Allan McNiece 'Mac' Austin member of one of Chapleau's earliest families, lawyer, judge, athlete dies

Allan McNiece 'Mac' Austin, a member of the family who established the first store in Chapleau, a lawyer and judge on the Superior Court and Court of Appeal for Ontario, died on January 12, 2018.

 

His obituary notes that Mr. Austin was the beloved husband of Margaret Kyle for 66 years. Adored father of Allan (Lyn), Jim (Sue) and Tom (Rosaria). Devoted and loving grandfather of Maggie (Jeremy Packard), Gren, Graham (Mallory Lazarus) and Michael. 

Born in Chapleau in 1928, he was the third son of Allan McNiece Austin and Alice Dickinson. He was predeceased by his brother, James McNiece; and is survived by his brothers, John Beresford and Richard Jackson; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. 

Writing in Chapleau Trails, edited and published by Dr. William R. Pellow, Mr. Austin wrote that his great uncle T.A. Austin established a store in tent at Chapleau in late 1885, and in 1886 moved to a building on Birch Street. The tent store was located in "old Chapleau" near the site of Lady Minto Hospital.

His grandfather James McNiece Austin arrived shortly thereafter, took over the store and operated it until 1904. His father after whom he was named was born in 1896.

By the late 1890s, their lumber business was established cutting ties for the Canadian Pacific Railway eventually becoming the biggest supplier of ties to the railway. In 1901, his grandfather and G.B. Nicholson became partners. Mr. Nicholson became the first reeve of Chapleau, also in 1901.

By about 1908, Mr. Austin wrote that his grandfather took over operation of a hydro electric operation. It had been owned by Mageau and Leblanc lumber.

His grandfather, who had served in World War I  died in 1922, and Mr. Nicholson, became president of the lumber company with his father as vice president.

Growing up in Chapleau, he spent his summers working for the family business.

'Mac'  was born in Chapleau, and received his early education at Chapleau Public and Chapleau High Schools, before following his older brothers south to attend Trinity College School in Port Hope. He went on to Victoria College at the University of Toronto and was a member of the first class to graduate from the University of Toronto Law School.

His obituary notes he was a student, associate, partner and managing partner with the firm now called WeirFoulds, LLP. From 1987 to 2003 he served as a judge in the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. After retiring from the bench he returned to WeirFoulds and participated in arbitration and mediation work. 

WeirFoulds,LLP notes on its web site that "The Honourable Allan McNiece Austin is counsel to the firm, providing the insight and experience of 32 years of practice and 17 years on the bench. Mac was an articling student, lawyer and partner at Mason, Foulds (now WeirFoulds LLP) from 1952 to 1986. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario (Trial Division) (now the Superior Court) in December 1986, and to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in May 1992.

Upon his death, the law firm added "Mac was a trusted mentor, a consummate professional, and a wonderful person. He will be greatly missed."

His obituary says that "He was a natural athlete and an accomplished cross-country runner, and he loved sailing and skiing well into his later years. He was a dedicated and long-time member of Eglinton St. George's United Church. He loved God, his family and his work. He loved life."

A Service of Thanksgiving was  held on Monday, January 22nd at 2:00 p.m.in Eglinton St. George's United Church.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mac's memory to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, 20 Eglinton Avenue West, 16th Floor, Toronto M4R 1K8, www.alzheimer.ca. Condolences, photographs and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymilesnewbigging.com.

I extend my deepest sympathy to his family as well as my sincere thanks to his niece Elizabeth Austin for her assistance.My email is mj.morris@live.ca

LINK TO AUSTIN NICHOLSON LUMBER COMPANY STORY http://michaeljmorrisreports.blogspot.ca/2011/09/austin-nicholson-lumber-company-becomes.html

Alton Morse received Order of Canada for his contribution to mechanization of lumber industry in Chapleau area

Alton Morse, born in Maine in the United States, came to the Chapleau area where he became involved in the lumber business in 1913, and 70 years later he received the Order of Canada for his contribution to the mechanization of the industry.

The citation to his award reads: "His solution to the problem of' hauling logs over the rough country of northern Ontario, the use of gasoline tractors, heralded the mechanization of the lumber industry and made possible its future development. Later, he and partner (Leigh Sheppard) formed new companies in which they set an example to others of the proper care and housing of workers."

As Mr. Morse was unable to travel to Ottawa to accept his Order of Canada, his grandson Eric accepted it on his behalf in June 1983.

The Chapleau Sentinel reported that "the community was very proud to have in our midst a recipient of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest distinction".

Heather Conn, writing in the Human History of Wakami Lake noted that Mr. Morse had a Linn tractor brought to Devon in 1917 which revolutionized logging operations.

The Chapleau Sentinel article explained that before this time logging in the Chapleau area was localized and confined to stands of timber within horse drawing distance to a waterway used for moving the logs to a mill.

Mr. Morse saw what a tractor could do and one was purchased. It proved to be a great success and as a result mechanized logging became a hallmark of every lumber operation with which he was associated, the story said.

It added that Mr. Morse made a "distinguished contribution to the economic growth of the country".

Upon his arrival in Chapleau, his first job was as the secretary to the Canadian Pacific Railway superintendent but soon thereafter in 1913 he became the manager of Devon Lumber Co.

After the United States entered World War I he attempted to join its armed forces but his application was denied on the grounds that lumber business was an "essential service".

His later positions included general manager of Austin and Nicholson Lumber Co, the McNaught Lumber Co., the Wakami Lumber Co., and then Vice President and General Manager of Sheppard and Morse Ltd.

With Mr. Sheppard, he created what was described as "model village" for employees --- both at Sultan and Pineal Lake. The Order of Canada citation recognizes this effort too. 

Dr. G. E. 'Ted' Young, who was a close friend of Mr. and Mrs. Morse noted that compared to other lumber communities Sultan was the most lively. Dr. Young was the company doctor too. In fact Mr. and Mrs. Morse lived in an apartment in his building for years. He had retired in 1969.

I am the first to admit that I don't know much about the lumber industry but now having written about the Martel family, Lucien Lafreniere, Oliver Korpela and now Alton Morse, I am fascinated with it. More to come.

 I did spend time visiting with Bob and Queenie (Matheson) Halliday at both Sultan and Pineal Lake with my mother Muriel (Hunt) Morris as a kid --- and I partied at Racine Lake.   My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Austin, Nicholson lumber company becomes largest supplier of railway ties in the British Empire in the 1930s from mills near Chapleau

Photo courtesy Brian Westhouse

At about the same time that Chapleau was becoming incorporated as a municipality in 1901, George Brecken Nicholson, its first reeve was embarking on a business venture with James McNiece Austin which would eventually become Northern Ontario's largest lumber firm mainly from a contract with the Canadian Pacific Railway to provide it with ties.

Brian Westhouse, in an excellent article about the community of Nicholson and the Austin and Nicholson lumber company wrote that in the 1890s James McNiece Austin, a Chapleau general merchant, took tie cutting and delivery contracts from the CPR. Mr Austin had taken over the store from his brother T.A. Austin, who had established it in 1885. 

Mr. Westhouse wrote that Mr. Nicholson who had been a locomotive engineer left the CPR in 1901, entered into a partnership with Mr. Austin and became full time manager of the tie cutting opoerations. In 1902 the railway agreed to a three year contract and Austin, Nicholson Company guaranteed to deliver 200,000 ties a year for three years. Mr. Nicholson also became reeve of Chapleau on February 15, 1901, being re-elected each year by acclamation until he retired from the position in 1913.

Photo courtesy Brian Westhouse

How Mr. Nicholson found the time to do all that he did for Chapleau, as well as pursue his business interests, continues to amaze me almost 30 years after I first wrote about him in my book, 'Sons of Thunder ... Apostles of Love'.

Their first mill was under construction on a point of land between Lake Windermere and the CPR, 22 CPR miles west of Chapleau, and the community of Nicholson developed at this site including boarding houses, cottages, warehouses and other structures necessary to support the logging operations of the company.

According to an article on the community of Nicholson,on the web site Ghost Towns of Ontario, by 1914 a town site had been laid out and the company had built a general store which included post office and grocery delivery. A bunkhouse and cookery were built which could accommodate 60 men, and  a school established which was eventually able to include 80 students. Describing Mr. Nicholson as a "fervent Anglican" he established a church in 1914 but allocated  a former schoolhouse to the larger Roman Catholic congregation who quickly refurbished it and added a steeple and bell.

Many homes were built during this time and residents paid a monthly rent of $5 for a single family dwelling or $7 for two stories.

The company's head office was in Chapleau.

Photo courtesy Brian Westhouse

The Ghost Towns of Ontario article notes that to enhance the social atmosphere Potney's pool hall was set up in the company store and there was also  Sheffields boarding house (hotel) a harness maker and blacksmith. By 1915 the community had grown to 350 residents and was fast becoming the largest lumbering settlement between Sudbury and the Lakehead, 

A piping system was installed to heat homes with the mill's boilers --- much like the CPR did in Chapleau to heat the Chapleau Memorial Community Arena, YMCA and other buildings. Nicholson also had an internal telephone system and when tied in with the CPR telegraph line, long distance calls could sometimes be achieved.

Brian Westhouse wrote that "in 1920 the company began to plan dor a second mill to satisy CPR's increasing demand for sawn ties... Dalton, 21 and a half miles west of Nicholson, had been the site of earlier axe-tie loading operations. The new plant at Dalton Mills was located on Shikwamkwa Lake, 3 miles south of the CPR and linked to it with a private railway. The lumber storage yard alongside the CPR main line had a capacity of up to 50 million feet".

As I was researching this article, I could not help but recall my own small connection to the community of Nicholson as a young boy growing up in Chapleau, but our family camp was at Healy in the late 1940s until 1957. My grandfather's connection went back many years earlier.

My grandparents Harry, Lil (Mulligan) Morris at Healy circa 1949

A great adventure in my grandfather Harry Morris's freighter canoe powered by a Johnson 5.8 outboard motor (I think) was to make the trip on Lake Windermere from Healy to Nicholson, to visit Chapleau friends with camps there and to shop at the store. To this day those journeys, perhaps prompted by my mother's love of the explorers of early Canada and how she would make them come alive for me, made our trips to Nicholson voyages of discovery. I always sat in the front of the canoe watching as the navigator, even though my grandfather knew the route like the back of his hand.

In fact, he would have preferred to paddle it in the canoe, having little use for outboard motors, but Mom, (Muriel E (Hunt) Morris, and my grandmother, Lil (Mulligan) Morris would have no part of that one.

I went on Google Earth and retraced the journey and about 60 years later, I recalled those trips like it was only yesterday.

What happened to Nicholson?

Brian Westhouse tells us that "in the early hours of Sunday September 13th, 1931, night watchman Sullivan noticed flames leaping up from the roof of the Nicholson sawmill. The Chapleau branch of the Ontario Forestry Corps who with pumps and fire fighting equipment and the CPR fire car were quickly dispatched to the scene

"Fanned by a very high wind glowing embers were hurled across the lumber piles to the station buildings, an eighth of a mile away, setting alight the wooden platform, damage to the latter being negligible owing to the prompt action of volunteer workers.

" As soon as the aroused workers were on the scene a bucket brigade was organized, the women folk courageously taking their places among the men, braving the fierce heat and dense smoke in a desperate endeavour to protect home and employment."http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/logging/austin.htm LINK TO BRIAN WESTHOUSE ARTICLE

The mill at Nicholson was not rebuilt but remained an outpost to supply the logging camps that served Dalton.

Ghost Towns notes that the school closed in 1936, the company store about 1954 and the post office in 1956. By 1956 the station was closed. 

In the early 1970s most buildings were still intact and it had been recommended that Nicholson be preserved as an historic site, but a fire destroyed much of the site. There are still a few cottages there.

Austin, Nicholson had mills at other locations, and played a huge role in the economy of the Chapleau area for many years. After James McNiece Austin died in 1922, Mr. Nicholson became president, Allan McNiece Austin and Bill Austin, first and second vice presidents respectively and Reg Thrush was secretary treasurer. 

Mr. Nicholson, who served as a Member of Parliament after his service as reeve of Chapleau died on January 1, 1935.

His obituary referred to him in part  as "a true son of the north... vigorously fighting to improve the condition of the people of this country".

My most sincere thanks to Brian Westhouse for his assistance and for permitting me to refer to his article,  to Doug Greig for his articles in Chapleau Trails and to Dr. William R. Pellow, its editor and publisher as well as to Ghost Towns. Any errors are mine. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Michael McMullen recalls life in Chapleau celebrating hockey victory, earning 'real money' setting pins and listening to popular radio shows

MJM and Michael McMullen, co-authors 'The Chapleau Boys Go To War' 2015

UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2015: Michael McMullen is the co-author of 'The Chapleau Boys go To War'.

The book is available in Chapleau at the Chapleau Village Shops, on amazon.ca, amazon.com and Kindle.  Key words: 'chapleau boys war'

Michael McMullen's memories of growing up in Chapleau in the early 1950s won him the first annual Buckwheat Award for most popular story on the blog. The award is named after my beloved cat Buckwheat, who died in November 2009 at 20 years and two months old.. MJM

Michael McMullen lived in Chapleau from 1952-54 when his father Keith came to work for the Austin Lumber company, but his roots in the community go back to 1885 when his great great uncle Patrick Mulligan (and mine) arrived and opened one of the first general stores, called Murrays and Mulligan General Merchants.

After reading Michael's family history of his grandparents, William and May (Mulligan) McMullen, both of whom lived in Chapleau in the early years of the 20th Century, I asked him if I might share some of his recollections of life in Chapleau. He agreed and his recollections capture much of life as it was for us growing up in Chapleau during the early Fifties.

Book presentation to Donald White, 102, World War2 vet from Chapleau

"I have fond memories of that time and still have many friendships that have endured since then," Michael wrote. "More importantly, I met my wife, Alison, during this period. She is the daughter of Leslie and Margaret (Jack) McMillan and sister of David McMillan. Les was a CPR locomotive engineer who operated out of Chapleau for over 25 years, retiring in 1966." Mr. McMillan also served as a member of Chapleau township council.

After arriving in Chapleau, Michael and his parents lived for a time in the offices of Austin Lumber on the second floor of the building at the northwest corner of Birch and Young Streets. Their bedrooms were in two of the separate enclosed offices. "There was a Dominion store on the first floor. (later the Bank of Montreal). Years later I would discover that this was the building that Patrick Mulligan had rebuilt in 1895 following a fire at his original store on this site."

"I remember the good times that a kid could have, particularly in a small town. There was a ball field behind the high school where everyone played ball on a summer evening, the natural ice arena, which was the place to go for skating on a Friday night and to play hockey on a Saturday during the winter.

"We also played road hockey on the snow packed, icy streets, particularly on Aberdeen Street, not with a ball, but with a real puck.

"I remember playing bantam hockey for the Chapleau Huskies team when we won the first Broomhead Trophy in 1953-54... It was an exciting 4-3 victory in overtime over the IOOF team.... We went to celebrate at the Boston Cafe where Harry (Boo Boo) Hong, one of my teammates got his mother to open their family restaurant for our celebration. That game is still mentioned among those of us who played."

(In the photo are in  back row from left Basil Collings, Mike McMullen, Mrs. Broomhead, David McMillan, Richard Pilon, Tim Goodwin. Front row from left Charlie White, Ken Schroeder, Harry 'Boo' Hong  In the ball photo, Michael is at bat and his cousin David Curry  is the catcher.)

He also recalled that it was on an empty lot to the west of the Boston Cafe that he first participated in building an outdoor skating/hockey rink. "Boo Boo Hong asked me, and several others to help him and his brothers (Yen and Jimmy) to do this." This was where the Bridgeview Motel until recently owned by Yen Hong was built. It was also location where Patrick Mulligan had built a warehouse and post office.

Michael noted that when they first arrived in Chapleau they stayed at the Rectory of St. John's Anglican Church where Reverend E. Roy Haddon (the Rector at the time) and family lived at the southwest corner of Pine and Young Street with a tennis court beside it. The Haddons were on vacation at the time. The house was nearly opposite the church... To the right (east) was the Town Hall and then beside it was Chapleau Public School which he would attend. To the left of the church on the west was Chapleau High School.

"I would discover that right beside the high school was where Alison and family lived."

He would learn later that the original Anglican church in Chapleau was built in 1885 on the site where the tennis court was located. "I would also appreciate that my father and most of his siblings, if not all, were baptized at the current St. John's, which was opened in 1908, and went to the same public school I did"

As an aside, it should be noted that Michael's father Keith, and his grandfather, William McMullen, both served as Wardens at St. John's. His father was People's Warden when Mr. Haddon was the Rector and his grandfather was Rector's Warden in the time of Rev. J.N. Blodgett.

In photo are from left Michael, his parents Margret and Keith McMullen and me, taken in 1955


Michael recalled earning "some real money" for the first time in Chapleau. Mrs. Elsie Wilkinson, the widow of Dr. Steve Wilkinson paid him 25 cents to cut the grass on her property on Beech Street with her hand mower once a week.

"I was a pin boy at the bowling alley for probably 15-20 cents an hour. I was down at the end of the alley where the pins were placed. My responsibility was to properly position the pins during each frame, and to put the balls in the track to return to the players. As I recall, I was looking after two lanes at one time. You had to be alert because of where the pin could go after being hit. There was a foot slot at the end of the bowling lane that you stepped on that pushed the pins up from the floor for each of the five bowling pins to be placed on."

The bowling alley was located across on Birch Street across from the Chapleau News Depot store.

Michael also helped Raymond Soucie a number of times to pick worms to sell to fishermen for about 25 cents a container. He noted that in the early 1950s, 25 cents went a long way, as admission to the theatre was only 15-20 cents. Michael and I also delivered flyers for Simpsons order office which had been recently established in Chapleau.

"In the days before television, a radio was a great thing to have," Michael recalled. Radio was non existent during the day until the CBC installed repeater stations, but "... as the sun was going down the reception started to come in and after sundown the reception was really good, particularly for powerful stations from cities in the United States, such as Fort Wayne (WOWO), Pittsburgh (KDKA) and Boston (WBZ)."

Michael remembers some of the popular radio shows such as the Lone Ranger, Jack Benny, the Green Hornet and Inner Sanctum with "its scary squeaky door at the beginning of the program. Canadian shows such as Wayne and Shuster, and the Happy Gang were very popular. We got the Saturday night hockey games, usually from Toronto with Foster Hewitt and the Toronto Maple Leafs."

He liked listening to baseball games particularly his favorite team at the time, the Brooklyn Dodgers. They were on WMGM, 1050 on the dial from New York and the sponsors were Lucky Strike and Schaefer beer. Vince Scully was the junior announcer and he is still calling games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. On weekends there were baseball games on the United States Armed Forces Network on short wave radio with Dizzy Dean and Buddy Blattner.

After moving to Toronto in 1954, Michael did not return to Chapleau until the Chapleau High School reunion in 1997. Many changes had taken place in the 43 years since he left. The old Patrick Mulligan store was gone as was the natural ice arena on Lorne Street replaced by the Chapleau Recreation Centre on the other side of town. The movie theatre had closed, and the YMCA was gone as well. The ball field that was behind the high school was still there but the school had moved. The Chapleau Civic Centre was in its place.

But some things had not changed for him. The Boston Cafe, which had become Hongers, was still there and still owned by the Hong family. Chapleau Public School was in the same place and to him it appeared the same inside and out.

Before leaving Chapleau in 1954, Michael remembers going to the old Protestant Cemetery on Birch Street with his friend the late Harry (Boo Boo) Hong.

"(Boo Boo)... asked me to help him do some landscaping at the grave of his father. We got a wheelbarrow, two shovels and went there. The plot had sunk and needed some earth so we went to a nearby field and hauled earth back to do the work.

"While repairing the site, I browsed at the nearby plots and to my surprise, one of the plots close by, at the back fence, was the location of my grandfather William McMullen. It needed the same work as the Hong site. So, we hauled more earth and put both plots in a condition, which pleased us both."



Michael and his parents appear to have been the last of his McMullen line to live in Chapleau. However, some years ago, Dr. Bill McMullen from Sudbury was one of the medical doctors who came to Chapleau on a periodic basis to provide medical services. Bill is the eldest son of Hugh McMullen, his father's older brother. I am the last of the Patrick Mulligan line to have lived in Chapleau. My grandmother, Lil (Mulligan) Morris and Michael and Bill's grandmother May (Mulligan) McMullen were sisters.

My email is mj.morris@live.ca