THE MINERS
"It's a working man I am ... and I've been
down underground" are lines from a song by The Men of the Deeps, a choir of
Cape Breton miners. They sing of a way of life that goes back generations,
of a history that shaped them. For most of the year they go underground when
it's still dark, work in the dark and come home in the dark.
The blackness of an underground mine is
something that cannot be duplicated anywhere above ground. Without the light
on a miners helmet, it is a blackness that is complete. You cannot see your
hand resting on your nose.
In Cape Breton, many of the coal
seams reach out under the ocean floor. The men who work them can trace
miners in their families back a hundred years. They are proud of the
heritage and have never forgotten the history.
Coal settled Cape Breton. From the very
early days coal attracted men from around the world. Those immigration
trends gave Cape Breton a culture that today is recognized as distinct by
artists and musicians. There would be no Rankins, or Natalie MacMasters or
Rita MacNeils without the mix of cultures that made Cape Breton.
While both the French and English
exploited the fishery off Cape Breton in the 1600s. They also saw the
potential of coal. As early as 1687 the French had plans to use coal from
Sydney Harbour to refine sugar in the West Indies. By the early 1700s, the
French and English both stopped in Sydney for coal. Admiral Hovenden Walker,
commander of the British Naval Squadron, wrote, "The island had always, in
times of peace, been used in common both by the French and English for
loading coals, which are extraordinarily good here and taken out of the
cliff with iron crow bars only, and no other labour."
However, it was the formation of the
General Mining Association (GMA) in the early 1800s that prompted massive
immigration to the island. As early as 1820, the company was importing
experienced colliers from Scotland and Ireland. Throughout much of the
1800s, coal was a seasonal operation attracting men from Newfoundland and
rural Cape Breton in the spring who returned home in the winter. That
changed in the later part of the century with a population explosion.
In 1891, Sydney was the 74th largest
population centre in Canada. Over the next 20 years the population rose by
more than 40 per cent. By 1911, Sydney was ranked the 21st largest centre in
the country and Glace Bay was 22nd. So where did these people come from? The
census shows that if people in Cape Breton weren't Nova Scotian, they were
likely from Newfoundland, Scotland, Russia or Italy.
The Dominion Coal Company and others
actively recruited people internationally to meet the needs of the growing
industry. Even the construction of the new steel plant at Sydney brought
workers from Pittsburgh and Italian labourers from Boston. Most
English-speaking immigrants were put to work underground for safety reasons.
The company reasoned the miners would better understand each other in
emergencies. However, it did bring in extra workers from foreign nations
during strikes, using them to cross picket lines and maintain production.
The history of immigration to Cape
Breton is also a history of world conflict, disaster and persecution. The
Lebanese arrived fleeing Turkish rule, the Ukrainians were frustrated with
the Polish government, the Lithuanians came to escape conscription, and the
Jews were able to escape persecution and conscription in eastern Europe. The
Italians found work in the steel mill, the Polish immigrants were spurred by
a promise of jobs, and the Greeks expected to make enough money to return
home.
It's not surprising these ethnic groups
stuck together once they arrived in Cape Breton and that's the way the
companies liked it. Newfoundlanders were put to work in No. 2 mine at
Dominion, the English in No. 6 while the Irish and French were found in
Reserve Mines. The Scots were by far the largest group and could be found in
most communities, but held the majority of the population in Dominion and
Reserve.
These groups brought their religion
and quickly built their own churches. They also formed societies along
national and religious lines. These groups included the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, Loyal Orange Lodge, Masons, Oddfellows, League of the Cross,
Knights of Columbus. The British in Sydney Mines formed the Sons of the
British Isles Social, Literary, and Provident Society. The Newfoundlanders
organized the Maple Leaf Lodge of the Society of United Fishermen. Acadian
families established La Societe de l'Assomption and black miners formed the
Universal Negro Improvement Association and the African Community League.
Italians in Glace Bay started a group called Little Italy in 12 Yard.
The massive immigration ended with the
First World War. The companies stopped recruiting oversees. Cape Breton
emerged as a home and culture of its own. The union gave miners an identity
and co-operative stores made life easier. Those born to the early miners
grew up to work in the mines themselves so that today, some miners can trace
their roots through generations of Cape Breton coal miners on both sides of
their family.
FROM ~ CBC