“….it was bad enough when we would hear the whistle blow….our hearts would stop…”

Both sides of Joy’s family worked in the mining industry. Many of the memories she has of living in Bevan as a child are pleasant, although she freely admits that from time to time things got tough. No matter how tough things got, she will tell you that the town pulled together and helped each other out. The friendships that were developed among the men at the mine sites spilled over into family gatherings, and life-long friendships were developed.

Joy with Grandpa's Lamps

Joy’s Story

“Dad’s dad and mum’s dad both worked for the mines. Grandpa Ed Hughes was an electrician for Canadian Collieries; he did the wiring in the mine tunnels. I have two carbide lamps used by him in the Cumberland mine.

“Mum, Margaret [Hughes] Baker, was born in Victoria and they moved to Cumberland so that her dad could work in the mine. Dad was born in Nanaimo. Grandpa Tom Baker worked in the mines in Nanaimo before he moved his family to Cumberland.

“When we lived in Bevan, Chinatown was gone. There were only seven or eight Chinese men living by themselves down by the river; they had gardens and were quite settled there. They were just men who had come out and worked on the railroad and sent money home. Of the seven or eight, I think only two or three made it back home to China.

Coal Mining