Press Release:
The Joseph Mairs Memorial Committee will be holding our annual event on January 19th 2025.
Like last year we will be getting underway at 1 pm - assembling in the parking lot of St Mary’s Church at 1135 4th Ave, Ladysmith, BC. From there we will be escorted to the cemetery by our wonderful piper Neil Hewitt. We will hold a service at the cairn which will include a brief tribute to Joseph and the laying of flowers by individuals and organisations.
The second part of the day will be conducted at the home of Ken and Morgan (longtime supporters of the memorial) in Ladysmith and the address will be supplied at the cemetery. We can enjoy some pleasant food and maybe even a musical performance or two. We will also ask those assembled to reflect on what we can do in 2025 to answer the challenges of war and poverty and Empire. All are welcome to join in and speak about the activities they are currently involved in.
The program will conclude around 4 pm. We welcome you all and look forward to the discussion you will no doubt contribute to.
In 1911-1912 the United Mine Workers of America succeeded in organising all the mines on the Island. A bitter strike started in Sept. 1912 which lasted until the start of World War I. The Vancouver and Nanaimo Coal Co settled in 1913 but the other three owners would not. They brought in strikebreakers and evicted strikers from company housing. Clashes broke out between strikers and the police and strikebreakers at all the mines. The AG William Bowser sent in the militia and they remained until the end of the strike.
Joseph was arrested on August 15, 1913 after the Militia retook the Town of Ladysmith from striking miners. Miners had held the town from August 12th to 15th.
They stoned the residences of scabs and drove them out of town. He was sentenced to one year in jail and a $100 fine. In January, Joseph became ill and receiving no medical attention, died on January 14th, 1914.
A post card portraying Joseph after winning a biking competition was sold by his fellow miners to raise funds for his cairn in Ladysmith.
We must all pledge to follow in the footsteps of Joseph Mairs and Ginger Goodwin and everyone who fought at great cost to themselves to make a better world for workers and their families.
Joseph Mairs....Your brothers did not forget you in 1914 and we will not forget you ever.
Like Joe Hill, where workers fight and organise, it is there you will find Joseph Mairs.
Contact
Eden Haythornthwaite
haythornthwaite@shaw.ca or 250-709-7975
But they fight on because they know that one day— From the river to the sea Palestine will be Free. It will. Keep your eye on your calendar. Not on your clock. That’s how the people – not the generals – the people fighting for their liberation, measure time. -Arundhati Roy
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