Anyone interested in purchasing this book, please call John Currie at 902-564-9138 Charlene On 6-Jan-09, at 7:38 PM, Carol MacLean wrote: > Did a google search of "The Other Side of the Harbour" by Johnny > Currie. > > CBC Radio1 website had this.... > > Welcome to Island Echoes > > Your host Wendy Bergfeldt keeps you up-to-date with Cape Breton > culture > every Saturday evening with Island Echoes, a weekly cultural program > broadcast at 8:05 p.m.(AT) on CBC Radio One. > > ISLAND ECHOES FEATURES > > December's schedule for Island Echoes > > Dec. 6 - Wendy Bergfeldt talks with John Currie, author of The Other > Side > of the Harbour, a new history of Sydney Mines. The program will also > feature the music of Sydney Mines' musicians The Barra MacNeils and > Bruce > Guthro. > > ************************ > > CBPost has more on this article.... > > Fri Nov 21, 2008 Cape Breton Post > > The Other Side of the Harbour: Retired educator to launch book on > history > of Sydney Mines. Retired educator John Currie is set to launch his > new > book, The Other Side of the Harbour, an in-depth look at the rich, > diverse > history of his home town of Sydney Mines. > > > LIFESTYLES Last updated at 12:19 AM on 22/11/08 > > Retired educator John Currie is set to launch his new book, The > Other Side > of the Harbour, an in-depth look at the rich, diverse history of his > home > town of Sydney Mines. Julie Collins - Cape Breton Post The Other > Side of > the Harbour > Retired educator to launch book on history of Sydney Mines > > BY JULIE COLLINS The Cape Breton Post > > SYDNEY MINES - Retired educator John Currie spent the past three years > working on a book that depicts the diverse history of his home town of > Sydney Mines. > Currie taught high school, was a junior high principal for 12 years, > served > as assistant school superintendent and ended his career as school > superintendent. > "I was always intrigued by the diversity of Sydney Mines, not so > much of my > own personal ancestry, but that of a lot of the people who settled > and made > a life here (after) leaving their native counties like Italy and > Poland," > he said. "Also, I wanted to capture those robust economic times when > the > town boasted six hotels and businesses such as the British Canadian > Co-operative, which had over 3,000 members during in its peak years." > > In writing the book, Currie said he wanted to flush out some of the > preliminary histories that have been done in the past by the likes of > Richard Brown and expand on some areas. > > He noted that Sydney Mines was a pretty significant town in the 20th > century referring to 1889 when the town had a larger population than > that > of Sydney at around 9,000 people. > > "My goal was to capture the colour and character of Sydney Mines as a > dynamo town when you consider the coal and steel industry, the > immigration > and commercial impact in those early years," he said. "I did numerous > interviews and the more I was able to delve into topics such as > immigration, coal and steel and commerce, the more interesting it > became > and the more information became uncovered. For me, it was a wonderful > learning experience and I appreciate those folks who allowed me into > their > homes." > There was a core population of Scots and Irish, which soon exploded > at the > turn of the 20th century when Lithuanians, Polish, Italian and > Romanian > immigrants settled in the small mining town. > > "There was certainly a multinational flavour during the boom years in > Sydney Mines," he said. "I was able to go into greater detail and > expand on > the history of these families that immigrated, many to escape > impoverished > conditions in their home countries." > > The book also goes into detail about contributions made by the > people of > Sydney Mines during the First and Second World Wars. > > "There is a section in the book dedicated to early education in Sydney > Mines, the difficulties the poorer classes had in obtaining an > education." > he said. "I have a number of other books in the wings, but this was my > first and I appreciate all those who helped make it possible." > > Currie invites the public to the launch of "The Other Side of the > Harbour" > at the Martha Howllett Memorial Library, Fraser Avenue, Sydney Mines, > Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. > > jcollins@cbpost.com > > ************************ > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NS-CAPE-BRETON-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message