Interview with Lloyd Gething
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions12246
- Date Range
- September 11 1991
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- GMD
- sound recording
- electronic record
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Lloyd Gething, recorded on September 11th 1991 by Tom Leach. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and MP3 access files.
- Collection
- BVM Oral History collection
- Description Level
- File
- Creator
- Tom Leach
- Fonds No.
- C5
- Item No.
- 2021.21.39
- Accession No.
- 2021.21
- Physical Description
- 1.56 GB of digital records
- Date Range
- September 11 1991
- History / Biographical
- Lloyd Gething (1912-1992) grew up in northeastern BC, where his family was involved in the coal mining business. In 1951 he stopped in the Bulkley Valley on the way to Kitimat and ended up working at the Telkwa Coal Mine for many years.
- Scope and Content
- Interview with Lloyd Gething, recorded on September 11th 1991 by Tom Leach. Includes raw and edited .WAV files and MP3 access files.
- Type of Record
- Archival Description
Audio Tracks
Interview with Lloyd Gething - September 11 1991
Interview with Lloyd Gething - September 11 1991
https://search.bvmuseum.org/media/Digital%20Fonds%20and%20Collections/C5%20BVM%20Oral%20History%20collection/2021.21.39_Gething,%20Lloyd/Gething,%20Lloyd%20ACCESS.MP3
Interview begins with an overview of the Gething family's early involvement in mining throughout the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. They were closely connected in this venture with the Aylard and Green families, with whom they owned land at Hudson Hope and in the Kootenay District.
Ann Arbor; Babine Trail; coal mines; coal mining; Dockrill family; geology; George Aylard; George Henderson; hard rock; Hudson Hope; Hunter Basin; Jim Cronin; Kootenay District; Peace River District; Robert Green; silver; Spokane; Victoria; WAC Bennett Dam
family history; Gething family; mining
Shortly after Lloyd Gething's birth in 1912, the family moved from Vancouver to Prince George. They operated a farm at Vanderhoof for four years and later moved to Hudson Hope to develop a coal mine.
British Navy; coal fields; D.A. Thomas (Lord Rhondda); Fawcett farm; Geological Survey of Canada; Grand Trunk Pacific Railway; Groundhog mine claims; Lady Jane; Prince George; railway; steamboats; tie camps; Vancouver; Wales; World War I
coal mining; farming; Hudson Hope; northern BC; Peace River District; Vanderhoof
Gething recalls how his family ran an unsuccessful coal mine at Hudson Hope during the 1920s. When the popularity of coal declined in the early 1930s, Gething and his brothers sought other employment. He worked as a teacher, helped build an airport at Fort Nelson, attempted to join the army during WWII, and ran a trucking service along the Alaska Highway.
airport; Alaska Highway; barge; Canadian Pacific Railway; coal; correspondence courses; Edmonton, Dungevan and British Columbia Railway; Fort Nelson; Gething brothers; Great Depression; high school; mail service; Normal School; Peace River Crossing; river transport system; Rolla; sawmills; teacher training; teaching; test shipment; trucking; Upper Finlay River; Vancouver; World War II
coal mine; employment; Hudson Hope; jobs; occupations
When the coal market began to improve, Gething and his brothers returned to mining on their old family property at Hudson Hope.
Dawson Creek; drilling; farmers; Gething brothers; natural gas
coal mining; Hudson Hope
In 1951, Gething left Hudson Hope with the intention of moving to Kitimat, but ended up working at the Telkwa Coal Mine instead.
aluminum smelter; Art Dockrill; fire boss; Kitimat; Larry Gething; mining; niece; scenery; Terrace
Telkwa; Telkwa Coal Mine
Gething tells the story of how, as a young man, he spent a summer working for paleontologist Charles M. Sternberg, who discovered dinosaur tracks and ichthyosaur fossils in the Peace River area. This experience sparked Gething's interest in rocks and geology.
assistant packer; cook; dinosaur tracks; fossils; geology; ichthyosaur; paleontology; Peace River
Charles Sternberg; fossil hunting
Gething discusses work at the Telkwa Coal Mine, particularly the different equipment and technologies used by the miners.
air drills; air hoist; augers; blasting; Canadian Cellulose; compressor; drilling; electricity; equipment; explosives; hand drills; mine carts; mine tracks; pulp mill; punching machine; shafts; shifts; stumping powder; timbers; tunnels; work hours; workdays
coal mining; Telkwa Coal Mine
Gething explains the process necessary to become a certified miner.
inspectors; mining permit; oral examination
examinations; mining; qualifications
Continuation of discussion of the Telkwa Coal Mine and the specific processes carried out therein.
blasting; chain conveyors; coal sorting; cutting machine; drilling; duckbill loading; electric drills; hand loading; helpers; miners; routines; timbering
coal mining; Telkwa Coal Mine
Gething discusses the wages received by the miners, and his unsuccessful attempts to introduce bonuses to the system.
bonus basis; Dockrills; helpers; shift basis
payment; Telkwa Coal Mine; wages
Gething discusses what sort of people were employed at the Telkwa Coal Mine and how long they typically stayed.
employees; experienced miners; farmers; Germany; helpers; locals; Nanaimo; Scotland; seasonal work; turnover rates
coal mining; employment; miners; Telkwa Coal Mine
Gething gives an overview of the history of Telkwa Coal Mine prior to his arrival in 1951. He discusses its founding in 1922 by Jack McNeil and Asa 'Ace' Robinson, and how the first real operations started under the Dockrills later in the decade. Robinson later tried to open his own mine, which was taken over by Alexander Richmond during WWII. Gething further discusses Robinson's personality, mining experience, hobbies, and endeavours, as well as other small coal operations in the Bulkley Valley.
air hoist; Alexander Richmond; Davy lamp; Dockrills; fire boss; fire boss papers; Gillespie; Goat Creek; Hudson Bay Mountain; Porcher Island; prospecting; railway; Seaton; steam-operated equipment; Tom Atrill; tunnels; Twin Falls
Asa Robinson; coal mines; Jack McNeil; Telkwa Coal Mine