The Shingle Mill Accident That Shook Lynden
After a local mill worker suffered a permanent injury, the community and an official inspector weigh in on industrial safety.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
After the accident at Waple's shingle mill last week by which Ward Staight lost three fingers of his right hand, the works were closed down until an inspector arrived. The inspector investigated the plant and relieves the management of any blame for the accident. The unfortunate workman hurried to the saw and missed the trip lever with his foot, falling with his hand on the saw. In arrangement of the saw the inspector found no fault and says that the accident could not have been avoided. C. H. Holmes, the manager, has operated the mill for four years and this was his first serious accident. There isn't a shingle mill in Whatcom County that is as safe to workmen, and the record proves it.
“The inspector investigated the plant and relieves the management of any blame for the accident.”
Workplace injuries in the Pacific Northwest's booming timber industry were a constant, harrowing reality at the turn of the century. Today, this account highlights the persistent tension between industrial productivity and the evolution of modern OSHA safety standards that began in the wake of such tragedies.
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