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For quite some time regarded as the largest town in Canada, Glace Bay grew from very modest beginnings. The coal industry, as you will notice, is a dominant element in the early shaping of Glace Bay's rich and eventful history. The coal mining industry did much to change the face of the Cape Breton region. It was the main reason for a large influx of immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The conditions that arose because of coal mining affected both the people and the environment, and the effects are still felt today. Coal mining has undoubtedly been one of the major forces responsible for the present day cultural flavor of Cape Breton. From 1857 through to recent years, coal mining was the one constant that secured Glace Bay's survival. The first mining of coal for commercial use was located on the north side of present day Glace Bay harbor. In 1863 the first mining company was formed, 'The Glace Bay Mining Co.' In its first year the harbor Pit was open. In the following year the Hub, or Back Pit was constructed, and also a railway connecting the Hub Pit to present day Glace Bay Harbour. Until now the 'harbor' was only a small brook. A dredge was built which dug itself out to the ocean and turned inland until a harbour with 22 feet of water at high tide resulted. Later the Sterling Pit was opened, located north of the Harbour Pit and west of the the Hub Pit. Two years later,in 1865, the Caledonia Mining Co. was formed and opened Caledonia Mine. They also built a railway which joined the mine and Glace Bay Harbour. The "Little Pinky", the first coal hauling engine in Glace Bay, was used a few years later. It wasn't until 1866 that Glace Bay's first post office was established, located at present day Senator's Place. In August 1877, Caledonia Mine became the first mine in the world to use the telephone to dispatch trains. Two telephones were installed to control train movement. On April 1,1890 the Dominion Coal Co. was formed, with the Glace Bay Mining Co., Caledonia Mining Co., and the International Mining Co. (located in Bridgeport and comprising largely New York interests) joining around 1893. The mining collieries operated by the Dominion Coal Co. in Glace Bay were as follows:
No. 1-B colliery (at the Phalen Seam) - 1924 to 1955 No. 2 colliery (in New Abredeen) - 1900 to 1949 No. 3 colliery (in Passchendaele) - 1900 to 1915 No. 4 colliery (in Caledonia) - 1865 to 1961 No. 7 colliery (The Hub) - 1857 to 1863, 1903 to 1918 No. 8 colliery (in Bridgeport) - 1863 to 1914 No. 9 colliery (at the Harbour Seam) - 1899 to 1924 No. 11 colliery (in Passchendaele) - 1899 to 1949 No. 20 colliery (near No. 2 and No. 4) - 1939 to ? No. 24 colliery (near Big Glace Bay Lake) - 1919 to 1953 No. 26 colliery (near No. 1-B) - 1900 to 1984
Over the years many men lost their lives in the mines. Some of the major tragedies were: ~1899-#4 mine-11 dead; ~1946-#2 mine-4 dead; ~1952-#20 mine-7 dead; ~1979-#26 mine-12 dead.
On January 18th,1901 Glace Bay was incorporated as a town. It has the distinction of being the first town in the British Empire to obtain a charter under the reign of King Edward VII. At the time of incorporation,the population was 6,945. By the 1940s, the figure exceeded 28,000 and Glace Bay became Canada's largest town. That same year,1901, saw a lot of growth in the town: ~Epworth United Church was constructed; ~The Lions Club of Glace Bay was formed; ~The Bank of Montreal, Glace Bay branch opened for business; ~St. Mary's Anglican Parish first became its' own legal entity; ~The Congregation Sons of Israel received its corporate charter, under the original name "The Sons of Israel Society of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia"; and ~The Glace Bay Fire Department was created.
It wasn't until March 9,1919, when the Glace Bay Council of the Knights of Columbus was instituted, that the Glace Bay Fire Dept. obtained its first motor truck.
1902 Also saw its share of excitement: St. Joseph's Hospital first opened as did the Salvation Army Citadel.
On March 3,1902 Guglielmo Marconi picked Table Head, Glace Bay as the site for his wireless telegraph station. On December 12,1902 Guglielmo Marconi receives three weak signals (an 'S' in MORSE code), which was the first telegraph message to cross an ocean.
It wasn't until 1905 the Glace Bay Police Force was founded, consisting of ten men.
The area experienced exceptionally high growth rates between 1891 and 1911, with the immigrant population reaching 60% in some Cape Breton towns. In 1910, 52.5% of Glace Bay's population and 51.6% of Sydney Mines people had arrived in the last 10 years. By 1911, the immigrant population had obviously settled into family life, as 79.1% of the people in Glace Bay and 69.7% in Sydney Mines were Canadian born. Although immigration had slowed, the coal industry was still a big employer, and would be for many years to come. In 1930, 61% of Glace Bay's male population still worked in the coal mines and related industries.
The last mine to operate in Glace Bay, Number 26, was closed after 84 years of service following a fire in 1984.
The coal mines created a boomtown in Glace Bay and saw the community grow in size and population. In its heyday, the town had 12 collieries. Today it has none. The population has decreased to just over 19,000 but Glace Bay remains Nova Scotia's fourth largest urban area and the largest town in Atlantic Canada.
Glace Bay natives have proven themselves in a variety of endeavors beyond the borders of Cape Breton Island. ~Daniel Petrie, born in Glace Bay, has directed countless television shows and Hollywood movies including, "A Soldier's Story", "Fort Apache, The Bronx," with Paul Newman, "Resurrection" with Ellen Burstyn, and "A Raisin in the Sun" with Sidney Portier.
~Hugh MacLennan, best selling Canadian author, was born in Glace Bay.
~"The Men of the Deeps," North America's only coal miners choir, was formed in Glace Bay in 1966 and performs concerts at both the Miners' Museum and the Savoy Theater. The Savoy itself is a 1927 former movie house refurbished as a stylish performance center. The Savoy presents a summer program of music and theater called "Festival on the Bay."
Glace Bay also has an active fishing fleet and the picturesque harbour extends all the way to the bridge on Commercial Street, the main downtown shopping district. The harbor is fed by Renwick Brook where a park with picnic tables, benches and walking trails has been developed.
Not far away is Cameron Bowl, a baseball diamond and home to the Glace Bay Colonels. The Colonels have played for the Canadian Little League Championship three times, winning the title in 1987 and 1988.
On the outskirts of town is Big Glace Bay Lake, a wildlife sanctuary that protects migrating waterfowl.
The people of Glace Bay, and indeed all of Cape Breton, are a breed apart. Nowhere is there a more social and spirited people. Though poverty and all kinds of adversity have been common threads running through their lives, Cape Bretoners worked extremely hard and played even harder. They are passionate about their leisure time, sustaining themselves through a strong, vigorous cultural heritage built on religion, music, song and story. For Cape Bretoners, a communal people in whom the spirit of hospitality is deeply ingrained, "What's mine is yours!" is not just a quaint saying but has always been a way of life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? by Archie Kennedy Sunday, Jun. 05, 2005 at 7:13 PM akenn100@hotmail.com
In Cape Breton, June 11 is a holiday - a day of reflection on what happened in New Waterford in 1925. Unfortunately, what happened then happens today on a much larger scale.
June 11 is a little known holiday in the mining towns of Cape Breton. In these towns it is known as Davis Day. Here, there is a history of conflict between miners and the coal company. The coal company enjoyed complete and unquestioned support from the Canadian state and the Prime Minister, a slave to the crystal ball named MacKenzie King. This local history is rife with revolutionary passion and bloody struggles between miners, steelworkers and capitalist tyranny. It is a history that is sufficiently shameful that few, if any, students have learned about it in school. This history is spelled out in the town square of the town of New Waterford under the title, “Standing the Gaff”, and under a statue of a man named William Davis. This title is a defiant reference to a comment made by mine vice president, J.E. McLurg, and is often attributed to his boss, BESCO President Roy Wolvin, known locally as Roy the Wolf. He said of the striking miners, “They won’t stand the gaff”.
He was referring of course, to starvation.
The reason for the holiday is because William Davis was one of three coal miners that was shot on June 11, 1925 at New Waterford Lake by a gang of goons/company police. William Davis died of his wounds. This ‘police’ force was supported by and worked with the Canadian military.
In the 1920’s the miners went on strike as a result of wage cuts. The mine owners had cut their meager wages. Before the cuts, 90% of wages went to food and rent for the average miner and datal employees spent more on food and rent than they earned.
During the strikes the Canadian military were dispatched to Cape Breton equipped with guns, bayonets and machine guns. On June 11, 1925, miners decided to reconnect power to the town from the power plant. In the neighbouring town, Glace Bay, the soldiers placed a machine gun on the steps of a church and defied the miners of Glace Bay to cross a line. The miners from Glace Bay were marching to help their brothers in New Waterford.
These sadistic goons routinely rode on horseback through the streets of New Waterford terrorizing the people. Most of these goons were recruited from outside of Cape Breton where the ideological bent and character of the people was less militant. These paid goons were beholden to their bosses who wanted the power and water cut off to the people of the New Waterford area. They had to take on the miners and Cape Bretoners being what they are, soon had the quisling company goons terrified. They began to panic and in the violence, they began shooting, jumping in New Waterford Lake and trying to escape on horseback. Many of these cowards were pulled off the horses and beaten by the miners. A local priest had to intervene to save the life of one of these men who was in the hands of the miners.
The miners were understandably angry. The company controlled their water and had cut the supply. They were there to take back the water and to take back the electricity to make life somewhat less unbearable than it had been for them and their families.
The leader of the union was a native of Scotland who had been politically seasoned in his native land. His name was J.B. McLaughlin. McLaughlin was a fiery leader who understood the nature of capitalism. He had gained a good deal of his education from the brutality he had witnessed before he had come to Canada.
McLaughlin was eventually thrown into the penitentiary for reporting on an incident he witnessed in nearby Whitney Pier where he watched the soldiers beat women and men in the streets. The Steel Workers there were on strike against the same ruthless privateers that owned and ruled the industry and the people of Cape Breton Island. He was convicted on trumped up charges of seditious libel and sentenced to two years in the penitentiary. The real reason for his imprisonment was that he represented a threat to not only the mine owners, but to the capitalist system in Canada. They were afraid that he would become an MP (a member of Parliament). McLaughlin said, "Under capitalism the working class has but two courses to follow: crawl – or fight."
A significant part of this history was the power of the Company Store and the control that it had won for the owners (Besco) - over the miners. Many contemporary Cape Bretoners grew up in company houses and back in the day, the miners owed their wages, and as the song says, their souls, to the Company Store. They would work all week in the dangerous coal mines deep beneath the ocean and at the end of the week the company would "check off" all that was owed. The miners often had little or nothing to show for their work because they were so hopelessly indebted to the company. The company controlled everything. The check off deducted medical bills, water, rent, food, the tools the miners needed to do their jobs; pretty much all the necessities of life. The company however did not gain control over the air the people had to breathe but the steel plant was and still is responsible for Cape Bretoners having the highest cancer rates in Canada.
Miners burned company coal to heat their company homes. They clothed their children and bought their food at the company store. They drank company water and used company electricity.
The struggles in Cape Breton against capitalist tyranny were struggles for basic subsistence and human dignity.The essential problem was that the capitalists had control of everything.
Now Paul Wolfowitz is president of the World Bank. The World Bank and the IMF operate in essentially the same way as the company store did. If you want to understand what's going on in the world today, ask a Cape Bretoner - preferably an old one, about the Company Store. What the neo-cons are doing to the working classes and the poor in the world has been done to Cape Bretoners a few generations ago.
Paul Wolfowitz is in charge of economic policy for about one hundred countries that are struggling to survive economically. His right wing neo con policies have proven to be disastrous for the working class and their methods of strangulation are similar to the old company store on Cape Breton Island. Essentially the idea is to take control of the vital necessities of life and force the people into wage slavery to pay for them. The World Bank has pushed hard for privatization, even of the water, and Wolfowitz presided over the most extreme privatization binge in history in the embattled and now destroyed nation of Iraq. This neo con tyranny is a very real crisis for the poor and the workers of countries under the rule of the World Bank. The World Bank will put an extra strong effort into modernizing developing countries through what they will call free market policies (which in fact are always controlled) and they will privatize the water, the medicine, the electricity - everything. The air may remain free but it will be deadly if the neo cons have their way.
The history of Cape Breton Island as well as many other oppressed regions of the world should not be hidden from school children. It is a history that repeats itself and a history that will continue to repeat itself until we have the courage to put a stop to it. The marriage of the capitalist state to private capital is far more complete now in 2006 than it was in 1925.
Unfortunately, the mindset and the mass media fall heavily under the spell of the wolves that prey upon the innocent. Roy the Wolf terrorized Cape Bretoners in the 1920's and now Paul the Wolf is doing the same thing on a much larger scale.
It is up to the contributors to Indymedia, Usenet, and the internet in general to present the truth to those that have not heard it. The wolves do not have control of it, at least not yet.
We have a lot of work to do.
***************************************************************************************** "I believe in education for action. I believe in telling children the truth about the history of the world, that it does not consist of the history of kings, or lords or cabinets. It consists of the history of the mass of the workers, a thing that is not taught in the schools. I believe in telling children how to measure value, a thing that is not taught in any school." --J.B. McLachlan
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