ODDS’N’SODS — West coast mining school

On reading recently of the passing of Jack White, I was flooded with memories of the development of the British Columbia Mining School and of that rewarding chapter of my life, filled with the warmth, co-operation and encouragement of all those wonderful people in that venture.

Mining has always been an adventure to me — a journey into the unknown, fraught with excitement, surprises, anxiety and the rich rewards of achievement. However, the establishment of the mining school in Rossland was an experience with a special reward.

Bill Peck, chief mining inspector for the province, called me on one of his many journeys to Vancouver in 1971 and asked if I would meet with a group that was planning a mining school. Since I was unemployed and idle at the time, I informed Bill that I would be only too pleased to talk with them. We met in the offices of the old Western Miner with Charlie Mitchell, Mel O’Brien and several other members of the mining fraternity. I could sense deep feelings of interest, concern and commitment in the assembly. The focus was the pending development of nearly a dozen large mines in the province during the next few years and the fact that those mines would require a source of semi-trained manpower.

Several days later, I received a phone call informing me that I was to proceed to Victoria to meet with officials of the ministry of education and to both formulate and review a plan for the establishment of a mining school. In Victoria, I met first with Don Brothers (then the minister of education) and Jack White, director of technical schools for the province. The latter was an educator of some repute, I was to discover, who was both a visionary and an achiever.

We went over the plans with several officials of the ministry and finally Brothers returned to the group and informed me that a certain person wished to meet me. I followed Don to another building and entered an office where an elderly, grey-haired man sat behind a desk loaded with files, papers and documents.

Here, to my delight, was W.A.C. Bennett, premier of the province. He received me most courteously and asked for my impressions to date on the venture. I replied favorably and he then wished me good luck and added, “See this pile of invoices and unpaid bills on my desk; don’t you expect miracles as the buck stops here.” I laughed and replied that a precise and practical budget had been developed to be shared between government and industry. The initial school was set up in Rossland at the Red Mountain mine site, adjacent to Nancy Green’s training slopes and occupying Inco’s molybdenum mine operation. I was soon involved with Mayor Harold Elms of Rossland and, in later days, with Mayor Harry Lefevre.

It was a richly rewarding experience from the start. Stalwart, experienced people were acquired as trainers; young men and women arrived from all areas of the province for training; equipment was donated from mining companies; and many interested representatives from the mining industry across Canada and the U.S. arrived to review the curriculum and program.

As the school quickly expanded and required more space, Cominco offered the use of one of its old properties on the slopes of the mountain overlooking the magnificent Columbia River Valley. In this splendid setting, a fine training facility soon took shape for the purpose of sending freshly trained recruits to the mines across Canada.

We wanted the students to depart with a sense of accomplishment, confidence and dignity. Mayor Lefevre had the answer to this: “Let us hold a formal graduation ceremony in the old courthouse in Rossland. I’m certain I can influence the local officer to provide the building for the occasion.” From there on in, each class assembled in the magnificent old granite building and occupied the stately courtroom with its 75-year-old fittings and atmosphere, and here graduation honors were duly bestowed.

— S.J. Hunter is a retired mining engineer who resides in Vancouver, B.C.