Memoirs of Angus Davis: A Mining Legend
It was advantageous for Davis Sr. that his connections in the mining industry helped propel his career forward when it seemed to be lacking in direction.
âHe was going from one job to another job, and Selwyn G. Blaylock (then president of Cominco) happened to be a former classmate from McGill University. He helped my dad get a position with ComincoâŚBlaylock led a more devoted life in the fact that he didnât drink a lotâŚhe took over a ratty thing in Trail and built it into a worldwide operation, and he and my dad were friendsâ.
Drinking was a big part of Angus Sr.âs life until his death in 1949, and he squandered much of his earnings on this habit.
âI think he was hard on himself, more than he was good to himself. You canât go through World War I, crawling around those hell holes with explosives, and not come out of there unscathed,â said Davis Jr.
His legacy will be remembered by his family and the memoirs he wrote, an important historical document, outlining the history of mining in British Columbia. It is a memoir told with insight, honesty, and humor on the trials, tribulations, and adventures of early hard rock mining, from the perspective of a legendary engineer, who experienced it firsthand.
An excerpt from the Angus Davis Memoirs,
The Western Miner 1949-1950.
âWhen time, which steals our years away,
Shall steal our pleasures too,
The memory of the past will stay
And half our joys renewâ.
