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A textbook lesson in Flin Flon history

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting. Jonathon Naylor Editor Like a lot of visitors, Dr.

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

Jonathon Naylor Editor Like a lot of visitors, Dr. David Jones was intrigued by Flin Flon. So much so, in fact, that the university professor authored a grade school exercise book on the community. Flin Flon: A Sample Study of a Northern Community was published in 1968 complete with photos, articles and questions for students to answer. 'You will be learning much about Flin Flon and the country around it,' reads the introduction. Written in a candid, matter-of-fact style, the thin hardcover text carries a range of in-depth articles, not the least of which is one on legendary former mayor Jack Freedman. '...the Flin Flonners have always had a soft spot in their hearts for the cigar-smoking 'old-timer,' and in 1952 Jack was elected mayor of the town,' reads the book. A unit entitled 'The Growth of Flin Flon' details how the burgeoning community lured men from all around during the hardship and factory closures of the Great Depression. 'Luckily for the HBM&SC (the 'C' is for 'Company'), there were still enough factories working that needed copper and zinc,' it reads. 'So they kept working, which meant that there were jobs to be had in Flin Flon.' Interviews with old-timers add a human element. 'Well, I came here from Saskatchewan in the '30s,' one man is quoted as saying. 'It was one of the few places where you could find work. Yes, you had to wait in line six months for a job, but where else could you go?' The text delves into the multicultural roots of the community, with young families arriving from other Canadian provinces and faraway lands like Ukraine, Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. 'This is what made Flin Flon different from a lot of mining towns; people actually came to stay, to build homes and to bring up their children,' reads the book. The book also explores then-current debates and residents' take on them. 'Electricity for Flin Flonners does seem quite expensive,' reads one section. 'Some townspeople say this is because HBM&SC owns the Island Falls power plant, and that they charge the town more than they should. The company says that this isn't true. Perhaps you can find out about arguments like this in your community?' See 'A..' on pg. 9 Continued from pg. 6 Other observations carry great relevance more than four decades later. 'In a big city like Winnipeg, it is easy to change your job,' reads the book. 'But in Flin Flon, it would probably mean going away. A lot of Flin Flonners do leave, especially the young people. Why do you think young people leave Flin Flon?' Like the articles, the assignment questions cover plenty of ground. Why is it useful to have natural drainage for a mine? Do you think the prospectors really believed that this was old Flin Flon's lake? How did the Great Depression help Flin Flon to grow? Other queries are much more sensitive: 'What difficulties might a Cree housewife have when her family decided to move to Flin Flon?' The book's existence was largely unknown in the community until the 1990s when, by chance, local resident Kathy Lavis had a nephew attend school in Cold Lake, Alberta. His school library was discarding a copy of the textbook, so he scooped it up to send to his aunt. At one point, five years ago, the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce considered having the textbook reprinted and sold within the community.

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