exception of doors and windows, made by Neil's broth- ,er, Alex, most of the work done at the mill over the years has been custom work.

Since Neil’s death in 1957, his son, Roger, has owned and operat- ed the business.

A few prices of lumber taken from a 1913 price list: 1 piece of lumber 8" X 10" X 36’ sold for $8.22; 100 sq. feet yellow pine ceiling sold for $1.50 - $2.65; 100 ft. quarter round sold for $0.26.

Neil MacDonald: house and sawmill.

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