‘When the chips are down, the people stand up’: Bell Islanders continue to demonstrate their resilience and love of their community

Photo courtesy: Brian Hickey/contributed. Retrieved from saltwire.com

“When there’s a disaster, or there’s some situation where people are in dire need, the Bell Island people all stand up,” said Teresita McCarthy.

McCarthy was born and raised on Bell Island, leaving for only four years while attending Memorial University in St. John’s. She’s currently the executive director of the Bell Island No. 2 mine tour and community museum.

“Upon returning from MUN, I ended up with a teaching position here on Bell Island,” she explained. “I kept telling my parents, ‘Now when I’m finished, I won’t be working on Bell Island,’ but anyway, I ended up working on Bell Island, and I worked here for 33 years.

“There’s just that attachment to Bell Island. It’s like once it gets into your blood, it never leaves.”

While Bell Island has continued to attract new residents and draw Bell Islanders back to the community, there remain certain challenges when choosing to live there.

“I think it would be fair to say that if you ask any Bell Islander who’s worked in St. John’s or the surrounding area what was the biggest impact that living here had on them, it would be commuting for work,” said McCarthy.