Interview with Alex Raines

Audio recording and transcript of Mike Raines's 1979 interview with Shirley Ramsay for the Coal Tyee History Project. Raines talks about his family's connections to the coal mining industry around Nanaimo. Starting at 15 years old, Raines worked in both the Reserve Mine and the #10 Mine in South Wellington, and he talks about the coal conditions, equipment, and surface buildings of both mines. He touches on union activities, the comradery felt between miners, and social activities. He explains how his father was injured in the mine and he also mentions some other mining accidents. Throughout the interview Raines talks at length about working with horses and mules in the mine, including details about how the animals were trained and how they adapted to the underground conditions.