Bras D'or Shacks,

Short stories by Dennis Jessome who grew up in Bras D’Or, Cape Breton. These stories were too precious not to put in print. Complied by Lark Blackburn

Privately published.

Write up below by Norma Day

Little did I know when I extracted and forwarded an article on "Shackers" in the Cape Breton Genealogy & Historical Association's E-Zine (Electronic Magazine) in February 2006 to Dennis Jessome in Ontario that it would result in a book dedicated to memories of Dennis' growing up in the shacks of Bras D’Or.

Any book of memories about the Bras D’Or shacks is bound to be of interest as Bras D’Or is one of the oldest and most enduring communities in Cape Breton and the past and present day inhabitants of it carry with them not only the memories, but the good, solid attitudes in their everyday life.

The contribution made by these people was considerable. Their efforts should not pass without some permanent tribute. With this in mind, Dennis' memories and record of the trials and successes of growing up in the shacks will be of interest to the younger generation and serve as a reflection to the generation that grew up in this time frame.

It is not Dennis' intent to record offensive material regarding any of the people mentioned, any offensive taken, we apologize.

We would like to thank those who so generously contributed their time in making this book possible.

To Wanda Rideout and William Joseph {Billy} Day for helping Lark and myself in proof reading Dennis' stories.

To William Joseph {Billy} Day for doing the sketches that accompany the stories here.

To the people who contributed pictures to the web site and to Lark Szick for including the music on the web site, your contribution is appreciated.

To the many people in my list of contacts via e-mail and local family and friends, thank you for helping to identify your favourite stories. Your assistance is appreciated.

To Lark Szick, for having the vision to know that people would be so interested in a reflection of life in the shacks of Bras D’Or and in her support and encouragement to Dennis Jessome.

To anyone I have forgotten to name, thank you.

And especially, to Dennis, for allowing us to have a glimpse into life at the shacks.

Hope you enjoy the book. By Norma Day

Bras d'Or is an unincorporated area of Cape Breton County, located along the Bras d'Or Lake. The Bras d'Or shacks are about one kilometer down from the present day Trans-Canada highway en route to the village of Alder Point. Although the history of coal mining in Cape Breton began over 250 years ago at Louisburg, a Bras d'Or coal mine supplied coal to Louisbourg from 1745 - 1749.

Many of the miners immigrated to Cape Breton Island to obtain work in the many coal fields in the area.

In 1826 all mining rights in Nova Scotia were transferred from the Duke of York to a monopoly named the General Mining Association who reorganized its mines on the north side of Sydney Harbour in 1900 as the Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company.

The Coal Baron, George Bartlett Burchell, was involved in the mines, after he passed away, his son David George Burchell took over.

Mr. Burchell was the owner and operator of five underground coal mines in Cape Breton. They were called the Franklyn mine located in Florence, Cranberry Mine was located in Sydney Mines and the Toronto mine was located in Bras D’Or. And the other two mines were in Broughton called the Four Star and the Beaver mine.

He developed mining operations from scratch and resurrected many abandoned mines and explored coal seams.

In the early 1950s, using air and sand, Burchell was the first person to introduce a coal cleaning plant at the Franklyn mine. The first underground conveyor belts ever used was also in the Franklyn mine. The Duckbill Loader, a mechanical machine with two sweeping arms was the first underground coal loader ever used in Canada was at the Franklyn mine.

Burchell played a prominent role and made many contributions to the mining industry. With his extensive experience and social sensitivity he contributed towards many resolutions of employer-employee conflicts.

Burchell and his family were very active in community affairs. He contribute t o a positive image to the community. If the miners and their families were contented then his business ran well. He built workshops and cheap company houses for the hundreds of miners that he employed, among these were the Bras d'Or Shacks located on the Alder Point Road.
These shacks were built close the mines and were to accommodate the miners who worked in the Franklyn, Toronto and Cranberry Mines.

These company houses were literally built on the ground, no foundations and most of them had a kitchen and two little rooms for bedrooms.

Imagine a family with about 20 children living in a tiny house like that. Many of the miners’ had large families. So with 10 homes you could easily reach a population of over 100 people. What was great about the people that lived in these shacks was that most of these people were related in some way or another.

Bras D'Or is one of the oldest and most enduring communities in Cape Breton and the past and present day inhabitants of it carry with them not only the memories, but the good, solid attitudes in their everyday life.

For more information, please contact Lark Blac

For more information, please contact Lark Blackburn at lark4u@gmail.com