The Wake

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by Linden MacIntyre

and workers’ compensation, 229, 238, 292, 296

  silico-tuberculosis. See silicosis

  Skinner, Julia, 190

  Slaney, Adrian, 226–27

  Slaney, Arcule, 16, 82, 123, 226, 239–41, 275, 306

  Slaney, Bertha, 16–17, 19, 307

  Slaney, Betsy, 312, 314

  Slaney, Christine, 232

  Slaney, Gerard, 306

  Slaney, Herb, 224, 225, 226, 232–33

  Slaney, Isaac (“Mr. Isaac”)

  autopsy on, 232–33, 237–38, 238–39

  diagnosis of, 228–29, 230–32

  illness and death of, 223–24, 225, 226, 230–32

  Slaney, John, 299, 313

  Slaney, Mary, 233, 239

  Slaney, Mick, 322

  Slaney, Minnie, 240

  Slaney, Ray, 306, 311–12

  Slaney, Rennie, 223, 315

  at autopsy of Isaac Slaney, 232–33

  at Black Duck mine, 123, 127, 288

  Danny MacIntyre and, 3

  death, 305–7, 316, 334

  denied compensation, 307

  earthquake, absence during, 16, 17

  and Father Thorne, 167

  as fisherman, 128–29

  illness, 225, 241, 287–88, 307

  at Iron Springs mine, 167, 187, 206, 207, 288

  and lung cancer in miners, 279–80, 287–91, 292

  Maclean’s magazine profile of, 294

  and Poynter, 233

  in rescue of US sailors, 189, 190

  and royal commission, 294, 303–5

  and Seibert, 123

  and silicosis in miners, 225–26, 227, 232–33, 239–40, 241, 301

  and working conditions, 230

  Slaney, Steve, 312

  Slaney, Therese, 223–24, 225, 232

  Smallwood, Joseph R., 318, 321

  and radiation in mines, 267, 292, 293

  and Seibert, 235–37, 262, 271, 272, 321, 352n13

  and US Memorial Hospital, 211, 212

  Smith, Dr. Warren (Doc), 137

  character of, 146, 152, 272

  at Director mine, 153, 165

  partnership promised to, 154–55

  in rescue of US sailors, 189, 193, 197, 199

  at St. Lawrence Corp., 81, 139, 153

  as unpaid, 118, 119, 131, 132, 138

  smoking, 257, 258, 287, 314

  smuggling, 18, 69, 131, 219

  Smyth, Lt. William, 201

  snowstorms, communications knocked out by, 15, 28, 55, 64

  South Africa, uranium miners in, 270

  South Carolina, earthquake felt in, 25

  South Coast Disaster Committee, 58, 59–60, 62–63

  Spearns, Peter, 206

  Squires, Helena, 58, 93, 96, 97, 98

  Squires, Richard Anderson

  attack on, 84–87, 91

  banks and, 94, 96

  corruption and, 57, 58, 99, 101

  and the economy, 56–57, 101, 106

  and government assistance, 97, 100

  lifestyle of, 58, 90, 98

  and Peter Cashin, 93, 98

  and protests, 102, 103, 104–5

  Smallwood and, 235

  and tsunami of 1929, 57, 58, 319

  St. Francis Xavier University, 331, 332

  St. John’s, Nfld., 28

  communication with, 15, 55, 57, 64

  earthquake in, 27, 68

  poverty in, 109

  in the Second World War, 218

  TB sanatorium, 226–27, 240

  St. Lawrence, Nfld.

  blockade by women of, 323–24, 324–25

  Catholicism in, 113, 320

  communications out of, 15, 28, 78

  culture of, 15–16, 17, 33, 76–77, 160–61, 164

  death rates in, 269–70, 291, 298, 316

  earthquake in, 19–20, 26, 33, 182

  education in, 76, 77

  first African American in, 198–99

  fishery in, 16, 17, 26

  floating clinic at, 228

  fluorspar deposits in, 71, 80, 115, 281

  health care, lack of, 126, 133, 135, 158, 176, 177–78, 183, 188, 243

  hospital in. See US Memorial Hospital

  Irishness of, 161, 320

  malnutrition and poverty in, 149, 155, 204, 244

  mill at, 237

  museum and historical society of, 329

  population and demographics of, 26, 316, 322

  rescue of US ships at, 188–205

  roads and transportation to, 55, 115, 260

  tsunami and tidal withdrawal in, 26–27, 40–42, 65, 69, 75–79, 113–14, 182

  undertakers, lack of, 314, 316

  St. Lawrence Corporation of Newfoundland, 153–54. See also Black Duck mine; Blue Beach mine; Iron Springs mine; Seibert, Walter

  anonymous report on, 271–72

  as “the cooperation,” 121

  equipment purchases by, 125, 158, 162–63, 177

  finances of, 120, 132, 138, 234–35, 236–37, 262–63, 271

  inspection of mines, 230–32

  labour relations, 154–58, 168, 177, 236

  legal challenges to, 152

  mill built by, 237

  partnerships in, 118–19, 154–55, 273

  payment arrangements by, 118–19, 120, 128–32, 138, 147–51, 152, 176, 289

  production shutdown by, 254–55, 261, 262, 264, 268, 273

  recruitment from Nova Scotia by, 205

  sale of, 274–75

  strikes and walkouts at, 160–65, 167, 169–70, 176

  US government contracts, 237, 252, 263, 274

  Wilmington, DE, refinery, 236, 237

  and working conditions, 162–63, 230, 251, 264, 289, 304

  St. Lawrence Fluorspar (Delaware), 236, 263

  St. Lawrence Miners and Labourers Protective Union

  contract negotiations by, 155–56, 158

  coup within, 159–60

  founding of, 154

  strikes and walkouts by, 155

  St. Lawrence Workers’ Protective Union

  contract negotiations by, 168, 236, 323

  founding of, 160

  at inquiries and hearings, 177, 262

  strikes and walkouts by, 161–62, 167, 169, 176, 268, 324

  St. Patrick’s Day dispute, 160–62, 163–65, 167, 177

  St. Pierre, 15, 21, 35, 69, 131, 219, 223

  Stapleton, Edward Jr. (Ned), 128, 140, 299, 315

  Stapleton, Edward Sr. (Ed), 127, 140, 149, 206, 299, 315, 317

  Stapleton, Evelina, 140

  starvation, 95, 98, 108–9

  steel, 71, 135, 156, 159, 170, 263, 264

  Stepaside, Nfld., tsunami in, 60

  Stephenson, William, 352n13

  stock market crash of 1929, 56, 71, 116

  stomach ailments, 155

  Stone, Boyd, 297–98, 298–99, 315, 317

  store credit, 82, 117–18, 131–32

  Strauss, Henry, 197

  strikes and walkouts

  at Quebec smelter, 326

  at St. Lawrence mines, 155, 167, 168, 169, 176, 268

  St. Patrick’s Day dispute, 160–65, 167

  women’s blockade, 323–24

  Stuart, Robert Douglas, 211

  Sumatra, 46–47

  Sumatra tsunami of 2004, 46–47

  Sydney, NS, 24

  syphilis, 174

  * * *

  Tarefare mine, 328

  Tariff Board of Canada, 262

  tariffs, 252–53, 261–62, 263–64

  Tarrant, Fluorina, 153

  Tarrant, Pat, 128, 153

  taxes, increase to, 101

  Taylor, William, 70–72

  Taylor’s Bay, Nfld., 47

  earthquake and tsunami in, 45, 48–50, 57, 76, 345n18

  tectonics, 9–10

  telegraph communications, 10–11, 15, 27–28, 35, 64, 78

  telephone communications, 64

  Thomas, J.H., 99, 106

  Thompson, Sir Percy, 96–97, 97–98, 99–100, 104, 1
06

  Thorne, Father Augustine

  and Al Turpin, 166–69

  car owned by, 133–34

  connections with St. Lawrence Corp., 167

  and the Hope Simpsons, 133–34

  Howse and, 148

  Kelleher and, 153

  Poynters and, 141, 166

  rescue of men in snowstorm, 219

  Seibert and, 79–80, 82, 120, 166

  and smuggling, 131

  and tsunami, 65, 75–78, 113–14

  Thornhill, Frank, 25

  tidal bore, 41

  tidal surge, 20, 22–23, 29–30

  tidal wave of 1929. See tsunami of 1929

  tidal waves. See tsunamis

  tidal withdrawal, 26–27, 38, 39–40

  tides, 22–23

  Tilt Cove, Nfld., 145, 146, 213–19

  Tobin, Robert, 198

  Tobin, Sam, 313

  Tobin, Sue, 313

  Tobin, Theresa, 198

  Tobin family, and Ed McInerney, 198

  Torngat Mountains, 173–74

  Toronto, earthquake felt in, 25

  trade dispute board inquiry, 156, 157, 175–77, 182, 188, 205

  USS Truxtun

  memorial to, 329

  recovery from, 199–200

  rescue of, 188–89, 191–95, 197, 202–5

  tsunami of 1929, 40–56. See also individual towns

  amplitude and height of, 345n18

  animals in, 38, 42

  communication knocked out by, 78

  consequences of, 304

  death toll of, 59, 69

  emigration after, 69–70

  memorial to, 329

  news of, 57

  property damage value from, 55, 59, 346n32

  relief of, 58–59, 64, 88

  response to, 319

  South Coast Disaster Committee, 58, 59–60, 62–63

  tidal surge, 22–23, 29–30

  tidal withdrawal, 26–27, 38, 39–40

  tsunamis

  cause and process of, 36

  Lisbon (1755), 46

  Sumatra (2004), 46–47

  “tidal wave” as name for, 45

  tuberculosis, 296

  autopsies not performed for, 270

  compensation for, 292

  death rate from, 108, 174–75, 244

  in miners, 287

  “miners’ TB,” 226. See also silicosis

  misdiagnosis of lung conditions as, 291

  in Newfoundland, 18, 133, 244

  as official cause of death, 240–41, 243

  sanatoriums for, 211–12, 226–27, 240

  and silicosis, 226–27, 229–30, 231, 238, 243–44

  treatment failure for, in miners, 155, 229, 240

  vaccination against, 349n14

  Turney, Hugh W., 197, 200, 201

  Turpin, Aloysius (Al)

  and Father Thorne, 166–69

  and lung cancer in miners, 268, 290–91

  and Poynter, 168–69

  in St. Patrick’s Day dispute, 161–62, 163–64, 165

  as union leader, 160, 167, 169–70, 236, 262, 268, 290

  Turpin, Doris, 190

  Turpin, Ellen, 283, 317

  Turpin, Gregory, 16

  Turpin, Joan, 313

  Turpin, Lucille, 284, 317

  Turpin, Mary, 16, 19

  Turpin, Mike, 188, 190, 192

  Turpin, Priscilla, 283, 284–85, 294, 303, 317, 353n1

  Turpin, Rendell, 242

  Turpin, Robert, 190

  Turpin, Roche, 280–83, 285–87, 287, 288, 292, 300, 303, 316–17

  typhoid fever, 175

  * * *

  undertakers, in St. Lawrence, 314, 316

  unemployment insurance. See government assistance

  unions, 84, 234. See also St. Lawrence Miners and Labourers Protective Union; St. Lawrence Workers’ Protective Union

  attitudes towards, 154, 157, 215, 329

  United Nations, 171

  United States, 286

  campaign to join, 234

  cultural connections to, 15–16

  health and safety regulations in, 286

  immigration to, 317

  lung cancer in miners in, 270

  in the Second World War, 158–59, 170–73, 171–74, 174, 234 (see also USS Pollux; USS Truxtun)

  uranium, 172, 173, 257

  in Director mine, 265–66

  US Memorial Hospital, 223

  founding of, 204, 208–12

  Linden MacIntyre at, 335–36

  nurses at, 311–16

  US Navy. See USS Pollux; USS Truxtun

  US State Department, 170

  * * *

  Valdmanis, Alfred, 235–36, 352n13

  Veitch, George J., 57

  venereal disease, 174

  ventilation

  dust and, 256

  improvements to, 322

  and radiation levels, 266, 268, 291, 300

  regulations on, 251

  in St. Lawrence mines, 163, 230, 231, 264, 289, 295, 300

  and tuberculosis, 231

  veterans, 58, 101, 104

  * * *

  wages

  increases to, 234

  in mining, 129

  in St. Lawrence, 151, 176

  store credit for, 82, 117–18, 130

  unpaid, 81, 117, 130

  withheld, 131, 138, 148, 152, 176

  walkouts. See strikes and walkouts

  Walsh, Alonzo, 177, 334

  Walsh, Basil, 53–54

  Walsh, Cyril J., 257–58

  Walsh, Fred, 164, 176–77, 190, 192, 334

  Walsh, Jack, 334

  Walsh, Jim, 39, 43, 345n14, 345n15

  Walsh, Judy, 53, 54

  Walsh, Loretta, 190, 334

  Walsh, Mary Anne, 53, 54

  Walsh, Mary Elizabeth, 53, 54

  Walsh, Mary (McKenna), 39, 40, 43, 44, 345n14, 345n15

  Walsh, Sheila, 54

  Walwyn, Humphrey, 171, 320–21

  Warren, Noel, 299

  war reparations, 101

  water

  drinking water, 126, 155, 156, 163

  in mines, 124, 176, 253, 256, 259

  uranium in, 265–66

  welfare. See government assistance

  Which One (ship), 18

  whisky, 100–101

  USS Wilkes, 196, 200, 201

  Wilmington, DE, 236

  Wilmington, DE, refinery, 236, 237

  Windish, Jack P., 256, 260, 265, 266–67, 268–69, 269–70, 291–92, 299–300

  Winter, J.A., 64, 102, 103

  Wiseman, Rupert, 260, 268, 304, 328

  women

  blockade by, 323–24, 324–25

  death rate of, 270

  women’s suffrage, 58

  workers’ compensation. See also Royal Commission Respecting Radiation, Compensation and Safety . . .

  cause of death and, 240–41, 242, 243, 295–96, 316

  denial of, 227, 242, 257, 283–84, 289, 290, 307

  inadequacy of, 290, 296–97, 324

  lawsuits for, 239, 241

  long-term need for, 301

  for lung cancer, 296

  regulations on, 238

  for silicosis, 229, 242, 292, 296

  supplementary funding for, 296

  for tuberculosis, 292

  Workmen’s Compensation Act (Nfld.), 283, 286

  review of, 288, 290, 292–93

  Workmen’s Compensation Board (WCB), 292

  World War I. See First World War

  World War II. See Second World War

  * * *

  x-rays, 177, 228–29, 282, 286–87

  Photo Section

  Louis Etchegary’s family in 1929, likely early autumn, shortly before the tsunami transformed their town and their future lives. Front row, left to right: Louis Jr., Florence (later Mrs. Donald Poynter), nephew Bobby Pike and (in white cap) Gus Etchegary, then five years old. Back row: daughter Kathleen Etchegary (left) and Ellen Slaney, sister of
Louis’s recently deceased first wife.

  COURTESY OF LISA (SLANEY) LODER.

  Father Augustine Thorne, St. Lawrence parish priest and community leader in the aftermath of the tsunami and the early days of the mining industry.

  COURTESY OF ST. LAWRENCE MINERS’ MUSEUM.

  Patrick Rennie, Lord’s Cove. On the evening of the tsunami, Patrick and his two sons, Martin and Albert, were playing cards at a neighbour’s house. His wife and four other children were at home. His wife and three children drowned in their house. Four-year-old Margaret, asleep upstairs, survived.

  COURTESY OF SARAH BRAKE.

  Lord’s Cove, days after the tsunami. The Rennie home, where Patrick Rennie’s wife and three of his children died, is slightly in the background to the left of the building in centre-frame. After the disaster, Patrick and his sons became fluorspar miners in St. Lawrence.

  PHOTO BY DR. HARRIS MOSDELL, CHAIRMAN OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND BOARD OF HEALTH AND PART OF THE RELIEF TEAM ON SS MEIGLE. COURTESY OF PUBLIC ARCHIVES OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR (PANL), COLLECTION MG 1011, ITEM A 86–90.

  Waterfront, Burin district, post-tsunami.

  COURTESY OF ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, QE II LIBRARIES, MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND (MUN).

  One of eleven photographs of the Burin area taken by local parish priest Father James A. Miller. Six of his photos were published in the New York Times on December 8, 1929.

  COURTESY OF ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS (COLLECTION OF NEWFOUNDLAND STUDIES), QE II LIBRARIES, MUN.

  The iconic post-tsunami photograph, by Father James A. Miller of Burin, that many mistakenly believe shows a schooner towing a house. In fact, research by Alan Ruffman of Geomarine Associates Ltd., Halifax, a leading authority on the tsunami, reveals that the house, from Port au Bras, was discovered by its owner about a mile offshore and towed back to Little Burin Harbour, where it was then tethered to the anchored schooner, the Marian Belle Wolfe.

  COURTESY OF PANL, PARSONS FAMILY COLLECTION, ITEM A 2–149.

  St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, east side of the harbour, early 1930s.

  COURTESY OF ST. LAWRENCE MINERS’ MUSEUM.

  St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, west side of the harbour, mid-1930s, at the beginning of fluorspar mining.

  COURTESY OF ST. LAWRENCE MINERS’ MUSEUM.

  Black Duck mine, mid-1930s.

  COURTESY OF ST. LAWRENCE MINERS’ MUSEUM.

  Sir Richard Squires, prime minister of Newfoundland, 1919–23 and 1928–32.

  COURTESY OF PANL.

  Major Peter Cashin, First World War veteran, minister of finance in the 1928–32 Squires government. He eventually brought down the government by levelling charges of corruption against the prime minister and his cronies, setting in motion the final chapter in the collapse of democratic government in Newfoundland—which would leave the colony in the control of appointed bureaucrats until 1949.

 

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