Cape Breton's Magazine

In February 1905 Col. Mayhew sent a mining engi? neer, S. E. Thomas, out from England, and mining operations got into full swing shortly afterwards. The Company announced that it would construct its own rail line to Sydney and Louisburg, and that its colliery would be furnished with the best over? ground equipment in Canada. A rail line was built to connect the pit head with the nearby rail line owned by the long established Dominion Coal Com? pany so that construction materials for the town of Broughton could be brought in. During that spring and summer foundations for a power plant were built, and a large force of Italian workmen was employed in clearing the Broughton town site. The company secured options on sites on both sides of Louisburg Harbour, and the Louisburg town coun? cil offered it a bonus of $30,000 to establish a shipping pier in the port. A plan of the town of Broughton was drawn and lith? ographed in full colour, and distributed through? out Cape Breton. It showed a town site with about 12 mil.es of streets divided by the rail line into residential districts "above" and "below the tracks." The cross streets were numbered, while others had names like "Lakeside Drive," "Main Street," "Railway Street," and "Broad Street." The map was adorned with carefully drawn sketches of the buildings being constructed at Broughton, all of them in William Harris's unmistakable style, with hipped roofs and gables, round towers and bar? tizans, and bargeboards decorated with lines of little holes. John Ferguson, a veteran of Broughton's early days, who in 1976 was living in retirement in Glace Bay, not far from Broughton, says, "There was no joy a- bout such a thing coming." Evidently, the massive influx of English capital and the ambitious new de? velopment it was financing in the woods near Mira Bay, did not catch the imagination or arouse the interest of the Cape Bretoners. Could it be that they sensed that the Dominion Coal Company, which dominated Cape Breton and directly or indirectly provided the source of income for most of its citi- BATTERED WOMEN . AND THEIR CHILDREN. IF YOU NEED HELP, CALL: 539-2945 TRANSITION HOUSE zens, did not look with favour on this intrusion of a prospective competitor into the Cape Breton coal field? Or was it all too good to be true? Af? ter all, it was so very improbable, that (to quote the description of a local writer of the time) "out in the calm hushed solitude of its country fastness, on a remorseful blueberry patch, and near the sacred precinct of an old and venerable swamp, is built and equipped a superb hotel--noth- ing better east of Montreal." This was the "Brough? ton Arms," a three storey structure with spacious basement and attics, round towers topped by coni? cal roofs, and encircled by a veranda. It had been built before the railway necessary to bring guests to stay in it was constructed. A second hotel was also built--the "Crown"--a less luxurious but still substantial hostelry designed to accommodate the workmen on the site. A small building which had housed Italian laborers was freed by the con? struction of the "Crown" for conversion into an An? glican chapel, which was furnished with altar and pews made of birch logs. Even the covers of the prayer books were made of birch bark". A photograph of the interior of the chapel shows the unmistak? able hand of William Harris in the design of its altar. Another building was the general office of the company, a bungalow style building with a broadly sloping hipped roof with massive dormers and decorative buttresses on single storey round Are you up to your neck in lost heat? An imtnsiilatfd haspment ran result in Nnva Srntia Pnwpr has an informative An uninsulated basement can result in significant heat loss. In fact, in the average Canadian house, basement heat loss may account for up to 33% of heating costs. That's a lot of energy going to warm the earth around your home. Foundation insulation cuts this heat loss and can easily be installed during construction or renovation. Insulation on the inside can be done anytime. Nova Scotia Power has an informative booklet on recommended insulation for basements and entire homes. Write to Customer Service, P.O. Box 910, Halifax, N.S. B3J 2W5 to receive your copy. So, let the sun warm the earth and keep your heat to yourself. nova scotia power fy'??1"l_''|) PLYMOUTH CHRYSLER LTD. "We Make Them the Best, So We Back Them the Best" Dakota 4 x 2 SE 7 Years/115,000 Kilometres 'The Best in the Industry The Automotive Leasing Specialists Why Not Leasing? EASTLAND Plymouth Chrysler Ltd. Welton Street, Sydney 539-2280 "Where You Can Lease for Less" EXCELLENT DINING <> INDOOR OR PATIO r'ooooooada6BBBflB6BBBBBBBBBB BBBBnBBBnBHBHaBBHB'BBBBBBBBB D. J. 6 Nights a Week * Live Matinee Every Saturday 458 CHARLOTTE STREET, DOWNTOWN SYDNEY ??(23)