“I was hired on as a dozer operator. I was trained before I got there. I also operated front-end loader, grader, excavator, and trained on the shovel. In Ontario I used to be an equipment operator, that is why I could operate a variety of equipment. In Ontario, you need a ticket for the shovel, but here you do not. I like the cat better than the shovel. One thing I liked to do was scare the bosses; I would take them for a ride and bring them to the edge, because I knew the limits and they did not. That was one way to get rid of the boss; they stopped came around so much!
“Not too many people can work those high faces; they can not train people for that, it’s something you have to learn yourself.Operating in heights two or three hundred feet above ground is something you have to learn as you go. There were a few bad accidents. |
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One of those big trucks went over into the ocean, the slough gave way; they never did find the operator but they did get the truck out.
“I had a Cat get cut in two one time. The rock came down ninety feet and caught the front end of the Cat. It took out the radiator, muffler, hydraulics, and part of the engine; it happened at two o’clock in the morning. When daylight arrived, you could see the hole in the face where the rock came from - ninety feet up. The Cat never ran again. It is funny but most of the stuff you remember are the near misses that you got away with. It makes you think of what you walked away from, it is quite interesting.
“I also lost power in a shovel a couple of times and ran into the back of a truck. One time, we hit so hard that the driver pulled the steel steering wheel out of the socket! There was supposed to be a safety on the shovel, but it failed. Once you lose power on the machine, there is no power, this kind of stuff happens to every one.
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“I recently received a calendar
from the union, and the shovel I used to run is on it.
My son worked at Island Copper. He was the youngest to run a Euclid
at nineteen years old. When we first went there, they used to have
an open house; you could go and look at all the machines and have
sandwiches. That was really nice, but they cut that out after awhile.
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The mine was so small there that if you did not already know someone personally, you knew him or her by sight, so you had better behave yourself! Back in the beginning, the turnover was so great that they tried to make it a family affair to keep people.
“During the 1980’s when everything was
going to heck, the mine provided a good income. Toward
the end, there were not many women on the crew; in the beginning
we had nine. Most of the semi-retired stayed in Port Hardy,
some were hired on at Myra Falls, and the rest went to Alberta,
as far as I know. I stayed right to the end. I stayed for
the finishing of the mine, but was not there for the flooding
of the mine. Apparently, the acid is coming back, so now they
are working on it again. |
“1975, it took eight hours to get to Port Hardy from
Campbell River. Before the highway was in we had to go
to Gold River, and then we had to take this skinny little logging
road around a big old lake. We could also go to Kelsey Bay and take
a four-hour ferry trip to Telegraph Cove. Those were the two best
ways to get up there. You would always stop and have a beer and
then off you go, it was kind of naughty in those days. Back then,
you didn’t even have to wear seat belts. It was quite interesting
to travel; you knew everybody you met on the logging road, so you
would stop and have a beer. Your eight-hour trip turned into an
eighteen hour trip. You could also take the unheated ferry from
Beaver Cove and spend five hours inside your truck. It was an awful
ferry, no warm place to sit, no coffee; it was a little bit more
glorified than the one that goes to Quadra. It was a great place
to socialize though. The highway was built in the late 1980’s.
“Things were so different back then, more
relaxed, it was great. We would go to the lakes and go camping.
I do not think I would go there again; I am getting comfortable
here, and the kids are all grown. Because we were isolated, we used
to get isolation pay. Twice a year we would get about $300, plus
so much per child. Even to the end, we got a break on our income
tax because of isolation; I think it was given to everyone in all
northern towns.
“I am a heavy equipment operator up at Myra Falls,
I do not work underground. We do mostly all the berms, and if there
is a break in a waterline we fix it. We also make sure the highway
is clear of snow. We more or less do everything that needs to be
done so that everyone else can do their jobs. We do everything from
pulling wrenchs to digging holes. Myra Falls is different from Island
Copper in that you do not work together with everybody; everybody
is isolated. For example, our crew is just a little crew off to
the side, assisting the underground crew; we do not really get to
see anyone. As an equipment operator you are not a miner; you are
simply an equipment operator. I have another four and half months
to go and then I retire.
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Vivian's Story
“The mine was Utah, then Island Copper, and then BHP; I am pretty sure that is how it went. Len has a picture of the first crew, and pictures of the mine that show them flooding the pit. We received a lot of memorabilia from the mine like clocks, jackets, safety award and photo, certificates, belt buckles, and a lamp with the company logo engraved on it. They were a good company.
“The sad part there, and it was not the Company’s fault, was that the workers voted the pension down in favour of larger pay cheques. Len was livid at the time. They had two votes on it, and they fixed it so there would be no pension. After twenty years there, there was no pension. The Company offered it, but we had a lot of people coming to work on the Island who did not stay long; there was a lot of turnover. We were upset about that. I wish the Company had said that those who wanted a pension could have it.
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“We had many crew parties, real parties. We would go down there, they would have crab, a big pig roasting, and there would be drinks. The company provided toys and things for the kids to do. It seemed like every year we would have a party. Occasionally, they would have a special one at a café. Crew parties were the best; they would take a truck load of beer out and what not. They did it every year for safety. What they would do is give you so much money per person and you could spend it on whatever you wanted, and they would throw in a case of steaks. They did not seem to spare any expense. With that company money was no object.
“One of the things I was impressed with when
we first went there was this man who used to play
Santa Claus. He looked just like him, and he would powder
his beard to make it white. They would have a big Christmas
party and they would ask how many boys or girls and their
ages, and they would each get a gift and sit on Santa’s
knee. I thought that was so neat! I had never been to anything
like that before. I met many good friends up there, but unfortunately,
most have since moved to Alberta.”
When Len left Island Copper went to work at Myra Falls.
As we wrap up this project he is counting down the days until
he can join Vivian in retirement.
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| Len and Vivian Poole, 2006 |
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