MARY'S GENEALOGY TREASURES
The Pacific Hotel burning down, which had been moved
Wearing flu masks when the epidemic was on, they were nice
Fires in Coalhurst, the burning down of the Mine View Hotel
The moving of the Coalhurst station from Kipp, they moved it
There are many more memories, and some incidents that took
from between Coalhurst Station and Kipp, Dominic
Sorbora later built his house on the foundation.
Starting school in Bridge end, halfway between Coalhurst
and Wigan. This was a two-storey school which burned
down about 1918. The caretaker lost his life as he always
slept in a room in the basement. Miss, Marg Wright was
my first teacher, she Joe DeHart, mining engineer at Coalhurst.
and white except for the smokers and tobacco chewers.
Getting a hair cut at Happy McLeod's barber shop for 25 cents
when we had it. The open air skating rink by the mine dump
where we all learned to skate. The miner's picnics at Whitney's
or Jones's river bottom, everyone came, how we enjoyed them,
although some miners used to settle their differences with
fisticuffs, after the beer kegs were empty. Watching the
Diamond City coal Co. train hauling coal to Kipp yard. The
Commerce Coal Co. also had their own track and engine
and hauled coal to Kipp. We always knew when these
mines would work, as the two mine engines would come
to Kipp for box cars. The dust storms, we would have to turn
lights on in the middle of the day. The farmers west of
Coalhurst plowed up the land and it all blew into town.
The coming of the irrigation, where we all learned to swim
in the ditch. We would back up the water in the ditch,
finally George Black, the L. N. I. D. ditch-rider locked
the gates, so that was the end of that trick.
which was built by the Coal Co. for single miner's only, it
faced the mine, a two storey building. McDermott's Hardware
on the north side of the street, Tony Pavan later built his
store there. Walking to the river to swim and fish, no fences
in those days. Picking cactus berries as we walked, looking
for arrow heads around the tepee rings on top of the coulee.
Then watching Andrew Sherret breaking up the prairie with
his 10 bottom plow, bidding goodbye to the wide open prairie
as the fences began to show up. The Alberta Provincial
Police opened their station and brought blood hounds to
Coalhurst. They were in the charge of Constable McWilliams,
we used to be very quiet going by the pens as boy could
they start to howl and jump. A. P. P. Constable Cook would
chase us home after the curfew whistle blew. He had the
first Chrysler Roadster in Coalhurst so he was easy to
keep track of. J. I. McDermott would take a bunch of us
in his car to pick potatoes on his farm north of Wigan, 10
cents a sack, but we all had fun.
in two pieces on flat cars. Then the building of the two
grain elevators. The C.P.R. then took over the Diamond City
Coal Co. track and built it on to Turin.
place later, the dirty thirties, the explosion in the mine,
losing friends I knew as I worked in the mine the winter
of 1932. Coalhurst will never be the same for us who
lived there in those years, 1913 to 1934. The hockey team,
football team and baseball team, all consisting of Coalhurst
men and boys, which I would have liked to name, all good
sports, who never failed us, and all the people who cheered
for them, thank you.
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