Dr.P. Pandia

Creator: Sharma, Hari

1984-07-10

In the 1930s during the Depression most of the mills stopped working. There was no work for three years. Many people went back to India and some people sent their families back. Since so many people were without work they decided to try re-opening a mill collectively. With a lot of hard work they did manage to establish the Mayo saw mill. This was opposed by the earlier owners but they fought for it and were successful in running the mill. The work shift was from 7 am to 11 pm. Manhas used to see his father on Sundays only. This mill lasted for long time. In 1933 a person from England started a mill but only paid 10¢ an hour. People came to work in that mill by walking 3 miles each way. After the world war there was no dearth of work. The demand for workers increased and people were hired as soon as they landed at the port. The union became very strong in 1952. He tried many times to start a mill but never succeeded. He bought a truck on installments and started a trucking business for wood. He was married in 1946 in India and worked as civilian clerk attached to the military in India. In 1949 his wife came for the first time by airplane. It cost $1200. To come by ship the fare was $600. In BC there were about 2,000 families of Indian people. An Indian person opened a grocery store but it didn't last. Two famous saw mills run by Indian people were the Mayo and Kapoor saw mills. Many other people started mills and other businesses but failed. In Kamloops and Kelowna Indian families had farms. Indian women didn't take jobs; they looked after their children and home. In 1956 he made up his mind to purchase a house and to settle here permanently. His children were are born in Canada but he never had any problems with his children. One of his children married a non-Indian person.

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