NEW COLUMNIST
Lessons learned from my father
Life on the Northside
Like the legendary country singer Loretta Lynn, I too, was born a coal miner’s daughter.
During my parents’ generation, education wasn’t as valued as it is today and many men, including my father, Wesley Mulley, left school at a young age to find work. Dad began his career as a miner in the Florence Colliery when he was 15. By the time I was born in 1963, he was working at Princess Colliery in Sydney Mines and already had 13 years of shovelling coal under his belt.
I grew up in a comfortable but modest two storey, threebedroom home on the corner of Main Street and MacAulay Street in Florence. I was a happy child with loving parents, growing up with two brothers and two sisters.
It wasn’t until I was about 10 or 11 years old that I began to comprehend what it was my dad did to support his family. He was a shift worker and often spent as many as 12 hours a day in the mine. While I knew my dad was a miner and that he was gone a lot, I had no idea at the time the magnitude of the danger involved in what he was did. In an attempt to shelter us from worry, he never shared with his family any of the hazards that he would face on a daily basis. In fact, he spoke little of his work.
Toil in the mines couldn’t have been easy, but my dad never complained. He left for work each day with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. He genuinely appeared to have no complaints about his job and to some degree even seemed to enjoy being a miner. He said the job afforded him a nice life and the ability to give his family what they needed and that, he said, was what was most important.
At a time when some dads would head out for a drink after work, my dad was home working on my brother’s secondhand mini bike, fixing my mom’s washing machine, or building a campfire in the back yard. I am not saying he didn’t enjoy a cold beer after work from time to time, but home life came first regardless of how thirsty he may have been. He was ahead of his time, a hands-on, 21st century dad living in the 20th century.
They say that the most influential person in a young girl’s life is her father, and I can attest to that. I truly believe that
the person I am today is due in large part to the relationship I had with my dad. Always there to provide support and encouragement, he was my mentor. He had expectations for me and my siblings that included us being healthy, happy, productive members of society. While he spent a good part of his life underground, those precious moments at home were spent with his children.
Dad wasn’t happy unless he had at least one of his kids tugging at his pant leg. Alone time
was never anything he seemed to need. Leaving the family behind to spend time with the boys from work was a foreign concept to my dad. When he had free time, he wasn’t interested in spending it with anyone other than the people he loved.
When I was a kid, my dad taught me how to swim, skate and fish, three activities that I continue to enjoy as an adult. He was then and remains today more than just my dad, he is my best friend.
Dad retired from Prince Mine in 1987, after a lengthy career as an underground supervisor.
It gives me great joy to know my daughter will benefit from the time she spends with her grandfather. At age 82 “Grankie,” as he is affectionately called, carries on the family tradition by being as kind and caring with her as he was with me.
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In the months ahead I will be sharing stories of interesting and influential people making a difference on the Northside. For my first column I chose to write about one of the most influential people in my life, my dad. If you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell I would love to hear from you. Please contact me at sherrymulleymacdonald@hotmail.com.