By Mary Giuliano, for e-KNOW

Several years ago a group of seniors formed a committee dedicated to building a monument to honour miners.

After commissioning an artist’s rendition of a miner’s statue and researching the price the group decided they neither liked the image nor the cost for producing such a memorial.

The group met for over a year but soon lost members who thought meetings were no longer productive as nothing concrete had happened to make their dream a reality.

I joined the committee at this point and after several discussions it was determined that a commemorative wall along the left side of the Fernie City Hall building would be a better tribute than a statue.

Bruce Abugov, an architect from Calgary, drew up plans depicting a structure with open walls and a sunken area with seating and mine entrance tunnels. It was thought black rock and a water feature could add interest.

These plans were put on hold when the City of Fernie decided to hire an architectural firm to develop landscape plans for the grounds of City Hall, the chamber site and the cemetery. As the committee waited for city plans to be finished and implemented we kept meeting. During this time it was decided that the new plan, at an estimated cost of over $300,000, might be also difficult to achieve especially with the downward economy.

Last year former Fernie residents John Kinnear and Jocelyn Thomas presented a concept to the committee and to city staff that seemed achievable.

Lorne Perry Designs from Calgary, very experienced in this field and who came highly recommended by Heinz Reese of Fernie, was brought on board. Lorne Perry has worked all over the world and became very interested in the project understanding the reasons and emotions behind it.

He understood that although tourism has become very important to our town, the truth is that without mining Fernie and other communities in the Elk Valley wouldn’t exist.

Mining is still what drives the economy here. Mining is what kept people here even when miners were working only a few hours a week in the fifties.  Coal Creek townsite disappeared when the mine closed down in 1958. The Michel mine kept this area going until Kaiser arrived in the sixties and resurrected the whole industry by implementing open pit mining. For most of us living in this area for half a century or more mining is what kept a roof over our heads and food on the table.

Helen Bachlet, Mary Loughery, George Cockburn, Bob Morris, Mike Pennock and myself, with Lorne as creative director, have worked diligently for the past year to make the project a reality and now it is taking shape. Site manager Fred Lightfoot brings years of experience to make sure everything is being carried out according to plans.

The exhibit will showcase important history. The concept plan was further improved with questions like what is the lifespan of the exhibit, who will be the typical visitor, who would come to see it, what would they do, what would they take away with them after having seen this exhibit, would there be an educational component to this, will the people of Fernie and the Elk Valley be interested in this?

We feel after having developed and fundraised for so many months that the exhibit will validate the lives of past miners as well as confirm the importance of the industry to our area.

Today work is commencing as planned, visitors walking by can see the beginning of the curved pathway that will hold posts, banners and signs that will be educational, interactive and beautiful to look at.

The exhibit will consist of six stations that culminate in several free standing sculptures that when viewed from a certain angle produce the optical illusion of a miners face with hard hat and lamp.  World renowned artist Jeff de Boer is creating this masterpiece. The text for the signs was researched and compiled by our own Mike Pennock, curator of the Fernie Museum, and written by David McIntyre, an experienced writer for this type of historical writing.

All fabrication is being done locally. Artists, artisans, concrete work, steel posts, engraving of bricks, electrical, landscaping –  all being accomplished by locals who are experienced and appreciate the project and have donated some of their time and material.

Of course this project would never have happened without the help of Teck Coal, Columbia Basin Trust, City of Fernie and many other contributors who donated money, material, expertise and lodging for Lorne Perry.

The community embraced this project by supporting it with donations and by purchasing bricks with a name of a loved one. These engraved bricks will line the pathway and make the entire exhibit personal as well as being a way to honor people with a connection to Fernie and to mining.

As the project get closer to the finish line it is the committee’s hope that everyone will be as excited at the results as we are. This project will bring not only something wonderful to city hall grounds that will enhance the already most important artifact we have, the city hall itself,  original home of the Crowsnest Coal Company, but  it will show what our town is.

Fernie and area is steeped in mining history that continues to be a central support but tourism is also important, and this project will bring a balance of the two.

Mary Giuliano is a Fernie-based writer, city councilor and dedicated community volunteer. E-KNOW is very pleased to be able to showcase her talents!

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