Chapter 72 – Moving Forward
Dee knocked on the door and came back in with Mr Yeager.
"Mr. Yeager." Dee said. "This is Sheriff Bill Avery. He was in Rock Creek helping with the rescue, he also stayed back to try to find anyone that had survived the flash flood at the settlement."
"Sheriff." Andy said. "Please call me Andy. I want to thank you for all your hard work."
"Has Dee filled you in?" Wynn asked.
"A little." Andy said. "He said that you didn't find any additional survivors of the flash flood. He also said that you have a list of men that will be ready to be released back to work."
"Yes." Abigail said. "Please have a seat. First, I want to let you know that Pastor Frank Hogan and Constable Joe McGinty, have gone to notify the men who lost their wives and children. The bodies are in Rock Creek, but if the men want we will arrange to bring the bodies here for burial. There are also the five bodies of the lost miners. I think that we should bury the families together. We have three cases where both the husband and wife were killed. One entire family was killed, husband, wife and two small children. We also have one child for sure that has been orphaned."
"So what are the numbers?" Andy asked.
"We have five dead miners from Rock Creek." Wynn said. "Fifteen women and seven children died from the settlement. One woman, Christine Clarke, who was rescued the first day is improving. The one, Eva Smolin, that was brought in the second wagon with the children has passed away. Her husband and son were with her. There are a total of nine children and they are all doing well. They are mostly being cared for by the women at the saloon. As far as I can tell there are fifteen injured men from Rock Creek. I know that Pastor Frank was going to make sure that the men knew where their children were.
Dee was able to get a list from Nurse Faith Carter of the men that she will release. There are fifteen men, well sixteen if you include Wyatt Weaver from Silverton and nine from Rock Creek. That includes those with families and four men who now face the challenge of being newly single fathers. Faith would be willing to release the men back to work on Friday. She felt that a few more days would be good, given all that has happened."
"Okay, wow." Andy said. "I think that the first thing we need to do is figure out the burial. I agree that we should bring the bodies here, as long as that is what the men want. I also think that we should make that decision tonight and get the plan in motion. Would it be possible to bring the bodies here and have a burial in the next couple of days?"
"Yes." Bill said. "The mayor of Rock Creek is holding off on any burial until he hears from me. Two of the men that were not injured and remained at Rock Creek lost their wives and one lost his two children as well. If the burials are going to take place here, I think that we need to bring the men from Rock Creek here. It would be possible to bring the men here, have the burial and then return to Rock Creek all in one day. It would mean that you would lose a full day of production at the mine, but I think that it is something that you should consider. Rock Creek is about fours hours away by wagon."
"I will do what we need to." Andy said. "Would it be possible to get the bodies here and have a burial on Thursday?"
"That should be possible." Bill said. "That would give us all day tomorrow to get the coffins built and the graves dug. I will send a wire and let Mayor Logan know. Dee, can you make the arrangements to get the graves dug and the coffins made?"
"Yes." Dee said. "I can do that. What about 1pm on Thursday? That will give people time to get here from Rock Creek, but also allow for them to get back to Rock Creek in plenty of time."
"Double check with Pastor Frank." Abigail said. "But that should work. After Frank confirms it, please spread the word."
"What are you going to do for the men who lost their wives and now have small children to care for?" Wynn asked. "Also what about the boy who lost both parents and the woman who lost her husband and son. Then there are the two widows from Silverton, one with a child."
"Okay." Andy said. "First Silverton mine. I am ready to give each of the widows a check for the death benefits. I will also get them a ticket if they choose to travel back East. I will also make sure that they receive the pay that was due their late husbands. I am also willing to offer every man from Silverton a job at Rock Creek or back at Silverton right now. I have ads out at the moment for single men to be hired for both mines. I want to get both up and running again at capacity as soon as possible. I am not against hiring men with families, but I want to have housing for them first. I don't think that it is fair to ask families to travel all the way out here and not have housing."
"That is good." Wynn said. "That said, what about the men that do have families and are here. From Silverton, we have eight men that are married with four of them having children. Then you have a seventeen year old working in the mine to support his mother and two brothers."
"The four married men without children are more than welcome to work at Rock Creek." Andy said. "I will provide tents for them, but they might have to share with another husband and wife. The four men with children, again are welcome to work at Rock Creek or help to get the Silverton mine back up and running. I would like to see the women and children stay here where it is safer, I would provide tents for the men and they can then return here on their off days.
The boy, Wyatt Weaver, I understand that you might not like me hiring him, but I didn't break any laws. The boy genuinely wants to provide for his family. His father worked for me before his untimely passing. I didn't want to hire Wyatt, but I understood his need to provide for his family despite me paying out his father's death benefits in full. I would like to see the Weaver family stay here in Hope Valley. I think that those boys need a stable life. I think that there may be opportunities here for both Wyatt and his mother. I was hoping that Wyatt would go on to more schooling. I have offered to pay for it if he chooses to go on to more schooling. The offer stands."
"Thank you." Wynn said. "I know that you didn't break any laws, but I would encourage you to limit how many young men under eighteen that you hire. I know that there are politicians who want to limit their hours to encourage them to finish schooling."
"I know." Andy said. "My mother is another that is leading that charge, but like I said, he genuinely wanted to help his family. I personally think that the boy belongs in school. He is really bright."
"I think that we may be able to help you with that." Abigail said. "Many of the women in this town lost their husbands and have encouraged their children to get an education. I am sure that if Mona Weaver wants to work here in Hope Valley, I am sure that there will be opportunities for her. I have had a chance to talk to her a little bit."
"So what about the men from Rock Creek." Bill asked. "We have seven children ages one to six and also a twelve year old who have all lost their mothers. As well as an eight year old who has been orphaned."
"I am more than willing to continue to employ these men." Andy said. "I will also do what I can to help these children. In the past, I have set up a fund for the child with the death benefits and pay due. I am more than willing to do that. It can go toward their care or be saved for future use. It will just depend on where the children end up. Unfortunately, I am afraid that many of those children, especially the younger ones, will be turned over to orphanages because the fathers won't be able to care for them. I have seen this before. I hope that I am wrong, but I don't think that I will be. If the children get turned over to an orphanage, the money I set up will go toward their care until they are adopted or the money is gone."
"These families have choices to make." Wynn said. "But I hope that there will be a way to support these children who have lost parents without sending them to an orphanage. I have a proposal for you, but I need to check a couple things before we can finalize it if you agree. What I am proposing is that if the town is willing to help care for the children of Rock Creek, would you be able to set up a fund to help. I think the nearest orphanage is out near Calgary and it may not be the best place for these children. From what I can tell, many of these men and their children are Russian immigrants and that can pose problems getting the children adopted out. I also think that it would make any orphanage a huge adjustment. I just don't think that will be the best for the children. Like I said, there are things that I need to check before we can finalize things."
"I would be willing to be open to that." Andy said. "Let's first get the dead buried and then get those men without children back to work. If the men that are married, but without children want to head to Rock Creek to work, I will do what I can to accommodate them. I also know that there are injured men that will take more time to heal. I am willing to pay to have those men sent to the hospital in Union City or if they are able to stay here, I am willing to pay for their stay here. I also have a check for Hope Valley for all the help that you have provided for my men and their families. If the children stay here, I will set up an individual fund for each of the orphaned children with the death benefits. If we don't have things set before I leave, I can set those up when I get back or I can set up the fund at the bank and it can be moved later, leaving the town or pastor to take care of the funds until a person can be appointed for each child."
Andy pulled out a check from his vest pocket and handed it to Abigail. Then sat back down.
"You didn't have to do this." Abigail said. "Many of the supplies were donated and we made a plan to take care of the area. It is what this town does. We help those that need it where we are able. I told you that we weren't going to seek any payment for the help that we offered."
"I know what you told me." Andy said. "Please take it. Use it as you see fit. I know that this town has given up a lot to help strangers. I have been blessed to be able to help in this manner, so please let me do this. I am sure that you will find a way to use it, make it a donation to the town if you want. Wynn, please let me know when you have the answers you need and we will work out the details to care for the children. As long as there are people willing to take them in, I would be willing to set up a fund to help with their care and I would encourage the fathers to help as well.
I also would be glad if you would be willing to convince the Weaver family to stay here in Hope Valley and to have Wyatt go on to more schooling. He is a bright young man who could have a great future. I would hate to see that wasted digging coal. Wyatt is way too smart to allow him to continue to put off his future. I understand his need and want to provide for his family, like it is his responsibility as the oldest. But I think that if his mother had a steady job and income, it would go a long way to convince him to take my offer to go on to further schooling."
"I think I will have Charlotte Thornton talk to him." Dee said. "I think that she made a connection with him earlier. She might be able to convince him to consider more schooling if he was certain that his mother and brothers would be taken care of."
"Thank you, I will." Abigail said. "I know that the families have decisions to make, but you and I also need to sit down and talk about things. I want to let you know that the town council has agreed to accept your offer to buy and reopen the mine as long as we can reach a deal. There is a lot that we need to do, but I think the sooner we establish a routine for all the people brought here and get back to a routine for the townsfolk of Hope Valley the better. By no means are we pushing people out, but I think routine and normalcy will benefit everyone. Andy, we need to sit down and work out some details before you leave town."
Before Andy could answer Abigail, there was a knock on the door and Pastor Frank and McGinty walked in.
"We can go." McGinty said. "It looks like you are busy."
"No, sit down." Wynn said. "It is okay. You might have information that we need."
"Andy." Abigail said. "I would like you to meet Pastor Frank Hogan and Constable Joe McGinty. Gentlemen, Andy Yeager, owner of the Rock Creek and Silverton mines."
The men exchanged greetings and then everyone sat down at the table.
"Thank you." Andy said. "I want to thank you for helping my men and their families."
"You're welcome." McGinty said. "But I was just doing my job."
"I echo that." Frank said. "I am just glad that I have been able to be there for the people."
"So we were talking about getting the twenty-seven fatalities buried and the single men back to work." Andy said.
"Sorry, but there are twenty-eight fatalities." Frank interrupted. "Petar Borstov, father of the twin girls passed away about twenty minutes ago. His wife was also on the list of fatalities. We learned that Petar's wife, Dasha, had a sister Polina who also died. Polina's husband and two children all died. There was also another cousin, Eva, who was the woman brought here before she passed away. Eva's son, Alec, is with the twin girls. The children don't really understand what is going on. Alec is twelve and Adrik is eight, so they understand a little more, but the others don't."
"Thank you for the information." Andy said. "What do we know about the other injured men?"
"I talked to Nurse Carter." McGinty said. "She believes that everyone else will recover. We have one man, Cameron Vernier, who had a broken leg. Faith was talking about moving him to Union City. He may not be able to work in the mine again. Fred Reed, Nolan and Noel Wheeler will take a couple of weeks to recover. They have broken ribs and cuts that require stitches. Nurse Carter said that she won't release them until the stitches come out and their ribs are healed. There is also Roy Hall, the man that was able to make it here to report the mudslide. He has an injured shoulder and stitches in his arm. He is also going to need a few weeks.
Then there are the men from Rock Creek, Adolph St Germain, Igor Fukin, Virgil Fuller, Owen McClay and Bruce Norwood. Faith said that they will also need a couple of weeks. They have stitches and one has a broken arm. We originally only thought that there were five severely injured men from Rock Creek and that included Petar Borstov who passed away. It was only when the women were taking care of them did they realize that one of the men was more severely injured than we thought. He might have further injured himself when coming here or we missed the broken arm."
"So we have three orphaned children." Wynn said. "And ten men who need more care. Do any of the severely injured have families?"
"Yes." Dee said. "Roy Hall is married with an infant. The other four men from Silverton are single. Owen McClay lost his wife. Adolph St Germain lost his wife and has a small child. The other three are single."
"Do you have housing for the injured to recover?" Andy asked.
"We were talking about putting them up in a large house that the town owns." Wynn said. "It is right in town and it would be easy for Faith to care for the men. We should be able to put the men there without a problem."
"Good." Andy said. "I will do what I can to help the men if they choose to come back to work. I will also be willing to pay for the housing of the men as they recover. As long as they are under the care of Nurse Carter, I will pay their expenses within reason. You said that the house is owned by the town, so how about you set a rate for each of the men that will be staying there and I will set up an account at the mercantile so that they can get things. I would also be willing to set up an account with you Abigail at the cafe for the men. If they need help with care, I can pay one or two of the women to do that. We will just have to work it out. I was serious when I said I want to take care of my men.
As we have said, this is a different type of disaster. The men were injured or killed though no fault of my own, but I am still going to take care of them. Legally I know that I don't have to do what I have offered to do. However, that said, both my mother and uncle would kick my butt if they found out that I didn't take care of the men I employ. I know that I am going above and beyond, but I want people to know that I am serious when I say I do business differently. I have always taken care of my employees and I think that is why I have so little turnover in industries that typically have large turnover."
"Good." Abigail said. "Thank you for doing what you are. You are right, because of the type of disaster, you have a legal out as far as paying. I, for one, am glad that you are willing to step up. We need more businessmen like you in this country. We can work on those things once we know who is staying. It sounds like the housing has been worked out for the most part. All we can do is to offer what we have to these families. It is up to them to choose what they want. Frank, we were wondering if we would be able to have a large funeral for the twenty-eight dead on Thursday at 1pm. That will give the men from Rock Creek time to get here."
"Yes, that can be arranged." Pastor Frank. "Joe, can you help get the graves dug?"
"I asked Dee to get men to do that." Wynn said. "I would like the Mounties to help, make sure that happens Joe. If you take that, I can use Dee for other things that are needed."
"Yes, Sir." McGinty said. "I will let Carver and Green know. We will head out to the cemetery and get them marked off. I will get a list of the names so that the families are all together."
"That would be good." Wynn said.
McGinty looked around the room. He was uncomfortable and wanted to get back to paperwork. He was never one to sit in meetings when there was stuff that needed to be done. Even though he liked Deputy Commissioner Delaney, he was still nervous working directly with him. The other thing that was making Joe nervous was the familiarity that everyone was using. That was something that he had not experienced as a Mountie except with Jack.
