If the resilience of miners from Drumheller was ever in question, their descendents proved their mettle, braving a chilly Sunday afternoon to recognize the fallen miners of the Drumheller Valley.
A couple of years ago, a small but dedicated group reinstituted May Day Celebrations to Drumheller leading up to the Centennial of the coal mining industry in the valley and enroute to completing a permanent memorial to the miners who perished in the mines.
The tradition stuck as former miners, their families and friends, gathered at the Miners Memorial to take a minute to reflect.
“In the early years, they called this the Power House of the West. The coalfields of the valley drew men and families from Europe and mining regions of North America to work the seams,” said Kelly Eddy, program director at the Atlas Coal Mine, who emceed the event. “But there was a price to pay for this nation building. How many fingers, toes, backs, lungs and eyes, were destroyed in the belly of the beast? We remember the pit ponies, and when one of these was lost, the men who labored alongside them shed tears. And what grieves us the most - the men who paid the ultimate price to feed their families and keep Canadians warm.”
Aileen Eno and Bill Eremko read the names of the men who perished in the Drumheller mines listed on the memorial, and the Men of the Rosebud Choir provided music to mark the ceremony. Rev. John Crowdis recited the UMWA Rites.
Along with this ceremony, there were a number of events throughout the valley to mark the May Day Miners’ Festival.
