Glacé Bay

Glacé Bay is my newest favourite town in Nova Scotia! Today was an incredible day of meeting great people and unforgettable experiences.

The first stop was at the Marconi Historic site in Glacé Bay. Neal, the Parks Canada interpreter, was born and raised in Cape Breton and is heading to university in the fall. He explained this particular point has nothing on the horizon until you reach England, making it the perfect place for Marconi's first wireless transatlantic communication transmitted in Morse Code. He called it caveman texting!

The huge towers were built out of wood by local miners. They were erected on large concrete slabs which are still partially there.

   Pictures of pictures in the display area.

    This is the base of one of the original wooden towers.

 

    England is the first land beyond the horizon.

   Neal with visitors from Toronto.

From the Marconi site we went to the Miners Museum. Outside the museum are four company houses.

Company refers to the owners of the mine where most of the men worked before the mines were closed permanently by the government. One of the company houses is a seasonal restaurant open during tourist season. It is also enjoyed by the locals and it was quite busy. Well worth the wait though as the food was local fare and very tasty, especially the lemon meringue pie... My favourite!

After lunch we entered the museum and were just in time to join a tour and what an incredible tour it was. Our guide was Abbie. His father, grandfather and uncles and cousins all worked in the mine. He started in the mine when he was 13. He made sure his three children got the education that he never had.

As people arrived they joined the group in a sort of gathering area anddonned a short black cape to protect their clothing and a hard hat toto tract their noggin. Abby was sharing some of the history of coal mining in Glacé Bay. When everyone was ready we headed through a large door into a tunnel.

This was the very first part of the tunnel leading to the coal seams. The actually mine tunnels went under the ocean for up to eight miles and are all closed off now. The tunnels that we saw were made specifically for the tours and are authentic. It was easy to stand in the first tunnel and it was clean and dry.

All of the collieries are named and the one used for the tours is called Ocean Deeps Colliery.

Then the tunnel got a little shorter and and much damper.

An example of a coal seam. Each seam represents a former forest that has become forest. Seams can vary from 3 to 12 feet and you had to work the seam you were assigned. 

Abbie told us about the role of ponies in the mine and that they were kept underground most of the time because it was too hard for them to transition from light to dark.

Apparently there actually was a garden underground that a lad 'from away' planted and tended. If you have never been to the Maritimes you might not know that if you aren't from here you are 'from away'. We have been hearing it a lot in Cape Breton.

 After the mine tour we went to the Glacé Bay Heritage Museum in the old town hall. It is a lovely building that has numerous items on display including several that I remembered from my childhood. The staff/volunteers were very welcoming and when we were in the gift shop we were treated to oat cakes-- the best I've ever tasted. We were told we plus get some at the bakery but before Isabelle could finish telling us where it was Ken and Paul(???) we're out the door and headed down the street to buy some. Very yummy! Isabelle looks after the stock for the shop and we were very impressed. A great selection and do drop in if you're ever in Glacé Bay.Soemhow I missed taking pictures there.

Glacé Bay is a wonderful example of Canadian spirit and despite the loss of the mine as an employer and the harsh winter weather and a decreasing population, the people we made certainly know how to make lemonade when life throws you lemons. The people we met in Glacé Bay made it a most memorable day.