Families

Throughout its history, Bitumount was an overwhelmingly male place. Very few women or children visited the place, let alone took up residence there. One exception to this rule was the couple who acted as caretakers for Robert Fitzsimmons during the periods when Bitumount was shut down. Apparently they spent extended periods of time there, sometimes residing in Fitzsimmons’s own cabin.

Photographs of the later plant show some women and children, but these were probably short-term visitors, as accounts by W. E. Adkins and Karl Clark do not mention resident families. The family accommodations provided at Bitumount were detached, one-room cottages with no indoor plumbing or cooking facilities. Clearly, these were not conducive to long-term occupation. More usual are references to care packages—even entire meals—coming in by plane from homes in Edmonton.

Adkins recognized the importance of providing accommodation for families. Many qualified men would not leave their wives and children to work in an isolated location such as Bitumount. He also realized that the presence of families in camp made it a much better place to live. Nevertheless, Bitumount never became a place where people could make true homes. It did not operate on a continuing basis, and did not have any of the amenities, such as schools, shops or facilities for indoor physical activity that are so essential to living in a community.