MARY'S GENEALOGY TREASURES
Our family arrived in Coalhurst about 1913,
When first married our parents lived in Nelson, B.C.
In Coalhurst our father was employed as
When we were all still quite young; what comes
Coal mining in those early days was a very uncertain
The only church in town was St. Matthews Presbyterian
Later, a small building was bought and moved to a spot
Is the bell still there, and does it still ring out
Our mother donated the first organ. It was
Of the early teachers in school, my sister remembers
When my sister came to teach in Coalhurst,
Both schools, Primary and Senior, were now
John Morrissey married and had two sons. John was a
Joseph and Mary Morrissey and five children.
where their first child was born. They later moved
back to Prince Edward Island where our father's
people had lived and farmed the land for
several generations. The next four children were
born in Prince Edward Island.
Weighman at the Coal Colliery. All his children
went to school in Coalhurst. He was a man who
was active and intensely interested in Community
affairs. For several years he was a member of
the Local School Board. He was also Treasurer
of the Village Council and served for a time as
Secretary-Treasurer of the Local Community
Club. He died in 1935, having been preceded
by his daughter Anna May, who had died in 1927.
vividly to mind was our water supply in Coalhurst.
Each family owned a water barrel, and water was
delivered about three times a week, at the cost of
twenty-five cents per barrel; so water was carefully
conserved. Later the Coal Company installed water
lines along the alleys of the Company Houses. Each
tap served groups of about three houses. As a result
gardens began to appear, both vegetable and flower,
which greatly improved the grounds around the little
houses. The garden which Joe Cash had was a wonder
to us all.
occupation, and for months at a time, usually in
summer, the mine was silent because there was no
market for coal. Many homes, at that time,
accommodated boarders in order to stretch the
family finances, our mother among them. Times
were hard during the depression years of the thirties.
Crops were poor and farmers often had to replant
seed crops because of the high winds and shifting
soil of the dry prairies. Work was just not available
and all families had a real hard struggle to survive.
Church, and what good times we all had when that
church held its picnics. Everyone was allowed to
attend whether you belonged to the church
congregation or not.
on the west side of town. This was the first Roman Catholic
Church in Coalhurst. Previous to this time Catholic Services
had been held in the various homes around town. Our home
often had the Service there - also the homes of Mr. Jim
McDermott, Mr. Stetz and several others. The important
project of securing a building for a permanent Church
was brought about by a small group of enterprising men
- our father one of the prime movers among them.
A church bell was obtained - all the way from France,
and on it was inscribed the names of all who had
contributed to the costs.
the time for Service on Sundays?
one we had for several years at home, and she
was the church organist for many years. We also had
quite a respectable church choir. At Christmas time
Mr. Jim McDermott brought his violin and we were
all thrilled at the combination of organ, violin and
choir. Those were the days when Father McKinnon
was our resident priest - also Father Violet and
Father Foote. Our mother was also the first
President of the C. W. L. in Coalhurst and was an
active worker in church activities. She died in 1968,
after having moved to Vancouver. Both she and
our father and Anna May were buried in Lethbridge.
most Miss Irene Knowls, a sister of Mrs. J. Cash.
She was; what we all came to realize later; a
true teacher, and had a wonderful influence on
the lives of her students. Another teacher who
stands out in memory was George Watson from
Lethbridge. When he became Principal our
school had now expanded from an early two
rooms into seven or eight rooms with all
grades up to ten. Kay was his first student in
grade ten. Under his guidance the school
acquired stature. It was at this time that Kay
was lucky enough after a few years to join
the teaching staff, having finished Normal
School Training in Calgary. George Watson
later left Coalhurst to become Principal of the
larger Coaldale School. He will long be
remembered as an outstanding teacher by his
many students.
there were several members on the staff who
are well remembered - Nora Tennant, Tessie
Rader, Jack Melling, Dorothy Doran,
Cleota Crowe, Sid Oliver, Emily Rosewerne,
Bill White and M. G. Merkley not all at the
same time.
located on the west side of town not far from where
we lived - just across the street from the church
in Mr. Percival's house. Our schools had always
of course had such events as Concerts, Parties and
later District Sports Days, which included all the
schools in the surrounding district - a great time for
school competitions. Now however, under M. G.
Merkley, we also entered the Lethbridge and
District Schools Musical Festivals. In these
competitions our choral and dramatic groups did
very well. What enterprising and enthusiastic
children we had in the Coalhurst schools. Their
memory remains clear over the years.
dispatcher at the CPR in Lethbridge for several years.
He was later promoted to Supervisor of Customer
Services in Calgary. They have two grandchildren.
John died in 1969 and was buried in Lethbridge.
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