Title Thumbnail

Fight On!

Cape Breton Coal Miners,1900-1925

Joanne Schwartz

9781771088565
88 pages
Nimbus Publishing
Overview

In early twentieth-century Cape Breton, coal mines stretched far out under the ocean. The workers, mostly men, but also children and ponies, spent all day in the dark, damp mines. Each day the workers descended into the mines, they risked never seeing sunlight or their families again. They were miserable and fearful, working in dangerous conditions where fatal accidents were common.

So the brave miners took matters into their own hands, and stood up to the companies treating them this way. They went on strike again and again, suffering from starvation, disease, freezing winters, and violence at the hands of the mine owners and police. Fight On! tells the stories of these miners and their families, Cape Breton heroes who fought against corporate greed, putting their livelihoods on the line for better conditions and healthier families and communities.

The newest installment in the award-winning Compass series, Fight On! is at once an engaging history and a passionate call to action against injustice. Includes dozens of modern and archival colour photos and illustrations, a glossary of terms, index, and informative sidebars.

All of the author's royalties will be donated to the Cape Breton Miners' Museum in Glace Bay.

Author Bio
Joanne Schwartz grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Her first picture book Our Corner Grocery Store, illustrated by Laura Beingessner, was a Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award Finalist. Her recent picture book Town is by the Sea, illustrated by Sydney Smith, won the the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, was a Governor General's Literary Award nominee and a Boston-Globe Horn Book Honoree. Joanne has been a children's librarian for more than thirty years. She lives in Toronto.