Day Six We are off to Charlottetown

We checked out of our hotel in Truro and took the main highway heading to Charlottetown.  We noticed that just off the highway was the town of Springhill.  This is a very famous town for two reasons.  The singer Anne Murray was born in Springhill and there is a coal mine that had an explosion in 1958 killing 75 miners.  I remember hearing the news about the disaster.

We pulled off the highway and drove the 15 km to the town.  Our first stop was the Anne Murray Centre.  We went in and enjoyed Anne singing some of her popular music while we perused the exhibit.

We decided to drive on to the mine sight where there was a museum and a tour of the mine.  

We started off in the washing shed where the miners stopped off before they went home to wash the coal dust off them selves and leave their clothes so that they wouldn't take the coal dust home with them.

Each miner had his own hanger where he hung his things.

This was hanging on the wall in the washshed.

In the next shed miners got their lamps and the rest of their gear.  They carried about 30 pounds of it.  We had to put on hard hats to go down into the mine.  The ceiling was low in areas and we had to duck so we wouldn't hit our heads and the hats came in handy.

The main entrance to the mine is closed and there is a recreation center now build there but the town has opened up this entrance so that the public can go down and experience what the miners went through every day.  

The shaft has been brought up to today's safety standards so that there would be no more accidents.  Fresh air is piped in so that there is no chance of methane gas.  

We were 300 feet underground.

It was quite an experience walking down making sure we didn't bang our heads or slip on the wet ground.  The main part of the mine is now filled with water and the bodies will never be recovered.

We left Springhill after lunch and headed for the Confederation Bridge that connects Prince Edward Island to the mainland of New Brunswick.  So today we have been in 3 provinces.

The Confederation Bridge.

Once we go to the Island we decided that our next stop was a quilt shop.  It was called Bargain Fabric Shop but there weren't many bargains.  I was looking for marine fabric so that it would be from the area and it was $15 a meter, so I left it behind and hope that I can buy some at the next stop.

We found our hotel and settled in for the night and will start some sightseeing tomorrow.

Peggy