Lawrence Clarke

Marion Bridge,

Cape Breton

"Company House"

(click on the song title to listen)

Lawrence Clarke is a native of Florence, and production manager for Seaside Communications who enjoys writing and playing guitar in his spare time.

Like most people from Cape Breton, he was raised in a mining community and spent a portion of his childhood living in a company house, with four siblings and knows first hand, the rigors of waking up on a cold morning, and sharing a wall with the people on the other side. Anyone who knows company house living, also knows that your neighbours get to knowing as much about your lives as the people living in your own home sometimes.

He wrote this song in recognition of the housewives of the coalminers in the early days, who kept the proverbial homefires burning. They arose before anyone else in the house, put the fire on, took the frost out of the air, warmed the breakfasts, and prepared the family, and the home, for the upcoming day. Also, the fact that, in those days, ALL the families knew hard times, they all knew cold mornings, and they all knew the lives and the common worries of those in neighboring houses and communities.

The lives of the coal miners, and their families, was not an easy one, but, yet, they endured, and are better stronger people because of it. This song was written in recognition of them all. Here's hoping you all enjoy it.

Shea Cameron

New Waterford,

Cape Breton

"That Old Coal Furnace"

(click on the song title to listen)

I am a mother of a 14 year old daughter. I started writing poems when I was about 12. I stopped over the years and I got back into writing about 3 years ago when I was looking for a subject to put on my web page. I saw the contest on Johnny Butt's site and I saw that it was to write about your home life.

I thought about having a coal furnace and how it use to be so cold in the mornings getting up for school. When you are younger you don't appreciate as much that someone had to take care of the furnace but I appreciated all the hard work my dad did to keep us warm even though I loved to complain at a young age.

I was so excited to hear that my words would be put into song. I have wrote songs over the years but I would sing them to myself. I like Johnny Butt's music so I'm glad he will be singing it. I also would like to thank Vivian for all her hard work getting the song in tune.