The following transcript of Elmer Zinkie`s interview on

The following transcript of
Elmer Zinkie’s interview
on
Memories and Music
(broadcast May 6, 1979)
was created by the Sudbury Public
Library as part of a
Summer Canada Project
in 1982.
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".BEMORIES & MUSIC"
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ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
INTERVIEWEE: Elmer Zinkie J/9/ 7
POSITION:
DATE: May 6th 19-79
INTERVIEWER: ~e~t Meredith
'
.
THEME:
TAPE NO: 105
TRANS.: Raymonde Lafortune
DATE OF TRANS.: July 1982
SUMMER CANADA PROJECT
- - £1e./""'j a t-h. ,Ad ~1a.i,'O.-n. ./':" t
- 71v . h iS ful~ "f rc rpaA. CiLI{.
$Pt.l !l -H ·
B. M ~
Thanks Doug . The man as my guest ~oday on ~ories& Music
has been a familiar one around CoppeD"Cliff Sl.nce what, 1900
and earlier. Yes, Elmer Zinkie is with us this Sunday, and
we are looking forward/to talking with him about his early
days in Copper~liff~ and also those of his father; and his
grand-father before him. However as is our custom we'll return
brie~ly to Doug McLaughlin, for his musical introduction, and
comments on -the music,and then we'll return with Elmer.
(MUSIC)
B.M.
\
E.Z.
Well Elmer Zinkie, welcome to Memories & Music, a na it's
certainly .u nique to have a third generatio~ right on the
:fiddle, and you are, . aren't you?
""to
That's right.
r
said before, before 1900 even you were, your family start,
incidentally we're going back to your father, and your grandfather, and you, where did your grand-father .original.l y come
from? Did he come from overseas? Do you know?
/ .
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
From
E~Z.
Right.
B.M.
Oh did he?
E.Z.
Right.
B.r1.
To work in the mines in , in Sudbury ' area?
He came right from Germany.
Germany ~
•
/
ZINKIE
2
180
'.
E.Z.
B.M.
Right.
I wonder, was he working in mines in, in
it.-
E.Z.
Ger~an~ • .
J"j.
Well~;methiner~ don't know, to be honest with you, and I don't .
,
\P
even know ,that his job was here.
should kind of look into.
I guess it's something I
B.M.
• • • ' wouldn't it, eh? . What was your grand-fatheils first
name?
E.Z.
Frederic. '
B.M.
Fr ederic: So there's Fred Zinkie, and your father was perhaps
Gus, I knew you ' had an uncle as well.
E.Z.
That's William.
B.M.
William. .,' And then we have Elmer ~
E.Z.
Right.
B.M~
Yeah. Alright, let's go back to your grand-father. He star t ed-let 1:tsee--if your father started, ":'you told me in what 19 • • •
E.Z.
1919.
B.M.
1919. So your grand-father started before that he'd be about
the turn of the century' wouldn't he?
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
And~
E.Z.
1889.
B.M.
18~9. · Oh my gosh.
That's not long after things get going
around here. Is it?
E.Z.
No.
B~M.
Where did 'he work?
(1;")
l1~
w~
fPqJf
Right.
your ' uncle, you said started in • • •
I don't think so.
/
~ond
then at tha~~ .
J;t~o r,,1J
B.M. ' It was Mond. Yeah. Right. O~ ~urse there were a lot of, there
was quick proliferation of cbmpamies then, wasn't it?
E.Z.
He worked at the
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
I~ ,was the British, American leader and all the smaller companies
around';.
/
ZINKIE
3
220
J~
J
That's right.
B.M.
Where did your uncle-, was your uncle Will was it? ·
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
Where did he work. / '
E.Z.
He worked in Sf obie.
S.M.
E.Z.
B.1'1.
J f: I
•
E.Z.
'f
That was an open
mwonder?
pitop~ration
I guess in those ·days, wasn't it?
I think it' was.
Yeah. #Cause back in 1889 I think the~were - jUS# surface
mining a lot /O f th~pl- , well I guess, was forest under Laforge
. a!fter Frood.:/was g01ng or not? Well what about your grand- V
father'~ do you know where he worked?
He work~d for the Mond
was he at • • •
/'
E.,Z.
No I , as I say I don't know I, I know he lived in
I went to visit them there and everything.
B;."M •
Did you, do you remember your grand-father
E.Z.
Oh ye.s.
B.M.
You do?
E.Z.
Oh yeah.
B.M.
Like well, he worked and .he retired. from the company.
E.Z.
Right .
B.M.
Wonder what year that would be when he retired.
remember him then Elmer. When you were • • •
E.Z.
Oh I'd say I was maybe 6 or 7.
B.M.
6 or 7 that would be in the, in the mid '20s.
,him , eh?
. E.Z.
Copper~ Cliff
Elm~r~
.0:.
Very well.
When do you
When you remember
Yeah •
B.M.
And did he, how long ago did he die?
E.Z.
Oh yes, it's quite '-a few years.
B.M .
Okay, let's talk about Elmer Zi nkie.
Quite a
~hile
ago?
Now they're all from
ZINKIE
4
258
CoppeI/"oClif"f!
Were you born in COpperio(lliff?/
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
You were born in
E.Z.
Well I'd say yes because.
B.M.
Well Elmer get your head together.
you?
/.
Copper~ liff
.
itself?
..
Now were you or weren't
Well I actually was born in what they call at that time the
Steel town. My mother went. from Copper~ lif~toher mother's
and fath?
'. .,
/
..B.M • . In Steel, well now, where's Steel town?
E.Z.
E.Z.
That's what they call the
B.M.
Was it known as
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
You were born what year?
soo~~ay.
stee~o~
then?
,
E.Z.
1917.
B.M.
So i~17, what we know today as
town.
E.Z.
Steel town.
B.M.
Because
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
Isn't that interesting.
E.Z.
Yeah, and • • •
B.M.
And your mother went up to be with her parents •
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
For the bir thing of the great Elmer Zinkie • • •
E.Z.
Right, and then she come back about 2~r 3 months later.
Sault~St ~arie
was
Stee~
'.
AlgOma~S
•
there then,. I guess.
I didn't, I didn't know that. ·
..
/
()"'~'>
5
ZINKIE
283
B".M.
Oh, so you just
Wer 8& ~ t
E.Z.
Well actually I was just on a visit.
B.M.
Is that all. Son of a gun. So that yo#
Zinkie that wasn! t born in Gopper~Gliff.
E.Z.
That's more or less.
B.M.
Yeah. I hen later came back and, and were raised in
Olliff ~- course ,
E.Z.
Qh ' yes. '
B.M.
Where did you live?
parents live?
E.Z.
We lived on Church Street ~ first, then we lived on Ri:pok Street,
we lived on Paris Street. 'Z
e, so ,you're one
'
0 r'
Coppe~
/
lb"",eL( I(
What street in
' ~
GOpper~liff'~id
your
~
tph ce;;tL<,.] •
B.M.
Oh, you moved around a little bit, eh? '
E.Z.
Oh yes, we were trying to get a better houseold then.
B.M.Yeah.
eh?
\
actually born there, eh?
\
.
You ·had a lot of those wooden houses that are still there,
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
Well
E! Z.
'Oh yes, they weren't too bad.
B.M.
And there was cheap rent • • •
E.Z.
Oh, I guess so.
B.M.
You couldn't beat that.
E.Z.
No, Sir. '
B.M.
Nobody wanted to move, .eh?
they~re
quite ,comfortable though aren't they?
E.Z. ' That's right. That's right. In them days you know the company
used ' ,to take off your storm windows and put on the screens • • •
...
B.M.
And look after you, give you grass and stuff for
E.Z'.
Ohyes. , Paint to paint it with and you know. • •
B.M.
We realise now that things were prettYJgobd in those days.
ZINKIE .
6
311
E~Z.
Oh yes • • •
B.M.
Had a lot going for it, didn't it?
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
Yeah.
B.M.
Quite a close community
E.Z •. Oh yes.
Yes.
close.
/
And you ~ort of disdained Sudbur~ eh?
E.Z.
Ob no, ' ,we didn't botber with that ,at all. /
B.M.
When you were
car ••
E.Z.
Right.
a kid
..
'
B.M.
I presume that you
(
c~pper~lif/was.
...
Ver Y, J very
That's a • • •
growing up in Sudbury, you went by street-
did~
t
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
Yeah. , Was the, did you say what about this mentioned to me
about a stage~coach? Was there a stage-coach service?
E.Z.
Yes.
B.M.
Was this before the street
The old Turnabut !
There was
\.o r""(l. 1
.
...
rail~ay
then?
,'
E. Z. Oh yes .. ' Yes, And my dad ,drove the stage-coach and I have a
~r ~ 'tv/: ) of his that he ,used . on the stage-coach •
B.M.
For, -for what?
E.Z.
Change in.
B. M.
Is ,that right?
E.Z.
B.M.
To keep his change in?
It's all compartments in it for change and that • • •
,
~)
./
-./
And the stage-coach~would run between CopperWC liff and Sudbury?
.
"
E.Z.
That's right. '
B. r1.
I presume the road was
road whatever • • •
. E.Z.
.
. . . Yes.
Yes.
mor~
or less where it is t'oday, or dirt
With a litt l e more curbs in i t and so forth, and so on,
,
ZINKIE
7
342
B.M.
Yeah .
7
And where was the
Y stable in, in
coppentCliff"~
it. was little.
E.Z. 1Jtiwas down on Evans Road. . I think
,
/,-vV
B.M. Was it? You ~w, that's where the dairie is today.8!'t the corner
of Evans Road. Ye2!:~.' ~h?t ~
E.Z.
Yeah, just
B.M.
On the opposite side.
E.Z.
Yeah.
th~
opposite &ide though.
Where the dairie is.
I wonder what they charge you to go from
B.M.· Yeah .
coppe~li;~ .
•
I. didn't know.
E.Z.
No.
B.M.
And that's , that's • • •
E.Z .
I know my mother's family they got h arried in copperk lif.f ( and /'
she _said she walked from Sudbury ,t7f~om CoppeJJ44Glif7t~ SudburY''' ' ' ' '
the day she got married.
B.M.
The day she got married?
E. Z.. , Yeah.
B.M.
She walked?
E.Z.
Sh.e walked .
B.M.
You're kidding, that 's S miles man, one way .
To buy some stuff for the wedding .
E.Z • . That's right.
B.M.
Over, what a dirt road probably.
E.Z.
Oh yeah .
B.M.
And nothing else I suppose.
E.Z .
Oh no.
B.M.
My gosh , they were t ough in those days weren't they, eh?
E.Z.
No , she s a id, she, she told us that definitely, she • • •
B.M.
Isn't that :interesting.
E.Z.
Ye~h.
It was all gravel.
,
Oh no.
,-
ZINKIE
8
370
.
/ -
B.M. _ You couldn't buy whEtt you wanted in Coppe:J)f(Cliff, so you had
to come to SudburyVto get it. .
37/
You
h~d
to come to
SUdbUry~ get
E.Z.
That's right.
it.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M~
Now you went to, you went to school in
the
public school where it is today Elmer, when you were growing ,
up?
E.Z .
Yes, it was.
B.M.
In the same spot there.
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
When you're on of course, alright the~ when your finished with ,
with the public school., if you wanted to go to high-school.
Then you h~O go to , . ••
.
E.Z.
In Sudbury.
coppe~liff~S
It still is.
•
{
)
.
1-
B.M.
Yeah, I remember Lorn what's his name--telling me th~he had
to go, he went by street-car or whatever to Sudbury, eh?
E.Z.
R~g~t.
B.M.
Wel~f you were a kid ~ you weren't going to school, you
wou1an' t go to Sudbur~very often then, would you? Maybe
once a week?
E.Z.
No..
w~,
Right.
Well, at that time too you see, it's not like it is today ,
we"earned all our money to go to town.
B.M.
Yes.
E.Z.
And I've seen us, at that time we burnt wood. • •
B.M.
In your house.
E.Z.
In the house and we , I've seen it maybe have to go out my .
brother and I, and pile 10 cords or 15 cords of green birch;
and ' then after we got a pile, we got .. 15 cent·s to go to the
show.
B. M.
Is that right?
E.Z.
It was . 10 cents to •
ZINKIE
9
404 -
B.M.
So you had a few chores to do in those days did you?
E.Z .
That's right. You didn ' t get nothing , -nothing for nothing
you , you worked for everything you got.
B.M .
You know , that's interesting because today , I think that's one
of the, the things that are - lacking with young -people, there
are ·no chores fQr them to do to speak of, are there?
E.Z.
No, and you can ' t
Afll
...
J in a way.
B.M.
E. Z.
That's right.
B.M.
No .
E. Z.
In one way because they've done away with evepything that's
well automated today •
B. M.
Yeah. But if you have no work attached to it, you've got
nothing .
E.Z .
You _got no ashes to sift.
B.M.
No .
E. Z-.
You got no coal to tiring in • • ,
B. M.
No chickens to look after or whatever.
E.Z.
That ' s right.
B.M.
People kept chickens or a pig or something, did they , in
those days?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M .
Nearly everybody I suppose •
E.Z .
Yes.
B. M.
Or
E.Z .
No .
You can't blame the -c hildren.
Oh yes.
Yes .
rabb~ts,
.
-
You darned right. _
or some such thing.
We always had something to do .
Yes . And so you weren ' t getting bored or in quite as much
trouble , I guess you got v~ 4 4 1'1'>1 Il (/ A share ', I suppose.
_
"f'l~
E.Z. 'Oh you get into a -few little troubles here and there but
B.M.
ZINKIE
-YJ/
10
427
B.M.
Nothing to speak of •
E.Z.
Nothing there.
B.M.
Nothing there.
E.Z.
No.
B~M.
Did you, qid you go on to high-school then Elmer?
E'. Z.
No I , when I come out of ·public school I was, we were .in a
position that I couldn ' t go.
B.M.
And this was a money matter I suppose, eh?
No .
No.
;,
•
No.
./
E.Z • . Right.
B.M.
Well let's see when you came out of publi c school--you were '
. born in 1917, that would put you what, :[4 or so about t 31;<i.. 32
eh?
E.Z.
Yes.
B.M.
That' d be right i n the heart of the
E.Z.
That's. right.
B.M.
So things were a little totigh as at home.
E.Z.
Oh yes. Right. .R ight. I had a brother working for Inco at
the time, and he was making a $1. 35 an ~our • • •
B . r1.
Oh my gosh, that's a lot of money'.
E.Z.
And he wanted to put me i n, I said: "No way . " I . said: "Not
at a $1.35 , an hour." I said: "I ~ ll go out and get a job instead."
So • • •
Depression~ouldn't
it?
Well things picked up a little more quickly.
Is thisitl
V
\
B.M.
Well how many, well how many in your family of brothers and
sisters did ' you have?
E.Z.
I had 2 brothers and 1 sister • .
B.M.
D.i d you.
E. Z.
At home.
.
"
'
B.M. 'So okay, you didn't go on to school, so what did a 14 or 15 ~
year old young buck do then, in the heart of the Depression~
E. Z.
Well I happened t o be very f or tunate I guess at that time, I
ZINKIE
11
459
"
('1)
went and got a job at Racicot & Harris.
B.M.
Well they were the .big merchants in, in
-they?
,E.Z.
Right .
B.M.
Now the~ had, besides a grocery and
well?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
~ ,
Coppe~liff
weren't
Right .
the~so ld
dry goods as
B.M.
They had everything.
0- P}d£
Everything. Like a ~~- general store.
E.Z.
Ri gh t. . Furniture.
B. M.
Furniture too, eh?
E. Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
What, what di,d young Elmer' Zinkie do there, was he packing
the shelves, or delivering bread or what?
E.Z.
I was more or less a clerk.
B.r1.
werwou,
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
And ~:fl,;f:!t
E.Z.
30.00 dollars a month.
~ .M.
30.00 dollars a month, that's a dollar a day, and you worked
everyday, eh?
"
And. •
t .-?4 ) ~ sum
of what?
E.Z. , Yeah.
,
B.M.
And you worked from morning~-what about--were they open on
Saturdays then, I can remember when •• -. '
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M .
9, 10 o'clock, eh?
E.Z.
Ie
0
We were open
Sa~urday
nights till
...
'clock yeah.
H.M .
Yeah.
E.Z.
Well come closing time it depends when, in ' them days you could
work till 11 too.
ZINKIE
12
482
B.M.
Yeah, it didn't matter. But a lot of people tha ~was what
you did on Saturday night, went shopping, eh?
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M. 'That was one of the things that
. ~
••
E.Z.
Right.-
B.M.
Would normally do. Elmer I want to talk ,.:alittle more abuut
that, but let's just take a paus e a moment, and enjoy a little
music with Doug, and then we'll come back.
(MUSIC)
. "
t<--G
t>o--«
B.M.
Elmer is, (TI~w let'ssee in 1931 too as you were working for
Racicot & ' ~pio, ~ a clerk, and general delivery boy, were
those horse and wagon days?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
That's what you delivered with?
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
It was a team, eh?
E.Z.
No, we had Maud and Queen, one for uptown, and one for dOwntown,
2 routes.
B.M.
In
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
Well, ~ ll now what do you call uptown and downtownirt Coppe~
Cliffl{ -
E.Z.
Well the downtown boy would deliver from the hospital down.
We had two hors es.
60ppe~Cliff? ~
,
I '
B.M. ' Down toward the refinery in
E.Z.
Yes~
going ~k
a-~~ys.
and down the Church Street, Peter Street.
Oh yeah.
And ' you'd be up the hill then
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
Oh yeah.
E.Z.
Oh yes.
. :i.M.
oth ~wO~dS
...
In that section.
And so they had 2, 2 delivery lines, eh?
Right 2 of t hem, yeah •
Were you there in the wintert i 'me?
winter-time?
Was i t es/~ ;,h'j
) in the
ZINKIE
13
656
E~Z.
~' f)9 B.M.
Oh yes.
Oh_definitely.
That's very ' interesting. When, where did they keep the horses,
back of t~~ store there?
.
~d~~
cd-tI<P
~ft , we ft88c"""QI statile ~--~ back of the store.
\ .
B.M.
E.Z.
I'
For go.odness sake.
,
Yeah. And we, I~remembe~ days going up, as I said, delivering
up to Clarabelle station we had a section man out there,
that 'b rought all-this food to us : and we . . .-j ust go up, maybe
once a month, but we had a gOO. d horse, Quee ~, Queeny f and she
put the tighter rains to the sled and let her go • .
B.M.
And let her go.
E.Z.
Whe knew wliere to go; ~ when to come back, and she w&S
s])tjlJlf right up to her • • •
B.M.
To her ~thers is t hat it then, eh?
E.Z.
011., and beyond • . Burried lots of times and. • •
B.M.
So it wouldn't be
E.Z.
Oh no.
B.M.
But you would get, you'd get thr ough.
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
~d
No plows.
She knew her way.
P1ow~J
at
a~l , ath f
kg t/v.6
"
/
No...
/
you'd deliver to the section man who lived at Clarabelle.
E.!. , That's right.
(,78 , B~M.
In
that ~ old
MO W-
1:1.-p . to .
station that was there'?
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
Isn't that ·interesting • . ' ~ se there were houses up on the
top of the Clarabelle Hill there.
E.Z.
There were 2 or 3 at that time, yes.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
But •
B.M.
There was nothing from there on between.
..
\.
ZINKIE,
14
682
E.Z.
No.
B.M.
Everything you'd see
No.
,
'
E.Z.
Wide-'open space ' and l ots o·r wind, and •
B.M.
Ever
think you'll
,
. E.Z.
Gsro
No .
No .
s~ e
..
a big mill on the mine shaft up there?
No.
B.M.
Never thought that did you?
E.Z.
'Cause we used to Ewim in Clarabelle Lake.
B.M.
I was going to say no, did you think you'd see Clarabelle
Lake drained, eh?
.,
E.Z.
That ' s, no.
B.M.
Tell me, w~y are all those tree ~ps and tree logs in, in
at the bottom of Clarabelle Lake, \.where did they come from
now?
E.Z.
Well it was actually ·forest at one time.
B.M.
So there were some .that just left there, I suppose?
E. Z.
Yes . And then your Clarabelle was more or les$ , well I coul dn't
say it was ~ man made lake but • ••
B.M.
It is in part isn't it?
E.Z.
Right.
B.M .
It's, well there are 2, there are Lady MacDonald, and Clarabell e
were together, we~ en ~ t . they?
E.Z.
Right._ Right .
B.M .
They were named after Sir John ·A. ' s wife wasn't it, and- his
aunt ' or something I think.
E.Z.
Yes.
B.M.
It was something to that effect. It was a good place, there
were nice rocks to sit on and ••
-
E.Z.
Oh yes .
B.M.
Everybody went swim in '. and that's when most of the' people
up on the hill had a cow , ' and u~e to, craze. them up around
,
/
,/
(j1
.
Oh yes.
Sure
.
\ -
Sure.
../
15
. ZINKIE
705
t hat place , di dn ' t they?
{
7 d"
E.Z .
Yes.
Oh yea h.
If. H.
Well · that must have been , there must have been a ~t more trees
and brass there then , than there are now. Is tha~ ~i ght?
'Cause where would you pasture the cattle?
E. Z.
Well there was to a point.
say that. But • • •
B. M.
Pretty much ~'A t-
E. Z.
Yes, because O' Donnell really raised the
B. M.
Oh yeah .
E. Z.
That's right ...
B. r1 .
Teil mep ow , t }ris is. something somebody said , do you recall
there were ~ver roastbeds where/the park is today , where
Nickel Park is in Copper~ lifrvwere there?
E. Z.
No .
B.M.
But ·there we~e ro~stbeds' out near . the CopperltoCCliff Road and
by the slag dump \¥ere, at one time was there not? You .ever
remember that? .
.
But in
~nother
point, no I wouldn ' t
I:t rvv .. )
That ' s right .
He had the most horses.
/
..
E. Z.
Well one of the ro:astbeds where . I ' ve been told, a~here' s
still evidence of them, was down on Cobalt . Street.
B.M.
Oh really?
E.Z .
No .
B.M .
Is that right?
E.Z.
There were roastbe~in there , and of course there was. roas tbed
to a Market Street , oy the Old mine.
.
B.M.
I didn t t know
I know there was an old theater on
Market Street , .be~ore it burned , . eh?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
In ' 26 it burned , isn ' t it or something?
. E.Z.
B. M.
Down near the ice-house?
J ust off to the high-school •.
Roastbeds (.ve;u
~ )
, eh?
~t.
Yeah .
I remember that ,
Yeah, I can remember .that burning.
You can , eh?
I remember tha t : burned.
ZINKIE
'1 6
734
(
E.Z.
Ohyeah.
B.M. ' It was a great fire I guess, wasn't it, an old wooden' one? '
E.Z.
Yes.
And a lot of dead rats.
,That would be the, I A ust wondering in, when you were a 'kid
in, in C 9Ppe~Clif~ if that burned down you'd have to go to
Sudburyvthen to get any entertainment, wouldn't you? '
E.Z.
B.M.
Oh yes.
They never rep lac edik;r ' YOU know.
What did ~ids grOwing ' up, now copper~liff~as sort of a closed
shut, what did you do with kids ' there, everybody playe~ baseball
of course, you had to do that.
E.Z.
Oh we played ball and we had an open-air rink, and • • •
B.M.
~here
is it?
E.Z.
Oh Y••
$
B.M.
Before Stanley Stadium,eh?
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
So you've seen the open-air rink, you've seen Stanley Stadium,
and now you see McLelan--what do you call it--sports arena,
eh?
_E.Z.
B.M.
Right.
.
Was
i~
down where the Stanley Stadium is today?
Yeah.
Right.
Oh yeah.
,
And the old curling rink was up there where it still is today,
the old · wooden • • •
E.Z • . That's right.
Up by the
~.
~
H.M.
Yeah as far as that. Now what else has changed down there, the)
the fire-hall is where it was today, 'II~t , now alright,
/'
Racicot & Darr~~ tore in Coppe~ liffVWas on Serpentine Street,
which is the name of the business, eh?
E.Z.
That' ?fight.
B.M.
Where was it located?
E.Z.
Well right where it is yet, today.
is today:
B.M.
Oh th
7t i quor
store is t oday, eh?
Where the liquor store
ZINKIE
(
17
763
E. Z.
Right .
B. M.
Right across from that new Pinto
~tore
in other words , ' eh?
7Cs- E. Z. That ' s ' right.
B.M.
Yeah.
/
E. Z. ·Right.
B.M.
And so down that $ide then there was the old post-office building ,
Cochrane store • • •
E.Z.
It was a bank.
B. M.
Oh yeah. Douggy Wilson started he 's . been there for ', he ' s
been there for a long time.
E.Z.
Oh yeah.
B.M.
Sounds like a' real old-timer • .
E.Z.
In the days as far back as I can remember anyway.
B.M.
And the other side
It wasn't a store.
.
.
&11)
0)
the r oad, to the fire-hall _:and what • • •
(?
E.Z.
And John Anderson's going down.
B..M.
What kind was it, was John Anderson's ,
E.Z.
That was the confectionary.
B.M.
Was that in the McInt.osh block?
E.Z.
No.
B.M.
~efore
E.Z.
By itself, before the McIntosh
B.M.
Oh yeah.
E.Z.
The old McIntosh block.
B.M.
Are you talking about the old, was that the old wooden, there
was a wooden McIntosh • • •
E.Z.
That's the one .
B.M.
Oh that's the one your .talking about .
E.Z .
Oh yes.
I
that •
..
~hen
bloc~,
yeah.
the McIntosh block was there.
,
ZINKIE
18
780
(
B.H .
Before they, before they built
E.Z.
Before they Quilt the new one.
78;). B.M.
Yeah.
...
Let ' s see • • •
E.Z.
Then there ' s a McMillan ' s boarding house on the other side ,of
the fire-hall.
B.M.
Up about where the Pinto store is today?
E. Z•
Where the Pinto is now. .
B.M.
Oh yes. Oh really. And that building/ up above was the butcher,
was there a butcher shop in that • • •
E.Z.
Oh yes • .
B.M.
Yes , that ' s right .
E.,Z.
That's right .
B.M.
Is that ?
B.M.
Y~ah,
E.Z.
Oh yes, yeah.
,
J~ck
was in there for a ·while.
. (,
'2)
Is that Jack Tarch Tremblay?
L~)
E.Z. . Francis Clark.
Jack C;I.ark was with the company for a long, long time.
B. M. . Or about what shall we say 6i.~~t ) forever and ever? ~
Who were your contemporaries growing up in Copper~Cliff' that
.we would know today Elmer? Anybody st~ ll around that you
went to school with, the kids tha·t went to work with, that's
retired ' now, that you can recall?
.
E.Z.
. .
W~ll
I played a maskot for 2 years for the
~...
.
.
~
B. M.
E.Z.
When they had the good team.
B. M.
Good basebali team.
Right.· Arid • • •
. (n
B. M• . Was Burt Flinn ' with them then?
E. Z.
E.Z.
Right .
Burt was, stayed catcher.
(1
.~
Coppe~ lif rvRedman
.
~
l'l;
For the GopperMJliff Redmen when. they had .the good • • •
/
)
19
803
ZINKIE
( I
B.M.
They brought him down ' to be a • • •
8 as E.-Z. He was brought in here to play ball.
,
B.M.
To play ball and then he made us ' a good team, didn't he?
E.Z:
That's right.
B.M.
He was one of the, he was really a ball player, wasn't he?
E.Z.
Well we used to have so~ good times at that time because we
used to go to Capreol~o play and • • •
B.r-~
•
Oh yes.
,
~as
that, was
~hat
a trip
aroun~e
circuit?
E.Z.
Oh yeah.
B.M.
What were the
back thenb
; I
when we had Frood, ~ creighton,~arson ~onis~on, and so
forth, ~ er~ liff. But before that there were others
Capreol was in it~ ..
.
E.Z.
There was Capreol and oh • • •
B.M.
Creighton~gUess
E.Z.
Creighto
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
~ea~ay
re~ber ~ teams
that would be.
was in it.
.
CO~istOn'.{.,S
in 'it, copperAoCliff < guess~ere were -onl y
teams, the, the other team's from Frood too, at t hat
~
time. -
B.M.
6~..f
.
We're talking~ wnat, what time are we talking now Elmer?
'Cause I, I remember the good senior ball times of the '50s,
the late '40s and '50s. You're talking be/fore that.time
aren'.t you? You're going ba.ck to '30s I guess, eh~ \ ,
/
E.Z.
Oh yes.
Yes • .
B.M.
When YOU'd ,~he maskot of the team, did you play in the
Nickel Par ~~ at that time?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M • . That, . that was there . •
(
E.Z.
On the homefield, yeah.
B.M.
You had a pretty good turn-out to o, wouldn't you,
..
)
ZINKIE
(
20
830
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
The ball was the big ' thing:
E.Z.
Th~t's right.
Everything was, well there was no subh a thing
as much hockey at that ti~e.
B.M.
No.
E.Z.
Oh no.
B.M.
And waiting for the baseball season.
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
And
Not as much as now.
the~
"
big day -in
copper~li~f ~S
the 24th of May, eh?
E.Z. 'The 24th of May.
B.M.
That was the day to end all days, eh?
E.Z.
Yes, Sir.
B.M.
Is that ' when the
E.Z.
B.M.
~ball
season opened I believe wasn't it?
~ fa h.t..,
T helieV& the first ball game was the 24th of May.
we didn't get snowed out.
Ye a ~
?f,d
I just CQuld not, somebody else told me that, that, ~ one
time at least was .a terrible snow-storm or something
"
E.Z.
- B.M.
When
Yeah.
. '. .
Yes, Sir.
On the 24th of May1
E.Z.
We got snowed out, there was no question about it.
B.M.
,
Hard to believe on the 24th of May, eh?
E.Z.
24th of
B.M.
Wouldn't that be.' Because you had crowd, you had a lot, games'
an~ everything else though.' Did you?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
It was a big day.
E.Z~
Big day • • •
B.M.
People came from, from Sudbury t o go t o that.
May~
We had had everything going.
,
,/
ZINKIE
(
. 21
851
E.Z,
Oh yes.
B.M.
Yes.
B.M.
It was, it was' a great thing really 'cause as you say, everybody
was behind everybody participating one way or another • • •
E.Z.
Oh • • •
B.M.
Didn't they?
E.Z.
Right. Right . There was no, well I wouldn't say there wasn't
any money made', bu-tKhe money went to the ri ght people.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
B.M.
And we had all the kids, school kids at that time,
and all this stuff ~ and ~ you know everybody's right
behind us ~ and •
rac~:
r{"~, s,
it's. too bad it's gone because .. • •
.. 1. ,,,(./-,
And it went into more sports, and all this stuff, a~ 1t ~&s,
. ~ was good ' you know?
Yeah. And it's a chance. to met everybody, and when you go
down and see what's going on at the P{U't, that day.
~
You met everybody from (y 11/J1f~ll; ' h Ie)
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
But most of the time the whether'd be pretty good by the 24th
of May.
)
E.Z • . Oh yes.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
But .the odd times,
B.M.
Why didn't a young enterprising guy like you set up a concession
do~n there; and sell hot-dogs or ' something?
E •.Z.
I used to se3d ' the hot-dogs, but I never got any money out
of it.
B.M.
You didn't get any money out of it, eh?
E.Z.
No.
B.M.
That's not, that' doef?n't help very much does it, eh?
t.Z.
No.
•
w~~run
i nto this
pro~lem.
ZINKIE
r
B. M.
22
872
Did you , did you go to
Elmer?
sUdbur~
often when you were younger
E. Z.
No .
As I say things were pretty thight when you're • • •
B.M.
You didn't have much money to go.
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M .
You weren't like your mother you wouldn't walk in and back ,
you'd wait f?r ~, ~,,:, O-/V .) vh~
E. Z.
No.
B.M.
Would. you?
E.Z .
Oh yes . You had too. " ~
a, a street- car and go to the show too , and that was .• 10 cents
to get into the show at that time.
B.M .
Imagine getting . 10 cents, you know what it would cost you to .
get into a show today , don ' t · you,
E.Z.
Yes.
$ .M.
Oh yeah. That ' s true • . Wintertime there'd be hockey outside,"
that would be about it I guess, wouilldn't it , eh?
E. Z.
Well we did iB e.wfuli lot of sleigh ridi ng and ,tob~a~1ting,
and all this.\ . .
.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
Well there. was
B. M.
Was there?
E.Z .
Oh yes.
B.M.
Well a little like we call down hill
E.Z.
Well we used to make a lot of our own.
B.M.
Yeah, you ' d make your own skies, also equipment, you wouldn ' t,
today you ' d be laughed out of the, off the hill, wouldn't you?
You • • •
I would pay my way.
.
only had . ~5 cents ~ couldn't go on
1SJ~
/
Too much.
It's too
~ .
I\luc~.
No .skiing though was there to speak of.
a lot of skiing.
Oh 'yeah.
~
..
E.Z • . 0h yeah. With bob-sleds and~ll this, we use to , usually
make the best ones and ". • •
B.M.
Well there's pretty 'good hi l l .s ar.ound there even though it
was rocky • .
' .
ZINKIE
23
896
(
,E.Z.
Oh yes .
B. t1.
But you had lots of snow.
E. Z.
Oh yes . Then the snow , the streets
so the roads were good to slide on .
B. M.
Oh yeah. y~ e(Ji~
E. !.
You know.
B.M.
That ' s a great hill coming down t hat Clarabelle hill then practically,eh?
E. Z.
Oh yes.
B. M.
And there wasn ' t thatmuch traffic in those days .
A..Va..tl <>
were~' t
plowed that much
OJ
/
I'
°
E.Z.
I us ed to, we run off the hill ~ on Union street.
E.M:
Oh yes .
E. Z.
Oh yeah .
B. M.
Come up on the hill there , it sure i -s fun . Elmer I
j ust want to take another pause here because we ' d like to
enjoy some of the music that Doug has prepared for us, and
then we'll continue .
That would be a good trip, wouldn't it, eh?
Beautiful hill.
(MUSIC)
B.M •
~
==1
Elmer you worked at Racicot ~
in the early '30s you
. started there, how long .did you work f0)fhem?
E.Z.
For about 5 years.
B.M.
Oh did
E.Z.
Yeah.
B.M.
Oh, you stayed there •
yo~ ?
..
E.Z. ' Well I got a promotion you see because Joe bought a truck
finally, and he wanted me to drive it, so I said: "Fine, I ' ll
drive it." So I went up to 50.00 dollars a month.
B.M.. Is that right?
E.Z.
And had a truck to drive.
B.M.
Had a truck to drive .
I
,
ZINKIE
24
079
A cab to sit in, you didn't have to sit outside with the .
cold, eh?
(
E.Z.
No.
B.M •
And
. E.Z.
No.
It was a good .Ford truck and , • • •
J.ttatbi -6~
~y
A ct rn~hr'm%,
stre&te wouldn't it?
,
Well ' yes, at that time it was well more or less like a feather
in your p.at, eh? Getting. .. •
B. M.· Tell me now, 'cause there was a lot of delivery, did, did
people phone in or did they c·ome in and make a grocery order;
and then instead of carrying it out in bags, you ' would , de liver
it? Was t?at the way it went or what? .
E.Z.
Oh . yeah.
They'd phone, well I'd say
80% of it was 'phoned.
B.M. ,It was, eh?
E.Z.
Oh yes. And in th~m days you see you didn't have any , 4 t',
I could drive from the store down to ~eter Street~;~
an order ~ and I'd get back to the store f and t he woman had
,
forgotten to buy half a pound of cooked ham. So you
( yJf-ell'f, bJe )
and go back down with a half a pound.
u. .
B...
Just like that?
E.Z.
Oh yes, bec.ause you couldn't . say no, in them days.
B.M.
/of
But another thing I guess, like today you 1m'ow people stare
at the pages : and ~ look to see where the best pripps are. In
. those days I suppose' they didn't ask price, tneybtphoned; and·
they ordered something; and that wa s it. Wasn't it?
E.Z.
That's about the size of it.
B.M.
Because the ham was so much a
chi ~keri, or whatever • • •
E.Z.
There's no .difference hardly from one store to the other,
you know.
'
B.M.
That's about it.
E.Z.
There's no~rices ' were . all pretty well the same, there was
none of thiscut-throating or' . • •
B.M.
No.
E.Z.
You know.
B.M.
Not,- not ' to the
E.Z.
Oh no.
potind~
So that .prices •
ex~ent
or ' the turkey, or the
..
that, it was today.
..
ZINKIE
25
109
B.M • . No.
I ~ ")
E.Z .
Well actually wben I worked there , /you get up at 5 0 .' clock
in the morning : and go to Sudbur~ith the truck: and load
it up with fruit · in ~the fruit se~on.
B. M.
Really?
E. Z.
And have it back in the store by, before 8 o'clock.
B.M.
So that you could have it on display,eh?
E.Z.
So that you could have it on display • . Go out, and pick it all
out ourselves and • • •
B. M.
Would you select the stuff -from there, eh?
E.Z.
Right.
B. M.
Yeah, that'd be alright. About 5 o'clock in the morning that
would make a long day ~or you, eh?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z:.
But, well this is life at that time, and • • •
B.M.
Oh sure , . it didn't do you any harm, and • • •
E. Z.
Oh no.
B.M.
From the looks >of you today.
E. Z.
I, I don't even work hard enough today.
B.M.
I'm afraid
E.Z.
Yeah '
B.M.
Yes
E.Z.
No .
Maybe I get finished at 7 o'clock at night.
No.
th at ~ s
No.
you'v~ ot
right .
something there.
Then work
No. - I don't think work
.
1J.!f!.1!!i ,).
~
.
n~ver
ki~led
does anybody any harm.
anybody.
.-
B.M.
You, yOJ1 . ~' ) 5 years there, so- J:know you've
·for quite some time, when did yo&- start with
E.Z.
In '39.
B. r-~.
In 1939.-
E.Z.
In June.
worke~ or
I~co ?
./
Inco,
ZINKIE
(
26
129
B.M.
At that time you were 22 years of age.
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
Where d"id you start?
E. Z.
In the mechanical department , and I stayed in the mechanical
department.
B.M.
Did you?
E.Z .
Tom
B.M.
Up in the concentrator:
E.Z.
Right".
B.M.
I}h
E. Z.
No I came out of the concentrator in '46, after the striking
lay-off after the war.
B.M .
Oh yes.
E.Z.
And I got my seniority and my money .
/ '1€
Who did you' work for out there': first~
It\
Sloan , ~
• •
,
(l,1
And Evan , Evan Jones.
yes. , Well you ' ve worked elsewhere you didn't stay up
1n tne concentrator did you?
B.M. ' Who 'did , you work for in, in the convertor.
r'
r
E.Z.
And I come down there with Jack Clark.
B.M.
Oh yes.
01
E.Z .
( '4')
And I worked under my foreman wa s Oscar Mallet.
B.M.
Oh , well was Rex
E.Z.
B.M.
nuss was in the misfits at that time • • •
Oh yeah.
E.Z.
And then he come in later.
B.M.
And Jack Rene's gang he • • •
E.Z.
That'sright.
B.M .
Oh yeah . The good old misfits.
department for •. • •
,
,
( f)
1\ '
(
E.Z.
-()
BuxmaJ ~in there then too?
I spent
a~l
my time •
So you stayed in the mechanical
ZINKIE
27
147
B.M.
Ever since that, since you worked there.
E.Z .
Right. ,
B.M.
And you retired when, last, last year in '78?
E.Z.
'77.
B.M.
'77.
eh?
~o
you went from, you went 38 years or more, didn ' t you
So • • •
E.Z.
I was
B.M.
Let's, talking about service you did tell me during one of the
breaks that your uncle Will--that would be your father~ ~
brother-- • • •
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
.
Mond/ 1n 1889 ?
Started w1th
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
And he retired in 1942?
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
My gosh!
E.Z.
Yes .
B.M.
This is '79 • . . years ago he started , 1889, yeah. And he
worked that's 11, that's about 52 years that he worked.
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
He must have been one of the., longest, longest service employees,
eh? ' My god.
E.Z.
I say yeah.
B.M.
Is he alive today?
E.Z.
No.
B.,M.
My gosh. That's a long, a lot of service, isn't it? In
between you, he had over 50 years, your father had--when
did your father retire 1954 did you say--
E.Z.
1954, yeah.
B.M.
He had, he had about 35 years or 80 some years, 85
retir~d
at 38 and a half years.
That's 90 years ago he started.
,0
No .
N6.
Well I still say he is.
'.,
.
year ~,
ZINKIE
28
173
you ' ve got another that ' s a hundred and-- oh my gosh , then
your grand-father on top of that • • ~
(
E.Z.
That ' s right.
B. M.
You ' ve got· a mess ·of service between you .
E.Z .
Quite a few .
B.M.
Okay • . How 'bout the Zinkies now .
Mrs . Zinkie , have ~ ) sons.
E.Z .
4 sons.
B. M.
But none . of them , we ' re not, we ' re not going to have a
generation at Inco. Is t his right?
E. Z.
Not •• •
~.M.
Haven ' t you?
The Zinkies, 'you're r1r. and
l~th
) anyway, isn ' t there?
E. Z.
No .
They ' re all •
B.M .
Incidentally, when, what year were you married Elmer?
E.Z.
1940.
B. t1 .
You ' re sure of that, eh? You looked at me with a question mark.
You ' d better get that right , or you could be in trouble.
E. Z.
No, 1940 .
B.M .
19 , you know that for sure.
E.Z .
The year after I started working.
B.M.
Okay, you relate it to something, eh?
you met your wife?
That ' s / fine .
~
~
.
Where did '
~
E. Z.
Well I met her at a ,( ~he come down here from Capreol to wor~
for Hank Landrevi the and his wife.
.
B.M .
Oh yeah . Hank L'~~~evf!le - come up here from PortColb~,
didn ' t he ,. in the · Orfard building , eh?
E. Z.
Right .
B.M.
The same faith, 5h
E. Z.
So we met at a, at that time
L~f',.."..
. . ..
Right .
v/lfL •
•
~ (J ~
.
~ ('11
And we happened to be in the same faith and
:j:
see , yes.
wh~t
they call it was .the 20 up
29
195
ZINKIE
club .
B. M.
The 20 Up ,
E.Z.
Part of the United Church.
B.M.
Where was the tabernacle of the United Church, where it is today?
E.Z.
Yes .
B. M.
I twas .
.~?
United pepples club • ••
But it was up in an old franl building.
E.Z .' Tore' down and a new o~e built. And this is where the wife
and I met, and we , well we carried on every since I guess ,
you know .
.
'B •.M. Y~arr~Jon! Now wait a minute,' you'd better watch your choice of
larigu~ge there Elmer .
E. Z.
We started we were good friends , and become good friends, and
• i .
•
B.M • . You see , and some people say they get nothing out of church ,
loo~' at what happened to you , the bes t thing ever happened
to you .
E. Z.
That ' s right .
B. M.
Isn ' t~ that so?
E.Z.
I agree .
B . r1.
Well absolutely.
E. Z.
And , well thi ngs have been , I have no complaints about my
married life, and my family , or •• •
B. M.
I wo:u:1!d' hope not with 4--any grand-children on those. 4 sons?
iE .Z.
Oh yes , I have 6.
B.M.
6 , eh? Oh that's pretty ·good . I thought we might get a 5th
generation under that somehow. Of course t he!ter s not too late tt rif
to get ~m , possibly have a 4th generation. J.:i s
1htt:MJ JL .
•
Oh there ~ s a possibility.
,
E.Z.
B.M.
..
I agree • . A hundred percent •
Yeah , are there any other, do you know of any other 3 generations
worked , have worked for' Inco? I, I know I can ' t recall any
but there may have been.
, ZINKIE
30
215
E.Z • . I can't either, off-hand, and I'm not going to say there
isn't.
(
B.M.
No." But I just don't know any off-hand myself that, that have
gone that long • • Starting back, well if your uncle started in
1889 , I wonder if your grand-father would have started before
that, he could hardly have started before that . cou ld he, eh?
Well gee, your, your uncle started 11 about 20, 30 years before
your. dad did, then didn't he? He must have been older.
E.Z.
Ah yes.
B.M.
Yes.
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
To. • •
E.Z.
And my dad was actually the youngest boy.
B.M.
Was he?
E.Z.
Yes.
B.M.
Was there any other members of the family that worked in this
area up ~ here, in your dads family?
E.Z.
Yes, he had a brother Paul who worked at the creosote plarit.
B.M.
Oh?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
Out there when they made all the tires • • •
E.Z.
Yeah.
B.riI.
And the telephone poles •
E.Z.
Ri ght • .
He was the oldest of the /family.
He must have been, eh?
Yeah,people forget about the old creosote plant, eh? '
Yeah,
B.M • . And so forth
~~}
Yeah.
..
...
E.Z.
Right.
B.M.
That was a big operation at one time, wasn't it?
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
We sort of lose s ht of that fact. Elmer there are still one
or . 2 things that I, I want to touch on ~nd we'll do that in just
31
ZINKIE
236
a moment. But let's go back to Doug again for a brief musical
interlude and then we ' ll wind up.
(
(MUSIC)
B. M.
Now Elmer, just to clear up a couple of things. I know that
you ' re a pretty "handy guy , you ' ve been a mechanic for most of
your li ~ e. Did you/tell me you built a couple of houses
around in Sudbury~
~
·E. Z.
Well my young lads want to put up a couple of moo-tarts which
are pre-fab of course , but we got our prints, and so on, ' and I
did.
.
B.M~
Did you?
E.Z.
Arid oh, I put up a couple of camps for the fellows .
You're pretty handy.
B.M • . Havey:ou?
(
E.Z.
Hel~em
B.M.
You like doing wood-working, eh?
E. Z.
I like doing it.
B.M.
You do it
you eh?
E.Z.
Oh yes.
B.M.
Yeah.
E.Z.
Oh yes.
should.
B.M.
No, but
E.Z.
I've always enjoyed it and • • •
B.M.
1J'ealll but
E.Z .
Oh, terrible change.
B.M .
Yeah.
. E.Z.
B.M.
up .
aroun~ . your--you,
you live in
copper~lif~~ill ,
don ' t
And your going to continue to ·live there naturally, eh?
I can ' t see anyway out of it.
I don ' t . see why I
the~
Copper~Cliff
...
I en joy it very much.
quite a change in coppe~Clif~comparing
now as to when you were a kid, isn't there, eh?
Terrible.
It ' s~ i~s ' not quite the same community that it was
No·.
The close knit where you knew everybody.
ZINKIE
/
That's right.
Everybody knew everybody else, and
suppose, did they?
ev~rybody's
business I
More or less, yeah.
Didri't get away as much then I guess, eh?
No.
No.
Any strangers around, they knew about it.
Oh yes, that was always right ther"e.
in them days.
No,
yo~ ad
no choice,
No~
But that, now you, as you said~ the town has changed an awfull
lpt . and yo,u can go downtown now, and you pump into a couple <1/'
,h~hV ) people, and you mi ght know 2.
B.M.
Yeah.
E .•.Z. · Well before you would have bumped into a couple of
~1h'V
~,
you knew them all.
(
B.M.
Knew them all. But the post-office is still the rallying
point. Isn't it?
E.Z.Oh yes.
Ye~.
B.M.
You have to go/to the post--you know, that has in a town like ,
Coppe~Clif~ there's some merit in not having the mail delivered at home • • •
E.Z.
Oh • • •
~Io
.
B.M. . Because you· ~ go downtown, and naturally you're bound to
see somebody, isn't it?
.
E.Z.
That's right.
B.M.
No.
E-. Z.
Never. No. In my own opinion.. Because as you say it's, it's ·
nice to go down and see the boys.
B.M·.
That's right.
. E.Z.
I, I never want to see the mail delivered.
I think it's. • •
. . /,(
And you shoot the breeze , and you know, and it's surprising,
just like th~ other day I guess there was Bill BEtker and mys.elf
( 1)
ZINKIE
(
33
394
and • • •
B. M.
How is
E.Z.
Oh , Vick ' s fine •
. B. M.
~ick ,
I haven't seen him for. a while .
Is he?
E . ~ .Looks
good.
B. M.
Yeah. I see George and Rob occasionally out . there : and a few
others, when' I go by there, but you know , you can go down ·the
old Collar Mill's got a lot of place, you can go down thereSand
go to the post-office : and ~ and get caugh~ up on all the dirt ,
visit yourfriends ~ and ~ and you can go to Cochrane's riext
door, and then down t o the bank~ and a couple of stores up :
and 'go to the j~g sho~~ and what not • • •
E.Z.
Oh yes .
B. M.
You can do it all right down~'"
• ••
E.Z. L.-1 ~o the
That ' s right .
And spend the morning, very, very
plea~antly
there .
Oh yes . Yeah . I know I get told once in a while when I get "
home: "Where have you been?"
There's a lot going on / Now :vou had 2 swimming , 2 swimming
pools in Copper..cliffV":. • •
,_
R~ght ~
You had one at the club , and a big Dowlpool, you had good
facilities for oh, about baseball , and softball.
.
"
Right . LJootball field , the curling rink, you got the legionnaire,
you go to the hockey rink and skating in there , you've got
so much going for you ·in that • • •
·~
~.
. rIa'!("
~ in
E.Z.
Oh I don't think we
B.M .
No.
E. Z.
You know .
B. M.
Yeah , you get a little spoiled , eh?
Maybe
somet im e ~we
anything.
get too much.
ZINKIE
(
E •.Z.
J./ / ;)
344-13
~s
That's right .
,
;It.- ""
\
~~
~
B. M.
But it ' s a gre'at place , you wouldn't want to live anywhere else,
would you Elmer?
E. Z.
I wouldn't want to.
B. M.
Eh? Of cour.se you were. born and bread , and it ' s bread in you
as £jr as that goes .
"~~ '
Yes . But I've been around a little bit , Rosy and I have~een .
away a few places
E. Z.
...
That's right . And I ' ve seen different places , and I've no .
desire to say: "'·~ lIWell l et' s pick up and • • • I'
You certainly wouldn ' t want to move.
B.M.
No.
No.
E. Z.
No .
No way.
B. M.
Because after all. it's ~eople can critize or· make comments
about certain aspects of it , it ' s still a very good place to
Ii ve for -1Ilany reasons •
..
..
E. Z.
Oh I say it is .
B.M .
I know some teachers in Copper~liff particularly , and wheather
wise what the-,heck, it ' s Ii lot better t han- .. • •
E. Z.
Oh · yeah . If you can ' t put up · with the
northerner .
B.M.
That's right .
Ci.J4, :.. te./I;' 1 ; ~Ie.)
·
~
wea~her . you're
not a
I was just , just thinking about that .
) it's great to be a northerner, eh?
E. Z.
~hat ' s
right .
B.M.
And it sure , is .
E. Z.
That's right.
B~M.
And I think Elmer on that note on which you and I both agree,
whole heartedly, it's great to be a northerner, and I'll say
that's about it because I'm afraid that we ' v~~ort of run out
of time so, again 'rd generation Elmer Zinkie , I want to thankyou very much for coming in today , and being my gu~st on
Memories & Music .
E. Z.
Thank-you kindl y.
ZINKIE
(
B.M.
35
433
~
likelr' to ' havH he opportunity to catch your father
and your grand-father but I'm afraid •• •
I would
Well I had hoped that maybe I might get a 4th generation but
I guess that ' s not to be either , eh?
E.Z. , Could be, but it might be a long way off.
B. M.
I might have to wait a while , eh?
E.Z.
That ' s right .
B.M.
If it ever happens I think I ' ll get the two of your in here
together. Okay? '
E.Z.
Sure.
B.M .
Okay Elmer , again thank- you very much.
(END OF TAPE)