Donkin

Geography

As part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Donkin is located 11 km east of the town of Glace Bay and 32 km east from the city of Sydney. The nearest village is Port Morien 10 km away.

Donkin sits on the Northeasternmost tip of Cape Breton, along the famous Marconi Trail which stretches from Glace Bay to Louisbourg.

Its rugged coastline offers beautiful scenery and several sandy beaches as well as exceptional vantage points for bird watching. It's not uncommon to spot whales, seals and other marine life from the shore as well as passing cargo ships and fishing boats.

edit] Coal Mining
Historically a coal mining area, Donkin is home to a colliery developed by the Cape Breton Development Corporation (DEVCO). One of the first mining operations in the area was in Schooner Pond in 1863, when the Acadia Mines opened and began production from the Emery coal seam. The coal was taken by ship until trains began to take coal to the docks at Sydney in 1874. In 1863 the Clyde Mine opened in the area now known as Port Caledonia. All mining operations in the area ceased after the miners' strike of 1925.

After the mines closed, workers traveled to the Phalen and Lingan mines to continue working. Donkin miners continued to do this well into the 1990s, until all DEVCO mines ceased operations in 2001.

edit] Early Days
At the turn of the twentieth century, most families were settled in Schooner Pond. When the Dominion No. 6 colliery opened in 1904, people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds came from all over the globe in search of work.

The area saw active development with the construction of numerous mining buildings, homes and businesses. Businesses included a barbershop, post office, shoemaker, blacksmith, dry goods store, hardward store, a credit union, and a farming goods store. Later, there was also a pool hall, taxi and movie theatre. The S&L Railway provided daily transportation through 5 miles of the community.

edit] Naming
The community of Donkin, known as Dominion No. 6, was named after the Dominion Coal Company colliery that operated from 1904-1934. In an effort to correct errors in postal delivery, the community was given its own name. In 1940, at a community meeting, the village was named 'Donkin', in honour of Hiram Donkin, who was the second General Manager of the Dominion Coal Company and later became Deputy Minister of Mines for Nova Scotia.

edit] Services
The village's only school is the "Donkin Elementary Junior High School." There is also a Canada Post Office, a branch of the Cape Breton Regional Library, and the #5 Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, with its active Ladies' Auxiliary.

The community is served by a volunteer fire department with a Ladies' Auxiliary as well as three churches (a Roman Catholic church, St. Luke's Anglican Church, and St. Luke's United Church). There is no police station but the area is patrolled by the Cape Breton Regional Police.

While there is one gas station-convienence store in Port Caledonia located next to the public beach, residents travel to Glace Bay for most of their shopping and recreation.

edit] Economy
When the mines closed in Cape Breton, many moved away to find employment, while others retrained and found work locally in construction, the lobster fishery and the call centre industry. This means that the majority of residents commute to work in the nearby towns and city. Currently, the community is experiencing significant out-migration of young families, with lack of jobs being a major contributing factor.

The Swiss mining consortium Xstrata, the primary partner in the Donkin Coal Development Alliance, recently won the rights to develop the abandoned mine site. Together with partner Erdene resources the high grade soft coking coal that formed at a greater depth under the atlantic ocean will provide the world with much needed metallurgical coal. The Donkin community supports the reopening of the mine which was developed through Devco when coal prices were a fraction of what they are today. In December 2010 Stephen Harper announced that dredging of Sydney harbour would help allow Panamax sized vessels enter the new deepwater port.[citation needed]

edit] Culture
In recognition of its heritage and culture, the people of Donkin honour their past in a week-long celebration each July called the Coastal Days Heritage Festival. Approximately 1600 participants enjoy events like baseball, horseshoe and dart tournaments, the William Hunter Sr. Road Race, variety and band concerts, sales, meals, dances, antique car shows, a parade, and other activities.

Donkin is a Block Parent Community. Its clubs include the Cape Perce Sea Cadets, the Donkin Police Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides of Canada, the Donkin Port Caledonia Rural Development Association, the Queen Victoria Rebekah Lodge, and the Donkin Citizen's Brass Band, which formed in 1919.

Donkin residents have a strong history of involvement in sports. People can be seen playing sports on outdoor rinks, fields, the school's gymnasium, and at our playground. Each year the Labatt Vince Ryan Hockey Tournament draws a huge number of players and fans alike to raise funds for our youth.

edit] Notable Residents
In 1914, Giuseppe Amadio emigrated to Donkin from Italy to work in the coalmine. He was a sports enthusiast who competed in bicycle racing all over Canada. His three sons were all inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame. Dave Amadio played with the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings. Leo Amadio was a star defenseman with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Quebec Frontiers and returned to coach the Glace Bay Junior Miners. Neil Amadio played for the Quebec Citadelles in the Junior League, the Sydney Millionaires, and went on to coach hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador.

edit] Don MacVicar
Don MacVicar was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 for his power lifting career. Within months of joining the sport, he broke three Canadian records and placed 4th in the world championships in his class. He held 38 Canadian records, Canadian Champion four times, World Cup Silver Medallist in 1980 and again in England in 1981. Don was ranked "Canada's Strongest Man" in his class (111 - 148 lb.) in 1982. The last 25 years Don has dedicated his life to bring hope and opportunity to underprivileged youth in Hamilton, Ontario. He received the Governor General Caring Canadian Award, the Canada YMCA Peace Medal and recently the 2006 Royal Bank Distinguished Citizen Award.

edit] John Curtis Sampson
John Curtis Sampson is a talented singer/songwriter of country music from Donkin. He was awarded two ECMAs (East Coast Music Award) in 2000 for "Best New Artist" and "Country Artist of the Year." Recently, he has been working on new material in Nashville, Tennessee.

Steve MacDougall-solo artist and frontman for the indie band "Slowcoaster"

Jamey Jewells Jamey Jewells is a Team Canada athlete, women’s wheelchair basketball, as well as playing for and living in, Germany on the Trier Dolphins. She was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, August 23 1989, and raised in Donkin, Nova Scotia. She currently lives in Konz in the Trier-Saarburg district, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Jewells began playing basketball at the age of seven. At the age of fourteen in the year 2003 she was severely injured in a car accident, breaking several ribs and her t12-L1 vertebrae, forcing her to spend close to two years in the hospital. Her occupational therapist suggested to her wheelchair basketball to help her recovery. She had to take some time off from 2007-2009 due to health and school, and didn’t return until 2010. When she did come back, she ended up withdrawing from the Marconi Campus of Nova Scotia Community College in Sydney Nova Scotia, so she could focus on her training. She has played basketball in every province of Canada, the United States, Osaka, Japan, and in Germany. In May 2011 she played in Manchester, England, and having been named to the Canadian National team will also play in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England.[1]

edit] Recognition
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 * Donkin - Port Caledonia has recently been nominated for The Lieutenant Governor's Community Spirit Award.|[2]
 * Schooner Pond was chosen for its beautiful scenery to film the Hollywood film “Margaret’s Museum”, with St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Port Caledonia also being used for the wedding scene in the same film.
 * In September 2006, the Donkin Port Caledonia Rural Development Association won the "Let Them Be Kids Helping Hands Award" for the completion of their Veterans' Memorial Playground and Park. They received a plaque from the Mayor and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Council (October 2006) and a plaque from the Nova Scotia Minister of Heritage and Tourism (November 2006) for the same facility.