The living pikes(gäddorna)in the zink

In the village was the main work 70 years ago the sawmillwork, there wasn't any social security, if the sawmill didn't have any timber, the workers had to go home without salary. In the winter when it was blowing hard East wind and the water was low, it was impossible to get the timber into the sawmill. No salary.
There was one job that was always payed, handyman for the sawmill manager. It was payed 125 Sek for two weeks. The manager lived in a big house with nine rooms, four toilets, one bathroom, two fireplaces, centralheating, a incredible luxury for a boy who lived in an old cowhouse with one room and kitchen together with seven others.
His work was to make fire every day 06.00, take away snow, plant poatoes ,cut grass and so on. My dad had that job, and one day he was ordered to buy two common whitefishes (sikar). He did that and left them, and the next day the Mistress was grumpy and said that they weren't fresh. Two weeks later he was ordered to buy two pikes (gäddor), he went to the same place, was on the ice with the fisherman and took them up alive and hurried back to the House. He filled water in the zinks and put the living pikes there. 15 minutes later, the Mistress told him to kill them, they had messed up the curtains so he thought that he should be fired, but she just said; Now they are fresh. He had one rule that I have tried to follow, Be in time and do your job. You can be quite free in your work and do a little as you wish without anyone interfering if the job is done in a good way. Later he got the job as sawblade sharpener, the best in Sweden. The factory, Sandvik, sent blades to him that they couldn't fix themselves. I am very proud of my father, I only wish that he had lived now to see his Great Grandson.