"Overcoming ugliness with beauty, meanness with generosity, lies with truth and evil with good" at this Christmas time

Shortly before Christmas in 1948. I attended a service at St. John's Anglican Church where a prayer desk was dedicated in memory of my father Flying Officer James E. Morris, who was killed on active service in the RCAF on July 16, 1943 during World War II.

The prayer desk had been given to the church by the family in memory of my father, and I was seven years old, at an age where I was starting to come to terms with the fact that he was not coming home. 

Yes, I had my mother, Muriel E. (Hunt) Morris, my grandparents Edythe and George Hunt and  Lil and Harry Morris, as well as my aunt and uncle Elsie and B.W. 'Bubs' Zufelt and my Zufelt cousins, my aunt Marion Morris --- and my friends in Chapleau. All have played a most important role in my life.

But, to this day, whenever I reflect on my own growing up years, somehow I go back to 1948. 

Canon Sims

Let me share some thoughts expressed by Rev. Canon H.A. Sims, the Rector of St. John's at the service. They seem as appropriate today in our troubled world as they were three years after the end of World War II. In part, here is what Canon Sims. a World War I veteran,  said:

"There is not the slightest necessity for civilized men to destroy their civilization in warfare. Nothing is settled by warfare which could not be better settled in some more reasonable, humane and decent way.

"Warfare is caused by men  who have allowed the spirit of the devil rather than the spirit of God to determine their thinking.

"Peace does not come through wishing for it or through praying for it... peace comes only from those who make it; who work harder at making peace than men working at making war.

"We must make peace by working hard at overcoming ugliness with beauty; overcoming meanness with generosity; overcoming lies with truth and by overcoming evil with good."

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However, here I am, at Christmas 2016, reflecting on the words of Canon Sims, but so thankful that my mother decided we would stay in Chapleau where she rejoined the teaching staff at Chapleau Public School, and my grandparents lived ---- and I had my friends, many of who remain part of my life, even though most of us  are no longer living in Chapleau.

Harry and Brigitte

On December 13, we lost one of our dearest and oldest friends, Harry 'Butch' Pellow, a member of one of Chapleau's pioneer families, who had been my friend since we were about five. Butch died in Toronto, and I will share more about him in the new year. My deepest sympathy to his wife Brigitte and family. Rest in peace my friend.

Chapleau gang at Butch and Brigitte party 2014

Recently,  there were two posts on Facebook sharing thoughts about Christmas I thought were awesome. 

The first from the Society of St John the Evangelist I I paraphrase. It suggested that if we think of someone in our life who is lonely, or hurting --- do something for them. Invite them for coffee, or a meal. Pay them a visit. Phone them. Show them they are not alone!. 

Jim Roberts. my good friend,  who lives in Cranbrook, a founding member of our Friday Morning Coffee Club,  but is originally from the United States, and served in the United States Marine Corps in Vietnam, posted a 'Dear Santa' letter on Facebook.

Jim Roberts

It reads: "I don't want much for Christmas. I just want people to be happy. Friends are the fruit cake of life, some smelly. some cooked in alcohol, some sweet, but mix them together and they are all my friends. At Christmas you always hear people talking about what they want and bought. This is what I want: I want people who are sick with no cure to be able to be cured. I want children with no families to be adopted. I want people to never have to worry about food, shelter and heat. I want peace and love for everyone."

CHS gang at 2012 reunion

Maybe, just maybe, if each of us in our own way, followed the thoughts expressed in the posts  by SSJE and Jim, we could move the world a bit closer to fulfilling the comments made by Canon Sims back in 1948. 

I have included a couple of photos from Chapleau gatherings in recent years --- one from the Chapleau High School reunion in 2012 and another from a party at the home of Harry 'Butch' and Brigitte Pellow in 2014. Chapleau folks have always been super at bringing people together. 

My very best wishes to all of you for Christmas and the holiday season. Every blessing!!!!  My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Cree and Ojibway 'spectacular' barnstorming hockey tour of Canadian and American cities in 1928 included players from Chapleau

The highly successful Cree and Ojibway Indian hockey barnstorming tour of Canadian and American cities in 1928 included players from Chapleau.


NOTE: CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE!!

In fact, Dr. Andrew Holman of Bridgewater State University, in his grant application to write about the tour, referred to it as "spectacular" and "celebrated"  as 14 hockey playing Cree and Ojibway, travelling on a chartered bus, set out in January and February to play in 17 cities and towns in Canada and the United States.

Tony Cachagee

I have been assisted by  an incredible group of people  over the past month since 'The 1928 Cree and Ojibway Barnstorming Tour' by Kevin Plummer appeared in the Torontoist. 

The Chapleau players on the tour have been pretty well confirmed as being Charles William 'Tony' Cachagee aka 'Boxcar', George 'Farmer' Linklater, Alex McAuley and Wilfred McAuley. The other players on the Cree team appear to have been from other locations, and additional Chapleau players may have been involved too. In stories about the tour, McAuley was usually spelled McCauley.

Kevin Plummer provided background on the tour: "The “Cree and Ojibway Indian Hockey Tour,” as it was billed on the side of the bus, featured  the “Fast Ojibway Indians” versus the “Great Cree Indians.” One team was composed of Ojibway players from Bear Island in Lake Temagami—now known as Teme-Augama Anishnabai or Temagami First Nation. The other was composed of Cree players from Chapleau (according to one newspaper) or “the James Bay territory” (according to another). Papers weren’t concerned with such precision. It seems likely that the Cree team was drawn from Bear Island as well as Chapleau Cree First Nation, and possibly even Moose Factory or elsewhere."

He added that teams composed entirely of aboriginal players were not that unusual in the 1920s but   "The truly unusual thing about the Cree and Ojibway Tour was that rather than standard hockey jerseys, each player wore a 'feathered head-dress', buckskin tunic emblazoned with a C or an O, and 'beaded waists' on the ice. Almost every press report commented on the seemingly traditional attire and emphasized the players' authenticity as 'full blooded Indians'."

Mr Plummer noted that  the First Nations teams appear to have been "self-managed, cleverly marketed, and extremely popular as an exotic spectacle for (presumably white) urbanites in Canada and the US"

Dr. Holman wrote that the tour began in Ontario then reached its real target market which included Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. 

"In some cities the players divided themselves into two 'tribes'," Dr Holman explained, and "held out their game as part of a series for the Indian hockey Championship of Canada" while in other places only one team was put on the ice to face a local side."

It appears that the tour was the idea of William 'Bill' Friday, who in reports was referred to as the team captain but he did not play. Mr. Friday was an entrepreneur and businessman from the Temagami area who opened Friday's Hotel on Bear Island in the 1920s.

The Toronto Telegram reported in a story headlined, 'Cree Indians win in match with Ojibways'  that, "Toronto hockey fans were treated to a unique spectacle at Ravina rink ...when two full blooded Indian hockey teams, the Cree from Chapleau and the Ojibway from Lake Temagami engaged in a hockey game..." which the Cree won 12-4.

My cousin Michael McMullen advised that, "There is no doubt that in 1928 when the Cree and Ojibway teams played their exhibition games there that Ravina Gardens would have been one of the premier arenas in Toronto, probably only second to the Mutual Street Arena, where the Toronto Maple Leafs played before the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens in 1932."

Michael added: "I recall "Ravina Gardens" fondly as I played hockey there often in the mid-to-late 1950s. Everyone referred to the arena as just 'Ravina'.  For many years, it was one of the most used rinks in Toronto for minor hockey and High School hockey in Toronto.  For an arena that was built before WW1, I can remember how well the building had aged.  It was also unique in that it had boards that were about 18 inches higher than anywhere else."

After the team played in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Post reported that "They are in demand all over the country and are unable to fill half the engagements offered them."

Mr. Plummer noted: "Although their names were printed in the newspapers, the Cree and Ojibway Tour players were never given a voice as well-rounded individuals. Toronto journalists praised the hockey skills of the players, judging that a handful of them were on par with any in the Ontario Hockey Association. But descriptions focused on their physical attributes.

 “Both teams are composed of big men, who are fast and tireless skaters,” the Providence News said. “They play a hard, body checking game that has always been replete with thrills.”

My good friend Derik Hodgson, a former sports writer and distinguished Canadian journalist, after reading Kevin Plummer's article commented that, "fascinating glimpse into the past ... and it was only a glimpse. Sounds much like a formula the Harlem Globetrotters used to much success in B-ball later."  

Sports teams on barnstorming tours were also popular in the 1920s.

Tony Cachagee, who retired from playing hockey when he was 40, was only 17 when he was chosen to play for a Northern Ontario All Star team and then joined the Cree team for the tour. Tony's grandson Kyle Cachagee advised that his grandfather played in so many places that he wrote the names of all of them on a hockey stick which still remains with the family.


After reading this story, Bill McLeod emailed me to relate that his father Borden McLeod was attending school in New Jersey at the time of the tour, and went to New York City to watch his "buddies" from Chapleau play. 

Chapleau hockey team 1918. Alex McAuley, top right

In Chapleau, there were First Nations players on hockey teams from at least 1918, and likely much earlier. Alex McAuley, who was on the tour played on a team which also had legendary goaltender Bob Turner on it.

The Cree Ojibway hockey tour has been the subject of some study by academics over the years in the context of sociological and cultural values in society in the 1920s and of course stereotyping, but with this team, William Friday and the players  seemed to take the view that some held of the "Indian" in society, and cleverly turned it into an advantage dressed, for example, in traditional dress  for the games. They were also good hockey players and won their fair share of games.

Kevin Plummer and Dr Andrew Holman have certainly contributed to a look into the role of First Nations players in hockey in Canada.

Special thanks to Donald and Ian White for their help

I so much appreciate the assistance provided by so many as I worked on this story and I extend my most sincere thanks to: Anne (Zufelt) McGoldrick, Ian White, Donald White, Doreen (Cormier) Cachagee, Derik Hodgson, Michael McMullen, Charles Saylors, Tom Saville, Dr. Bill Pellow, Don Houghton, Kyle Cachagee. Any errors are mine.

If readers would like more information, just Google "Cree Ojibway Indian hockey tour 1928". My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Robert Fife from Chapleau, winner of national newspaper awards and best selling author leaves Ottawa Bureau Chief of CTV News to join Globe and Mail

CHS Student Council 1972-73 Bob seated front second on right side

Robert Fife was not sitting in his assigned seat when I arrived in Room 104 at the new Chapleau High School in January 1969 to teach Grade Nine history -- "The British Epic"-- replacing a teacher who had become ill and would be away for some time.

UPDATED: November19,2015. Bob is leaving CTV News to become Ottawa Bueau Chief of The Globe and Mail.

I had never been in the new school on the hill opened in 1966, as I had attended the high school on Pine Street where the Chapleau Civic Centre is now. It was the last place I expected to be on this winter morning as I had been home visiting my mother, Muriel E. (Hunt) Morris, and was planning to return to the newspaper business.

However, when George Evans, the school's assistant principal called to ask if I would replace a teacher, and the pay was $25.00 a day, I accepted and put plans to travel to either Vietnam to cover the war there or Beirut, Lebanon, to write about drug smuggling on hold for the time being -- it is now over 40 years later and I have never been to either place.

So there I was in Room 104, first class of the day, history with Grade Nine "A", having been given the text books, a day book and student seating plan. I put my name on the blackboard, turned and looked at the seating plan, and immediately sensed all was not right. In my best Dr. Karl Hackstetter voice, I yelled, "Get back in your right seats NOW." (For those who never met Dr. Hackstetter. trust me, he could yell.)

It worked. Students scurried to get to where they belonged, and there in front of me was Bob Fife, since February 2005 the Ottawa Bureau Chief for CTV NEWS, then in Grade Nine at CHS. He is also the Executive Producer of CTV's Power Play and Question Period.

Bob Fife far right listening to J.B. Walsh

Several days later, Bob appeared at the staff room wanting to speak with me. It turned out that the teacher I was replacing had been directing a play and Bob asked if I would take over as director. By his reckoning, because I was a reporter, I must know something about drama.

Bob played the leading role in a delightful one act comedy called 'Sunday Cost Five Pesos' and we expanded the production into a student talent night, which continued in the 1970swith Bob being named best actor for his performances on several occasions. For several years at CHS we did two productions a year involving a large number of students.

Also in 1969, the Chapleau Little Theatre was founded with Margaret Costello. a distinguished journalist and actress in Canada and the United States, who had moved to Chapleau, in a leading role in Kay Hill's comedy "Three to Get Married." Just days before opening night, a cast member became ill, and Bob very quickly took over the role and pulled it off as if he had been rehearsing for months.

I should have realized he was eventually headed to prime time television.

Somehow, in 1969,I ended up replacing the Midget hockey coach on a trip to Timmins and "Fife" as I came to call him almost ended my coaching career before it really started. There was a fight during the game, and after we returned to Chapleau, a letter arrived from James Aspin, long time secretary manager of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association alleging that the Chapleau coach had been yelling at his players to "Fight! Fight!"At a meeting in the old Town Hall basement, of course I denied it. Earle Freeborn asked me if I had yelled anything.

David Mizuguchi collection

After a moment I said yes. I had yelled "Fife! Fife!" at Bob who was involved in the fight trying to get him to the bench. This explanation was sent to the NOHA and I lived to coach another day.

During his years at CHS Bob was also active in other student activities and served as president of the Student Council in 1972-73.

Shortly after I joined Facebook a couple of years ago, Charlie Braumberger, who was in the same class as Bob messaged me saying, "You must be really proud of Bob's success."

I paused a bit before replying. Of course I am, but I have been proud of every student I ever had in the 32 years I spent in the classroom at Chapleau High School and College of the Rockies. To anyone who ever asked me about students, I have had a standard reply, "I have never met a bad student."

Bob Fife with Tom Corston

But I know what Charlie meant. Bob was interested in the news and peppered me with questions from the first moment he knew I had been a reporter and editor. Our conversations on the issues of the day continued for years.

Bob, who was born in Chapleau,  is the son of Margaret and the late Clyde Fife. Bob's grandfather George Fife was manager of the Chapleau Electric Light and Power Company and served as reeve of the Township of Chapleau from 1938 to 1942.

His father served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, and I recall to this day, Clyde telling me the story of my parents Jim and Muriel being at the ceremony in Toronto when he got his wings, and my father tried to make him laugh while on parade. Clyde, who was my father's best man at the wedding of my parents in 1940 also claimed that he "looked after" my father after I was born in Hamilton.

Our grandmothers were the best of friends and enjoyed playing golf on "Ladies' Day" at the golf course in Chapleau. Bob and I also got a chuckle over the time that his grandmother went to visit mine on Elgin Street when the snow banks were really high. Bob's father dropped his mother off and she assured him she could get to my grandmother's house. Somehow Mrs. Fife got stuck in the snowbank. My grandmother, Lil Morris, was watching and immediately called Clyde to come and rescue his mother. All went well and they had their visit.

After graduating from CHS Bob attended the University of Toronto where he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree.

In 1978, Bob started his journalism career in the parliamentary bureau of NewsRadio and then he worked for United Press International. It was his contact with UPI that got me one of my most interesting reporting assignments, covering a test of the nuclear winter theory in 1985 at Chapleau. Bob got me the assignment.

He then became a senior political reporter for the Canadian Press and later spent 10 years as Ottawa Bureau Chief and political columnist for the Sun Media chain. At one point in the 1980s Maclean's magazine called Bob the best investigative reporter in Canada.

After the National Post was founded he joined it in 1998, and he became Ottawa Bureau Chief for CanWest News Services and the National Post in 2002.

In 1991, Bob's first book, 'A Capital Scandal' which he wrote with John Warren came out, and I recall going to a bookstore in Cranbrook to see if I could get a copy. There it was prominently displayed in the new book section, and as I thumbed through it and noted that he dedicated it to his mother Margaret, I became a bit emotional which caused the lady in the store to ask if I was all right.

"I am fine," I told her. "I know Robert Fife and I am so proud of him." I went on to tell Bob's background and left with the book. As I write, it is beside me on my desk -- and the story it tells about politics in Canada and the need for the reform of Parliament it calls for is as relevant, perhaps moreso today, than it was 20 years ago.

In the acknowledgments Bob mentions Derik Hodgson who was an incredibly good reporter of my generation with whom I had worked at the Kingston Whig-Standard and Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. It so happened that by 1991 Derik had become communications director of the Canadian Labour Congress and had organized a conference for editors of labour union publications. I was the editor of Insider, the faculty magazine at College of the Rockies and attended the conference in Vancouver,

Small world that it is, there I was with my old friend Derik drinking coffee in the Hotel Vancouver, discussing a book by a Chapleau boy, who we both knew, albeit coming to know Bob in different ways. We were agreed on the message of the book.

In 1993, Bob's second book, 'Kim Campbell: The Making of a Politician' was published. She became the first female prime minister of Canada. Again, it remains a must read for a better understanding of politics in Canada.

Robert Fife, CTV NEWS

He has won the Edward Dunlop Award for Spot News and two National Newspaper Citation of Merit for political reporting.

However, it has been the past six years after Bob became Ottawa Bureau Chief of CTV News that he has become a household name in Canada. Especially since I have been on Facebook, many of his old friends have messaged me, "Did you see Bob on the news last night?", "Bob is interviewing the prime minister", "Did you teach him?" and so on, but I am guilty too.

While I was scanning photos of Bob for this piece at Walmart, I was getting help from a lady there, and pointed to photo of Bob with Tom Corston, and asked her, "Do you ever watch CTV News?" to which she replied she did.

"Do you know Bob Fife?" and again the answer was yes. Pointing to Bob holding an umbrella over Tom, who is now Anglican bishop of Moosonee, I said, "That's him when he was in Grade 9", adding, "Bob is from Chapleau." My email is mj.morris@live.ca

THE CHS STUDENT COUNCIL OF 1972-73

Chapleau High School Student Council of 1972-73 when Bob Fife was president. Front row from left Jamie Doyle, Eileen McRea, Tom Tangie, Bob, Patty Desbois. Middle row from left Rusty Deluce, Joan Lapointe, Walter Sonego, Dan Plouffe, Michael Dillon, Mary Ann Morris, Doris Delaney. Back row Robert Doyle, Gary Legros, Leslie Doig, Maurice Blais, Pat Connelly, Keith Marsh