Jessie Mazur worked as a camp cook for over five years at Edward's Lake for logger Alex Kippan. She worked hard, milking cows, preparing three meals a day for 36 men, and doing laundry. Strict rules were in place at the camp, but workers were allowed to go to town every two weeks. Jessie eventually married Tony, another worker, and Kippan accommodated the couple by providing lumber to build a home. Jessie and Tony later bought a farm, but continued working winters at the camp, where Kippan supported them with cows and their upkeep. Though the work was difficult, times were tough, and rules were strict, Jessie enjoyed the job and noted that no

1. Good Grub
Many of the young women of the Depression era worked for farmers or as
domestic servants. Jessie Mazur noted that she went to work at the age of thirteen
for a farmer and one of her duties included milking eight cows twice a day. Times
were so tough that there wasn’t enough money to buy underwear. Material from
flour sacks was used instead.
In 1937 Alex Kippan was looking for a cook at the Edward’s Lake location
and Jessie agreed to try the job for one week. She worked hard that week, noted that
there was good grub and she remained as the camp cook for over five years.
During the winter months it was extremely cold in the cook shack and it took
about two hours for the building to heat up. At 5 a.m. Jessie started a fire. After
water was set to boil she made porridge, coffee, bacon and eggs. Toast was usually
served once a week. The previous evening she set up the tables and ensured that
there was enough syrup and sugar. Along with the regular employees extra food was
also provided to farmers who came for short stints to cut logs. Their meals cost 50
cents.
At 5:45 Jessie rang the bell and soon started to dish out thirty-six bowls of
porridge. When the bell rang for the third time at 6:00 a.m. the men filed in, sat
down, ate, and then brought their dirty dishes to be washed. Breakfast was done by
7:00.
Kippan had four cows and after breakfast Jessie milked them. On her way
back from the barn she delivered milk to the ten married couples that lived at the
mill site. For the other meals Jessie was in charge of getting the vegetables, soups,
meat and bread ready for the men to eat. Her helper’s duties were to bake the
puddings and pies.
When some of the workers observed Lent, Kippan accommodated them by
providing a variety of fish. Kippan also provided an area for gardens and plot
location was determined by a draw. Mrs. Kippan was described as a wonderful
person who often ventured from her house to prepare meals for the two cooks.
There were strict rules at the mill site as there were only several single
women. For example if a man and a woman met on a path, no conversations were
allowed.
Workers were allowed to go to town only once in every two weeks. Usually
they climbed on the box of someone’s big truck and went to Dauphin on Saturdays
to the movies or to shop. If one of the cooks wanted to go to town on a different day,
an older person always accompanied them. Mrs. Kippan covered for the cook.
In 1938 Jessie married Tony Warwaruk, a man whom she met at the mill.
Kippan shut the mill down on the wedding day and everyone attended the party at
her parent’s farm near Keld. The married couple stayed full time at the mill for two
more years.
If anyone wanted to build a shack, Kippan provided the lumber and the nails.
Tony built a 12 x 16 ft. shack with a lean to. For extra income Jessie washed clothes
by hand and ironed for fifteen men. She also kept several boarders and sold milk
and cream.
In 1940, Jessie and Tony bought a farm near Sandy Lake. They came back to
the mill for two more winters. One year when Jessie returned there were no cows at

2. camp. Kippan bought her two cows and supplied the feed. He didn’t charge Jessie for
the milk as long as she fed the cows. When she left that spring, Kippan gave her two
calves.
“We worked like slaves but every two weeks we had a dance.” There was a
dance at the cook shack every second Thursday and the sawmill boys provided
music. It was especially hard on the cooks who had to be up at 5 a.m. the next
morning.
Since there were no waterworks at the camp, Jessie carried many five gallons
of swill everyday into the cold and the deep snow. “But I enjoyed it. Times were
rough but you weren’t hungry.”