This is a memory from Walter Martell, L'Ardoise. Walter's father was John Martell and he worked at Stirling Mine, Richmond County when it ran in the 50's. Walter did not work in Stirling as he was a kid at the time but he later worked as a Hard Rock Miner, a Diamond Driller like his Father, for several years.
Facebook messaging Walter Martell/Jeanette Strachan
Jeanette: My father Soutter Strachan worked as a carpenter in Stirling. He also owned the service station on the main road across from Morrison's.
Walter: I wasn't very old but I remember your father in the garage. He talked to us kids all the time.
Jeanette: So you didn't work at the (Stirling mine) then? Did your parents?
Walter: Dad was John L Martell. He was a diamond driller from 51 till the mine closed.
Jeanette: He's the man I have heard people talk about in their interviews. He lived on the Stirling Road and was good friends with Elsie and John Archie Monroe.
Walter: We lived (on the left hand side of the Stirling Rd heading to Framboise) between Morrison's and what people called dog patch.
Walter: I went to school there (Stirling) for a few years. I remember Morrison's store on the corner. On the right side of the road going down to the mine were Hooper, Shaw, plus a Chinese restaurant. In back of Morrison's store (heading down the mine Rd. on the left) was a building where they showed movies.
Jeanette: Did your father tell you any stories about the mine.
Walter: Not too much, but I remember him saying that one year they paid the mine expenses with the gold they mined.
Jeanette: Did he tell you how much he got paid?
Walter: He was a lead driller and was making one dollar an hour.
Jan 21/20
Jeanette: Gus (Sampson) said he went to NFLD after leaving Stirling. Do you know the name of the town.
Walter: It was in Little Bay, Notre Dame Bay not far from Springdale. I was helping Gus load long holes for blasting. We had loaded over a thousand lbs of dynamite one time and to set it off they had to take everyone to the surface to make sure no one would get hurt. He (Gus) mentioned long holes in his interview. Click here on Gus Sampson to see his interview.
email message Jan 21/20 - Walter Martell
I worked at mining from 1962 till 1968 every winter. Actually I lied about my age to get underground. I was 17 but told them I was 18 as that was the age to get underground. I worked at Atlantic Coast Copper, Little Bay, Gullbridge Mines, Gull Pond, just west of Badger, and Whales Back mine between Little Bay and Springdale.
Summer time I would come back to NS and work in the woods on machines or truck driving. Before the snow came I would head for NL because I didn't like working in the cold and wet snow. Underground the temperature is around 57 F after you go down a few hundred feet. Still wet in places but not that much. We had oil clothes so even the wet places were pretty good at that temperature.
I started in Little Bay pick and shovel and on the Grizzley where you beat up rocks with a sledge hammer until they were small enough to go down through to the ore pass.
In Gull Pond I started as an underground mechanic until we finished building the underground crusher. Once the crusher was built I was one of two fellas who worked it 12 hours a day until I went long hole drilling for Canadian Rock, a company from Quebec. That company then sent me to Whales Back to drill. My boss was a Mr Lafleur. On a good days drilling I could make a hundred dollars which was a fortune at the time.
Back in Little Bay one year I worked as a timber man, installing timbers to keep the rock from falling on anyone. Also worked on the surface crusher there as it was called but was actually underground but close to the surface.
I loaded long holes with Gus Sampson and a few others.
Another year I worked with the shaft crew as a deck hand. That's where I worked until they blasted into an older mine that had burned at one time and they had no paper work for and didn't know exactly where it was. At the time the old mine was flooded and when they blasted into it, it flooded the new mine. Four men drowned that night. If they had blasted on day shift a lot more men would have been lost, including my father and me as we were both on shift at the time and below where the water stopped. After the last man was found at the bottom of the shaft I was sent there to look after the pumps as I was still working with the shaft crew. All alone for 8 hours a day at the bottom of the shaft and wondering if we were going to have another flood. I got ulcers after that and wasn't allowed underground any more.
Facebook messaging Walter Martell/Jeanette Strachan
Jeanette: My father Soutter Strachan worked as a carpenter in Stirling. He also owned the service station on the main road across from Morrison's.
Walter: I wasn't very old but I remember your father in the garage. He talked to us kids all the time.
Jeanette: So you didn't work at the (Stirling mine) then? Did your parents?
Walter: Dad was John L Martell. He was a diamond driller from 51 till the mine closed.
Jeanette: He's the man I have heard people talk about in their interviews. He lived on the Stirling Road and was good friends with Elsie and John Archie Monroe.
Walter: We lived (on the left hand side of the Stirling Rd heading to Framboise) between Morrison's and what people called dog patch.
Walter: I went to school there (Stirling) for a few years. I remember Morrison's store on the corner. On the right side of the road going down to the mine were Hooper, Shaw, plus a Chinese restaurant. In back of Morrison's store (heading down the mine Rd. on the left) was a building where they showed movies.
Jeanette: Did your father tell you any stories about the mine.
Walter: Not too much, but I remember him saying that one year they paid the mine expenses with the gold they mined.
Jeanette: Did he tell you how much he got paid?
Walter: He was a lead driller and was making one dollar an hour.
Jan 21/20
Jeanette: Gus (Sampson) said he went to NFLD after leaving Stirling. Do you know the name of the town.
Walter: It was in Little Bay, Notre Dame Bay not far from Springdale. I was helping Gus load long holes for blasting. We had loaded over a thousand lbs of dynamite one time and to set it off they had to take everyone to the surface to make sure no one would get hurt. He (Gus) mentioned long holes in his interview. Click here on Gus Sampson to see his interview.
email message Jan 21/20 - Walter Martell
I worked at mining from 1962 till 1968 every winter. Actually I lied about my age to get underground. I was 17 but told them I was 18 as that was the age to get underground. I worked at Atlantic Coast Copper, Little Bay, Gullbridge Mines, Gull Pond, just west of Badger, and Whales Back mine between Little Bay and Springdale.
Summer time I would come back to NS and work in the woods on machines or truck driving. Before the snow came I would head for NL because I didn't like working in the cold and wet snow. Underground the temperature is around 57 F after you go down a few hundred feet. Still wet in places but not that much. We had oil clothes so even the wet places were pretty good at that temperature.
I started in Little Bay pick and shovel and on the Grizzley where you beat up rocks with a sledge hammer until they were small enough to go down through to the ore pass.
In Gull Pond I started as an underground mechanic until we finished building the underground crusher. Once the crusher was built I was one of two fellas who worked it 12 hours a day until I went long hole drilling for Canadian Rock, a company from Quebec. That company then sent me to Whales Back to drill. My boss was a Mr Lafleur. On a good days drilling I could make a hundred dollars which was a fortune at the time.
Back in Little Bay one year I worked as a timber man, installing timbers to keep the rock from falling on anyone. Also worked on the surface crusher there as it was called but was actually underground but close to the surface.
I loaded long holes with Gus Sampson and a few others.
Another year I worked with the shaft crew as a deck hand. That's where I worked until they blasted into an older mine that had burned at one time and they had no paper work for and didn't know exactly where it was. At the time the old mine was flooded and when they blasted into it, it flooded the new mine. Four men drowned that night. If they had blasted on day shift a lot more men would have been lost, including my father and me as we were both on shift at the time and below where the water stopped. After the last man was found at the bottom of the shaft I was sent there to look after the pumps as I was still working with the shaft crew. All alone for 8 hours a day at the bottom of the shaft and wondering if we were going to have another flood. I got ulcers after that and wasn't allowed underground any more.