Chapter 5
No Ham, No Bonus, No Jobs
announced the December 6 headlines of the Fries Wildcat Spirit Weekly.
No one could remember any year in which the Mill had not paid a bonus or given a Christmas ham. The employees realized it was a gift, but it had grown to be expected and needed. If the mill had given some advanced notice, they could have been better prepared.
About half of the eight hundred Mill employees lived in the town. The rest lived in the surrounding communities, bearing such names as Eagle Bottom, Stevens Creek, Providence, Hawkstown, Hilltown, Windytown, Brush Creek, Cripple Creek and Ivanhoe. Those had to drive to work, or take the Mill Bus, but they also usually had homes sitting on an acre or more of land. This enabled them to put out large gardens that not only suppli
