Columbia Communities: Camas

The women working at the Crown Willamette Paper Company's bag
factory in Camas launched the mill's first employee strike in 1914. Courtesy of the Camas-Washougal Historical Society

Women have worked at the Camas mill from its inception, but it was not until the paper bag factory opened in 1906 that a significant number of women were employed. Women in the bag factory were the first employees at the mill to go on strike. In 1914, they walked off their jobs demanding higher wages and better working conditions. After three weeks, the women strikers settled with the company for a small pay raise and ventilation improvements inside the bag factory.

Women have also worked in the mill's napkin department, the converting plant, the finishing room, and in clerical positions. But it was not until the 1940s labor shortage that employment opportunities for women expanded.

Vera Berney in 1942 in a photo taken by J.D. Zellerbach. Courtesy of the Fort Vancouver Historical Society

The company hired the first woman supervisor at the Camas mill, Vera Berney, to supervise female employees in 1941. She had previously worked as the Dean of Girls at Camas High School.

Shortly after Berney started, the United States entered World War II, and the mill hired women to fill servicemen's positions. She helped arrange a 24-hour daycare for female employees, which closed after the war ended.

Berney worked at the mill for 21 years in personnel and public relations. She married mill supervisor Vic Gault in 1960.

Newspaper articles: "Girls continue strike at Camas paper bag plant"

Division of the Sexes: Women's Work at the Camas Mill