No Coal For Vermilion

As winter began in November 1911, the residents of Vermilion were doing their best to stay warm.

For the first two weeks of the month, the temperature was below -20 degrees Celsius. To make things worse, all that cold water was leaving coal in very short supply.

So many people were buying up coal that the reserves were nearly empty and residents were looking for other ways to heat their homes.

That was good news for some businesses in Vermilion. The Hayward Lumber Company, one of the largest employers in the area, was selling a lot of wood. Residents were buying the wood to heat their homes.

Due to the cold weather, and since wood burns a lot faster than coal, even the lumber reserves in Vermilion were starting to run a bit dry.

According to the company, there were so many orders in place that the waiting list was several days long. If someone put in an order for wood on a Monday, they were not getting what they bought until the Friday.

That made for a very cold week for many people in Vermilion.

The thing was there was lots of wood in the district. Many farmers were keeping warm by harvesting the wood on their land, but residents inside Vermilion couldn’t do that. The lumber companies and others could only get wood off land that was not owned by anyone. It meant a lot of work for the lumber crews of the area.

Meanwhile, everyone was watching the trains to see when new loads of coal were going to come into the community.

Despite the worry, it was generally believed that there was still enough coal and wood to prevent any true suffering in the community.

The district also ensured there was extra wood just in case it was needed by residents if things became too dire.

Thankfully, by the middle of the month, coal shipments were arriving and residents were enjoying warm homes once again.

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