Milling

Lineshaft, Waterloo, Ontario; circa 1880-1890; 84.41.1.
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In the mill, the grain kernels were ground into meal to expose starch particles. Working in the mill was a dusty job, and "millers' asthma" was a common affliction for the workers. The miller had to ensure that the grain was ground to the correct size and uniformity. Donald Clayfield, miller at the Waterloo distillery from 1948 to 1957, recalled that the grain "was ground to the correct specification [and] we had to take samples down to the lab every day and they'd say if it was too fine or too coarse. If it was too fine, then we'd have to set the mills a little further apart and grind a little bit coarser." Once it was ground, the meal was transported to a large tank, known as the mash tun, for cooking. "[After] we had ... the dry grain all broken up, ... they [would] call for it down on the next floor to be cooked. They'd ring two or three bells, whatever they wanted, the malt or the main corn. Then you dropped [the grain] down. Then you had to get a government officer over to check the weight out to make sure it was right."