Miners Memorial

Recently, I had the honour of laying wreaths on behalf of CUPE B.C. and the Vancouver Island District Council at Cumberland's Miner Memorial festivities.

For those of you who have never been to Cumberland, it is a postcard community cradled in the arms of Vancouver Island's magnificent mountain range. Cumberland is a community steeped in its mining heritage and every year celebrates the magnificent sacrifices of those who gave their lives to better working conditions for those who follow.

The events began Friday night with Songs of the Workers performed by a number of talented balladeers who brought back the toils and the struggles of the pioneers of the trade union movement for a brief time through their songs and poems.

The gathering took place at the Cumberland Heritage Centre, a building also housing the Cumberland Museum which is preserving an abundance of the area's rich labour history. One had a sense while listening to the songs and poems that those who had gone before were not far off.

Saturday began with a pancake breakfast and a chance for trade unionists to chat, meet family members, and tour the amazing museum complete with its walk-thru mine.

Saturday afternoon was the official wreath laying ceremonies at the grave site of Ginger Goodwin who was shot and killed by police for his union activities. Wreaths were also laid at the grave sites of many of the miners who died due to the unimaginable disregard for workers' lives by both the ruthless coal barons and the governments of the day.

After the laying of wreaths, a tour of the historic cemetery was conducted by the members of the Historic Society. Containers of roses were placed on the ground and each person was asked to place a rose on the grave of his or her choosing . It was very sobering to listen to the stories of seventeen year old workers being killed on the job, and no way of notifying the family of their loss and the pain and wonderment of what became of their son.

Perhaps no story portrayed the atrocities of this dark period better than that of a woman whose husband had been killed in a particularly gruesome mine fire. Since the miners lived on such meagre wages, most were forced to live in company owned houses. To live in these houses you had to be employed at the mine. Since this woman's husband had died at the mine and no longer worked at the mine, she had to vacate her home immediately. Forced to leave her meagre home with no place to turn with her family, she grasped the only straw she had left to her: to send her young son off to the mine to save her home. Tragically, the son was killed at the mine days later.

In all, some 295 workers died in the Cumberland mines, making them among the most dangerous in Canada. The Cumberland Miners Memorial Day is both a day to mourn those who gave their lives and to celebrate the gains we enjoy today because of those who went before.

Few events have impacted my trade unionist spirit such as the Cumberland experience, and I left with a renewed conviction of what real trade unionism is truly about. Working people united together to improve working and living conditions collectively and all the rest is just stuff. The Cumberland Memorial Day is held annually in June. For more information, contact the Society at Box 258, Cumberland, B.C. V0R 1S0. Phone: (250) 336-2445 - Fax: (250) 336-2321.

Contributed by Don Krompocker
Regional V.P., CUPE B.C.