They Sawed up a Storm: The WWII Women Workers of Turkey Pond Salvage Sawmill
Hey Paulies – welcome back to Millville! We hope you had a fun and restful spring break!
Speaking of Millville, next time you are in the library, be sure to visit our photo exhibit, They Sawed up a Storm: The WWII Women Workers of Turkey Pond Salvage Sawmill, which is on display in Room 205 (just off Baker Reading Room) through the end of April. This exhibit features photographs of the woman workers at the U.S. Forest Service timber salvage sawmill on Turkey Pond in June of 1943. Following a devastating hurricane that hit New England in 1938, the downed trees were hauled to Turkey Pond for preservation and then salvaged at the nation’s first female operated sawmill. Ever noticed Turkey Pond’s brownish hue? It is due to the tannins from the pine trees which are still resting at the bottom of the pond today.
Cover photo: “Florence Drouin and Mrs. Elizabeth Esty, pond women, use regular logging pikes to bring the logs into place on the slip.” All photos in the exhibit are made possible by the Library of Congress: check out the rest HERE.
Interested in learning more? Scroll through this great list of titles about the history of women, work, and war.
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