Chapleau High School grads in 1969 caught 'in crossfire of generation gap' according to former principal S.B. Pallett while Beanie BeaBop reports on drama award winners

Chapleau High School students were told at their 1969 Commencement that they were caught "in the crossfire" of the generation gap by Miss S.B. Pallett, a former teacher and principal at the school.

Miss Pallett, who had been invited to return as guest speaker, about 29 years after she had left Chapleau, told the students that they lived in an increasingly demanding world where their "enthusiasm, ideas and initiative were needed."

"You must make the world a better place to live in," Miss Pallett challenged the graduates, adding "never has there been such a challenge for youth. You are caught in the crossfire of the generation gap."

"LIfe gives back to you in proportion you give to it... Keep your minds receptive to new ideas and all need a positive set of values in spite of what others may think, say or do and you must be able to say no. No is still a good word."

Referring to the high price paid by two preceding generations for freedom in World Wars I and II, Miss Pallett urged students to continue creating a society where they had "freedom to be themselves without hurting the freedom of others. This was bought at a very high price by the two preceding generations."

"Happiness comes not by looking for it but by the way of life you lead."

Miss Pallett was introduced by Frank Coulter, a member of the Chapleau Board of Education, former CHS student and World War II veteran. She was thanked by student Brenda Pellow.

Kazufumi Higuchi was the valedictorian and recipient of the Austin McClellan Scholarship presented to him by by Conrad Tremblay, also a board member, former student and World War II veteran.

Kazufumi, Lucy Bignucolo and George Harris were presented Ontario Scholarships by J.B. Walsh, the school principal.

The Allan Austin Memorial Scholarship was presented to Marie Eveline by Aldee Martel, a board member, while another of the older awards at the time, the Davidson-Crozier was presented to Molly O'Connor by Mrs. Lillian (Crozier) Robinson.

The chair of the Chapleau Board of Education was Rev. Murray Arnill, and other members were Frank Braumberger, Douglas Jardine, Mansel Robinson and Leo Walzak. Business administrator was Elmer Freeborn and assistant business administrator was Anita Deluce.


Meanwhile, "Beanie BeaBop" was writing High School News in the Chapleau Sentinel. In one of her columns she wrote about the school's annual drama show, pointing out that the gym was packed for both nights of the production.

"Barbara Hoath's hilarious performance of 'The Howse' was outstanding and merited her an award for best performance by a newcomer," Beanie wrote.

"Awarded for their best individual performance was 'Mary and Ernie' (Mary Whitney and Ernie Chambers) whose melodious singing was pleasing to the ear as well as to the mind.

"It was so difficult to decide who won as best actress, Janet Morris in 'Three on a Bench' or Marie Therese Belair in 'Pen of My Aunt' so both tied for best actress. Michelle Ouellette was voted best supporting actress and John Cosgrove best supporting actor.

"Bob Fife received the honours of best actor for his performance in 'Pen of My Aunt." (I just can't resist an aside re Bob. He must have been preparing for his role as Ottawa Bureau Chief of CTV News while a student at CHS.)

How many of the teaching staff do remember if you were a CHS student in 1969-70. They were Pat Bamford, R.M. Cote, Ora Devine, Margaret Rose fortin, Wayne Guest, Ross Hryhorchuk, Carolyn Kay, R.J. Lemieux, Eleanor Lyttle, Ray MacDonald, Connie Plexman, Sonia Riddoch, Tom Riddoch, Merv Sheridan, Barbara Simpson, Nick Stevens, Marie Tremblay, John Tymchuk and me. Mr. Walsh was principal.George Evans was assistant principal. The school secretary was Mrs. M. Levesque and custodians were Gilbert Landry, Art Linklater and Wes Tatler.

And, who was Beanie BeaBop? My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Nuclear winter theory tested as mushroom cloud blacks out sun in August 1985 near Chapleau

If you were living in the United States and reading your Sunday newspaper on August 5, 1985, it is quite likely that on the front page you would have noticed a a story datelined Chapleau, Ontario, reporting on the results of a test of the nuclear winter theory conducted near the community the previous day.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune before the test, Janet Crawley explained that Canadian and U.S. scientists planned to study a controlled forest fire in northern Ontario to test the newly proposed theory that a catastrophic "nuclear winter" would follow a nuclear war.

The observers wanted to study the behavior of the smoke from the blaze, which had been scheduled as part of the province's regular program of burning out dead trees so land can be replanted.

Andrew Forester, an environmental scientist and research associate at the University of Toronto, had said the study was believed to be the first such large- scale research into the possibility of "nuclear winter," a theory proposed in the early 1980s by Cornell University scientist and author Carl Sagan.

As a result, national and international media descended upon Chapleau, including reporters from major dailies in the United States and television crews from the big three U.S. networks. And yes, I was there to cover the story for United Press International, an assignment I got through Robert "Bob" Fife who had previously worked for UPI. I had forgotten about the nuclear winter test 25 years ago until I received an email from Dave Way-White suggesting it as a column.

So from the mothballs of my own memory and a Google search, here is the story of the weekend when a Chapleau moment became international news.


The Orlando Sentinel on August 5 captured the test results: "A giant mushroom cloud blacked out the sun over a Canadian forest Saturday. It cast a dark shadow over the northern Ontario wilderness as far as the eye could see. Cause: A fire set by scientists in a test of the ''nuclear winter'' theory. The experiment began when a helicopter dropped napalm over 2 1/2 square miles of a diseased forest 400 miles north of Detroit. The cloud rose thousands of feet into the air and spread over 80 miles. Theory's prediction: A nuclear war would blow millions of tons of smoke into the air, blocking out the sun and freezing the Earth."


The New York Times used an Associated Press story: "The fire was set in 1,600 acres of pines trees bulldozed last year in preparation for the burning. The trees, killed by a spruce budworm infestation, were burned to allow replanting. Thick white smoke billowed thousands of feet into the sky, where a gentle wind blew it directly over Chapleau, a town of 3,500 people about 15 miles southeast of the fire."

The New York Times also reported that the test was watched by seven scientists who were testing the ''nuclear winter'' theory. The theory holds that a nuclear war could blast so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block the sun for months, chilling the earth and resulting in greater death and devastation than the nuclear explosions.`

Using UPI story, the Los Angeles Times reported that "It will embody some of the characteristics of the firestorm that will follow a nuclear blast," said Andrew Forester, of the University of Toronto who brought the researchers together.

Forester, who directed a Royal Society of Canada study on Nuclear Winter and Associated Effects, said the scientists would attempt to learn more about the effects of smoke in the atmosphere and how smoke and ash block out sunlight.

Forester told UPI that the experiment would be the first test of the nuclear winter theory proposed in 1982 by Cornell University astronomer Carl Sagan and Richard Turco, a consultant with R&D Associates of Marina del Rey, Calif. They suggested a nuclear war would create a blanket of smoke and ash, blocking out the sun and chilling the Earth. Turco was among those planning to observe the experiment.

The Los Angeles Times - UPI report went on to explain that in in northern Ontario, "a helicopter was to drop a napalm-like substance on the area near Chapleau, 400 miles north of Detroit, to set fire to thousands of fir trees killed by a budworm infestation that began in the 1960s."Forester added he hoped when the blaze fanned out, it would create a 20,000-foot convection column of smoke, ash and gas to simulate some effects of a nuclear explosion. He described the fire as a "partial representation of one aspect of a nuclear explosion" without the blast or radiation.The helicopter was to carry a "flying drip torch," moving in concentric circles to drop an oil-based substance on pre-selected spots--literally dropping fire on the forest.

High in the convection column, scientists expected to see a ring of ash that would filter down, said Brian Stocks of the forest fire research unit at the Canadian government's Great Lakes Forest Research Center in Sault Ste. Marie. Above the ash, scientists expect gases and condensation that could trigger firestorms, Stocks said, according to the Los Angeles Times report.

I recall flying over the test area into the mushroom cloud and one of the scientists excitedly proclaimed, "We've got it."

I have always thought it was so cool that Bob Fife, a former student at Chapleau High School and great friend, would be responsible for getting me an assignment as a reporter, particularly on such a major assignment as a test of the nuclear winter theory. When he was a student at CHS, Bob would pepper me with questions on everything -- a certain clue that he was headed for a distinguished career in journalism.

Bob is now the Ottawa Bureau Chief of CTV News, and for more than 30 years been one of Canada's best journalists! My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Michael reflects on Grey Street to Elgin Street as connecting link on first anniversary of Chapleau Moments with personal thoughts of home

NOTE: The following appears in the July 17 edition of the Chapleau Express. My thanks is extended to all those who have contacted me about my blog too.
A year ago when I accepted Mario Lafreniere's invitation to write a column for the Chapleau Express, I wondered if I would be able to come up with enough material for a month's worth of Chapleau Moments.

Since starting Chapleau Moments a year ago this week, I have often reminded myself of the words that Dr. J.B. McClinton shared with me in a Timmins restaurant shortly after my arrival there to begin my career as a daily newspaper reporter with The Daily Press in 1964. I was having coffee with Dr. McClinton, a great promoter of Northern Ontario and Highway 101 connection between Chapleau and Timmins, and he said, "So, you want to be a reporter.

"Look around you. There are stories everywhere. If you never left this restaurant for rhe rest of your life, you would never be able to write all the stories that happened in this place."

Well, "let me tell you" as my good friend Dr. G.E. Young would say when he started a story, if I continued to write for another 46 years, I would never be able to share all the stories about the people and moments that are part of Chapleau's history.

Let me first thank Mario for providing me with the opportunity to share some Chapleau moments with you -- the stories of the incredible people who have called Chapleau home -- those who still live there, those who now live somewhere else, and those who are no longer with us but left their mark on the life of the community since 1885, and before.

Let me thank all those who have contacted me during the past year with comments, story ideas and their recollections of the life and times of Chapleau. Maybe that's been the best part of the experience, reconnecting with so many of you over the past year and bringing back such wonderful memories of home.

And yes, I've discovered beyond any doubt that Chapleau is still considered home to those who have lived there, even if like me, they have been gone for many years. It has also been great to open emails from folks I do not know to read about their connection to Chapleau.

Of course, I am not really "from" Chapleau, having been born in Hamilton, Ontario, where my father, James E. Morris, who was born in Chapleau, was a flying instructor at the Elementary Flying Training School at Mount Hope, part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan in World War II. He had joined the RCAF in 1940 but took leave to be a flying instructor, at the EFTS. My mother, Muriel E. (Hunt) Morris was born in Glasgow, Scotland and came to Chapleau with her parents just before World War I.

When my father went back into the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942, we returned to Chapleau to stay with family while he was overseas on active service during World War II. We stayed after he was killed while on active service on July 16, 1943-- 67 years ago this week.

Many readers will recall my mother who taught at Chapleau Public School for 32 years, and let me say thanks to all those who have kindly remembered her in messages to me during the past year. While at the public school she directed annual concerts including Gilbert and Sullivan's musical 'HMS Pinafore'. Billy Kemp, Charlie Byce and Gordon Bolduc all had leading roles in this production, while Joan Kemp was the pianist.

Mom was also very active in St. John's Anglican Church where she was choir director. However, one of the great moments in her church life was undoubtedly in 1935 at a service marking the 50th anniversary of the parish. As one of the soloists she sang 'Now the Day is Over.' Her father, my grandfather, George Hunt was the choir director while the organist was Miss Nettie Herner, who later married Arthur Grout. My grandmother, Edith Hunt, along with Mrs. P.J. Collins were joint conveners of the banquet. In 1974, Mom married Ernie, the son of Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Collins.

My parents were married in St. John's Church in 1940. Mom died in 1989.

(Saying from Desmond Tutu, retired Archbishop of South Africa: "Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I am who I am because of all who have contributed to my being'. I walk because someone held my hand as I was learning. I laugh because my mother laughed. Her laughter was carried from her mother, and hers. It is kept alive by family and friends. Losing our loved ones opens the way to compassion for others, and connects us all soul to soul.")

In my first Chapleau Moments column, I shared my tricycle ride from our home on Grey Street, uptown and across the old overhead bridge, to visit my grandparents, Lil (Mulligan) and Harry Morris on Elgin Street. It just struck me that trips from Grey Street to Elgin Street were actually started by my parents when they were dating in the 1930s -- a connecting link for us to both sides of early Chapleau. As I have noted previously my grandmother was a member of the Mulligan family who came to Chapleau in 1885.

This time let me tell you a bit about my father and some of his friends, and moments they shared growing up in Chapleau. Born in 1914 in Chapleau, he attended Chapleau Public School and Chapleau High School graduating from Grade 13 in 1933, and yes, one of his teachers was John 'Mac' McClellan. In fact, Mr. McClellan coached the juvenile hockey team he played on with Gordon McKnight, Don Robinson, Eric Young, Walter Moore, Bobby Perpete, B. McAdam, Joe Crichton and Romeo Levesque.

He also rose to the rank of Cadet Captain in the Number 1181 CHS Cadet Corps directed by Mr. McClellan.

In his application to the RCAF, he noted that he was involved in all school and local athletics, including track and field where along with Claude Turner and Ken Godfrey they won marathon relay races at Schreiber and Fort William in 1931, 1932 and 1933. In those years Chapleau had very active track and field club with a five mile race held in conjunction with July 1 celebrations.

After the war, the James E. Morris Memorial Trophy was established and it was won by Greg Lucas so many times that it was finally given to him. In the 1970s, the five mile race was revived and Greg would present the trophy to the winner.

Tennis was also popular and I learned to play from some of my father's friends including Greg, Eric Young and Charlie McKee, as well as Rev. Frank Leigh who would have been a bit older. We played on the St. John's Tennis court and, those guys could really whack a ball, and won some northern Ontario titles in their prime.

After graduating from high school, my father became assistant secretary at the Chapleau Railway YMCA for three years. The YMCA on Lorne Street was a beehive of activity in those years with rooms, a restaurant, sports activities and a bowling alley downstairs. As an aside the most famous bowler in my memory was Mrs. Mabel Young, Dr. Young's mother. Dr. Young was also one of my father's good friends. Mr. 'Pop' Depew was the secretary as the manager was called.

Of course, growing up in Chapleau meant skating in the "old" arena on Lorne Street as well as playing hockey on outdoor rinks including on the river by the present beach, skiing, hiking and camping and swimming.

Two of my father's good friends who shared memories of growing up with him, which I really appreciated were Clyde Fife and F.A. 'Nick' Card.

When I turned 16, and went to get my driver's license, Clyde was the examiner and when I arrived, and knocked on his door, he said, "I was expecting you today. I was there when you were born." And he was. Clyde had enlisted in the RCAF and at the time was stationed in Toronto. So, on the day I got my driver's license, Clyde told me stories, and finally asked, "How did you get here?" to which I replied, "I drove" . Clyde replied that seeing as how I had driven to his home near the old power plant, I could drive home and he approved my license. Clyde is the father of Robert Fife, now the Ottawa bureau chief of CTV News.

Nick, who served as reeve of Chapleau and also as a councillor grew up on Elgin Street almost next door to my Dad. In fact, until Walter Paradis built his home there, a vacant lot separated their houses. I don't know if it is still visible today, but almost across from their homes was a big rock on which they painted, "Kilgore was here."

My father's love of flying started at an early age when he would go down to the Chapleau waterfront and hang out with the early bush pilots who would fly in to Chapleau in the 1930s. An article in the Toronto Telegram after he was killed noted that he was involved with early bush pilots. In applying to the RCAF he wrote that he had acquired knowledge in "part time employment" around aircraft. According to my grandfather, he really was learning to fly planes, thinking that his mother did not know. She did. Mothers always know.

In 1936 he joined the Canadian Pacific Railway department of investigation and in 1939 was part of the security team for the Royal Visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He received his private pilot's license at the Fort William Flying Club in 1937.

In sharing a bit about my parents with you, I do so with a great sense of gratitude to them for making the decision to have my mother and I return to Chapleau while my father went overseas. Despite the tragic loss of him when I was so young, I was able to grow up close to my wonderful grandparents - George and Edith Hunt and Harry and Lil Morris - and among the greatest people I have ever known, the good people of Chapleau. Thank you for being the people you are. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

King George VI meets George Fife at the Chapleau CPR station at two a.m. in 1939 without his chain of office

By Bill McLeod



In the late 1930s there was a lot going on in the world. King Edward VIII had abdicated in December of 1936 and was replaced by his brother Bertie who took on the new name of George VI. The official reason for Edward’s abdication was that he was messing around with an American divorcee named Wallace Simpson and wanted to marry her. Since the British sovereign is also head of the Church of England, whose crank was not turned by divorce, Edward chose Wallace over the throne.

But there were other issues that were causing great concern to the British establishment. Apparently Fast Eddie the King wasn’t too swift. War was looming on the horizon, and Eddie didn’t seem to be twigging to the gravity of the situation. Also, the British Government was worried that he was getting a bit too chummy with his German cousins and with senior members of the Third Reich. Getting rid of Eddie solved a number of problems but created some new ones. They sent him off to be Governor of the Bahamas – out of sight and almost out of mind. While Eddie was presiding in the Bahamas, Harry Oakes, the fabulously wealthy discoverer of Lakeshore Mines was murdered. No one was ever charged with Oakes’ death, but rumors swirled for many years that Eddie the Governor might have known a bit more about the case than he let on.

If all this seems like it has no connection with Northern Ontario, bear with me.

In 1939, the new King and Elizabeth, his Queen were sent on a tour of Canada. In addition to introducing the new royal couple to Canadians, the junket had another purpose. Since Bertie and Liz had not been trained or groomed for the throne, they needed to get accustomed to all the scraping and bowing. If they goofed, the bumpkins in the Canadian boondocks might not even notice.

Fast forward to July of 2000. The Queen Mother, now well into her nineties, gave a rather extensive interview to the Globe and Mail. One of the events the old Queen related to the interviewer was the 1939 tour of Canada. She specifically mentioned Chapleau.

Apparently the Royal train had to stop in Chapleau at 2:00 a.m. to take on water. The reeve of Chapleau at the time was a highly regarded man named George Fife. For many years Mr. Fife ran the town’s hydro generating plant and power distribution network. I remember him as a jovial man who liked to tease kids. He was the grandfather of Phyllis Crang of Sudbury, one of Northern Ontario’s best ever athletes. And one of his grandsons is Bob Fife, CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief.

When word came to Chapleau that the Royal Train would be stopping there, George Fife sent word to the crew that he would like to meet the King. Probably without much enthusiasm, George VI hauled his butt out of the sack, put on his suit and tie and went out on the station platform to meet Mr. Fife. After making some small talk, the King asked the reeve (mayor) if he had a chain of office. Not a man to pass up the chance to have a little fun at the expense of the sovereign, Fife replied that he did have such a chain “but he only wore it on special occasions”. That cracked the King up and, sixty-one years later, the Queen Mother laughingly told the Globe and Mail about her brief visit to Chapleau and about how funny the King found Mr. Fife’s comment.

There may well be another version of this story as I found out when I read Jean Chretien’s memoir, My Years as Prime Minister. Over his long career Mr. Chretien became quite close to the Royal family. One of the reasons they liked him and Mrs. Chretien was that they could speak French with them. On page 243 Chretien describes a January, 1994, luncheon with the Queen Mother at Sandringham. The old Queen got to reminiscing about the Royal tour of 1939. She recounted a dinner one evening with Camillien Houde, the colorful mayor of Montreal. She inquired as to why he wasn’t wearing his chain of office. Like George Fife, Camillien told the Queen that he did have one but wore it “only on special occasions”.

It’s difficult to figure out how the Queen Mother could confuse George Fife with Camillien Houde. But maybe this was an “all purpose” story she used whenever what she deemed an appropriate occasion arose. Who knows? It is a very funny tale.

On a more serious note, Camillien Houde was interned during World War II probably because he wasn’t as sympathetic to the war effort as he might have been. Something like Pierre Trudeau, only Trudeau wasn’t incarcerated. One of the jobs Houde was given involved dismantling some urinals to be melted down and used in the war effort. He was quoted as saying that he was required to “turn urinals into arsenals”. A pretty good line.

Bill McLeod has a new book coming out in 2010. For details email Bill at wemcleod@sympatico.ca