Why sawdust dealers?
Sawdust was still being used to sprinkle on the floors of butcher shops in the 1960s. Anywhere where there was likely to be spillages, such as pubs, would use it as it soaked up liquids and unpleasant things like blood and spit.
Again in the 1960s, no school caretaker would be without a bucket of sawdust as a first response to a child 'throwing up' on the floor.