Flashback To 1948

1948 was a year of important events in my life. Our home in Cape Breton was in shock as the coal miners went on strike.Freeman Jenkins was the president of UMW district 26 when men were working for less than a living wage and decided to go on strike. For us in our family it was a year of celebration because our oldest and smartest up to that time graduated from high school and headed to Provincial Normal School in Truro. Grace was the first of many in our family who followed and gave us a real chance to make our mark in life.

One memory that I still remember as funny was the impact that Grace had on our life. On one of her visits home she thought the kitchen floor was drab and because she took block printing at college she mobilized us in a project of painting shapes on our floor. The result was amazing and gave us a real treat and brightened up our kitchen.

With the men on strike there were many people who suffered poverty and real hardship. The Red Cross fed the children at school with a jam sandwich and a little jar of white milk every morning. On Friday we were fed a jam and peanut butter sandwich and the milk was chocolate.

Our churches went into action in our towns and helped the very poor with food and clothing. I remember with great clarity seeing the face of despair on the faces of fellow students. We as a family were better off than most as we had a great potato  patch and kitchen garden and Dad worked wherever he could and with his horse and cart hauled boot leg coal and shore coal to help.

Our mother was an amazing example with knitting, sewing and making something out of nothing. One item of clothing she made me and I still talk about it when I get in that mood of remembering when. It was a yellow shirt with a broad collar. Mom made it special by stitching a yellow yarn type of thread in the collar and button holes.

That same year some of our family received a New Testament from Carmen United Church for perfect attendance. I still have mine and treasure it and keep it in my collection of special books.

The strike lasted for a long time and as the men were making about $8.00 per day they ended going back to work months later for around $9.00 daily pay. This all seems so long ago but these thoughts came to mind as I looked at a old family picture with all the kids in their uniforms representing their church groups.

Memories are wonderful mind pictures which keep us in touch with our past. I loved my early life and when I get a flashback I treat it as a gift.