It has been years since miners proceeded through the streets of Drumheller, shoulder to shoulder, carrying placards representing their labour organizations. Decades since they vocally raised their grievances of working conditions in the public forum, showing solidarity among the workers.
For the first time in years Miners marched on May Day in Drumheller. A short procession down Centre Street was the main event of a weekend of festivities during the centennial year of coal mining in the valley.
While just a handful of miners marched this year, many more family members marched to remember their fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers who earned a living underground. Familiar names of families that are still well established in the valley such as Hunter, Eno, Morse and Hodgson were held high.
“This community, the Atlas Coal Mine and the families are a huge gift to the heritage of our province,” said MLA Jack Hayden addressing the crowd after the march.
More than just a parade, the march capped off a weekend of celebration and remembrance.
On Saturday, East Coulee was alive with activities including tours, the release of Lawrence Chrismas’ new book and a Hungarian Fruit Dance, reflective of the ancestry of many miners. On Sunday, Downtown Drumheller harkened back to the days of mining as period cars lined the street Musicians played as children in costume rode antique bicycles through the core.
Along with Hayden, Battle River-Wainwright MLA Doug Griffiths attended the event, as did former miner Frank Toth, who has been working hard to have communities recognize May Day across western Canada. The 90-year-old led the crowd in a moving rendition of the National Anthem. He had praise for the hard work of the volunteers who put together the event, including Linda Digby of the Atlas Coal Mine.
“I hope you realize what a stick of dynamite you have (in Digby),” he told the crowd.
Digby also used the forum to update the community on the planned Miners Memorial. Since they planned the memorial, volunteers have been working on researching the names of the lost miners, the Town of Drumheller has dedicated a green space for the memorial and the committee sought out an artist to do the work.
They also applied for funding.
“I have bad news and good news. The bad news is our first grant application for the Miners Memorial was unsuccessful,” she told the crowd. “That means we will not be unveiling a memorial on September 5, 2011.
“The good news is we received a leadership gift of $10,000 from Maple Leaf Minerals, a company started by the Gouge family. Jesse Gouge was one of the first mine operators in Drumheller. You could call the Gouge family the first family of mining in Drumheller. They heard about this and they wanted to be a part if it.
“If we keep going with the fundraising and the research, next year at May Day festivities we will be unveiling a Miners Memorial.”
