The Mining Centennial committee is asking people to scour their family photograph collections for sports photos from the valley’s rich and competitive past in baseball, hockey, and any other sport.
“You can’t talk to anyone who used to live in Drumheller during the mining years and not hear a story about sports, it was such an important part of their lives,” says the Atlas Coal Mine’s Linda Digby. “They tell an important story about people’s lives during the mining years – what they did for fun and loved.”
Resident Doug Stanford remembers the extremely competitive nature of baseball in the valley, where coal mines would lure top players with promises of “soft jobs”. Teams were made out of the smaller communities in the valley: Rosedale, Nacmine, Midland, Drumheller, and from surrounding communities like Morrin and East Coulee.
“If you had the better team more men would want to work in your mine,” says Stanford, who remembers Midland, Nacmine, Rosedale, and Drumheller having the most outstanding teams.
They are looking for images of people involved in sports from approximately 1911-1965. These will become part of the community photo album, which will be shared in a slideshow on July 1. They will also be exhibited during the ball Heritage Classic Ball Tournament on June 17-19 at the Hoodoo Campground.
Photos will be reviewed and scanned by Atlas Collections Management Technician Alexandra Burchill, an archaeology student from Lethbridge who has relocated to Drumheller for the summer to catalogue photos and objects.
Those with sports photos from the valley’s early days can contact Burchill at the Atlas Coal Mine to arrange a time to have them scan the photos, 403-822-2220.
