Sept 14, 2009 Day 17

The day started off with yucky weather, so we looked for indoor activities. Another tourist we were talking to a few days ago, recommended this place. "The Rooms"
"Home of Nfld. and Labrador's archives, art gallery and museum. The building was magnificent and very impressive to see. But none of us were impressed with its contents.

Pitcher Plant description.

Lookout through a window. A drizzly morning in St. Johns.

A walking tour through St. John. As we were having lunch, the sun came out and we decided to take the ferry to "Bell Island".

"Basilica of St. John the Baptist" church

"Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist" church.

On the ferry to "Bell Island". Bell Island is in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is the largest of several islands in Conception Bay, measuring about 9 km by 3.5 km.

Approaching "Bell Island".

First thing we did was head for #2 Mine. Historic Iron Ore Mine and Museum. This involves a walking tour of the underground shafts to experience what it was like to work underground.

""Ready for the mine tour""

Our tour guide "Bonny" explained to us that we would be going down 100' and 650 ' into the mine. At this point I took off my hard hat and said "See you later". Bonny was very patient and took me to the entrance of the mine to show me how large and light it was, and if at any time I wanted to go up, she would radio someone to get me. I decided to give it a try. Didn't want to miss anything. It went OK.

Old equipment used for mining. Mining first began on Bell Island in 1895 with surface mining. Underground, or submarine, mining began at the No. 2 mine in 1902 and continued right up until 1949.
Mining ceased altogether on Bell Island in 1966, ending 71 years of an industry that saw 79 million tons of ore extracted and sold worldwide

Bonny's dad was a miner in this mine, so it is very personal for her. At one point she turned off all the lights, (with our permission) just to demonstrate the darkness. She then walked towards us through another cave with her flashlight on and sang Rita Mac Neil's famous coal miner's song "Working Man". It echoed all through the caves. Just beautiful. The tour gave us a glimpse of the living conditions of the miners and the horses.

All kinds of shovels were left behind by the workers and can be seen in great quantities during the tour. Roughly 60 percent of the ore that was mined at Bell Island was loaded by men with hand shovels. Miners worked by the light of candles and shovelers were required to load a minimum of 10 cars for 1.8 tons capacity during each 10 hour shift for a mere 12.5 cents per hour.
In the early years before automation and conveyor belts, horses were used to transport the ore. They would stay in the mine for virtually their entire lives and had to be blindfolded when taken above ground.

A quick tour of the little and back to ferry.

Looking down towards the ferry and the main land in the distance.