GLACE BAY – CAPE BRETON

GLACE BAY – BRIEF HISTORY

 

Glace Bay Harbour

Glace Bay – Glace Bay is a community with a rich and long history.

The growth and development of the town is linked to the coal
industry.  At its peak, the town had the world’s largest
underground coal mining operation with a number of active
mines scattered in different areas of the town.  Record of
people inhabiting the town and the region around it go back as
far as the 1720’s when the French mined coal in the Port
Morien area for fuel at the Fortress of Louisbourg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Snug Harbour Indeed

This web site is intended to provide a brief history on certain
aspects of the town and is certainly not a thorough study of
the town’s rich history.  

Grade 8D class of Morrison
Junior High is responsible for the research and development
of this page with the assistance of Mr. McKinlay, grade 8
Social Studies Teacher.  We would like to acknowledge the
assistance of Mr. Howard MacKinnon of the Glace Bay
Historical Society, the staff of the Glace Bay Heritage
Museum, the Technical Department of the Cape Breton-
Victoria Regional School Board, and Mr. Spencer, principal
of Morrison Junior High School.

Glace Bay Harbour 1914 – Note the double lobster traps – man killers

The

 

Children working in the Coal Mines – Note the Pit Pony

 

 

As young as 10 and Girls were employed in Mines as well

 

Coal Mining – You cannot  talk about the history of Glace Bay

Without discussing the number of coal mines throughout the town.  

 

Another Idle Pit

Early mining was extremely difficult and dangerous with many miners
losing their lives in the depths of the mine.  Each mine in the mid
1880’s was independently owned with its own facilities to ship
coal.  All of the early mines were located close to the shoreline to
allow for transportation of the coal to other markets.  As the coal
mines developed, thousands of men and their families moved to
Glace Bay and the surrounding towns to work these mines.  The
following list gives an idea on the number of mines operating in
the Glace Bay area over the last century:

1857 – The first commercial coal mine was located on the north
side of present day Glace Bay Harbour.

1863 – The Glace Bay Mining Company was formed with the
opening of the Hub Pit and the Sterling Pit.

1865 – The Caledonia Mining Co. was formed and opened the
Caledonia Mine.

1890-1901 – The Dominion Coal Company was formed taking in
all other mining companies.  At this point there were 11 active
mines in the town including the No.1-B Colliery, the No. 3
Colliery in Passchendale, the No. 8 Colliery in Bridgeport, and
the No. 26 Colliery which operated until an explosion forced it to
close in 1984.

Sadly, the coal mining industry has come to an end with the last
working mine being closed in the year 2001.  It will always;
however, be a very important part of who we were and who we
are as a community.

 

 

 

 

 

Number 26 Mine

Mayors of Glace  Bay

 

Since Glace Bay offically became a town in 1901 the following mayors have been in office: David M. Burchill 1901-1907 John C. Douglas 1907-1910 Henery MacDonald 1910-1912 Gordon S. Harrington 1912-1915 Dan Cameron 1915-1916 Angus J. MacDonald 1917 Alonzo O’Neil 1918-1920 E. MacK Forbes 1920-1921 Charles MacVicar 1933-1934 Dan W. Morrison 1934-1950 Dan A. MacDonald 1950-1970 Dan A. Munroe 1970-1981 Bruce A. Clark  1981-1988 Donald MacInnis 1988-1995

 

Dan “Willie” Morrison was a cheif magistrate from Cape North to Cape Sable. He became mayor of Glace Bay in 1921. He was the son of Angus Morrison. They elected him president of District 23, the United Mine Workers of America. For many years he was check- weightman, a functionary whose duty was to record the output of each miner. He was also town councillor. When he was elected as mayor he was sent to the Province House at Halifax in 1920.

D.M. Burchill was the first mayor of Glace Bay from 1901-1907. Burchill doubled the current population to 8,000, coupled with an equal amount from Reserve Mines and Dominion, added the 4,000 new miners the town would eventually need, and spoke of Glace Bay as soon having 21,000 people. Burchill was very proud that Glace Bay could boast one of the largest retail stores east of Montreal and that all stores were stocked with an excellent quality of gold.In 1996, the town of Glace Bay was incorporated into the Cape Breton Regional Municipality with a mayor and elected councilors that govern the entire industrial region of Glace Bay.  The former mayors of Glace Bay all played an important part in moving the town ahead to becoming what was once the largest town in the country.

 

 

John Bernard Croak V.C.

 

John Bernard Croak, Victoria Cross (V.C.) was born on May 18th, 1892.  He grew up on West Avenue, New Aberdeen and attented St. John’s School.  At age 14, Croak left school and started working at the the No. 2 Mine in Dominion to help support his family.  In 1911, at age 19, he left the mine to work out west in the wheat fields.  In 1915, he joined the army. When WWI broke out in 1914, Croak went overseas to defend his country.   Details Croak was born in Little Bay, Newfoundland, on May 18, 1892 to James and Cecelia Croak.[2] The family moved to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia when Croak was two years old. He attended school there and then began work as a coal miner. Croak enlisted in the military in 1915. He was a private in the 13th (Royal Highlanders of Canada) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. On August 8, 1918 at Amiens, France, Croak performed a deed which earned him the Victoria Cross. He was wounded  in the act, and died shortly thereafter at the age of only 26. Citation For most conspicuous bravery in attack when having become separated from his  section he encountered a machine gun nest, which he bombed and silenced, taking the gun and crew prisoners. Shortly afterwards he was severely wounded, but  refused to desist. Having rejoined his platoon, a very strong point, containing several machine guns, was encountered. Private Croak, however, seeing an  opportunity, dashed forward alone and was almost immediately followed by  the remainder of the platoon in a brilliant charge. He was the first to arrive at the  trench line, into which he led his men, capturing three machine guns and bayonetting  or capturing the entire garrison. The perseverance and valour of this gallant soldier, who was again severely wounded, and died of his wounds, were an inspiring example to all. —The London Gazette, No. 30922, September 24, 1918 Croak was involved in many famous battles during WWI such as The Somme, Vimy Ridge, Arras, Hill 70, Passchendale, and Amiens.  Amiens was dubbed Canada’s 100 Days.  On August 8th, 1918, Croak breeched enemy lines. He captured an entire machine gun crew single handedly. He was seriously injured and later died from these injuries.  His mother was awarded the Victoria Cross for her son’s acts of bravery.  To honour his memory there is a school  and park bearing his name in Glace Bay.   HMCS GLACE BAY-A WORLD WAR II WARSHIPHMCS GLACE BAY – SHIPS COMPANY  This is a picture of the new ship, HMCS Glace Bay. HMCS GLACE BAY (2010)   The HMCS Glace Bay was launched on April 26th, 1944 and commissioned at Levis, Quebec, on September 2, 1944. The crew included 3 officers and 133 men initially, which in time rose to 8 officers and about 150 men.Following her commissioning in September 1944, she sailed from Quebec City          to Sydney N.S., arriving on September 20. The following day an “Official Inspection Day” for the people of the town of Glace Bay was proclaimed, and the ships log notes that the same evening, September 21, the ‘Ships’ Company (personnel) went into  Glace Bay for entertainment. From Sydney she sailed for Halifax, arriving September 23. She carried out workups in Bermuda in mid-October and on her return was assigned to EG, C 4  (Escort Group), Londonderry, Ireland. She left St. John’s for that port on November 17, escorting a number of U.S. built sub-chasers destined for the Russian Navy. The Glace Bay was employed continuously on escort convoy duty until VE-Day. In October, she made a round trip to Bermuda and on her return was paid off on November 17, at Sydney. She lay in reserve at Shelbourne until sold in 1946 to the Chilean Navy and renamed ESMERALDA and then, in 1952, BACQUEDANO. She was broken up in 1968. Glace Bay Sports Glace Bay has a long and rich history in sports.  Below are some of the athletes and teams that have achieved success over the years in sports. Joey Mullins was an Olympian in the 1952 Summer Games. He was from Glace Bay and was in track and field. He broke every Nova Scotia High School record and was on the Bronze Medal Relay Team. The Caledonia Rugby Team in 1929, won the Canadian Rugby Championship and was awarded the prestigious McArthur Shield. The Cape Breton Colliery Baseball League was a popular five team league. It included the Glace Bay Miners. Del Bissonette, a Miners player, went on to coach the Boston Braves. A dentist from Glace Bay was the backup goalie for the 1917 Stanley Cup Winning Team, The Toronto St. Pats. When he came back he was offered $1.00 a game to play with the Sydney Millionaires but he refused this. He helped build the Glace Bay Miners Forum where they sold programs for $0.25. If you held on to your program you would be eligible for a $35.00 draw. In this forum the Glace Bay Miners played teams such as  the Russians, the Fins, the Ottawa Senators (old team that won seven Stanley Cups) and the NY Rangers. Louis Siderski was born in 1888 and died in 1981. Louis was one of the earliest great Glace Bay Athletes. His early exploits as an English Rugby player are recorded in the Dalhousie University archives. Lou was also a great baseball player and was selected by the Chicago Cubs. He was one of the first boys from eastern Canada to try out for the Major Leagues. He was also a track star in short sprints and long jumping. On of his feats was to kick a football from the centre of the field over the crossbar. No one has done this in 100 years. He is an original inductee of the NS Hall of Fame.                TABLE HEAD TOWERS Gugliemo Marconi was born at Bologna, Italy on April 25th, 1874.  He was the second son of Guisippe Marconi, an Italian country gentleman, and Annie Jameson, daughter of Andrew Jameson of Ireland.  He was educated privately at Bologna, Florence and Leghorn University. Glace Bay played a crucial role in the history of communication as it served as one of the main hubs for the first transatlantic radio communication.  This was truly the start of the first wireless network that are taken for granted today.  Marconi built two large radio stations in Glace Bay and one in Louisbourg.  If one was viewing these structures in the early 1900’s they would see an impressive tower over two-hundred feet high along the banks of what is now referred to as Table Head in Glace Bay. Two structures were located in Glace Bay with a third being built in Louisbourg. A museum dedicated to this technological advancement is now located in the Table Head area of Glace Bay. MARCONI   (Special thanks to the Internet for much of the foregoing material)