New Waterford, Nova Scotia
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New Waterford (2001 pop.: 6,944) is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
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[edit] Geography
New Waterford is located north of Sydney and northwest of Glace Bay.
[edit] Economy
New Waterford is a fishing port and former coal-mining community that has been in economic decline in recent years. There are ongoing efforts to revitalize the area's economy including a slow but steady increase in jobs in the technology sector. Many residents were reliant on the important local coal and steel industries (especially coal mining) which in recent years have been all but eliminated - the last local mine closed in 2001. New Waterford's current main industry is the Catalogue Teleservices Company call centre for Speigel and Newport News.
The town owes its name to the many immigrants originating from Waterford, Ireland. Most were fisherman who arrived here either via Newfoundland or directly from Ireland in the first decades of 19th century.
[edit] Residents
New Waterford residents are disproportionately senior citizens due to dwindling employment opportunities for younger workers. A large proportion of young adults move away seeking employment due to the collapse of the entire Industrial Cape Breton area's traditional primary industries. Normally they move Out West to Ontario and Alberta, but sometimes to any area where there is more work available. The low availability of employment means that residents often emigrate in young adulthood, raise families out-of-province and return after retirement. This is a common pattern in Cape Breton, some rural areas of mainland Nova Scotia and other less-populated areas of the maritime provinces thanks to inexpensive land due to the poor job prospects and remote locations.
Much of the area's residential housing consists of seniors complexes (single-storey buildings divided into four apartments) which are maintained for the tenants by the property owner or management company and reserved for senior citizens only. There are also a very large number of company houses, which were originally built to house workers in the coal industry by the Dominion Coal Company. A company house is typically a two-storey semi-detached residence and usually each half is rented out to separate families. Modern redevelopment efforts have meant that these duplexes are frequently purchased together and renovated into a large, single-family residence. In the areas surrounding New Waterford, there are small new housing developments catering to both younger retirees and individuals moving to the area to fill some of the newer technological jobs that do not wish to live in the older, and often decrepit and obsolete company houses.
[edit] Cape Breton dream
The Cape Breton Dream refers to a cycle that many young Cape Bretoners take part in at some point in their lives before becoming settled into marriage and raising children. A person will work Out West or In Toronto for six months, then return to their hometown for six months, either working at a lower-paying job or collecting Government Employment Insurance benefits (locally referred to as pogey). Often this process is repeated for several years, allowing them to reside where they were raised for at least a portion of the year in spite of the difficult economic circumstances in the area.
[edit] Eight-thirty whistle
At 8:30pm every day the local volunteer fire department sets off its air raid siren. This originated a long time ago, when a curfew was established, and continues in tradition to this day. The original intent of the whistle was to let small children know that they were to be inside or on their parents property. It is common for people who are away talking to loved ones in town when the whistle blows to get nostalgic when they hear it.
[edit] Substance abuse
Declining fortunes in the community have led to high unemployment rates and substance abuse problems that plague this and many other areas of Cape Breton. The use of Oxycontin has increased in this manner, and has had a profound effect on the community. [1] Other commonly abused prescription medications include, but are not limited to: Dilaudid, Ritalin, Percocet, Dexidren, and Codeine. There is also alot of cocaine in this little town. There is also a readily-available supply of illegal narcotics through local ports. The prescription-drug problem became so severe that a few local doctors were put on probation and were not allowed to give new prescriptions. Delivery drivers have been prohibited from delivering prescriptions or any other medications.
Alcohol is another problem. Consumption usually starts young, in the early to middle teen years, and continues throughout life. There is an extremely high per-capita number of alcohol-serving establishments. Culturally, drinking is very accepted due to the area's hazardous working history and thanks to higher-than-average death rates from cancer and toxic chemical poisoning due to contamination at the nearby Sydney tar ponds and coke ovens sites. [2]
[edit] New Waterford Girl
The town was the setting for the 1999 comedic coming-of-age film New Waterford Girl.
New Waterford Girl is a dark comedy about Moonie Pottie, a gifted teenager, who dreams of life beyond her small town. She becomes inspired when a 15-year-old girl from New York moves in next door. Starring many local actors and mostly Canadian talent, it is set in the mid 70's. Most of the scenes in the movie were filmed in the neighbouring town of Glace Bay. One anachronism in the movie was that it portrayed a one room school house in use, but Breton Education Centre was built in 1970 and has been in use since. [3]
[edit] Events and celebrations
[edit] Coal dust days
Coal Dust Days is a week long celebration of the community taking place approximately the third week of July (July 15th to the 23rd in 2006). The activities range greatly, from crazy sunglasses day to meat darts. The most noted activities are Plummer Avenue Day, the Tavern Tour, and the Street Dance.[4] Musical performances are also spread across the week with performances by almost every one of the many local bands. [5]
[edit] Davis day
Davis Day is an informal holiday celebrating the death of a Cape Breton miner, and father of 10, William Davis. He was shot to death by the coal company security force in Waterford Lake during a mining strike on June 11, 1925. Davis was not participating in the protest, which took the form of a march from the company power plant (by Waterford Lake) and ended by the railroad tracks between Daily Road and May Street. He was shot along with two other men, who survived. Davis Day is also known as Miners Memorial Day.
[edit] Coal bowl
New Waterford is the site of the annual New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic basketball tournament, which brings in teams from all across Canada to compete in a weeklong event. The Coal Bowl takes place during early February.
[edit] References
- ^ "Illicit Trade in OxyContin Plagues Atlantic Provinces", The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Sydney Tar Ponds".
- ^ "New Waterford Girl", IMDb.
- ^ {{ cite news |url=http://www.coaldustdays.com/events.php |publisher=Coal Dust Days |title=Coal Dust Days 2006 }}
- ^ "CB Locals band list", CB Locals.
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Nova Scotia |
|---|---|
| Counties | Annapolis - Antigonish - Cape Breton - Colchester - Cumberland - Digby - Guysborough - Halifax - Hants - Inverness - Kings - Lunenburg - Pictou - Queens - Richmond - Shelburne - Victoria - Yarmouth |
| Regional Municipalities | Cape Breton - Halifax - Queens |
| Incorporated Towns | Amherst - Annapolis Royal - Antigonish - Berwick - Bridgetown - Bridgewater - Canso - Clark's Harbour - Digby - Hantsport - Kentville - Lockeport - Lunenburg - Mahone Bay - Middleton - Mulgrave - New Glasgow - Oxford - Parrsboro - Pictou - Port Hawkesbury - Shelburne - Springhill - Stellarton - Stewiacke - Trenton - Truro - Westville - Windsor - Wolfville - Yarmouth |
| Other Communities | Bedford - Bible Hill - Cole Harbour - Dartmouth - Dominion - Eastern Passage - Fall River - Glace Bay - Greenwood - Halifax (former city) - Liverpool - Louisbourg - Lower Sackville - New Minas - New Waterford - North Sydney - Sydney - Sydney Mines |
