WILLOW CREEK — Stu Peller, the general manager of Willow Creek Custom Flooring, spent 42 years at the mill, starting as a green sander operator and working his way up. Now he’s sharing those memories with visitors in a weekly storytelling series at The Dry Dock.
Peller’s “Mill Talks,” held every Thursday evening at 7 p.m., draw a mix of former mill workers, curious locals, and tourists interested in the region’s industrial heritage. The talks cover topics ranging from the 1978 fire that nearly destroyed the mill to the way lumber was graded and stacked before computers took over.
“People come through town and see the mill buildings and the boarding houses, but they don’t know what happened inside them,” Peller said. “I tell ‘em about the sawdust in your socks, the whistle at noon, the way every board told you something about the tree it came from.”
Dean Moreau, who serves fish chowder and coffee during the talks, said attendance has grown from a handful of regulars to as many as 25 people on summer evenings. The talks are free, though donations are accepted for the Willow Creek Historical Society.
Peller said he plans to continue the series through October and may record the sessions for the library archives.