Ice cracks causing tractor to sink in Chapleau River as Bob Lemieux jumps to safety during Great Depression

The ice cracked and a new five ton Diesel tractor started to slip into the frigid waters of the Kebsquasheshing (Chapleau) River with Bob Lemieux escaping by climbing up a pole on a sleigh behind as it sunk.

Anne (Lemieux) Lacroix believes the year was 1938 and her father had been awarded a contract by the Canadian Pacific Railway to haul blocks of ice from the river to the ice house near the railway station.

A news report at the time said that as the ice cracked and the sleigh started to slip, Mr. Lemieux jumped over the back of the tractor onto a sleigh, climbed a pole and for there he made it to stronger ice as the tractor sunk into about 15 feet of water.

Apparently Mr. Lemieux did not even get wet but a timber frame had to be built to bring his tractor to the surface. The operation was successful.

Ice cutting crews hastened to the scene as they saw the tractor disappear below the ice surface. The temperature was noted as about 50 degrees below zero Fahrenhit

Mr. Lemieux, the owner of the tractor, had been awarded a contract from the CPR to haul ice. At the time of the mishap, he had been crossing ice on his tractor pulling a load of sleighs in preparation to haul a load of ice cut from the river.

A news report said that the ice cutting and hauling was helping to relieve local unemployment with twice as many hired as in the previous year. This was during the Great Depression.

Also they were cutting aboutp 3500 tons of ice compared with 1445 tons in the previous year as more air conditioned cars were being used by the CPR.

My thanks to Anne for providing details on this incident.