Interview with Mabel Williams
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Issue Date
1979
Editor
Authors
Williams, Mabel
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Subject
Abstract
Audio recording and transcript of Mabel Williams's 1979 interview with Joy Leach for the Coal Tyee History Project. Williams's husband, Evan, worked in the coal mines near Cumberland, and during the interview she reflects on her memories of living in the area. She opens the interview by sharing her understanding of her husband's route to Cumberland. She talks about union activity, ventilation in the mines, and the mine's eventual closing in 1953. She shares many details about what it was like to live in the Cumberland area during the Depression era, including housing, shopping, social activities, and entertainment. Williams talks about her husband's shifts and wages, and she also speaks about medical care for miners. She makes comments about the different ethnic communities near Cumberland, and she also reflects on her domestic activities.