Cape Breton's Magazine

see over it. Some of the buildings would be above the fence. And you could see the Coke Ovens, going up Victoria Road. And you could see other parts of the plant if you were down the tracks, on the way to town, or going by the General Office. On the way over to Victoria Park to watch a ball game. You saw a few buildings there, but that's all you saw, just from the outside. (And each day, you would go to General Yard.) See, the various departments would call the General Yard for extra help. So, for example, if the Blooming Mill required some extra men for jobs within the Bloom? ing Mill Department, they would call up. When you get over there, they will put you in the various jobs that are open at that time. It was basically labour work. (Next day you might be in the Open Hearth?) Or the Blast Furnace. Or the Coke Oven. Or the Bar Mill. You know. You would work yourself into a job within DON'S FLOWERS Serving Port Hood, Judique, Inverness and Surrounding Areas p. O. Box 179, Port Hawkesbury, N. S. BOE 2V0 Telephone 625-2215 or 625-2717 the mill context, too, mind you. You wer? en't just only using a shovel or a pick. Sometimes you'd go up and they'd place you in a job as part of that department. There were various, numerous jobs in connec? tion with the operation of that department. Numerous jobs. I can't describe them all. It wasn't just with a broom or with a shovel or a pick all the time, or any-thing of that na? ture. So you were considered as extra help to fill in for people who perhaps reported off sick for one reason or another--filling these jobs to keep the operation going. I was in the General Yard for about close to a year. Then I went over to the mill's boilers--they made the steam for the Bloom? ing Mill. It's like a boilerhouse. So I worked there for--oh, up until the time I went into the (Army), I suppose, in '43.... (In the Army) we had some of the same as? pects that occurred during the First War happen in the Second World War. They were not too keen on accepting blacks in the service. I wasn't old enough to go into the service at the time it started in '39. In '39 I was 16. But there were several black men who applied, not only here in Sydney but throughout Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada, who were turned down. Turned down because of race. WeCcotne to your home azvay from home! These signs invite you to come make new friends and experience a unique way to enjoy Cape Breton's famed hospitality. For more information contact: Tourism Distribution Centre P.O. Box 1448 Sydney, N. S. B1P6R7 1-800-565-9464 Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation (Bienvenue chez nous! Aux etablissements arborant ces enseignes, vous trouverez des hotes chaleureux qui vous feront decouvrir I'hospitalite Iegendaire du Cap-Breton. Pourde plus amples renseignements, s'addresser au: Centre de distribution des informations touristiques C. P. 1448, Sydney, (N. t.) B1P6R7 Une initiative de: 1-800-565-9464 Societe d'expansion du Cap-Breton So that went on for quite awhile. I suppose as they got further down into the war, they decided to (change) that policy, because they needed eve? ry able-bodied man they could get. So that gradually disappeared as far as the service was concerned. And that policy held through. And the other parts of the service, like the Navy-- I don't know of any blacks that were ever in the Navy. And there were very few in the Air Force. Very few. (Were any of your officers black?) No. The only black officer I saw was a Capt. Oliver. Dr. William Oliver, out of Halifax. He was a clergyman. I don't know of any others that were black. I never saw them. They never separated us or segregated us. You know, I went where everybody else did and did what everybody else did. I was expected to do it, you Passport Photographs While You Wait Official Home of "Your Pace or Mine?' Ahhass Stadia Ltd. , . OVER ( ONE HOUR FILM PROCESSING of's'e'r'VIce 5" X 7" Enlargements or Reprints in Only 20 Minutes! TO CAPE BRETON Weddings Commercial & Industrial • Family Groups Graduation ABBASS STUDIO LTD. 170 Townsend St., Sydney * 564-8234 or 564-6491