Working in the Mines I - Summers 1948/49/50

Chapter I – Passing the Medical and Starting Work

At the end of my first year of University in May I decided along with three close friends (Ted MacDonald, Maury Katz and Bob Barrow) to head north to work in the mines instead of another season in the lumber camps. The pay was more than twice what I had been earning in the camps, a sum sufficient to pay for my university fees and to help my parents with additional living expenses. An added incentive was the leisurely 54 hours work week instead of the basic 60 hours I had to endure in the camps.   

In early June I took the train to Sudbury and went immediately to the employment office of  The International Nickel Company that had several mines and a smelter in the area. After filling in the application forms I was sent to their medical office. Part of the medical examination was a weighing in, and I was dismayed to learn that at 133 pounds I failed to meet their minimum weight requirement of 140 pounds for students. I was devastated and as I was leaving the clinic the doctor, to soften the blow, promised that if I gained some weight at a later date the employment offer was still open. I certainly wasn’t going to gain that much weight overnight and this meant leaving my friends and taking a train farther north to spend another summer in the lumber camps.

Before heading north I joined with my friends in a bar to commiserate and say my good byes. Bob Barrow asked, “Have you thought about loading up on water and then going back to the medical office to get weighed again?”

I said, “Are you crazy? Seven pounds of water equals 112 ounces or about nine 12 ounce bottles of this Pepsi we are drinking - and the doctor would never believe me anyway.” 

Bob replied, “Well you have nothing to lose so let’s keep going; you are on your second bottle now and you have just finished eating a hot dog and chips so let’s switch to water and aim for just six or seven more.”

I had nothing to lose, other than blowing up, so we asked the bar maid for two large glasses of water. When she watched me quickly down these and gasp for air while my friends cheered me on she grinned nervously and asked. “What are you guys doing? Is this some sort of bet? “  

“No this is very serious”. Bob replied, and without adding an explanation, asked for two more glasses. 

"Well I don't know if I should, and this is the last time because I don't want to get in trouble." She served two more up.  

Turning to me Bob said, “Well if you finish those two glasses that makes six or about four and a half pounds; add the hot dog and chips and we are closer to five pounds so we are almost there."

"I can't." I said. 

"Shut up and drink." he replied, so taking a deep breath I downed the two glasses of water. "Great now you have only 3 glasses to go, and miss, three more glasses please. And have pity on this guy, because if you won't serve it he won't get a job in the mine here because he doesn't weigh enough and will have to leave Sudbury to find work."

By now I could hardly breathe but as an act of bravado I gasped out to change that order to just two more glass and another order of chips and a hot dog to wash it down.

" Well okay, but I'm really scared now, this is dangerous,  but I will do it - and don't tell my boss if he blows up." she said.

Bob phoned for a cab because there was no time to lose; I was bursting. I downed the last glass of water and staggered out to the cab with my hot dog in hand and my belt undone. In ten minutes we were at the medical centre and I raced in and God must have been with me because the doctor was still there.

I calmly said, “I have gained those pounds so please weigh me” He looked at me amused and replied. “Don’t be ridiculous. You are probably carrying stones or a brick.” 

“No,” I said, “I have really gained this weight. I didn't eat anything on the train coming up from Montreal and didn’t drink much but I’m back to my normal weight now.” 

“OK , but I don’t believe you, but you can take off all your clothes and I will weigh you again”

I stepped on the scales and when he saw the weight gain he laughed and said in amazement. “Holy Cow!, I don’t know what you did, but I guess I have to sign off so that you can get that job!” At that moment I was ready to explode and asked to leave the room and raced down the hall  for the wash room. I just made it and with a sense of relief quickly lost most of those extra pounds. That was probably the happiest pee I ever had. And I was hired.

I think the doctor knew what I had done and I learned later from Ted MacDonald that management picked up on this story and were much amused. 

I visited Bob Barrow for the last time in Ottawa two years ago. He was dying but still had the strength and sense of humour to share our memories of this event from many years ago. 

The last story about being hired is about the old foreman at the Murray mine who had the new recruits lined up for inspection before being assigned. There were about a dozen of us. He looked us over and made some cynical comments about how green we looked and how we needed toughening up. Then he asked us to show him the palms of our hands and walked up and down to feel our biceps. I was probably the skinniest and youngest in that line up but he singled me out and said, “kid I can see you have done some hard work;” I guess that lumbering experience had paid off.

Boy! Was I proud.