Long-awaited Viola MacMillan autobiography hits bookstores

From the Ground Up

By Viola MacMillan

ECW Press

2120 Queen St. E., Ste. 200

Toronto, Ont. M4E 1E2

Viola MacMillan was more than 80 years old when she was persuaded to tell her life story about how she rose from humble beginnings to achieve extraordinary success in the male-dominated mining industry. Would-be publishers no doubt hoped that the autobiography would include a detailed account of the Windfall Affair, a 1960s mining scandal that not only dethroned mining’s “Queen Bee,” but also changed the nature of the mining business. MacMillan probably knew this, because after the manuscript was completed, she refused to have it published, or even to allow close friends to read it.

The unpublished work yellowed in a collection of papers until MacMillan’s death in August of 1993, at the age of 90. The executors of her estate rediscovered From the Ground Up and thought it worthy of publication. It’s in the bookstores now, though still on MacMillan’s terms, which did not include baring her soul or pandering to sensation seekers about her conviction (and subsequent pardon) for wash trading, the act of trading shares in order to create the appearance of market activity in a stock.

As a consequence, the otherwise detailed autobiography sheds little new light on the Windfall scandal, which resulted in the first ever conviction for wash trading, a routine practice on Bay Street at the time. Even so, it’s a fascinating, chronological account of MacMillan’s exceptional life and the triumphs and setbacks she encountered while trying to make it in a man’s world. From the Ground Up reveals an intelligent, spirited woman who left the farm to pursue a career, first as a stenographer, and then as a prospector, miner and lobbyist. Her love for mining was genuine and enduring, and sparked by her first visit underground, which she described as “one of the most glorious experiences of my lifetime.” She was equally at home in the wilderness as she was in her pink penthouse in Toronto.

At 207 pages, the book is nowhere near as meaty as it could have been had MacMillan been less scarred by the Windfall scandal. To provide context for the story, and to fill in the gaps, mining journalist Virginia Heffernan studied MacMillan’s papers and interviewed many of her peers. Her Afterword is a valuable addition to the autobiography because it provides both closure and context to matters that MacMillan found too painful to examine or discuss in detail. Near the end of her life, however, she ventured back into the mining fraternity, where she found solace and support, and took steps to recover her shattered dignity and reputation.

The book has humour too, as in the account of how a young MacMillan handled matters after learning that her boyfriend of two years, George, was seeing another girl in New Liskeard. She bravely paid a visit to the young lady to see what she was like. “Well, she turned out to be quite a nice girl, but I decided George needed me more than he needed her,” MacMillan wrote. “One shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but she was not a great one to get up in the morning, or washing the dishes. I have always been an early riser, and I certainly don’t believe in leaving the dishes pile up for a day or two.”

George and Viola married a short time later, and remained married until his death in 1978. MacMillan applied the same determination to her career, which made her Canada’s first successful female miner. On that front, her autobiography is thorough and an enjoyable read. It tells how she transformed the Prospectors and Developers Association from a small, parochial organization into an internationally recognized association of professionals involved in all aspects of the mining business. It tells how she served her country during the war years by ensuring that the Allies had a secure supply of strategic minerals. It tells of her life in the bush, and her accomplishments in finding, financing and building mines across the country. And in that sense, From the Ground Up should be required reading for journalists who have long focused on MacMillan’s dark days without mentioning her many accomplishments and years in the sun.