i dependable private: care} yin home or hospital: j 24 Hours.a.Day. ¥ a 987-0881 NMyth-making netherworlds Author Susan Mayse shines a light on the dark days of mining dustry. “He permeated the air of the whole area so that people who See A page 25 same coal miner to Mayse, this exemplified not only the miners’ Goodwin fellow who was shot by struggle and their attitude toward the police. the hostile government of the day, It became clear that Goodwin but the whole coal mining in- MOS MAYSE knew weil the horror of the coal mines — the black soot that seeped into pores, the poor ventilation, the deadly vapors, the blacklung that choked off a man’s life. Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE Mayse was a Yorkshire miner who, fike hundreds of other men in the early 1900s, risked his life daily as a pit-worker in the coal mining towns of Vancouver Island. When he eventually escaped that life and became a minister, he swore the Mayses would never go down pit again. The Mayse family kept that promise for nearly 80 years until the most unlikely Mayse — Amos’ grandaughter Susan — broke it. Susan Mayse found herself wading through the darkness of a Grande Cache, Alberta mine while researching her latest book about Albert Ginger’? Goodwin. Goodwin was a British-born union organizer who was shot to death by a provincial police con- stable, the circumstances of which to this day remain shrouded in mystery. “t had a breathing mask on and it was pitch black. The tech- nology was modern, but the sense -_ of being underground was still frightening, especially because | was there when they were pulling pillars (which involves removing pillars used to support the roof of a mine ),"’ says Mayse, a writer and editor who is in the process of moving to Nanaimo from Deep Cove. “tt felt like the whole mine was shaking — it was like being inside the gut of an animal.” To her surprise, the netherworld was the next best thing to home. “t hate to say it, because it sounds like such a cliche, but I think { have coal dust in my blood. It felt like something I'd already done.” Mayse, a fourth-generation Van- couver Islander who grew up on stories of the mining towns of Cumberland, Wellington and Nanaimo, has just received the $3,000 Edna Staebler Award for creative non-fiction f-.. Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin (Harbour Publishing, 1990). The book was supposed to be a general history of coal mining on Vancouver Isiand, but it soon became a personal discovery of the figure of Goodwin: a calculating, arrogant, radical indi- vidual and draft dodger who worked hard to improve condi- tions far miners. “‘t really backed into the whole thing,’’ says Mayse. ‘‘I wanted to write about mining on the island, so | looked at Ladysmith, Nanaimo and Cumberland. While all of places had become modern cities, Cumberland had semehow been frozen in time — trapped like a bee in amber. It still smells of coal as it did when | was a kid. What | wanted to know is, why had it kept that characteristic?” Cumberland becomes a full- bodied pivotal character in the book. It was Cumberlanders who kept bringing up the name of the OCTOBER 17-20, REDO THE BAT WITHOUT GETTING SOAKED Greater Vancouver Home Builders There’s an easy way to make sure your home renovations and improvements turn out right. Turn to us at the B.C. Fi Home Show. You'll find the widest selection of products without having to drive from store to store dodging traffic and look- ing for parking. You'll get to talk to hundreds of experts who'll give you professional advice and share their trade secrets. You'll benefit from countless do-it- yourself shows, idea centres and new product displays. , Don't miss the Kitchen & Bath Show- case featuring products and ideas from the newest faucets and fixtures to luxu- rious whirlpool bathtubs. You'll also want to visit B.C.Hydro’s Home Ideas Show where Shell Busey will be giving live demonstrations and taking on ali questions. And here's a must, check out the Association display for the newest developments in home renovations. In other words, before you spend one penny, it really pays to spend some time with us. B.C.PLACE STARIUM, GATE A ocectT 0 B ER 17 - 2 0 Thursday 4pm - 10 pm Friday (Semor's Day: 2 price} 10 am - 10 pm Saturday 10 am - 10 pm Sunday 10am -7 pm Adults $6.75 Seniors ($2.75 on Friday) $5.75 Children 6 -— 12 years $1 Children under 6 Free Family Rate (max 2 adults) Prices include G S.T.