Facebook Group: Nova Scotia - Memories of Days Gone By https://facebook/groups/NovaScotiaMemoriesOfDaysGoneBy/ Cape Breton - Port Hood, Nova Scotia, Canada Labour Day – a most appropriate day to remember a native of Port Hood, John Francis “Lofty” MacMillan. He was styled “Lofty” due to his height – 6 feet, 6 inches. Lofty was born in Port Hood on July 26, 1917 to John “Big Jack” & Anne (MacDonald) MacMillan. Lofty went to school in Port Hood until he was 16. He left school to work in the mines because his father had taken ill and was too sick to work. Lofty became the secretary for the union local and was a delegate to United Mine Workers of America convention in Washington, DC in 1935. Lofty also lead a strike at the Henderson Mine in Port Hood in 1938. During WWII Lofty served in the Royal Canadian Navy. After the war, Lofty worked as a policeman in Saint John, NB. He retired from the police force in 1957 to work as a representative for the National Union of Public Employees. In 1958 Lofty was elected a city councilor for Saint John. He was defeated in his re-election campaign in 1962 and then concentrated on his union. Lofty helped found the Canadian Union of Public Employees in 1963 and in 1967 was appointed its National Director of Organization. Lofty also ran as a New Democratic Party candidate in provincial elections in Ontario and New Brunswick. Lofty retired in 1982, but could never give up the fight for labour. He continued his role as an activist, speaking publicly in support of workers who were on strike or supporting campaigns for social justice. When he ended up in the Saint John Regional Hospital with a broken hip, he called a news conference and, from his hospital bed, challenged the provincial politicians to eat the pre-heated, privatized food that he was being served. “If you’re going to a hospital in New Brunswick, buy yourself a lunch pail,” he cautioned. He also continued to write letters to the newspapers concerning the social issues of the day. And when the nursing care staff of his veteran’s home in went on strike, he joined their picket-line in his wheel-chair! Lofty passed away on January 15, 2006 and he was laid to rest in St. Peter’s Parish Cemetery, Port Hood. Thanks Chestico Museum & Archives https://facebook/pages/Chestico-Museum-Archives/106197469418363 JohnTWallace
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 20:34:07 +0000
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