In 1962 following graduation from Haileybury School of Mines (Prov. Inst. of Mining - PIM) I returned to full time employment with the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOCC) at the Heath Lake Exploration Camp.  The camp was the head quarters for core drilling and mapping the iron ore deposits.  I worked there in 1961 as a student.  When I arrived the first ore body had been stripped of trees and overburden and hydraulic monitors literally washed it clean.  Now renamed Smallwood South and the adjacent ore body across the valley named Smallwood North.  IOCC had previously commissioned Canadian Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson and Dr. Maurice Haycock (Ottawa) to produce a series of paintings for its offices, its hotel suite, the Labrador City town hall, and the Ashuanipi Lounge.  (The hotel suite was in the neighbouring town of Wabush.) 

The two artists were provided with a staff car and were lodged at the exploration camp at Heath Lake - with stern warning to all IOCC staff to keep their distance from the artists at work.  A.Y. and Haycock were given a full-size trailer (that normally housed 8 men) on site.  The paintings are draped over all the walls to dry out.  Word went out that paintings would be for sale to the few families living in Labrador City.  A few students and fewer diamond drillers were interested.  I’ve always been a great admirer of the Group of Seven and chose the opportunity to acquire a souvenir from the last surviving member of that unique group. I met A.Y. and Dr. Haycock and inquired if students were included in said offer which was readily extended!  I selected the piece “Smallwood Mine from Heath Lake Camp 1962” as it was my home for the summer of ’61.  The painting showed the Diamond Drill Skid and Tower on the right side; snow in the ‘bush’ in May and Smallwood Mine preparing for the first blast via Rockdrill “Quarry Master 5”.  That miserable rig was where I spent a ‘few’ shifts until the new equipment arrived.  The paintings on the wall were not signed by A.Y.  After my selection I asked A.Y. if he could sign it for me.  He hesitated somewhat but fished around in his tray of brushes and pencils and found an old pen with a dry nib.  He signed his name on the bottom right corner as the oil paint was still ‘wet’ at that time.  He wrote my name on the back in pencil and returned it on the wall to dry.  In all fairness I did not know of Dr. Haycock as an artist, however I felt compelled to buy a sample of his work - "Smallwood Mine from Smallwood North 1962” and it became a companion to the Jackson.  Of course, these transactions took care of my monthly salary!  

A.Y. kept paintings from sticking on a stack by breaking 1/4-inch pieces of wood matches and sprinkling them on the face of the paintings. In one instance I came upon A.Y.  painting a scene of small pit with a bright green outhouse which he promptly inserted in the scene immortalizing this simple structure ‘for prosperity’.   A.Y. might have been suffering from arthritis in his hands as he held his brushes more like a spoon - however that could have been just his peculiar style.  

One incident I recall on my way to the cookhouse (mess hall) was whenI was walking behind A.Y. and Dr. Haycock. The grounds at Health Lake Camp were a sea of 10 inches of churned up mud (curtesy of large tractors).  I patiently waited for the duo to make their way when Dr. Haycock, who was an avid photographer, stopped, pulled out his camera and started taking several photos of a particular muddy tire track until A.Y. finally announced “Dr. Haycock, are we going to make it to dinner tonight?”  The cook house closed precisely at 7 pm.  The photo shoot stopped and the party proceeded to dinner.

These paintings always reminded us of our early years living in Labrador.

Claudio and Janet