Bethlehem Steel - Marmoraton Mining Co.
Men of Steel (and a few women!)
Erratum: Alex Booth wrote: The Marmora mine workers list includes my uncle Donald (Dan) Booth, but he never worked there. It was my father Dean Booth. The birth date is right though. For some reason Bert is not listed but you do have a picture of him.
6th - Ray Shucavage - no photo
1968 Accounting staff: Ron Henry, Ray Smith, Gary Kelly, Chrlie Bingham, Alex FrASER, tOM bROOKS, tOM hANLEY, Bernie Thompson Derry
1969 aCCOUNTING STAFF: rAY sMITH, gRY kELLY, rON hENRY, tO hANLEY, aLEX fRASER, jENNIE kILLIAN
March 22, 1972
Retirement Dinner For Alex Fraser
Bethlehem Steel Alex Fraser, Verna Fraser
A retirement party in honour of a well-known and community minded resident Mr. Alex F. Fraser who will be retiring December 31, 1972, from Marmora- ton 'Mining Company, was held recently in the Sagonaska Lounge of the Four Seasons Hotel, Belleville. Mr. Fraser was manager of the Dominion Bank in Marmora from 1946 to August 17, 1953, when he joined the staff of the Marmoraton Mining Company. In September of 1955 he was appointed to resident Auditor and Assistant Treasure succeed- ing Mr. S. S. Shaak who had been transferred to the home office in Bethlehem, P. A. It is evident that Mr. Fraser is held in high regard by the number of staff members who attended the celebration from the Marmoraton Mining Company and the executives of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation Accounting and Mining Departments. Master of Ceremonies Tom Hanley, Administrative Assistant, gave a brief resume of Mr. Fraser's background. Among other things, Mr. Fraserwas a councillor for the Village of Marmora for 11 years, a charter member and president af the Marrnora Chamber of Commerce in 1947, Finance Chairman for the building of the Dr. Hamilton Crawford Memorial Arena and Treasurer of the Old Boys' Re-union in 1947. Mr. Shaak was called upon to introduce the head table and other guests.
Mr. Lorne (Buck) Hornsby and Mr. Ray Smithpresented Mr. and Mrs. Fraser with a slide projector on behalf of the company and staff. In their replies, .Mr. and Mrs. Fraser thanked all those who had con- tributed in any way to the enjoyment of the evening and the fine gift. Congratulations and best wishes were extended byMr. A. M. Reed, Vice-President and Comptroller Accounting; Mr. E. P. Leach - Vice-President, Mining; Mr. J. A. Rossetti, Assistant
Vice-President and Assistant Comptroller, Accounting; Mr. S. J. Shale - Assistant .Vice-Presidentand General Manager, Mining: Mr. H. O. Olsen, Manager, Cornwall Division; -Mr. J. S. McChesney, General Superinter.dent, Grace Mine, .Morgantown, P.A.; Mr. George Wisti, General Superintendent,' Marmoraton Mining Company; Mr. J. H. Atkinson Assistant Superintendnt. Marmoraton Mining Company.
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. (Sandy): Fraser Marmora and Mrs. Judy Colins, who travelled all the way from Widbey Island, Washington State, U.S.A., were present for the celebration honouring their parents.
Mr.Fraser has no definite plans for his retirement but is, looking forward to having the leisure time to pursue his hobbies of fishing, bird watching and photography. The officials of Bethlehem Steel Corporation and theirwives arrived by company plane at Trenton Airport.
Dec. 6, 1972, Marmora Herald
1968 Marmora Mine Retirement of Lorenson, w. Fraser & Hanley
1968 Marmoraton Mine 1st head, Al Lorenson w. Alex Fraser
Alex Frser. Joyce Campion, Sandy Fraser
Glen Derry on left and Cecil Bell on right.
PROBLEM SOLVED............
. Bill MacDonald, Maurice Fenton Cecil Bell, George 'Buck' Mantle; ; Glen Derry; George Osborne, Bill Monk;
.Glen Derry; Maurice Fenton; George 'Buck' Mantle; Bill Monk; Bill MacDonald, George Osborne
Employees hired per year:
1951: 4 , 1952: 35. 1953: 63, 1955: 23, 1957:27, 1963:30, 1974:35, 1975: 13
ln the years not mentioned above, the company was still hiring, but only a few each year as replacements. The total yearly workforce was usually approximately 300 men/women.
THE BERNIE DERRY COLLECTION
Send us photos for the Employee Gallery
In order of hiring date........
![Bell, Graham William (Butch]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53052d10e4b0b111f005ebe2/1613512671738-R8LGDQTUU26T9SSQE5HW/Graham+Bell.jpg)
![Kilian, Eldon (Al] Lewis](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53052d10e4b0b111f005ebe2/1615155390557-Q3PMMEUPSLQUP563QV5A/El+Killian.jpg)
Barbara Brooks Ednie writes: "Hi. I'm the 9th child of Stan Brooks and Betty Moffatt Brooks. My hometown is Marmora. My dad worked at the mine for many years. I remember sitting beside him in the big truck driving around the mine. he would give me a short tour. In 1978 I remember my dad leaving for South America to work in Argentina at a mine there. I was 8 at the time. It was just for one year ." (owned a farm north of Marmora)
Ron Barrons writes: (this photo) "shows a collection of ‘equipment’ medallions that my father Harry Barrons collected while working at the Marmoraton Mines. My father always carried a pocket watch and one of these would be attached to watch that he carried. My father was a driller at the mine, so I especially look at photographs including drills. He was hired on the second major hiring day and worked there until its closing.
WERE YOU A STUDENT AT THE MARMORATON MINE?
Let us know. CLICK HERE.
Vincent Lynch
Vince Lynch informs us…………. The mine offered summer student jobs to those attending post-secondary education at university or community college. The jobs were paid at labourer rate, which was very good relative to most other summer job opportunities.
Our first week was with the labour crew, where we were given basic instructions and safety training. Some remained in the labour crew for most of the summer, while others were assigned to a variety of jobs in the various phases of mine operation.
If you were in the labour crew, you could wind up doing anything that required manual help such as painting, assisting with a spill clean-up or helping clear a jammed rock crusher. One perk was a weekly trip to the company townhouses (that were on the bluff overlooking the Crowe river) in Marmora, for grass cutting and landscaping. It was common practice to be offered and cold drink and cookies by the residents.
Job assignments in the mining operations included spotting trucks for loading at the power shovels and at the dumping operations at the “skip” or at the waste dumps. They used 30-ton Euclid and 100-ton Dart trucks for transportation. We were trained to drive these trucks and on good days/nights (never in the rain), we would drive most of the time as the drivers liked to get out for breaks.
One of the mindless jobs on day shift was that of “Road Superintendent”. Here you were issued a pitchfork and required to walk the length of the truck routes, clearing small rocks that invariably spilled from the loaded trucks. The truck tires were very expensive to replace. While the drivers valued the “Road Superintendents”, I can’t remember any of them taking a break in the position.
I worked much of my time in the pellet plant as a labourer. I was trained in first line jobs and often was stepped up to replace others for sickness and vacation. This was a 24/7 operation, so I got well paid including double time on holidays. However, it was also a dirty operation and showers were a must at the end of every shift.
In my last summer, there was an opening in the engineering department and I was offered a daytime job that included layout survey work for the blasting operations and pit roadways. The blasting operation included layout of the blast hole locations and determining the blast pattern. After the holes were drilled, the blast crew loaded the holes with packaged dynamite charges that were detonated by timed charge caps. The pit was cleared of all personnel for the blasts; that usually occurred a couple of times a week. (Photos 1964)
Wayne VanVolkenburg writes:
Wayne Van Volkenburg
55 Ton Dart truck, used at Marmoraton mine in 1965
“In 1965 I was fortunate to be hired for a summer student position. What sticks in my mind most, was our first day initiation. We were taken to a dumping area on the East side of the tracks, each equipped with a shovel, and watched as a Euclid truck dumped a huge pile of crushed rock. Our job for most of the day was to try to level this pile. Just a few days earlier, I had convinced Dr. parkin that I had recovered enough from a ruptured appendix, to take on the work load at the mine. Little did I know!
After a few days on the labour gang, I never worked with any other students while I was there.
JOhn BLeecker
I think that Alex Tokarowicz and John Bleeker worked there that summer. My time was mostly spent on the spotter jobs that Vince Lynch mentioned. Although these jobs seemed meaningless, accidents had occurred in the past, at the waste dump and ore hoist. Because my course didn't start until January, I was allowed to work until the late fall. These summer jobs at the mine gave many students the financial means to continue their education.
Bethlehem Camp - Burnt Lake
Alex Tokarowicz
MARMORATON MINING COMPANY FIRST EMPLOYEES
LM NO. NAME HIRE DATE BIRTH DATE JOB POSITION
114 GRAY, A. 8- 1-51 10- 6-31 Truck Crane Operator
STEENBURGH, Floyd Wm 12-3- 51 11-2-11
SHANNON, Clarence Jos 12-17-51.
VARDY, Herman 12-20- 51.
ELLIS, Archibald D. 1-21-52
McFARLANE, Gordon Eug 1-21-52
65 GAWLEY, R. 1-21-52 2-20-22 Carpenter A
96 VESTERFELT, A. J. 1-21-52 1-16-30 Millwright A
VESTERFELT, Peter lra 1-21-52
108 YOUNG, Frank George 1-21-52 10-21-32 Prod. Loader Operator
120 VILNEFF, G. 3- 5-52 1- 2-16 Mobile Equip. Mech. A
122 EMBURY, E 3- 6-52 2- 1-18 Rubber Repairman
289 HACK, K. 3- 6-52 4- 4-24 Shovel Operator "A"
127 SMITH, W . 3-26-52 3-21-23 Furnace Operator
128 SHANNON, D . 3-26-52 4-23-31 Painter
133 BELL, C. 3-27-52 6-30-22 Utility Truck Driver
135 BARRONS, E 3-28-52 8-31-16 Utility Truck Operator
130 NICHOL ,C. 3-31-52 7-13-16 Utility Truck Operator
137 RUTLEDGE, M. 3-31-52 9- 3-16 Prod. Truck Driver
56 EMBURY, P. 3-31-52 1-13-17 Prod. Truck Driver
141 ELLIS, R. 3-31-52 8- 7-22 Carpenter Helper
70 GEROW, L. 3-31-52 1-18-30 Motor Inspector "A"
145 BOOTH, A. 4-23-52 7- 9-13 Prod. Loader Operator
59 CROMIE, R. 4-28-52 9-15-15 Mobile Equip. Mech. " A"
83 SMITH, D. J. 4-30-52. 6- 7-32 Millwright "A"
152 PREST, J. 5- 6-52 12-28-21 Prod. Truck Driver
64 TRUMBLE, K. 5- 6-52 7-12-27 Electrician "A"
67 SEABROOK, O. 5-13-52 3-27-10 Welder "A"
80 DOYLE, B. 5-13-52 3-27-24 Truck Serviceman
136 WELLS, A. 5-14-52 7-19-27 Shovel Operator "A"
69 BRANDON, R. 5-20-52 3-24-29 Millwright "B"
151 SPRY, S. 5-27-52 8-25-12 Fork Lift Truck Operator
12 MACK , A 6- 2-52 7-31-22 Primary Driller "A"
215 COLEMAN, D. 6- 2-52 4- 5-26 Mech. Helper
155 MANTLE, G. 6- 2-52 3-19-34 71 Millwright "A"
71 CAMPION, C. 6- 9-52 3- 3-18 172 Loader Operator
172 BARRONS, H. 6- 9-52 12-29-18 Primary Driller "A"
169 DOYLE, W. 6- 9-52 11-13-23 Prod. Truck Driver
168 BELL, B . 6- 9-52 10- 2-29 Welder "A"
181 McFAUL, A. 6-16-52 11-27-08 Primary Driller "A"
183 MACK, G. 6-16-52 2-20-14 Shovel Operator "A"
182 McINROY,"A" 6-16-52 7-29-22 Primary Driller
186 WRIGHTLY, G. 6-16-52 12- 1-25 Millwright "A"
175 HULSMANS, J. 6-16- 52 8- 6-26 279 Machine Sweeper
279 VILNEFF , D. 6-16-52 8-24-32 Welder "A"
193 STEENBURGH, C. 6-24-52 7- 6-22 Primary Driller "A"
67 SEABROOK, O. 5-13-52 3-27-10 Welder "A"
SHANNON, S 6 -9- 52 5 - 9 - 30 Guard
194 McARTHUR, A. 6-25-52 5-12-18 Mobile Equip. Mech. "A"
75 FOSTER, B. 7- 4-52 8-28-14 Truck Repair Helper
202 BROWN, L. 7- 7-52 7-15-12 Furnace Operator
76 CRONKRIGHT C. 7-7-52 5-26-14 Millwright "A"
201 McCOY, C. 7- 7-52 7-19-14 Blaster Helper
216 BROWNSON, A 7- 7-52. 5-8- 15 Prod. Truck Driver
89 REID, J. 7-7-52 2-28-17 Mobile Equip Mech "A"
200 SOPHA, N. 7- 7-52 1-28-18 Prod. Truck Driver
224 EMPEY, A. 7- 7-52 1-23-29 Prod. Truck Driver
205 CAVERLY, G. 7-7-52 4-19-29 Janitor
321 CARSWELL, I. 7- 7-52 8- 1-33 Mobile Equip. Mech "A"
231 RALLISON, B. 7-14-52 5-13-31 Prim. Drill Helper
232 EDWARDS , I 7-28-52 11-11-15 Millwright "A"
292 McCLARY, J. 7-28-52 2-15-17 Furnace Operator
220 YOUMANS, E. 7-28-52 2-27-17 Blaster
236 BELL, L. 7-28-52 7-24-26 Boiler Operator
242 BROOKS, S. 7-28-52 10-3-30 Furnace Operator
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