features

pine's grain is too open for furniture.
People want a knotty product
and you had to buy the best
available pine. Youcan buy pine
locally, but it's often stored in an
outside warehouse and the
moisture content can be 10or 12
per cent, which is too high to use.
It's no problem to get any kind of
wood, but it has to be kiln-dried
down to six or eight per cent
moisture. Youcan't just cut your
wood and then plane it. It has to
be air-dried, steamed, or kilndried
and then planed to be consistent.
I've tried the local wood
for roof trusses and it just doesn't
work out. We have hardwood on
the shelves for a year before it's
used.
"The type of furniture we used
to make was colonial with fancy
carving and lathe work. You get
a better price for that kind of furniture
which needs a lot more
manual work on the same
amount of wood. We don't normally
work with veneers, it's all
solid wood. You can't compete
with department stores, but pe0ple
want locally made furniture
custom-built to fit in a particular
place. Nobodycomes here tosave
money, but people appreciate the
quality and likesolid bottoms and
dovetail joints in the drawers.
They're prepared to pay for
that."
NowRoyhas expanded into different
types of work.
"We're into three separate
businesses: roof trusses, signs
and woodworking," he tells us.
"Generally speaking, summer is
the best time for roof trusses,
signs are more of a fall to
Deer Lake
A new track to follow
"Istarted with the Newfound- meant calling up the crews for
land Railway in 1942, but any extra trains as soon as there
J didn't become permanent until were enough freight cars to make
1944,"says Charlie McCarthy, 58, up a train starting out from the
of Deer Lake. "My first job dur- terminal at Humbennouth. I was
ing the summer vacation from with the railway when the base
school was as a callboy. That was being constructed at
DECKS AWASH - 31
Roy Whalen In front of hIS cttce mural
Christmas thing, and January is roof trussing goes. I find I use my
the best time to do furniture and engineering abilities 10times as
take a holiday or go to a building much as when I was employed as
convention. This'll never give the an engineer- I couldn't see doing
same money,but I'm getting a lot the technical end of the trusses
more out of it. Since Istarted here without the education. NowI can
I haven't had to go to Canada make use of my engineering
Manpowerto lookfor another job. training and put my ov..n stamp
"It wasn't long after I started in on my work. There's a fair bit of
1978 before I bought equipment mind work involved, more than
for sign-making and sign- people think."
painting. When the original Royis quick toacknowledgethe
owner left I'd learnt enough to role his wife has played.
continue the work myself. Nowwe "Realistically it would be imdo
all the Browning Harvey Pep- possible to start a business of this
si signs from S1.Anthony to Port size without my wifeworking,"he
aux Basques. Service is as impor- admits. "Youcan't make enough
tant as price, and the business is to pay things off as quickly as
steady each year. Weget our sign people think. Right nowyou're exbusiness
from brokerage firms on peeled to pay income tax on stock
the mainland; that's how most of as if it was cash, which makes it
the work is done. Perhaps 70per tough to get ahead. Youcan't excent
of the sign business in ist without the stock and it's hard
Canada is handled through five to make a living the first few
companies. years. Now we've acquired
"The education I got in enough to be able to bring in a Jltengineering
paid off as far as the tie money each year." m
Stephenville and at that time
there could be as many as seven
or eight trains a day moving to
Pcrt-aux-Basques to drop of! supplies
at Stephenville Crossing."
At that time employees like
Charlie McCarthy played a very