Trippin’ Around North America

Lumpy start to the day...

October 5

The rain and wind started again around four in the morning. Are we discouraged? NO!

The drive to the Marconi Wireless Transmission Museum took about 50 minutes in pelting rain. It was shut. Are we discouraged? No! Picture shows Fellette pointing across the Ocean where Marconi did his radio transmission.

Next to the Cape Breton Miners' Museum. The 30 minute video presentation we watched as we waited for the mine tour to start must have been made by the militant Union president. It was more like a prep talk you would give to union members before they took a strike vote in the 60's. Are we discouraged? Dougie is getting that way! The video ended with a singing of "Solidarity Forever," really!

The tour into the mine was preceded by a talk given by our guide, who worked in the mines for 34 years. Guess what he talked about for the first 15 minutes? [Rather than walk out I edited the pictures in my digital camera.]

He then took us down into the mine for a 3/4 hour tour which was very enlightening to say the least.

There is no doubt that the conditions and the pay were deplorable. Disgusting would be a better term for it. For the first time I realised the foresight of my grandfather Deagle for leaving this area when he was a young man in the early 1900's to get out of what could have been a pretty terrible future life. Thank you Grampa Deagle!

Upon leaving the mine we headed for Fort Louisburg about an hour away. We got lost on the way and our trusty navigator toy completely let us down. The maps of the area that we have leave a bit to be desired, but perseverance prevailed and we arrived at the town of Louisburg to clearing skies, although somewhat later in the day than we had hoped for. The main reason, other than being lost for twenty minutes was our indoctrination into "Unionism 101" took two and a half hours.

When I think about it, my grandfather on my fathers side also came out west in Canada from England to better his family in 1911. Thank you Grampa Robins.

Loisbourg is about the best National Parks Historic Site we have seen. Canada Parks decided to reconstruct only 20% of what was an efficient and prosperous very early French fort, town and port built originally between 1713-1720. The fort and village were blown up by Royal Engineers on the orders of the British Prime minister in 1760. The reconstruction of the site was started in 1961. One of the incentives for doing it was that it would create work for the now unemployed coal miners.




The sky was clearing and we actually saw some blue there. We had not eaten in several hours because we were in the pits so long, so we decided to have a bite in an 18th century Soldiers' Tavern. [the only place to eat I might add]. Fellette had turnip soup, tea and bread, I had cheese, bread and tea. The food filled the void.

The run back to the campsite was in glorious sunshine, I actually took off two of my four layers of clothing.

During the day, at Glace Bay, where the closed Marconi Museum is, was the most easterly point of this trip for us. [7834 K's so far.]

This write up did not get the usual nod of approval by my resident editor, she did ask for a comment however.

Comment by Fellette: " If any bunch of workers needed a union it was those men".

Comment by Doug: I agree, but the Museum experience is so far out of balance regarding the actual process of mining that I found it lacking in that regard. There were indeed some very nasty employers in the world in days of yore.

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 12:01 PM