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I came to Labrador City in October, 1961. I was working in Gander as a nurse and my cousin,
Evelyn Watts from North West River, was working here in charge of the hospital, and she was
looking for nurses. She kept calling me. I was anxious to make a bit of money so I said I'd come
up for one year. I was two years out of training then and had worked in Gander one year, then I
had to go to St. John's to be hired on for IOC. I remember leaving St. John's. Of course you'd
dress up with high heels to come here. Of course when I stepped out of the plane I was over my
heals in mud, I wasn't long taking them off. None of the streets were paved then.
I came to work in the IOC hospital, which was just a little hospital with one doctor, Dr. Craig. We were takin' care of the miners and whoever else was here. Of course there weren't that many people here at that time. There were thirteen single girls and a few families and only about five streets. This was in the construction days so there were a lot of men, about 5,000, in bunkhouses. I think there was also a doctor at Wabush. Wabush wasn't even a town, just a few tents down by the lake, but there was construction going on there as well... The Indians were still living on Indian Point when we came. We used to go down there visiting them. That's down where I live now. I still go out there, berry picking. You can still see some of the bases of their little cabins. In 1962 we had the first Winter Carnival ever held here in Labrador West. It was held over in the freight shed. IOC had a big cafeteria and they used to cater to all the parties. IOC used to give parties for Christmas and New Year's, you wouldn't believe the food! Lobster, ducks, geese and all the trimmings - really fantastic. They used to bring in people like Tommy Hunter and entertainers like that, but that went years ago, 10 years ago. When I came here there was no Wabush as such, they were starting the mine and they had this gate up. They all lived in tents, the little clinic they had was even in a tent. You couldn't get past the gate unless you were invited or something like that. Tom, my husband, was an organizer for the Union, tryin' to organize the men over there at the construction site, and they wouldn't let him in. He and a few more Union people tracked in through the woods. They were in there for about two days, hid away with somebody or other, organizing the men. Wabush was really tight, you couldn't get in there at all unless you worked for the Company or had a business there... I remember too, when the hotel in Wabush was open, the Grenfell Hotel. That was in the early '60s. That was a big party, whole weekend. It was a beautiful hotel with fountains and everything, throwing out coloured water. The rooms would be packed because there was nowhere else for people to meet and it was real good. The men were not allowed to entertain woman in the bunkhouses or the staff houses at that time, so the hotel became a focal place for the community.... |
RHYNA McLEAN
LABRADOR CITY, LABRADOR - 1994
THEM DAYS VOL. 20. 3
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