My father came to Millertown in the early 1900s. He walked many miles to get to the woods where they harvested wood for the Grand Falls paper mill. He had to cut boughs, which served as a mattress. He later got to work in town, hauling coal to approximately 60 homes and businesses. Half-ton box cart in the summer, a sled in the winter - shovel in and shovel out. One day this former Newfoundlander walked by on his way to the lake, to skate. He said, "Come on, Uncle Jim, I'll teach you how to skate." My father said, "Come in here and I'll teach you how to shovel coal." Now there were a few jobs in Millertown. My father's part-time job was most unique. In the summer, around 10 p.m., he would hitch up his trusted Bronc to the box cart. It contained a large barrel we called a puncheon. He would go from outhouse to outhouse, lift up the flap at the rear, take out most times two 15-gallon heavy round galvanized containers, strain them and empty the remainder into the heavy puncheon. He was only 160 lbs or so. He would then take the puncheon back to the dump and dump it down a sump hole. My brother Angus, at the age of 12, used to sit on the shaft and hold the lantern. He dozed off once or twice, and dropped the lantern under the wheels. He said a couple of snooty women (yes, we had them back then) would walk by holding their noses. I guess they didn't like that special aroma that would waft from the puncheon. My dad was taking the cart to the dump by himself one night. He said he saw a man standing by the neck of the horse. He did his thing, took the horse to the barn, walked home, got inside the door, and started shaking and sweating. In the wintertime, they picked crates, replaced them with a fresh one (er, I mean an empty one). They didn't smell as bad; they were frozen. They would stack the full ones at the dump. Angus got 10¢ a crate in the summertime. I tell you, it's a part-time the kids in Toronto would kill for today. Angus said our older brother Edgar, when his turn came, would run and hide. He never ran and hid after he arrived in Toronto. He worked approximately 40 years with the city. Most of this time, he chauffeured mayors and councillors. Mayor Lamport called him Fast Eddy, because when something needed to be done, Edgar got it done. Ron will verify this: he'd borrow the van from City Hall and deliver the Downhomer. He'd give a copy to every homesick Newfoundlander he met, or anyone else that was interested. In the mid-90s, I was cold-calling near Bowmanville. I met a woman who worked at City Hall. She said she knew him, and he brought her a Downhomer when it came out. He spent most of his time raising money for the Lion's Club, and probably others. He played Santa Claus every year at various functions, rounding up kids to show them Christmas decorations. He won lots of awards and recognition for his efforts, but he always made sure the right people got their recognition.   Submitted By: NULL