Prologue
If everyone grew up in a mining town, the world could be a better place.
What a cloistered existence. The communities were owned and operated by the Mining company. Houses were offered in 3 styles and sizes only, depending on how big the family. The town Doctor was hired by the mine, given a house & an office and then subsidized by the mine employees. Being the only Doctor in town gave them unique experience- Imagine delivering babies, prescribing diet pills and responding to mining accidents!
People from all over the world came to mining towns. They spoke many different languages and were all colours. They were engineers, teachers and labourers. They left their customs & culture behind them and readily adopted this new life. Money was the common denominator, everyone made enough to buy whatever there was to buy, and when there was a party or social event, everyone was invited. What you did for a living was never discussed- The entire population of the town worked for the same employer and had much the same lifestyle.
I was sixteen years old before I really understood that some people in the world didn’t get along because of their colour or their background or their means.
I look back on that age of innocence with amazement and appreciation.
August 18, 2009 at 3:04 am |
WOW…is about the only word that comes to my head. I’ve been playing your prologue in my head for the past 40 years….thinking, am I the only person like this in the world? Am I the only person who feels this way?
What an incredible start to life, being raised in such an envirinment.
My own experience was in Malartic Goldfields (Halet, Quebec). Left when I was about 16, the mining operation having come to a halt. Only the mill continued to run, on ore from neighbouring mines.
One by one our little houses were torn out of the ground and moved to other surounding towns. Even the Curling Club!
So sad to see.
But I do believe it’s left me with a particular outlook on life that is unique.
That others should be so lucky to have the opportunity to live.
Thank you so much for starting this site….memories rush back!
Cheers,
Barry
August 18, 2009 at 6:31 pm |
Hi Barry,
Thanks for your comments. You didn’t mention your age, but I would think that Malartic closed in the 70’s. My in-laws lived there about 1963-65-You’ll see pictures of Frank & Ruth in one of the older entries. That’s one of the areas that I didn’t live in, but my husband did~Val d’Or, Noranda etc. If you go back through my blog you’ll see that was the fate of many towns, and I agree that it was a gift to be the last generation to experience the “hard rock miners”. Company towns don’t really exist anymore. Take a look at Ghost towns/Ruins by Mark Wadell, on my blog roll (right hand side of the site page) Photos of Burchell Lake (Coldstream Copper). Most of the housing there was mobile- trailers, etc. the other buildings went to ruin. Glad to hear from you. You can publish your memories as a comment right here, or if you start a site, I’ll add it to my blog roll. Miners are different, aren’t we?
September 8, 2009 at 2:59 am |
What were Frank and Ruth’s last name?
Actually the town of Malartic still exists, and appears to be headed for another boom of sorts. News clippings I’ve seen recently indicate a very large open pit mine is being opened up. Indeed they have re-settled part of the actual town a few kilometers away, as the ore body lies underneath part of the town. Have also discovered that a company is now drilling on the old townsite of Malartic Goldfields as well…where I grew up. And their results appear to be good enough to start mining again. How bizarre is that.
Miners are a different lot indeed.
Cheers,
Barry
September 8, 2009 at 12:12 pm |
Hi Barry,
How interesting! Thanks for that information. I am sure that the area could use a revival of any kind. I hardly know anyone in mining anymore so I would not have heard about this. I am sure that it will not be the company town of the old flavour though. Every generation can make their unique mark.
Sorry, I can’t give out family names. You can see that I have purposely avoided doing that throughout my blog. I hoped that their photos would be familiar. They curled in Malartic. Who didn’t? They are both deceased now. They would have been in their 50’s while in Malartic. Really nice folks.
September 8, 2009 at 12:22 pm |
PS: So far I have had over 13,000 (!) readers to my blog. I could do more to attract more readers, but I hardly know how…”too soon old, too late smart”. However, I hope that it has given some people a glimpse into another lifestyle.