BEARDMORE-LAKE NIPIGON EXTRACTS 8

Edgar Lavoie

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Fri, Jul 17, 2:53 PM (8 days ago)

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Betty - I'm sending you the 12 months' summary of 1938 + photos for The Blog. Suggest you label this series BEARDMORE-LAKE NIPIGON : Extracts from Fort William Daily Times-Journal. After the summary, I will be posting selected news clips of 1938 plus my research results over the next few weeks. These posts appeared originally in my FB site Greenstone History, and were shared with the Beardmore FB site.

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

Tue 2 Aug WI EXECUTIVE – The Women’s Institute elected Mrs. W. Mitchell to fill the vacancy of the president. Mrs. Pleson was appointed to take over as secretary after a resignation.

Fri 5 Aug LAUNCH TUG IN LAKE NIPIGON – The 300-ton steel tug named “Nipigon” was launched at Orient Bay [more accurately, at Cove Inlet]. The Abitibi Power & Paper Company* will use the boat to tow log booms to the Nipigon River. The 94-foot boat uses twin diesel engines producing 660 horsepower. A sister boat, “Orient Bay”, will be launched in October. The logs will then be towed through Lake Superior to Lakehead mills.

Mon 8 Aug WI QUILTING BEE -At a special meeting, the Women’s Institute reported progress on the quilt and called a quilting bee for Wed. The school fair committee was instructed to draw up a full program for next regular meeting. “The park situation was to be financed by holding a barn frolic and floor show.” “V. Strachan, Geraldton, is relieving T.C. Edwards as station agent.”

Tue 16 Aug OFB HEADQUARTERS – The Ontario Forestry Branch plans a headquarters in Beardmore consisting of a building 24 x 34 feet (with 4 or 5 rooms for staff accommodation) plus a warehouse. OFB is looking for a building lot.

Wed 17 Aug AUTOGRAPHED QUILT – The WI project will consist of 22 blocks, the first in the district, with autographed names of pioneers. It is being prepared for display at the Lakehead Exhibition. The children at Empire Mine presented a program at the Roxy Theatre which included the Empire orchestra, “Three Blind Mice”, solos “Gypsy” and “Military Soldier”, “Irish Jig”, “Juba”, “Satan Takes a Holiday”, piano solo “Sailor’s Dream”, and “The Donkey Serenade”, and others. The Junior Boys’ Club under Mr. Kelly [student minister] returned from a week at Lake Nipigon.

Wed 24 Aug FIRST AID COURSE – The miners of Sand River and Leitch are taking a St. John’s Ambulance Association program every Tue. and Wed. under Dr. McDonald, assisted by Alex Elliott, manager of Richgreen mine. “The first ball game was played in the recreation park on Sunday.” Leitch gold mine played Sand River gold mine and won. Then Empire gold mine played Beardmore Pioneers and won. The grounds are still not in first class shape. The Women’s Institute will have an open meeting at 2 p.m. on August 29 with Miss Petty of Toronto, a specialist on sewing and nutrition.  She has been addressing WI meetings at the Lakehead Exhibition. In the evening there is a banquet at Davidson’s Hotel.

Thu 25 Aug HIGHWAY WORK TO BEGIN – Seven contracts have been let for the 45 miles between Nipigon and Beardmore. “Emil Anderson of Fort William . . . received a contract for five miles of the highway; the Hewitson Construction company for five miles; Storms Contraction company seven miles; MacKay company seven miles; Tomlinson Construction company seven miles; Raynor Construction company six miles; and Johnson Brothers six miles. The road will leave the Trans-Canada highway [now Hwy. 17] just east of the new bridge across the Nipigon river and will go north . . . “

Mon 29 Aug BEARDMORE SEEKS CHARTER – At a meeting, about twenty businessmen and community leaders decided to apply for incorporation. A resolution will be forwarded to the Ontario Municipal Board. Plans are drawn up for a $30,000 new school, the present school being inadequate. Classes are held in two groups, forenoon and afternoon. “Present population of Beardmore is about 500.”

[Note * – In 1937, Abitibi Power and Paper Company began operations on Lake Nipigon. In the fall, they made improvements on the Nipigon River to facilitate drives from the lake to Lake Helen. In the fall of 1938, the company made the first drive down the full length of the river. Some 14,000 cords were ready to be towed across Lake Superior to mills in the Lakehead (now Thunder Bay city).]

Photos 1 – On August 5, 1938, a crowd attended the launch of the “Nipigon” at the Abitibi dock. The facility is still located in Cove Inlet, just south of Orient Bay, just metres from the highway, where some boat owners store their vessels over the winter. Nipigon Museum photo.

Photo 2 – Just moments after the launch, the “Nipigon” is afloat in Cove Inlet, banners flying.

Photo 3 – In the fall of 1938, the first river-length log drive began on the Nipigon River. This photo, taken on the river, is undated and undescribed, but it seems to represent a warp tug (aka an alligator) working among the logs. Note the cable extending from the stern. Don Evans photo.

Photo 4 – The Beardmore Hotel in 1936, built and operated by Bob Davidson. Apparently an alternative name for this 20-room hotel was the Beardmore Inn.