Handley’s Mill
February 22, 2022

by Mrs. Matt Howe
Come all you young men and maidens
A tale to you I’ll tell
It was at Burnt River
A place you all know well.
There Handley’s owned a sawmill
The finest in the land
And the mend they worked through rain or shine.
For they didn’t care a damn
Jack Handley was the foreman’s name
You’d see him driving round
And when he got the least bit dry
He’d hilsen off to town.
And if perhaps when he came back
He acted sort of queer,
Don’t be alarmed, he’ll do no harm.
He’s only full of beer.
Now Cameron was the sawyer’s name
A man so tall and thin
He’d stand and saw and saw and saw
And never stop to wind.
He’d shove the lever to and fro
And make the old saw hum
And then the sawdust it did fly
You couldn’t see the sun
Now Tom Howe was the teamsters name,
A jolly sort of bum
He always got there early
For he’s always on the run.
Clive Weaver came at 8 o’clock
And you would hear Tom yell
‘You’re late again you son of a gun’
Clive answered, ‘Go to hell’.
Now Bill Brown was the straw boss
A happy sort of guy
He always had a smile for all
When he was passing by.
He kept het old mill running
And the men all liked him fine
For they never had to hurry
And he was very kind.
Now a man named Barr was canting,
Young Herman was the tail sawyer
He came from Norland town.
Now there was Duly Wilkinson
He edged the lumber right
But when young Crego came that way
They sometimes had a fight.
George Shell, he was the fireman
He kept the steam real high
And you would hear him band the door
When you were passing by.
Matt Howe was at the trimmers
He liked the job done right
He kept the lumber moving
From early morn till night.
Jim Howe was at the slab saw
He did his job real well,
Young Barkwell always helped him
You would sometimes hear them yell.
For they were always fooling
And running up and down
Just two young lads together
They live at Norland town.
George Wilkinson and Crego
They piled the lumber high
They drew it with a tractor
And the piles would reach the sky.
Now Ida was the sawyer’s wife
I stayed with her all day
We had a friend named Allie
She lived across the way.
We had good times together
And liked each other well
But the things we sometimes said and did
I wouldn’t like to tell.
I just forgot to tell you
A guy named Rollie Young
He rolled the logs up to the saw
Till every log was done
And then when pay day came around
The men they all would dash
Way down the road to Matties house
For she had all the cash.
One day the old mill had to stop
The logs had all gone through
Bill Brown he blew the whistle
Until the air was blue.
Jack Handley got a load of beer
And gave it to the men
And they drank a toast to Johnny
Until they meet again.
I saw him pass the bottles round
He loved his good old beer
And then they stood and drank it all
Till some of them felt queer.
And now my tale is ended
And I must say Adieu
I hope to see you all again
In the year of 1952.