Ginger Goodwin Day

Ginger Goodwin: Canadian Labour Martyr

https://www.marxist.ca/analysis/history/207-ginger-goodwin-canadian-labo...

"Stop appealing and praying! Line up in the great world-wide movement of socialism and use the connected action of all workers to wrest from the master-class the means of wealth production." - Ginger Goodwin

We take our history seriously in this Village. The walking tour this afternoon by Marianne Bell will be followed by a get together at Comox Lake. The BC labour movement came out in droves for this year's Miner's Memorial in June because it was the hundredth anniversary of his murder and the General Strike in Vancouver that it triggered, the first general strike in Canadian history.

Here is a little teaser from the Museum.

Goodwin’s Reach Exhibit

Over the years, the Goodwin story has caught the imagination and attention of diverse artists and historians. These voices will be featured in an exhibit Goodwin’s Reach, debuting at the Cumberland Museum and Archives during Miners Memorial June 22-24, and running until October 12, 2018.

Goodwin’s Reach showcases community and professional visual artists, musicians, documentary makers, fiction and non-fiction authors and playwrights all inspired by Ginger Goodwin’s life and death narrative. For former Cumberland resident Tom Hutton, the Goodwin story is a personal one. Hutton’s grandfather rowed up Cumberland Lake weekly delivering supplies to Goodwin and other draft evaders. His painting titled “Cruikshank River Valley – Where Ginger Goodwin was Shot” evokes the rustic beauty of the region where Goodwin met his untimely death. Nanaimo Art Gallery Curator, Jesse Birch’s publication ‘Ginger Goodwin Way’ documents the exhibition of the same name which was featured at the Or Gallery (Vancouver) in 2010. Playful pieces by Cumberland’s Dawn Copeman lighten the mood of an otherwise dark and controversial topic, while graphic novel artists such as Montreal’s (former Cumberland) Laura Ellyn, and Dave Lester (Vancouver) share the story through a contemporary medium. Enjoy music and film clips, including a short film produced by Micheal Stephen (Nanaimo) from his play ‘The Ginger Goodwin Story’ – created for the exhibit, and the ‘reading nook’ with books, scripts, graphic novels, and essays from participating artists and authors.

Items from the Cumberland Museum and Archives permanent collections including Ruth Master’s leather bound compendium on Ginger Goodwin, and George Sawchuk’s ‘Homage’ piece will be on view, along with items on loan. With over 17 featured creators, Goodwin’s Reach is a must see exhibit for those seeking to learn more about Ginger Goodwin, his legacy, and the significance of his death 100 years later.

https://minersmemorial.ca/ginger-goodwin/temporary-exhibit/

Here is what brought the union movement out last month.

https://minersmemorial.ca/

Thanks. I had heard about Ginger Godwin, and about the first General Strike, in BC, but unfortunately hadn't read much about it, or him.

Ginger must be turning over in his grave at what the Canadian left has become.

NDPP wrote:

Ginger must be turning over in his grave at what the Canadian left has become.

In the lead up to the War the social democrats across Europe lined up with their nation states and justified the carnage that would follow.  In his era there was no CCF only Socialists being elected in BC. 

Let us all not forget that he fought and we remember the history because hundreds of miners died in the coal fields in numerous preventable disasters. The Cumberland mines for a time were the most profitable and dangerous in the Empire.  The raw power of that ages energy industry on full display,

The Museum has an excellent historical collection that includes and highlights not only the European miners but both the Chinese community that at one time was one of the biggest and on the West Coast and the Japanese community including the ethnic cleansing of this area.With this being the 75th anniversary of interment and the 100th Anniversary of Ginger's murder our little museum has been very busy. Our Village has great signboards in Coal Creek Histortic Park that is the site of the old Chinatown. The new name was one chosen by the descendants of the people who lived there. I am proud of our community because we will not forget our history as troubling as it is.

http://najc.ca/national-events/cumberland-bc-commemorative-event/

https://cumberland.ca/coal-creek-historic-park/

As for Ginger he was an organizer for the Socialist Party of Canada and would have been an internationalist not a nationalist. The strikes in Cumberland were epic battles triggered most often by safety issues that the workers always lost. The coal from the mines was the highest grade and very sought after but many men died in the pits and their widows were destituted. No party of the era was offering day care or lower ATM fees the fights were for food on the table, safety in the workplace and dignity. Frankly in our modern world we still have many workers who could use a party dedicated to ensuring EVERYONE has food on the table, safety in the workplace and dignity

The party had a revolutionary Marxist orientation: it saw attempts to reform capitalism as counterproductive to the goal of overturning the capitalist system entirely and replacing it with a socialist model.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Party_of_Canada

During the Big Stike of 1912 to 1914 that swept the Vancouver Island coal mines Mother Jones came up to speak at rallies including one in Cumberland. In BC we sing a union song called; "Are you from Bevan" that talks about the strike and the amazing community solidarity that carried the families of this valley for nearly two years.

https://mickleblog.wordpress.com/tag/mother-jones/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTUk6_uaWi4

WWWTT wrote:

This person Joe Naylor (sorry if I got the name wrong) sounds like he deserves a lot more credit for his sacrifice and contribution 

The Village graveyard contains Ginger's grave and Miner's Row where unkown men from the disasters where buried together. We gather yearly to remember them with Ginger being the focus. However we have not forgotten the people like Joe who lived to fight a lifetime.

Here is a pic of the plaque installed in front of the Museum in partneship with the BC Labour Heritage Center.