Gold Dust on His Shirt is an evocative telling of the experience of a Scandinavian immigrant family of hard-rock miners at the turn of the century and up to World War II. Based on fascinating historical research, these are tales of arriving in ‘Amerika,’ blasting the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, work in the mines, and domestic life and labour struggles in company towns throughout British Columbia.

Part family history, part economic and social history, Gold Dust on His Shirt is an intriguing look at life on the industrial frontier, the world of immigrant workers and the rise of unions such as the Wobblies. This remarkable and provocative tale of a family, region and era references a number of broader social and political issues.

Born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to Scandinavian parents, Irene Howard has devoted her writing career to combining her interest in labour and immigrant history with her love of literature. She has been an English instructor and has broadcast talks for the CBC and written articles and essays for Canadian magazines and journals. She is the author of several books, including The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia: Helena Gutteridge, the Unknown Reformer, which in 1993 won the University of British Columbia Silver Medal for Canadian Biography and was shortlisted for a City of Vancouver Book Award and the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize.

id=titleinfo.tmpl>Born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to Scandinavian parents, Irene Howard has devoted her writing career to combining her interest in labour and immigrant history with her love of literature. She has been an English instructor and has broadcast talks for the CBC and written articles and essays for Canadian magazines and journals. She is the author of several books, including The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia: Helena Gutteridge, the Unknown Reformer, which in 1993 won the University of British Columbia Silver Medal for Canadian Biography and was shortlisted for a City of Vancouver Book Award and the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize.

Irene Howard's profile page

One of the best books I’ve read this year by far.

CBC’s North By Northwest

It is migration history, labour history, women’s history, and family history woven into one story…This engaging tale is written with an ironic, low-keyed humour that demonstrates Howard’s deep affection for workers who often lost limbs and lives in building this province, and it will be useful to anyone who seeks a better understanding of British Columbia’s rich working-class history.

BC Studies

Howard’s story is valuable and often untold, and her objective storytelling–in which she often removes herself entirely from the narrative, even though she lived through the same events–is a refreshing departure from the self-centered account most memoirs provide.

Feminist Review

I read this book and I was just simply thrilled. I have a PhD in literature and I’ve seldom, if ever, read a book that strikes me as so real and literary. It made me think in some ways of Angela’s Ashes.

CKUT 90.3 FM (Montreal)

One of the best books I’ve read this year by far.

CBC’s North By Northwest

A stunningly vivid and in-depth family history that doubles as progressive labour history.

BC Bookworld

Easily one of the most impressive family memoirs ever written about a B.C. working class family…Theirs is an epic tale of perseverance, superbly told, as a celebration of dignity.

ABC Bookworld