BEARDMORE-LAKE NIPIGON EXTRACTS 11

November Daily Times in Beardmore - based on reports in the Fort William Daily Times-Journal in 1938

Tue 1 Nov PROTEST WORK STOPPAGE – “The [financial] committee [of Port Arthur Council] passed a resolution protesting to the provincial government , discontinuance of work on the Beardmore section of the Nipigon-Geraldton road, and urgently asking the government to recommence this work immediately to relieve ‘an unemployment situation which has become very serious’.”

Thu 3 Nov WORK DURING WINTER – Erle Smith, district engineer of the DOH, said several hundred men will be given employment all winter long on the 60-mile stretch between Nipigon and Nezah. Tomlinson Construction company will resume work immediately.

Fri 4 Nov ROXY THEATRE – “Bud Dean is now employed at the Roxy Theater, assisting D. Muirhead, as assistant operator.” “Phil. Wiebe has moved his jewelry shop to a new location next to Mitchell’s Supply store. Mrs. Murphy has moved her barber and hair dressing shop to the building next to the post office. ””The Standard Lunch on Main street has been taken over by Joe Jim, proprietor of the Northland café.” On Monday afternoon, Hallowe’en parties were held at the local school, involving bobbing for apples, peanut scrambles, and sucker hunts.

Sat 5 Nov MACDIARMID NEWS – “’Nibs’ Barker made several trips from Macdiarmid to Ara Lake by plane last weekend, taking in men and a winter fishing outfit for Andrew Sutherland. Fish will be taken from the camp on Ara Lake to Tashota by plane and shipped from there to the eastern markets.” “Speckled trout spawn, taken in West Bay, Lake Nipigon, were shipped to the Dorian hatchery last weekend. “ “The Indian department boat Keego arrived her on Thursday towing the new scow built by the Indians at Grand Bay Indian Reserve*. The scow is 50 feet by 25 feet and will be used to carry winter supplies to reserves at Grand Bay, Gull Bay and White Sand.” “The local C.N.R. telegraph and express office was closed last Monday night. Tom Bell, express agent and operator, left for his home in Fenelon Falls.” “T[om]. Warren, provincial constable, Beardmore, was here on Thursday.” “Local volunteers have been working this week converting the community hall into a school room and teacher’s quarters.” ”A 105 northwest dragline arrived here on Thursday for the Tomlinson Construction Company. The machine will be used in rockcuts, loading blasted rock into trucks.”

Mon 7 Nov ASSAYER KILLED – “John Walter Evans . . . Beardmore assayer, was killed instantly at 1:10 o’clock Sunday morning when run over by an extra eastbound freight train when it was switching at Beardmore station.” He and his wife were crossing the tracks after a dance, and as he was passing over the couplings, the train started and threw him under the wheels. He had been married less that a month.  A graduate of Queen’s University, he was well known in northern mining camps, and was employed as an engineer at the McWilliams-Beardmore property until it closed a year ago. He then opened his own assay office.

Tue 8 Nov BADMINTON BAD NEWS – The Beardmore Badminton Club is giving everyone till Nov. 15^th to join and pay dues or the club will have to close. “The Beardmore C.G.I.T. held a progressive Hallowe’en party on Friday evening.” Two groups visited two different homes at different times and enjoyed games and contests. “A delicious lunch was served by the ladies and Hallowe’en favors and noisemakers distributed to the girls.” “Rev. T. Cann, of Nipigon, was in Beardmore on Wednesday and held services in the school.” “Rev. Father A.J. O’Donnel, of Nipigon, celebrated mass at the school on Sunday morning. In the afternoon the little son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Latinsic was christened.”

Thu 10 Nov MINING CONVENTION – “The annual convention of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy was held this year at Beardmore. A special [railway] coach was chartered to bring the visitors for Geraldton to the convention. Thirty-six visitors attended from Geraldton.” John MacKenzie, manager of Bankfield Gold Mines, was in charge of arrangements. At the Beardmore Inn, “Favors, noise makers, and witty speeches by several present [at the banquet] added to the gaiety of the affair,” followed by community singing. “The ladies were entertained at a banquet at the Northland Hotel.” A dance followed at the Kroback hall. “In the afternoon Mrs. Brock Trible, of Sand River, entertained at tea, ”with several figures from the Geraldton mining area. Guests registered at the Beardmore Inn this week came from Fort William, Toronto, Nipigon, Macdiarmid, Peterboro, Port Arthur, Nipsona Mines, Winnipeg, Geraldton, Jackpine, and Bankfield. “The ladies of the Home and School club held their regular afternoon meetings at the home of Mrs. J.D. Baby.” Preparations were made for the bazaar.

Fri 11 Nov MORE MACDIARMID NEWS – “A 50 Bacyrus-Erie 80-ton dragline and four dump trucks arrived on Wednesday for the Tomlinson Construction company. They will be used for moving rock from rock cuts.” “A drilling outfit and twelve men were transferred from Jellicoe, by the Tomlinson Construction company his week.” “The side hill cut at the north end of Little Lake has been completed. The complete rock drilling outfit has been moved to a cut a mile and a half east of the camp.” “Messrs. Garlock and McKenzie report that while working in West Bay they saw enormous flocks of geese flying south. Within three-quarters of an hour seven flocks passed over, comprising at least ten thousand geese in all. Mr. McLeod saw a single flock which he estimated was made up of five hundred geese, flying in three V’s, one inside the other. For two days a flock of three hundred stayed in West Bay. These flights are unusually late. Large flocks have been seen in mid-October other years.”

Thu 17 Nov FREIGHT HIT A TRUCK – J. Washburn’s truck was struck by the CNR freight on Saturday night. It had stalled on the track. The fenders were badly bent and the engine badly battered. “George Perram has opened a drug store in the building formerly owned by Hi-La Syndicate as an office. He has purchased a considerable amount of stock from Dr. N.H. Sutton and is now open for business.”

Mon 21 Nov WORKERS ON HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION – “There are 102 Fort William men working on the construction of the road from Nipigon to Beardmore,” according to the district relief [unemployment] officer. “Men from Port Arthur number 139; from Nipigon, 70; from Beardmore, 34; from Geraldton, 54; for other municipalities including Nolalu, Gorham and others, 78; and other key men . . . , 102. Practically every man on the work is a British subject and in need of work . . . The relief officer said an alien . . . cannot be employed  on this work, if his family lived in Europe . . . [but] an alien with his family in Canada is termed eligible.”

Mon 21 Nov MORE FROM MACDIARMID – “A number of fishermen left Macdiarmid on Thursday morning, for Tashota. They will proceed to Onaman Lake for winter fishing. A.F. Ticknor was accompanied by Alex Chisholm. Gunnar Ingves, John Togg, Oscar Lindstrom, Pete Gilles and Doug. Young will go to J. McKirdy’s camp. The fishermen took with them about twenty sleigh dogs.” “The Abitibi Company’s tug ‘Nipigon’ took one hundred and thirty men to a timber camp on Humbolt Bay, on Thursday morning.”

Wed 23 Nov TASHOTA NEWS – “The young people of Tashota have constructed a skating rink for the coming winter.” “John W. McKirdy’s fish crews comprised of five men . . . arrived during the week. They will be employed for the winter on Onaman Lake.” “Andrew Sutherland arrived during the week to take charge of his fish crew on Ara Lake.” “Alex MacKay made his first trip into Onaman Lake with his tractor on Saturday. He was accompanied by two of his fishermen, William Dick and Valentire Bergstrom, who arrived here during the week.”

Wed 23 Nov PETITION FOR INCORPORATION – Beryl Mitchel, president, chaired the regular meeting of the Beardmore Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. George Perram handed in a petition with 114 signatures for the Municipal Board which will be meeting in Geraldton on Friday. “The fire committee program for the winter was passed. Gus Balderer has decided to remain as fire chief until a successor is found.” Leitch Gold Mines is remodeling an unoccupied house for a school with quarters for a teacher. Nine pupils from Leitch are now attending school in Beardmore from the mine, coming by bus and taxi. A teacher has been advertised for. It is hoped that some of the crowding at the Beardmore school will be relieved.

Fri 25 Nov MORE NEWS FROM MACDIARMID – “Two mechanical shovels, a dragline and four dumpers were put to work by the Tomlinson company this week.” “Two cabins were brought from Nezah on a flat car on Tuesday. Owned by H. Gill and A. Stigant, they will be moved to the camp site on the highway.” “The Indian department boat ‘Keego’ made final trips to Grand Bay on Sunday and Gull Bay on Wednesday, taking supplies to the Indian reserves.” “The south end of Orient Bay is frozen over. There are about 15 inches of snow here.”

Tue 29 Nov PROGRESS ON ROAD – “Fast progress is being made in the construction of the Nipigon-Beardmore highway and work will be continued all winter . . . The department of highways has completed all surveys for a class ‘C’ highway between Geraldton and Long Lac, a distance of 20 miles. It is hoped that in the very near future this route will connect with Hearst and the Ferguson highway, thus completing a northern route and a Trans-Canada highway*. . . At present cars can travel over the new highway approximately three miles south of Beardmore.”

Wed 30 Nov LAKE NIPIGON FISHING BOATS – “Three steam tugs , two Diesel boats and five gas boats make up the local fleet. Each boat is equipped with a mechanical net lifter . . . The Lake Nipigon Fishing industry gives employment to more than sixty men. J. Belanger, H. Goodman, Allan McLeod, Angus McLeod, R. McKee, Andrew Sutherland, Malcolm Sutherland, A. Ticknor, J. Wooldiage [?] and R. Young operated fish boats this past summer.”

Wed 30 Nov DOCTOR LEAVING TOWN – “In honour of Dr. and Mrs. MacDonald who are leaving Beardmore shortly to make their home in Foleyet, a series of dinners and bridges have been held during the week.”

[Note* - Work on the highway east of Geraldton did not resume till 1941, and was completed in late 1943.]

Photo 1 > Northwest 105 dragline – The Earthmover Encyclopedia

Photo 2 > “1920s Northwest 105 dragline”

Photo 3 > Bucyrus-Erie 50 dragline - The Earthmover Encyclopedia

Photos 4 > Angus “Buddy” McLeod acquired this fishing tug in the spring of 1938 and launched it at Macdiarmid where it was christened “Bluefin”. It was the first boat built by Russell Bros. at their Owen Sound factory. It was shipped by rail under the name “Annie Mac”. This was the favourite picture of Edna McLeod, the wife and fishing partner of Buddy McLeod.

Photo 5 > Another picture of the “Bluefin” in the 1940s.

Photo 6 > In 1964, the “Bluefin” was sold to Harold Dampier of Nipigon and launched in Lake Helen, where it served for many years in Lake Superior. Here’s the “Bluefin” in the spring of 2018. It had a chequered career spanning 82 years, and now sails of out of the yacht club in Toronto Island Marina.