Interview with Ann Bryant

Audio recording and transcript of Ann Bryant's 1979 interview with Bernard McNicholl for the Coal Tyee History Project. Bryant opens the interview by talking about her family's history, and their journey to Vancouver Island. She explains how her father, Thomas Shenton, was a coal miner and she reflects on how he started mining as a 12 year old boy in Staffordshire, England, and ended up as a mining inspector in the Atlin District in British Columbia. Bryant talks about growing up in Nanaimo and her school days. She describes some of her memories of downtown Nanaimo, including details about stores and businesses. She talks about the lack of opportunities for young women, and she also tells an anecdote about sneaking out of the house as a teenager. Bryant shares some of her opinions about the Indigenous Peoples of the area and she also remembers seeing Salish Woolly Dogs. She talks about Nanaimo's red-light district, and she concludes the interview by talking about her father's involvement in the Vancouver Island Coal Miners' Strike.