A book about a Seaton man who spent his working life in the coalmining industry, has provided extra funds for charity.
Gerard McCarten decided to publish the memoirs of his father, Jim, which he had written out in longhand several years ago.
Jim was a devoted first aider, a passionate sportsman and a volunteer helper with the disabled.
When he died in 1988, aged 80, Violet Nutter, chairman of Seaton Parish Council, described Jim as a “man who loved to work for the village.”
Before Jim died, he was encouraged by his granddaughter, Barbara, to write his memories of life as a miner, a life which covered more than six decades, from 1923 to 1970.
He wrote his story longhand in a notebook and Barbara had the book photocopied and distributed to family members, Ralph and Muriel, John and Marjorie, Margaret and Manfred, Ronald and Edna, Gerard and Margaret and Claire and William.
Some years later Gerard transcribed his writing to print and, in 2023, his book was printed with the title Jim McCarten The Accidental Coal Miner.
When the second edition of the book was printed 50 copies were set aside and released for sale to the public with the proviso that £2 would be donated to charity from each book.
The generosity of the purchasers meant that a total of £150 was raised from the sale of the 50 books.
The charities chosen by the McCarten family were Hospice at Home West Cumbria and West Cumbria Society for the Blind.
Last week, at the Workington headquarters of Hospice at Home West Cumbria on Finkle Street, community fundraising co-ordinator, Holly Harkness accepted a cheque for £75 from Gerard.
Holly praised the efforts of the McCarten family in the way they have honoured their father and wished the family well.
A similar presentation was held earlier at the Whitehaven offices of West Cumbria Society for the Blind when a cheque for £75 was handed over by Gerard.
Copies of Jim’s book have been placed in Workington, Seaton and Whitehaven libraries; the Helena Thompson Museum, Workington, and the Cumbria Archives, Whitehaven.
Copies of Jim McCarten The Accidental Coal Miner can be ordered via [email protected]
