The Mill whistle 
 beckons the worker
  tantalizing, taunting
  the sleep of
  wives (children)
 men
   calling them to
  mass production.

The telephone jangles
 midwinter
 midnight

freezing
 the man dresses
the wife 
 absents her bed
packs his food in enameled covered dishes
in a basket.
(other baskets like this have gone on picnics).
The mill,
(after cooking the men),
 provides a stove
 for reheating
her prepared midnight libation in enameled dishes.
 

The crusader of industry
    places his hand
 on the three foot 
 pipe wrench
laying a shoulder
 into the cloud 
 of oven hot steam and sulphite
   prepares to battle
 with paper machine No. 2.

Tiny, dwarfed, he
 stands, works, walks 
the steam-powered monstrous machine
 who eats men better than the biblical fish
 electrifies their silhouette with 420 volts 
 spews gases into their lungs
 belches firewater like hell over gears and gauges
Deifying itself.

Claiming the souls of the damned
 wrenching, contorting
  their earthly bodies
bathing them in a baptismal sweat
Releasing the men to the morning air
 ghost-walkers
  dedicated to so many pounds
   of steam
   under pressure. 

Rhea Côté Robbins
 

Legend of Sheets below:
DATE, PM NO.,  MACH NO, OWNER, KIND, HAND,  WIRE WIDTH, WIRE LENGTH, NO. PRESS, DRYERS NO.AND DIA., CAL. NO. & DIA, DRIVE:

PUSEY JONES SHEET 2, MAY 1888 TO MAY 1894 (RETABLED 02/20/99)
Paper Machine No. 1 & No. 2. purchased from Pusey & Jones:
MAR 1892  127  1  HOLLINGSWORTH & WHITNEY CO., WINSLOW, ME  FOURD  R  134  60-0  3  34-48  1-7, 1-9  CONE PUL 
MAR 1892  128  2  HOLLINGSWORTH & WHITNEY CO., WINSLOW, ME  FOURD  L  134  60-0  3  34-48  1-7, 1-9  CONE PUL 

PUSEY JONES SHEET 5, JUNE 1909 TO MAY 1916 (RETABLED 02/24/99)
Paper Machine No. 5
FEB 1913  1247  5  HOLLINGSWORTH & WHITNEY, WATERVILLE, ME  FOURD  L  134  60  2  33-48  1-7. 2-9  CONE
JAN 1916  1327  2  HOLLINGSWORTH & WHITNEY, WATERVILLE, ME  FOURD  R  132.5  60  3  39-48  1-7, 2-9  CONE

Employee Number 307
Hired:  February 10, 1935
Retired: (early) August 1, 1973
Seniority date: April 1, 1948
Maintenance Permanent Class "AA" piper: December 1, 1958
Pipe Shop Permanent Class "AAA" piper, promotion: May 30, 1960.

Scott Paper introduces "Thirsty Fibre." Creative minds were put to work to come up with a catchy title for a 1921 commercial motion picture portraying the entire process of ScotTissue towel manufacturing. The discussion evolved into looking closely at the towels themselves. People noticed the knit of the paper, its cross-weave. Finally, someone said "it's the fibres, they're..." Before the person finished the sentence a chorus rang out, "They're thirsty!" Out of this meeting came the idea of "Thirsty Fibre" and the film was titled "The Absorbing Story of Thirsty Fibre."
Taken from: Kimberly-Clark About Us : History : 1872 Through Today : 1921-1979
http://www.kimberly-clark.com/aboutus/history.aspx