Audio
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Audio Tour – Southbound Narration #5 – Passing Jaite
Transcript
Narrator 1: We are passing through Jaite, the town that once supported the Jaite Paper Company. This company opened in 1905 and made paper for cement bags, flour bags, and potato bags. With access to the railroad for shipping, cheap land and good water, this was the ideal location in the early 1900s for the mill. The community of Jaite was a company town. The paper mill owned all the houses, the general store, and the post office. Some buildings were duplexes where families lived two to a house – one upstairs, and one downstairs. Often fathers, sons, cousins, and wives all lived and worked alongside each other. Life was governed by the sound of the factory whistle. It would blow at 5:30 in the morning to wake people up. At noon, it would blow again for lunch. At 12:30 the whistle would blow, telling everyone, “get back to work.” And at 4:30 it would blow again. Most employees didn’t wear watches, a luxury item, to work. The whistle kept time and everyone at the factory on a strict schedule.
Narrator 2: The paper mill’s gone now, but the company houses in Jaite serve as the headquarters for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. They’re painted yellow, one of the many colors they were painted when they were company homes. Next, we will be coming up to the village of Boston. It also had a papermill--the Cleveland-Akron Bag Company--that used the railway to ship its products. The company store for the papermill now houses the Boston Mill Visitor Center, the primary welcome center for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Across the river, Boston Store is open seasonally and sells beverages and ice cream. Watch for the Boston train station on the west side of the train and the high-level interstate bridges to start the next narration.
Description
This narration is part of an audio tour for riders on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Southbound Narration #5 is intended for the ride between Jaite and Boston Mill Station.
Credit
NPS
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