Sunday, 31 March 2013
Thursday, 28 March 2013
THE NIPIGON CANOE ROUTE PLAQUE
 |
| OFFICIAL UNVEILING JULY 15, 1962 |
OFFICIAL CEREMONIES
COMMEMORATING THE
NIPIGON CANOE ROUTE
VIA THE NIPIGON RIVER,
LAKE NIPIGON AND THE
ALBANY RIVER TO JAMES BAY
at
NIPIGON, ONTARIO
JULY 15, 1962
OFFICIAL UNVEILING
SELECTIONS BY THE PORT ARTHUR MEN'S PIPE BAND
O CANADA
INVOCATION - The Rev. Kenneth G. Gibbs,
Minister of St. Mary's Anglican Church
CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS - C.D. McQuat,
Chairman of the Nipigon Chamber of Commerce Historical Committee
ADDRESSES -
The Hon. George Wardrope,
Minister of Mines, Ontario
Professor J.M.S. Careless,
Archaeological and Historic Sites Board,
Department of Travel and Publicity
Keith Denis,
President of the Thunder Bay Historical Society
Robert C. Wheeler,
Assistant Director, Minnesota Historical Society
OFFICIAL UNVEILING -
J.P. Bertrand,
Port Arthur Historian
DEDICATION PRAYER -
Rev. Kenneth G. Gibbs
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
The Nipigon Chamber of Commerce Historical Committee has been pleased to collaborate with the Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of the Department of Travel and Publicity in arranging the ceremony on this memorable occasion.
An Official Unveiling Dinner will be held Sunday evening at the Chalet Bungalow Lodge, Nipigon
MENU
Tomato Juice
Salads
Pickles
Olives
Rolls
BAKED LAKE NIPIGON LAKE TROUT
French Fried or Mashed Potatoes
Jellied Salads
Peas
Buttered Carrots
Strawberry Dessert
Tea or Coffee
Thursday, 21 March 2013
"PADDLE" IN THE SNOW
March 21, 2013
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| This is the Paddle to the Sea Park at Nipigon. Waiting for Spring. |
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| Paddle to the Sea Park with the Catholic Church showing in the background. |
THOMAS JEFFERY'S INDIAN COUNTRY the Conclusion
When last we were with Tom and his friends they had just landed at Kasabonika and the sun was still high in the sky. This is the conclusion of Tom Jeffery's plane trip in June 1974 into Northern Ontario delivering the Election documents and boxes to the fly-in communities.
From the Nipigon Historical Museum Archives with permission of his son we continue:
""Bill's contact man there was also the Hudson's Bay Store manager, and postmaster. The voting would be done in a part of the store. The store was a rather old log building, and i was told that they were to build a new modern one in the next year. I did notice (for sale) fresh tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and carrots, and i have forgotten the prices, but at the time they did not seem too expensive considering the distance they had to be transported, and no refrigeration.
"There was a lovely big, new school, and one of the teachers was from Niagara Falls, and the other from Fort Frances.
" Bill was only a short time completing his business, leaving the election kit and giving necessary instructions and we departed Kasabonika at six-ten P.M. and headed for our next stop, which was Angling Lake.
"As soon as we were in the air, Dennis served Northern Fried Chicken, and ham sandwiches. Bill had put his teeth back in his mouth. I was sure they would get worn out just from handling.
"It was at this time that the door suddenly came open slightly, and Dennis went back to close it. I informed him that if he fell out, he had about a seventy-five percent chance of survival, all he had to do was land in the water, which consisted of seventy-five percent of the area.
"It was a very short flight to Angling Lake and we circled it several times to find the best place to land. The landing area was very shallow, and after we came down on the water, we had quite a distance to get to the dock. I opened the door above the cockpit and stood halfway out, watching for hidden boulders in the water. We stirred up plenty of mud with the pontoons.
" The sun was shining and a beautiful evening when we pulled up at the dock. There were about one hundred and forty people in Angling Lake and it was a typical Indian Settlement.
" A ball game was in progress and after watching for awhile, Dennis and I played catch with a couple of small Indian boys. They were quite shy, but seemed quick to overcome this.
" We looked the place over and went into a small building which was in the process of being built into a store and restaurant. It took only a short time for several women to produce some lovely Indian crafts and leather goods, each one being quite polite, but also trying to sell us some of their lovely articles. Each of us bought something. I bought my wife a lovely pair of beaded mukluks.
"At Angling Lake we met the man and wife team, whose name was Mr. and Mrs. Krasaukas. They were teaching forty children from Kindergarten to Grade Eight. After finishing business, we returned to the plane and found it had been invaded by a horde of fierce and hungry mosquitoes and it took some time to chase them out.
"At seven-twenty P.M. we left Angling Lake and it was a most beautiful evening, with the sun shining and a perfectly clear sky. We were on our way to the next stop which was Bearskin, and on the way we had to pass over Big Trout Lake. The lake was soon in sight and on the left we noticed a heavy fog bank. As we approached the lake, we found it to be completely frozen over as fast as we could see. (Remember, this was the third of June). I had to warn Dennis to try and not fall out in this area, as it would be rather difficult to make a soft landing.
" We passed straight across Big Trout Lake and arrived at Bearskin Lake at seven-fifty P.M. We landed at a dock and had to walk about two hundred yards to get to the main part of the village. I was not impressed with Bearskin as everything seemed neglected and dirty, even the huge school had doors and windows broken. There was a large church and it didn't seem to be in any better condition than the school. There were five teachers at the school. The village seemed quite scare of trees and was situated on quite a hill up from the lake. I though how it must be terribly cold in winter when the wind blows off the lake. We spent almost one hour at Bearskin, and Bill having completed his business, and Mr. Weiben making some business contacts, we were in the air again at eight-forty P.M. and landed at the Air Base at Big Trout Lake at Nine-ten P.M.
" Mr. Weiben had a main Air Base at Big Trout, with office and living quarters in a quite roomy Nisson hut. The kitchen was quite well-stocked with food, so after unloading the plane, we packed what baggage we had , up to the hut, and then made supper.
"After supper, Dennis and i took a walk around, to look the village over. Big Trout Lake is quite a large community and this is where the Department of Transport maintains their weather station. We talked to one chap who worked there and he had been in Big Trout Lake for five years. His wife was one of the teachers. He also told us that the fishing around there was unbelievable.
"I was quite impressed with the huge church and cemetery situated on top of the hill in the centre of the community. The graves were separately fenced with a picket fence which was kept brightly painted with red and white paint. In one spot, there were seven graves inside one picket fence. I learned that they were the father and mother and five children, all killed in the same place by lightning. I also learned that nearly all of the churches in these Indian villages are of the Anglican faith.
"It was by now almost eleven o'clock at night and it was just starting to get dark. Looking at the map, I could see that we really were not too great a distance from the shores of Hudson's Bay. (Possibly about two hundred miles by air.)
"We wandered back to our free hotel room at the Air Base, and having a few beers left, we played cribbage for a couple hours, but in no way could my partner "O.J" and myself win any games from Bill and Dennis.
"We sorted out beds and crawled in about one A.M., or rather should I say we crawled on the beds, as we found that there were no blankets and we did not bring any sleeping bags.
"O.J" being more experienced to this type of life, did have a lovely (but well used) sleeping bag and of course, this being his house, he got the best bed. As no one would sleep with Bill, we allotted him the single bed and gave him a rather thin blanket that was on one of the beds. Dennis and I collected what coats, et cetera that we could find and curled up in the double bed that seemed to have a sag to one side of the mattress. The oil stove kept things fairly warm and it wasn't long before Bill was snoring and the rest of us being rather disturbed by the extreme noise. Due to previous threat to make Dennis and I walk home, we dared no wake him.
"We finally managed to get to sleep, only to be awakened shortly by what we thought to be a moose blowing and snorting somewhere close by. After partly waking up, we found that this noise was coming from Bill, it was a combination of snorts, coughs, wheezes, and escaping air. Then he went into a sort of tantrum until he could find a cigarette. The same tantrum got worse because he could not find matches to light the cigarette. Well, that cigarette was just like giving him a shot of morphine. He calmed right down and soon went back to sleep.
" By this time, it was about five A.M. and we were wide awake, thanks to Bill. That is , Dennis and I were awake, and "O.J" had completely disappeared in the safety of his sleeping bag. Dennis and I got up from what I must term as the shortest night's sleep I had ever experienced. I had previously been told that the nights in the North were short, but certainly did not think they were that short.
" We made coffee, toast, et cetera, and upon looking outside we found that we were completely fogged in with a visible ceiling of fog about forty feet above us. Naturally, I was most disappointed, as I was really looking forward to our trip that morning to Fort Severn on the shore of Hudson's Bay. Dennis, Bill, and "O J" had of course been up there previously. However, it was still early in the morning and there was the possibility of the weather clearing.
"By eight A.M. it was raining quite heavy and showing no sign of the fog lifting. We were within two hours flight of Fort Severn, but it was beginning to look as though we were not going to be able to make the trip. Apparently it is a difficult area to land even in good weather.
"We spent all day lying around in the hut, playing cards, sleeping, and referring to Dennis and Bill telling lies.
" By four P.M. the rain stopped and the fog lifted, but it was too late to proceed to Fort Severn and our radio contact informed us that it was still foggy in that area. We packed up our baggage, refuelled the plane, and shortly after four, we were on our way to Kingfisher. We arrived there at four forty-five P.M. and it was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining. What a change in the weather!
"Kingfisher is a lovely Indian community situated on Kingfisher Lake. The homes are nice, and there was a nice big, new school, which I made a tour of. It was kept neat and clean and what I saw of the school work was excellent.
"Shortly after, we boarded the plane and were on our way home. It was fairly uneventful, aside from Bill taking over the controls. At that point I was ready to get out and walk home. I should point out that he did have his teeth in his mouth while he navigated the Twin Engine Beechcraft.
"I thank my good friends Bill, Dennis, and Orval who took me on this adventure. I will never forget my trip to "Indian Country".
From the Nipigon Historical Museum Archives with permission of his son we continue:
""Bill's contact man there was also the Hudson's Bay Store manager, and postmaster. The voting would be done in a part of the store. The store was a rather old log building, and i was told that they were to build a new modern one in the next year. I did notice (for sale) fresh tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and carrots, and i have forgotten the prices, but at the time they did not seem too expensive considering the distance they had to be transported, and no refrigeration.
"There was a lovely big, new school, and one of the teachers was from Niagara Falls, and the other from Fort Frances.
" Bill was only a short time completing his business, leaving the election kit and giving necessary instructions and we departed Kasabonika at six-ten P.M. and headed for our next stop, which was Angling Lake.
"As soon as we were in the air, Dennis served Northern Fried Chicken, and ham sandwiches. Bill had put his teeth back in his mouth. I was sure they would get worn out just from handling.
"It was at this time that the door suddenly came open slightly, and Dennis went back to close it. I informed him that if he fell out, he had about a seventy-five percent chance of survival, all he had to do was land in the water, which consisted of seventy-five percent of the area.
"It was a very short flight to Angling Lake and we circled it several times to find the best place to land. The landing area was very shallow, and after we came down on the water, we had quite a distance to get to the dock. I opened the door above the cockpit and stood halfway out, watching for hidden boulders in the water. We stirred up plenty of mud with the pontoons.
" The sun was shining and a beautiful evening when we pulled up at the dock. There were about one hundred and forty people in Angling Lake and it was a typical Indian Settlement.
" A ball game was in progress and after watching for awhile, Dennis and I played catch with a couple of small Indian boys. They were quite shy, but seemed quick to overcome this.
" We looked the place over and went into a small building which was in the process of being built into a store and restaurant. It took only a short time for several women to produce some lovely Indian crafts and leather goods, each one being quite polite, but also trying to sell us some of their lovely articles. Each of us bought something. I bought my wife a lovely pair of beaded mukluks.
"At Angling Lake we met the man and wife team, whose name was Mr. and Mrs. Krasaukas. They were teaching forty children from Kindergarten to Grade Eight. After finishing business, we returned to the plane and found it had been invaded by a horde of fierce and hungry mosquitoes and it took some time to chase them out.
"At seven-twenty P.M. we left Angling Lake and it was a most beautiful evening, with the sun shining and a perfectly clear sky. We were on our way to the next stop which was Bearskin, and on the way we had to pass over Big Trout Lake. The lake was soon in sight and on the left we noticed a heavy fog bank. As we approached the lake, we found it to be completely frozen over as fast as we could see. (Remember, this was the third of June). I had to warn Dennis to try and not fall out in this area, as it would be rather difficult to make a soft landing.
" We passed straight across Big Trout Lake and arrived at Bearskin Lake at seven-fifty P.M. We landed at a dock and had to walk about two hundred yards to get to the main part of the village. I was not impressed with Bearskin as everything seemed neglected and dirty, even the huge school had doors and windows broken. There was a large church and it didn't seem to be in any better condition than the school. There were five teachers at the school. The village seemed quite scare of trees and was situated on quite a hill up from the lake. I though how it must be terribly cold in winter when the wind blows off the lake. We spent almost one hour at Bearskin, and Bill having completed his business, and Mr. Weiben making some business contacts, we were in the air again at eight-forty P.M. and landed at the Air Base at Big Trout Lake at Nine-ten P.M.
" Mr. Weiben had a main Air Base at Big Trout, with office and living quarters in a quite roomy Nisson hut. The kitchen was quite well-stocked with food, so after unloading the plane, we packed what baggage we had , up to the hut, and then made supper.
"After supper, Dennis and i took a walk around, to look the village over. Big Trout Lake is quite a large community and this is where the Department of Transport maintains their weather station. We talked to one chap who worked there and he had been in Big Trout Lake for five years. His wife was one of the teachers. He also told us that the fishing around there was unbelievable.
"I was quite impressed with the huge church and cemetery situated on top of the hill in the centre of the community. The graves were separately fenced with a picket fence which was kept brightly painted with red and white paint. In one spot, there were seven graves inside one picket fence. I learned that they were the father and mother and five children, all killed in the same place by lightning. I also learned that nearly all of the churches in these Indian villages are of the Anglican faith.
"It was by now almost eleven o'clock at night and it was just starting to get dark. Looking at the map, I could see that we really were not too great a distance from the shores of Hudson's Bay. (Possibly about two hundred miles by air.)
"We wandered back to our free hotel room at the Air Base, and having a few beers left, we played cribbage for a couple hours, but in no way could my partner "O.J" and myself win any games from Bill and Dennis.
"We sorted out beds and crawled in about one A.M., or rather should I say we crawled on the beds, as we found that there were no blankets and we did not bring any sleeping bags.
"O.J" being more experienced to this type of life, did have a lovely (but well used) sleeping bag and of course, this being his house, he got the best bed. As no one would sleep with Bill, we allotted him the single bed and gave him a rather thin blanket that was on one of the beds. Dennis and I collected what coats, et cetera that we could find and curled up in the double bed that seemed to have a sag to one side of the mattress. The oil stove kept things fairly warm and it wasn't long before Bill was snoring and the rest of us being rather disturbed by the extreme noise. Due to previous threat to make Dennis and I walk home, we dared no wake him.
"We finally managed to get to sleep, only to be awakened shortly by what we thought to be a moose blowing and snorting somewhere close by. After partly waking up, we found that this noise was coming from Bill, it was a combination of snorts, coughs, wheezes, and escaping air. Then he went into a sort of tantrum until he could find a cigarette. The same tantrum got worse because he could not find matches to light the cigarette. Well, that cigarette was just like giving him a shot of morphine. He calmed right down and soon went back to sleep.
" By this time, it was about five A.M. and we were wide awake, thanks to Bill. That is , Dennis and I were awake, and "O.J" had completely disappeared in the safety of his sleeping bag. Dennis and I got up from what I must term as the shortest night's sleep I had ever experienced. I had previously been told that the nights in the North were short, but certainly did not think they were that short.
" We made coffee, toast, et cetera, and upon looking outside we found that we were completely fogged in with a visible ceiling of fog about forty feet above us. Naturally, I was most disappointed, as I was really looking forward to our trip that morning to Fort Severn on the shore of Hudson's Bay. Dennis, Bill, and "O J" had of course been up there previously. However, it was still early in the morning and there was the possibility of the weather clearing.
"By eight A.M. it was raining quite heavy and showing no sign of the fog lifting. We were within two hours flight of Fort Severn, but it was beginning to look as though we were not going to be able to make the trip. Apparently it is a difficult area to land even in good weather.
"We spent all day lying around in the hut, playing cards, sleeping, and referring to Dennis and Bill telling lies.
" By four P.M. the rain stopped and the fog lifted, but it was too late to proceed to Fort Severn and our radio contact informed us that it was still foggy in that area. We packed up our baggage, refuelled the plane, and shortly after four, we were on our way to Kingfisher. We arrived there at four forty-five P.M. and it was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining. What a change in the weather!
"Kingfisher is a lovely Indian community situated on Kingfisher Lake. The homes are nice, and there was a nice big, new school, which I made a tour of. It was kept neat and clean and what I saw of the school work was excellent.
"Shortly after, we boarded the plane and were on our way home. It was fairly uneventful, aside from Bill taking over the controls. At that point I was ready to get out and walk home. I should point out that he did have his teeth in his mouth while he navigated the Twin Engine Beechcraft.
"I thank my good friends Bill, Dennis, and Orval who took me on this adventure. I will never forget my trip to "Indian Country".
Friday, 15 March 2013
THOMAS JEFFERY'S INDIAN COUNTRY - WEBEQUE
Continuing Tom Jeffery's Indian Country journal of a June 1974 plane trip into Northern Ontario: The Webeque visit.
NIPIGON MUSEUM ARCHIVES
"What a pleasant surprise to see the whole community out to welcome us to this very active little village. It did take three stops to prove Bill and Dennis' statements, but there must have been at least three hundred people crowed right down onto the dock to meet us. School was out for noon, and I saw more children at that time than any other part of the trip. We really had to force our way through the crowd on the dock to get to the Band office building. The most impressive sight were three Indian women with their babies in tikanogins. These Tikanogins are comparable to our baby carriages, except that these were decorated in the most beautiful and colourful Indian beadwork that I had ever seen. They were carried on their backs, or would stand upright and it seemed that the babies were almost standing in them. These Indian women were very proud and happy because of us directing so much attention to them and I took several pictures, which turned out very good, even though it was raining considerably.
"My wife and I had met a chap from Webeque while we were at a craft show in Thunder Bay and after spending four days with him, I learned quite a lot about his village. He was more than surprised to see me and we went up to his Gift Store, had a good chat, and met his wife and some of his family. His first name was Alex. He had a large number of people in Webeque making Indian crafts and then he marketed them for the whole village, keeping each transaction separate so the person doing the most and the best work would have the best sales.
"I took a tour of the area and found a small sawmill operating, with a planer nearby. They were cutting very good lumber, and even though the logs were not very large, I was told that they cut all the lumber required for the village. The logs were brought about ten miles by water.
" They also had a lovely large school, which looked quite neat and well kept. I also looked over a new housing project in a completely new area, and the ten or twelve houses were real nice, with big picture windows, and aluminium siding. Except for not having a basement, they were comparable to most of our housing projects. A complete new wooden sidewalk ran the full length of the housing project, right down the centre of what would be our street, and extended to each house.
" I went back to the dock and found that the ice had drifted in and completely surrounded our plane, so we had no chance of moving out. We were the first plane to land in this year, and it sort of looked as though we were too early.
"I again met Bill and Dennis, and we walked over to the Hudson's Bay Store where we met the manager who had been there for five years. His name was Joe Gambin and he originally came from Southern Harbour in Newfoundland. We watched one of the store staff packing furs for shipment, which consisted of beaver, otter, muskrat, and mink. I took down some prices for comparison - eggs $1.30 (dozen medium), butter $1.10 (one pound), small pink salmon $1.07, bread $0.80, sugar $4.55 (ten pounds).
" We then went to one of several "coffee shops" and had a cup of very good coffee. Apparently these are the night-life places of the community, with only a stove, tables and benches, and not much except tea, coffee, and some Hudson's Bay cookies.
"Mr. Weiben came in and joined us, as there was still no sign of the ice going out to let us move on.
" I walked around some more and discovered two churches and the generating plant. There was also a picket fence around all of the village, with quite a few houses on the outside. Upon enquiring, I found that at one time, anyone violating any of the band laws or bedded down with someone else's wife were immediately kicked outside the fence, and could not get back in. However, they said it was getting so there were more outside the fence than inside, so they tor part of it down.
" Dennis and I then went back up to Alex's Gift Store, where Dennis bought a good variety of gifts. At this time , Alex said he would take me on a fishing trip that evening if we had to stay over. After I told him I did not bring my fishing gear, he said not to worry about that, we would use his "square hook", which in fisherman's language is nothing but a darn good net. He said it was only about twenty minutes travel by boat and we should catch a nice net full of pickerel. By this time, I was beginning to get fishing fever.
" We went back to the plane, had a sandwich and a beer, and Bill removed his teeth and put them in his pocket.
" I almost forgot to mention the main character in the welcoming group when we landed at Webeque. The normal procedure we adopted each time we landed was to allow "His Lordship" Bill to get out of the plane door first, go down the short ladder to the float and then onto the dock. He said he was the most important person on this trip and sure looked impressive with his "Briefcase" and no teeth. Well he no sooner stepped onto the dock, when a short, little fat Indian (about Bill's age), with a runny nose, all white around his eyes, and no teeth, came pushing through the crowd, gave Bill a big hug, which Bill returned, then they shook hands and both grinned at each other. It was a touching scene, neither one with any teeth and both so happy to see each other. Dennis said they were old friends from the last Election trip, and although no words were spoken, I presumed the Band Chief had delegated this chap to officially welcome "His Worship" to Webeque. After, while taking some notes in my book, I asked Bill about this, but he just called me a bad name. Some time I hope maybe I can become a District Returning Officer.
"At five o'clock, the wind had driven the ice away from the plane and had allowed us enough room for a take-off, so at five-ten, we were in the air again, (good-bye fishing trip), and we were on our way to Kasabonika. The sun was now shining and still quite high in the sky. After thirty-five minutes, we again landed, and there was quite a group down to see us come in.
To be concluded in the next Post.
NIPIGON MUSEUM ARCHIVES
"What a pleasant surprise to see the whole community out to welcome us to this very active little village. It did take three stops to prove Bill and Dennis' statements, but there must have been at least three hundred people crowed right down onto the dock to meet us. School was out for noon, and I saw more children at that time than any other part of the trip. We really had to force our way through the crowd on the dock to get to the Band office building. The most impressive sight were three Indian women with their babies in tikanogins. These Tikanogins are comparable to our baby carriages, except that these were decorated in the most beautiful and colourful Indian beadwork that I had ever seen. They were carried on their backs, or would stand upright and it seemed that the babies were almost standing in them. These Indian women were very proud and happy because of us directing so much attention to them and I took several pictures, which turned out very good, even though it was raining considerably.
"My wife and I had met a chap from Webeque while we were at a craft show in Thunder Bay and after spending four days with him, I learned quite a lot about his village. He was more than surprised to see me and we went up to his Gift Store, had a good chat, and met his wife and some of his family. His first name was Alex. He had a large number of people in Webeque making Indian crafts and then he marketed them for the whole village, keeping each transaction separate so the person doing the most and the best work would have the best sales.
"I took a tour of the area and found a small sawmill operating, with a planer nearby. They were cutting very good lumber, and even though the logs were not very large, I was told that they cut all the lumber required for the village. The logs were brought about ten miles by water.
" They also had a lovely large school, which looked quite neat and well kept. I also looked over a new housing project in a completely new area, and the ten or twelve houses were real nice, with big picture windows, and aluminium siding. Except for not having a basement, they were comparable to most of our housing projects. A complete new wooden sidewalk ran the full length of the housing project, right down the centre of what would be our street, and extended to each house.
" I went back to the dock and found that the ice had drifted in and completely surrounded our plane, so we had no chance of moving out. We were the first plane to land in this year, and it sort of looked as though we were too early.
"I again met Bill and Dennis, and we walked over to the Hudson's Bay Store where we met the manager who had been there for five years. His name was Joe Gambin and he originally came from Southern Harbour in Newfoundland. We watched one of the store staff packing furs for shipment, which consisted of beaver, otter, muskrat, and mink. I took down some prices for comparison - eggs $1.30 (dozen medium), butter $1.10 (one pound), small pink salmon $1.07, bread $0.80, sugar $4.55 (ten pounds).
" We then went to one of several "coffee shops" and had a cup of very good coffee. Apparently these are the night-life places of the community, with only a stove, tables and benches, and not much except tea, coffee, and some Hudson's Bay cookies.
"Mr. Weiben came in and joined us, as there was still no sign of the ice going out to let us move on.
" I walked around some more and discovered two churches and the generating plant. There was also a picket fence around all of the village, with quite a few houses on the outside. Upon enquiring, I found that at one time, anyone violating any of the band laws or bedded down with someone else's wife were immediately kicked outside the fence, and could not get back in. However, they said it was getting so there were more outside the fence than inside, so they tor part of it down.
" Dennis and I then went back up to Alex's Gift Store, where Dennis bought a good variety of gifts. At this time , Alex said he would take me on a fishing trip that evening if we had to stay over. After I told him I did not bring my fishing gear, he said not to worry about that, we would use his "square hook", which in fisherman's language is nothing but a darn good net. He said it was only about twenty minutes travel by boat and we should catch a nice net full of pickerel. By this time, I was beginning to get fishing fever.
" We went back to the plane, had a sandwich and a beer, and Bill removed his teeth and put them in his pocket.
" I almost forgot to mention the main character in the welcoming group when we landed at Webeque. The normal procedure we adopted each time we landed was to allow "His Lordship" Bill to get out of the plane door first, go down the short ladder to the float and then onto the dock. He said he was the most important person on this trip and sure looked impressive with his "Briefcase" and no teeth. Well he no sooner stepped onto the dock, when a short, little fat Indian (about Bill's age), with a runny nose, all white around his eyes, and no teeth, came pushing through the crowd, gave Bill a big hug, which Bill returned, then they shook hands and both grinned at each other. It was a touching scene, neither one with any teeth and both so happy to see each other. Dennis said they were old friends from the last Election trip, and although no words were spoken, I presumed the Band Chief had delegated this chap to officially welcome "His Worship" to Webeque. After, while taking some notes in my book, I asked Bill about this, but he just called me a bad name. Some time I hope maybe I can become a District Returning Officer.
"At five o'clock, the wind had driven the ice away from the plane and had allowed us enough room for a take-off, so at five-ten, we were in the air again, (good-bye fishing trip), and we were on our way to Kasabonika. The sun was now shining and still quite high in the sky. After thirty-five minutes, we again landed, and there was quite a group down to see us come in.
To be concluded in the next Post.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
LANSDOWNE HOUSE second part of THOMAS JEFFERY'S INDIAN COUNTRY
Continued: This is the second part of Tom Jeffery's plane trip in 1974 to the northern communities
"At this time, I would like to explain that there are two different ways of entering or leaving the plane when at dock, or sitting on the floats in the water. The main entrance is through a door and down a ladder to the pontoon on the left-hand side of the plane. The other exit or entrance is through a door directly over the cockpit. This door could be raised in a moment by the pilot and we had occasion to use it several times during the trip, when we could not get the door side of the plane near the dock, and had to depart by jumping off the wing. The door on the side of the plane presented several interesting moments several times, which I will explain later.
"Bill had his teeth out again when we got in the canoe to go to the plane, maybe he thought he would get seasick, however, he had them in proper place again, and his health seemed good.
" After a short flight of twenty-eight minutes, we landed at Lansdowne House at eleven twenty-eight A.M. It was raining lightly at this time, but we had quite a number of Indians down at the dock to meet us. Due to school being in session, there were no children among the twenty-five or thirty people.
"His Lordship" and Dennis made no further reference to the crowds of people who would be there to meet us.
"It was raining too much for us to go very far, but I took a walk around and took a number of pictures. It was quite spread out and the Ontario Government maintains a weather reporting station there. I noticed a hospital and nurses' residence, but the school and the Hudson's Bay Post must have been some distance from the dock. (I understand that Fort Hope and Lansdowne House are two of the older Hudson's Bay posts.)
"At this time, I also found out, (to my surprise), that the Band Chief was a young Indian of about nineteen years of age, and he seemed to be the main contact for everything that was about to be done or enquired about. He had an office set up in a building beside the dock and seemed to have a staff of two other people, one of which took and dispatched all messages on the radio phone connected to our main Bell Canada system. This system seemed to work very well, as I later heard Mr. Weiben talk to his wife at Pays Platt, and Bill also phoned his wife in Nipigon from Superior Airways Office at Big Trout Lake.
"Referring back to the rather young Band Chief, I found out later that seemed to be the case in many places, and formed the opinion that these younger men had been out and obtained education and experience; and I presume, found out how to get more money for the Band in his own area.
" Due to the high level of water, I noticed many gas and oil drums floating in the water along the shore. It must have cost a lot of money to get those drums in there by air freight and I was sure most of them would float away, as there seemed to be no attempt to recover them or pile them up on shore. I wonder how many may have also been full of gas or oil.
" While walking back to the dock area, I met a girl who I presumed to be one of the schoolteachers. This proved to be true, her name was Janice Maloney and her home was in Amherstburg, Ontario. She had been teaching there since January. There were a total of four teachers and one teacher's aid, and they had from kindergarten to grade eight.
" During this trip, I contacted the teachers in every place we stopped, as I found they were a really good source of information. They were hired by the Department of Indian Affairs and in some cases, it was a husband and wife teaching team. Most of them had only signed teaching contracts for one year but all seemed most happy in their work and in one instance, one of the girls had been there for three terms. I enquired if pay was the incentive for a teaching job in so remote an area, but was told that the pay was not that much more, although they did get isolation pay. They seemed to like the idea of teaching the Indian children and said one of the main things they liked was that discipline was no problem at all. They had the most modern living quarters, oil heating and electricity. I could not help but compare the busy street of Toronto and Oakville, where some of these teachers were from, to the quiet solitude of this "Indian Country".
"On arriving back at the Band Office, I found that Mr. Weiben was "laying down the law" to one of the Indian chaps. In other words, he was giving him a blast for not looking after an office of Superior Airways which he was being paid to take care of. Mr. Weiben told me later that the place was a mess, windows broken, dirty, and in a shambles. He requested the Band Chief to try and smarten them up or he would not pay the one thousand dollars he had promised to give this chap for care taking. No one seemed at all concerned over the whole issue except Mr. Weiben.
"Due to the rain, I did not see as much of Lansdowne House as I would have liked to have, so Bill having finished his work there, we boarded the plane and were in the air again at twelve noon and heading north to Webeque. We arrived there at twelve-thirty P.M.
to be continued
"At this time, I would like to explain that there are two different ways of entering or leaving the plane when at dock, or sitting on the floats in the water. The main entrance is through a door and down a ladder to the pontoon on the left-hand side of the plane. The other exit or entrance is through a door directly over the cockpit. This door could be raised in a moment by the pilot and we had occasion to use it several times during the trip, when we could not get the door side of the plane near the dock, and had to depart by jumping off the wing. The door on the side of the plane presented several interesting moments several times, which I will explain later.
"Bill had his teeth out again when we got in the canoe to go to the plane, maybe he thought he would get seasick, however, he had them in proper place again, and his health seemed good.
" After a short flight of twenty-eight minutes, we landed at Lansdowne House at eleven twenty-eight A.M. It was raining lightly at this time, but we had quite a number of Indians down at the dock to meet us. Due to school being in session, there were no children among the twenty-five or thirty people.
"His Lordship" and Dennis made no further reference to the crowds of people who would be there to meet us.
"It was raining too much for us to go very far, but I took a walk around and took a number of pictures. It was quite spread out and the Ontario Government maintains a weather reporting station there. I noticed a hospital and nurses' residence, but the school and the Hudson's Bay Post must have been some distance from the dock. (I understand that Fort Hope and Lansdowne House are two of the older Hudson's Bay posts.)
"At this time, I also found out, (to my surprise), that the Band Chief was a young Indian of about nineteen years of age, and he seemed to be the main contact for everything that was about to be done or enquired about. He had an office set up in a building beside the dock and seemed to have a staff of two other people, one of which took and dispatched all messages on the radio phone connected to our main Bell Canada system. This system seemed to work very well, as I later heard Mr. Weiben talk to his wife at Pays Platt, and Bill also phoned his wife in Nipigon from Superior Airways Office at Big Trout Lake.
"Referring back to the rather young Band Chief, I found out later that seemed to be the case in many places, and formed the opinion that these younger men had been out and obtained education and experience; and I presume, found out how to get more money for the Band in his own area.
" Due to the high level of water, I noticed many gas and oil drums floating in the water along the shore. It must have cost a lot of money to get those drums in there by air freight and I was sure most of them would float away, as there seemed to be no attempt to recover them or pile them up on shore. I wonder how many may have also been full of gas or oil.
" While walking back to the dock area, I met a girl who I presumed to be one of the schoolteachers. This proved to be true, her name was Janice Maloney and her home was in Amherstburg, Ontario. She had been teaching there since January. There were a total of four teachers and one teacher's aid, and they had from kindergarten to grade eight.
" During this trip, I contacted the teachers in every place we stopped, as I found they were a really good source of information. They were hired by the Department of Indian Affairs and in some cases, it was a husband and wife teaching team. Most of them had only signed teaching contracts for one year but all seemed most happy in their work and in one instance, one of the girls had been there for three terms. I enquired if pay was the incentive for a teaching job in so remote an area, but was told that the pay was not that much more, although they did get isolation pay. They seemed to like the idea of teaching the Indian children and said one of the main things they liked was that discipline was no problem at all. They had the most modern living quarters, oil heating and electricity. I could not help but compare the busy street of Toronto and Oakville, where some of these teachers were from, to the quiet solitude of this "Indian Country".
"On arriving back at the Band Office, I found that Mr. Weiben was "laying down the law" to one of the Indian chaps. In other words, he was giving him a blast for not looking after an office of Superior Airways which he was being paid to take care of. Mr. Weiben told me later that the place was a mess, windows broken, dirty, and in a shambles. He requested the Band Chief to try and smarten them up or he would not pay the one thousand dollars he had promised to give this chap for care taking. No one seemed at all concerned over the whole issue except Mr. Weiben.
"Due to the rain, I did not see as much of Lansdowne House as I would have liked to have, so Bill having finished his work there, we boarded the plane and were in the air again at twelve noon and heading north to Webeque. We arrived there at twelve-thirty P.M.
to be continued
Monday, 11 March 2013
THOMAS JEFFERY'S INDIAN COUNTRY
N2.10.10.1 Nipigon Historical Museum Archives
This Tom Jeffery's account of a plane trip to the extreme northwest area of Ontario in 1974, published here by permission of his son.
" On June third and fourth, 1974, I had the pleasure of being involved in a trip by plane to the extreme northwest area of our Province of Ontario, or what I will refer to as "Indian Country".
"My companions on this trip were Bill Dwyer and Dennis Cassidy of Nipigon. Bill Dwyer is the District Returning Officer for Federal Elections for Thunder Bay Riding, which was the reason for this trip. Dennis and I went along to promote public relations and sort of "look after" Bill.
"We arrived at the dock at Nipigon at six-thirty A.M. on Monday morning and were expecting the plane to come in from Nakina from the North, so we were rather surprised to see the Twin Engine Beechcraft coming up the river and landing close to the dock.
"I was quite impressed by the perfect landing and as the plane taxied in to pick us up, we soon found out that we had as our pilot, one of the best of the "Bush Pilots", the owner of Superior Airways and a veteran of many years of flying in this area. He was Mr. Orval Weiben.
"Any fears I had of flying were completely eliminated, when finding we were in such capable hands. Mr. Weiben had as co-pilot, a young chap who was from British Columbia and was going to work for Superior Airways. He was introduced to us, but I do not remember his last name, due mostly to my excitement on getting started on this trip, however, his first name was "Lancelot", but we eliminated the "lot" part and he became just "Lance".
"It took only a few minutes to load our equipment, which wasn't very much. Bill's documents having priority, next two cardboard boxes, with holes in each end to get a firm grip on, then a cooler, some lunch, cameras, spare jackets, et cetera.
"After a smooth take-off, we were in the air over Nipigon at seven forty-five A.M. and heading northward toward Armstrong. We were flying at three thousand feet, a beautiful clear morning and my eyeballs strained to try and recognize local areas that I knew on the ground. We flew along the west side of lake Nipigon and passed over Gull Bay at eight o'clock A.M. The base was situated on a beautiful lake, with several summer cottages next to Superior's landing dock.
"The plane was refuelled while Mr. Weiben checked weather reports, et cetera by radio from his bases further north.
" I noticed on flight out of Nipigon that Bill had his "choppers" in his pocket and he either thought he was going to be sick, but seeing him first thing in the morning, I sure think he was already sick. Dennis said he saw him Sunday night and he confirmed the fact that he sure was sick. I almost got sick myself after looking at him.
"After taking thirty minutes to fuel up we were again in the air at eight fifty A.M., heading for our first stop accessible only by air or winter road travel - Fort Hope.
"The Twin Engine Beechcraft being quite large ( eight passenger ) and loaded with fuel, we used most of the lake to take-off.
" The sun was shining, a clear beautiful morning, and we could see for miles. We passed over the village of Armstrong, situated on the main line of the Canadian National Railway, about three miles from Superior Air Base. Another mile on the right we could plainly see the white buildings of the Armstrong Radar Base, built in war-time by the Americans and taken over by the Canadian Forces in recent years. Too bad it's due to be phased out of existence in the near future, as it seems to be where most of the action is.
"About three miles further northeast was a landing strip and buildings, the Armstrong Airport, no resemblance to our big airports, but it served the purpose.
"Dennis served breakfast at nine fifteen A.M., consisting of beer and ham sandwiches at thirty-five hundred feet. Bill already had a beer before we were really in the air too far and I saw he had his teeth back in, his health seemed to be improving. Pilot "O.J." looked quite comfortable and "Lance" was busy studying the map and trying to locate our position on the same.
"I was most impressed by the numerous small lakes, there seemed to be much more water than land.
"We arrived at Fort Hope at nine forty-five A.M. after a fifty-five minute flight from Armstrong. I was all eyes and excited as a kid waiting for Santa Claus to come, as this was my first trip to this part of the country. Bill and Dennis have made this trip during the previous election, so this country was not new to them.
"We circled the landing area and found that due to the high water level, the dock was completely under water, so we landed at a small island two hundred yards from the main dock. We tied up to a raft and at that moment, I found out that I was travelling with a pair of professional "liars". "His Worship" Bill and friend Dennis had been telling me, all the way from Armstrong, how impressive a sight it would be to see the welcoming group down to meet us at the dock. They said the whole community would be there to welcome us.
" Well, after straining my eyeballs for some sign of action, the only sign of life was a big old sleigh dog asleep on the side of the hill and he just raised his head and went to sleep again. Although it was by this time after nine o'clock, there was no sign of life.
"Dennis said it was probably too early in the morning for any action, and "His Worship" Bill, (being now in good health and "snappers" still in proper place), came up with a real sensible explanation. He said that the only reason there were no crowds at the dock to welcome us was because they could not find it, it was under water. I decided at that time, that in the future I would have to rely on my own judgement. After fifteen minutes of shouting and whistling, we observed some sign s of life and attracted enough attention, that one chap came out with a boat and took Bill, Dennis, and myself ashore.
" At this time there was still very little sign of life, but I observed a sawmill to the right of where we landed and it seemed to be in operation, as people were working in the area and you could hear the hum of saws.
" i immediately took off on a self-conducted tour; Bill contacted his election man; and 9 as I found out later) Dennis headed to the nurses' residence, probably to report that Bill had been sick.
" Being armed with a movie camera and a pocket Kodak, I went into action. I must have logged considerable distance in a rather short time and between the two cameras and a notebook, I was sure busy. I walked down to one area where a lovely new school was situated, past the small generating station that supplies electrical current to the Hudson's Bay Post, school and nurses' residence, and first aid post. Coming back through the houses, I came upon several 'tepees". Now I knew I was in truly "Indian Country".
"At the end of a row of houses was a nice Anglican church and home for the minister and his family. Both were freshly painted a dark maroon.
"Behind these buildings and on the lakeshore was a sawmill and two tents that seemed to be living quarters for Indian families.
"After taking several pictures, I noticed a man coming toward me from the church area and thinking perhaps he may be the minister and a source of information, I waited to meet him. Not knowing if he spoke English, I introduced myself and to my surprise, he spoke English fluently and said his name was "John Yesno". I said, "Could you be any relation to the Johnny Yesno that we hear so often on the CBC programs?" and he said, "Yes, I am his father." Then he took me to his house and showed me a number of pictures of his son, and I had a most interesting visit with him.
"I then went back into the house where Bill was conducting his election business. There were three moose hides drying behind the oil stove. They were completely white, all hair removed and ready for processing into leather articles.
"I went back outside to meet Dennis and he said, "Jeff, come and see what I found." He took me to the hospital and nurses' residence, where he introduced me to a most attractive blonde nurse from Toronto.
"By this time, "his Lordship" had conducted his business, and was looking for us. We then had considerable trouble trying to get transportation back to the plane. The chap that had brought us in had apparently gone to work at the sawmill. We finally were informed that another chap would take us out, and upon reaching the lakeshore, we found that we had two Indian boys and their luggage wanting transportation to Webeque, our third stop. The result was that we started out to the plane in a 16 - foot square stern canoe with seven people and equipment. It wasn't far, and the seven and a half horse-power motor soon had us delivered, but as there was quite a breeze blowing, we were happy to land safely at the plane - that water looked and felt cold.
"It took only a few minutes to get back in the plane and we were in the air again at eleven A.M. and heading for our next stop which was Lansdowne House. The extra two passengers did not seem to make any difference in regard to weight or effort in take-off.
End of Part One
This Tom Jeffery's account of a plane trip to the extreme northwest area of Ontario in 1974, published here by permission of his son.
" On June third and fourth, 1974, I had the pleasure of being involved in a trip by plane to the extreme northwest area of our Province of Ontario, or what I will refer to as "Indian Country".
"My companions on this trip were Bill Dwyer and Dennis Cassidy of Nipigon. Bill Dwyer is the District Returning Officer for Federal Elections for Thunder Bay Riding, which was the reason for this trip. Dennis and I went along to promote public relations and sort of "look after" Bill.
"We arrived at the dock at Nipigon at six-thirty A.M. on Monday morning and were expecting the plane to come in from Nakina from the North, so we were rather surprised to see the Twin Engine Beechcraft coming up the river and landing close to the dock.
"I was quite impressed by the perfect landing and as the plane taxied in to pick us up, we soon found out that we had as our pilot, one of the best of the "Bush Pilots", the owner of Superior Airways and a veteran of many years of flying in this area. He was Mr. Orval Weiben.
"Any fears I had of flying were completely eliminated, when finding we were in such capable hands. Mr. Weiben had as co-pilot, a young chap who was from British Columbia and was going to work for Superior Airways. He was introduced to us, but I do not remember his last name, due mostly to my excitement on getting started on this trip, however, his first name was "Lancelot", but we eliminated the "lot" part and he became just "Lance".
"It took only a few minutes to load our equipment, which wasn't very much. Bill's documents having priority, next two cardboard boxes, with holes in each end to get a firm grip on, then a cooler, some lunch, cameras, spare jackets, et cetera.
"After a smooth take-off, we were in the air over Nipigon at seven forty-five A.M. and heading northward toward Armstrong. We were flying at three thousand feet, a beautiful clear morning and my eyeballs strained to try and recognize local areas that I knew on the ground. We flew along the west side of lake Nipigon and passed over Gull Bay at eight o'clock A.M. The base was situated on a beautiful lake, with several summer cottages next to Superior's landing dock.
"The plane was refuelled while Mr. Weiben checked weather reports, et cetera by radio from his bases further north.
" I noticed on flight out of Nipigon that Bill had his "choppers" in his pocket and he either thought he was going to be sick, but seeing him first thing in the morning, I sure think he was already sick. Dennis said he saw him Sunday night and he confirmed the fact that he sure was sick. I almost got sick myself after looking at him.
"After taking thirty minutes to fuel up we were again in the air at eight fifty A.M., heading for our first stop accessible only by air or winter road travel - Fort Hope.
"The Twin Engine Beechcraft being quite large ( eight passenger ) and loaded with fuel, we used most of the lake to take-off.
" The sun was shining, a clear beautiful morning, and we could see for miles. We passed over the village of Armstrong, situated on the main line of the Canadian National Railway, about three miles from Superior Air Base. Another mile on the right we could plainly see the white buildings of the Armstrong Radar Base, built in war-time by the Americans and taken over by the Canadian Forces in recent years. Too bad it's due to be phased out of existence in the near future, as it seems to be where most of the action is.
"About three miles further northeast was a landing strip and buildings, the Armstrong Airport, no resemblance to our big airports, but it served the purpose.
"Dennis served breakfast at nine fifteen A.M., consisting of beer and ham sandwiches at thirty-five hundred feet. Bill already had a beer before we were really in the air too far and I saw he had his teeth back in, his health seemed to be improving. Pilot "O.J." looked quite comfortable and "Lance" was busy studying the map and trying to locate our position on the same.
"I was most impressed by the numerous small lakes, there seemed to be much more water than land.
"We arrived at Fort Hope at nine forty-five A.M. after a fifty-five minute flight from Armstrong. I was all eyes and excited as a kid waiting for Santa Claus to come, as this was my first trip to this part of the country. Bill and Dennis have made this trip during the previous election, so this country was not new to them.
"We circled the landing area and found that due to the high water level, the dock was completely under water, so we landed at a small island two hundred yards from the main dock. We tied up to a raft and at that moment, I found out that I was travelling with a pair of professional "liars". "His Worship" Bill and friend Dennis had been telling me, all the way from Armstrong, how impressive a sight it would be to see the welcoming group down to meet us at the dock. They said the whole community would be there to welcome us.
" Well, after straining my eyeballs for some sign of action, the only sign of life was a big old sleigh dog asleep on the side of the hill and he just raised his head and went to sleep again. Although it was by this time after nine o'clock, there was no sign of life.
"Dennis said it was probably too early in the morning for any action, and "His Worship" Bill, (being now in good health and "snappers" still in proper place), came up with a real sensible explanation. He said that the only reason there were no crowds at the dock to welcome us was because they could not find it, it was under water. I decided at that time, that in the future I would have to rely on my own judgement. After fifteen minutes of shouting and whistling, we observed some sign s of life and attracted enough attention, that one chap came out with a boat and took Bill, Dennis, and myself ashore.
" At this time there was still very little sign of life, but I observed a sawmill to the right of where we landed and it seemed to be in operation, as people were working in the area and you could hear the hum of saws.
" i immediately took off on a self-conducted tour; Bill contacted his election man; and 9 as I found out later) Dennis headed to the nurses' residence, probably to report that Bill had been sick.
" Being armed with a movie camera and a pocket Kodak, I went into action. I must have logged considerable distance in a rather short time and between the two cameras and a notebook, I was sure busy. I walked down to one area where a lovely new school was situated, past the small generating station that supplies electrical current to the Hudson's Bay Post, school and nurses' residence, and first aid post. Coming back through the houses, I came upon several 'tepees". Now I knew I was in truly "Indian Country".
"At the end of a row of houses was a nice Anglican church and home for the minister and his family. Both were freshly painted a dark maroon.
"Behind these buildings and on the lakeshore was a sawmill and two tents that seemed to be living quarters for Indian families.
"After taking several pictures, I noticed a man coming toward me from the church area and thinking perhaps he may be the minister and a source of information, I waited to meet him. Not knowing if he spoke English, I introduced myself and to my surprise, he spoke English fluently and said his name was "John Yesno". I said, "Could you be any relation to the Johnny Yesno that we hear so often on the CBC programs?" and he said, "Yes, I am his father." Then he took me to his house and showed me a number of pictures of his son, and I had a most interesting visit with him.
"I then went back into the house where Bill was conducting his election business. There were three moose hides drying behind the oil stove. They were completely white, all hair removed and ready for processing into leather articles.
"I went back outside to meet Dennis and he said, "Jeff, come and see what I found." He took me to the hospital and nurses' residence, where he introduced me to a most attractive blonde nurse from Toronto.
"By this time, "his Lordship" had conducted his business, and was looking for us. We then had considerable trouble trying to get transportation back to the plane. The chap that had brought us in had apparently gone to work at the sawmill. We finally were informed that another chap would take us out, and upon reaching the lakeshore, we found that we had two Indian boys and their luggage wanting transportation to Webeque, our third stop. The result was that we started out to the plane in a 16 - foot square stern canoe with seven people and equipment. It wasn't far, and the seven and a half horse-power motor soon had us delivered, but as there was quite a breeze blowing, we were happy to land safely at the plane - that water looked and felt cold.
"It took only a few minutes to get back in the plane and we were in the air again at eleven A.M. and heading for our next stop which was Lansdowne House. The extra two passengers did not seem to make any difference in regard to weight or effort in take-off.
End of Part One
Saturday, 9 March 2013
FIVE PAGEVIEWS MADE 14,000 and 15 extra came in for good measure
KEEP READING
WE'RE THERE, THANKS TO YOU
Sorry about the extra zero on the 14,000 PAGEVIEWS yesterday but we got too much snow in the air to get back on-line to change it last night.
Snow is stuck everywhere this morning. Very pretty.
WE'RE THERE, THANKS TO YOU
Sorry about the extra zero on the 14,000 PAGEVIEWS yesterday but we got too much snow in the air to get back on-line to change it last night.
Snow is stuck everywhere this morning. Very pretty.
40TH ANNIVERSARY 1973 - 2013
NIPIGON HISTORICAL MUSEUM IS HAVING AN OPEN HOUSE APRIL 13, 2013
NOON TILL FIVE
Celebrating 40 years of Passion, Endurance and Loyalty
1973 -2013
After our first year of operation - 1973 - this is what I wrote:
NIPIGON AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL MUSEUM SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
"Season's Greetings - to our 139 members.
A general meeting will be held Thursday, January 17, 1974 - at which time officers for the year ending December 31, 1974 will be elected: president, vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, corresponding secretary and two liaison officers from the Museum Board. This year they were: Betty Brill, Lois Horton, Roland Choiselat, Iris Seguin, L. McConnell, Buzz Lein and John Dampier.
This winter season should be a busy one - can you help in some capacity? - there is the painting to be done (when the Museum Board gets the paint); and the cataloguing to be done (when the Museum Board gets the forms); and the cabinet glass and shelves to be put in ( when the Museum Board gets the glass); and research to be done on the history of some of the articles donated to the museum ( By anyone who wants to try their hand at letter writing).
If you can't make our meeting but have an idea - pass it along by mail or phone.
This summer (1973) during our 360 hours of open time from July 1 to September 30, we had visitors from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and various places around North America. We missed South America by a hair (Trinidad).
With our little bit of advertising we pulled in 1500 visitors and our silver collection admission brought in $236.00 to the town.
To those of you who didn't get a chance to spend some time "babysitting" the museum ( no paid staff only volunteers) - boy did you miss something!
Those oooh's and Ahhhs ( at the sight of the moose-horn table), all the laughter ( at some of Buzz's captions/explanations), the ringing of the cash register ( a hands -on display) and a free piece of amethyst.
Thank you all for your support in this our first year of being.
See you you January 17th at the museum around 8PM.
Betty Brill
President "
PASSION ENDURANCE AND LOYALTY CONTINUED FOR 40 YEARS.
NOON TILL FIVE
Celebrating 40 years of Passion, Endurance and Loyalty
1973 -2013
After our first year of operation - 1973 - this is what I wrote:
NIPIGON AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL MUSEUM SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
"Season's Greetings - to our 139 members.
A general meeting will be held Thursday, January 17, 1974 - at which time officers for the year ending December 31, 1974 will be elected: president, vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, corresponding secretary and two liaison officers from the Museum Board. This year they were: Betty Brill, Lois Horton, Roland Choiselat, Iris Seguin, L. McConnell, Buzz Lein and John Dampier.
This winter season should be a busy one - can you help in some capacity? - there is the painting to be done (when the Museum Board gets the paint); and the cataloguing to be done (when the Museum Board gets the forms); and the cabinet glass and shelves to be put in ( when the Museum Board gets the glass); and research to be done on the history of some of the articles donated to the museum ( By anyone who wants to try their hand at letter writing).
If you can't make our meeting but have an idea - pass it along by mail or phone.
This summer (1973) during our 360 hours of open time from July 1 to September 30, we had visitors from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and various places around North America. We missed South America by a hair (Trinidad).
With our little bit of advertising we pulled in 1500 visitors and our silver collection admission brought in $236.00 to the town.
To those of you who didn't get a chance to spend some time "babysitting" the museum ( no paid staff only volunteers) - boy did you miss something!
Those oooh's and Ahhhs ( at the sight of the moose-horn table), all the laughter ( at some of Buzz's captions/explanations), the ringing of the cash register ( a hands -on display) and a free piece of amethyst.
Thank you all for your support in this our first year of being.
See you you January 17th at the museum around 8PM.
Betty Brill
President "
PASSION ENDURANCE AND LOYALTY CONTINUED FOR 40 YEARS.
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| The Nipigon Historical Museum "patch" Designed by E. Choiselat 1973 Our forests our water and the Beaver Skin All symbols of Why people came to Nipigon |
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
CURLING, INSIDE THE ROCK
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| This is the inside of a Curling stone. |
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| This is the other side of the split rock. |
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| Self explanatory. |
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| When Curling Brooms were brooms. |
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| The Brooms even had names! |
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| The Avenger |
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| The "Iceman" was/is Al Hackner, once local curler who made good. |
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| Al Hackner's World Champion Team |