Chapleau's second reeve Thomas Godfrey 'pioneer builder of the north' dies as Highway 129 opened in 1949

Although best known for his role in the construction of the Chapleau end of Highway 129, and his untimely death from a heart attack just as it was completed in January 1949, Thomas J. Godfrey served as the second reeve and was otherwise greatly involved in community life in its early years.

Writing in Chapleau Trails, edited and published by the late Dr. W.R. "Bill" Pellow, Betty (Good) Godfrey, the wife of Thomas Godfrey Jr, his son,  wrote the following about her father-in-law and the completion of Highway 129.

"Tom Sr. lived to see his beloved Chapleau highway completed in 1949 and he was a member of the party that drove the first automobile across those last one hundred yards to join Chapleau to the outside world by uniting two primitive bush roads. It was winter. 

"The snow was heavy and deep. It was a bitter cold day. The drive had been long and arduous, excitement was high, anticipation of this moment was trying on the healthiest and bravest, however it proved too much for Tom Godfrey and on that day when he was experiencing fulfillment, ultimate pleasure and satisfaction, he had a heart attack and died."

The Chapleau Post reported that Mr. Godfrey had commented that it was the "happiest moment of my life" just before he died.

Mr. Godfrey had succeeded G.B. Nicholson who had served as reeve from 1901 when Chapleau was incorporated until he chose to retire. Mr. Godfrey was reeve from 1914 to 1916.

Born in Godfrey, Ontario, he arrived in Chapleau in 1898 to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway. 

Like so many of Chapleau's early pioneers he quickly became involved in community life playing hockey, baseball, curling, golf as well as becoming a member of the Chapleau Town Band. He became a big asset as he was already a violin player but switched to cornet and euphonium.

In 1916, Mr. Godfrey played baseball on the 'Young Elephants' coached by Father Romeo Gascon of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church. My grandfather Harry Morris also played on it.

In fact, when I was a a child walking past his house at the intersection of Birch and Lansdowne streets where the Louis Hemon Cultural Centre is now, I still recall him practising on his front porch.

Earle Sootheran, Mr Godfrey, Oliver Korpela

Mr. Godfrey became Indian Agent in 1916, a position he held for many years, but he also became an entreprenur owning a pool room established circa 1910, and for a time the "old old rink" on Lorne Street.

But his first love was to complete the "big gap in the middle" which would result in Highway 129 with Thessalon. Until it was opened, Chapleau was really only accessible by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The highway was also under construction from the Thessalon end.

The newspaper referred to him as " a pioneer builder of the north" well known as Indian Agent and road superintendent from 1923 into the 1930s and the Great Depression.

On that January day in 1949 when he died, the Chapleau Post reoprted that the Chapleau contingent was "battling snowdrifts and biting winds over a rugged trail where no cars had ever passed he had driven completely over the Chapleau end of the road."

As Mr. Godfrey celebrated the "happiest moment" of his life, he had a heart attack and died on Highway 129. He was 74. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

'Hi'ya neighbour' greets Chapleau contingent as it reaches Thessalon as Highway 129 opened in Winter of 1949

Tom Godfrey

"Hi'ya Neighbour", and with this "breezy" comment, Mayor Cork of Thessalon greeted a Chapleau contingent who arrived in his community to celebrate the official opening of Highway 129 between the two communities.

The date was January 29, 1949, a day later than planned because of the sudden death of Thomas Godfrey, the day before just after declaring "This is the happiest day of my life," as a cavalcade of cars had just passed the Chapleau portion of the highway on its way to Thessalon.

Mr. Godfrey, a "pioneer builder" of the highway, according to the Chapleau Post, had achieved part of his objective --. ""Bucking snowdrifts and biting winds, and driving over a rugged trail where no cars had ever passed, he had driven completely over the Chapleau end of the road and was on the McFadden road leading to Thessalon when death halted him."

The cavalcade returned to Chapleau after Mr. Godfrey died but another attempt was made the next day as Arthur Grout and Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Vice started out at 6:30 a.m. with the "avowed intention of t rying to get to Thessalon that day..."even though the weather was brutal."

The account of that trip is contained in the Richard Brownlee Papers kindly loaned to me by Margaret Rose (Payette) and Bobby Fortin.

"It was about 35 degrees below zero and one minor trouble after another was encountered, such as the motor freezing up, chains giving trouble, and, then -- something really serious happened. In going to open the trunk at the rear of the car, the keys were dropped in the snow. It was a matter of grave importance that these keys be found promptly because all of the party were getting extremely cold and were at least twelve miles from any assistance.

"After searching through the snow with bare hands  for some time, and just about despairing of ever being able to find them one key was found. It turned out to be the motor key and to their very great delight the motor started promptly and although it was overheating because of a misplaced fan belt they got through to Standard Paving where they got repairs."

They met Tom Carter of Carter Bus Lines who claimed that in all his driving experience he had never had such a trip as the one he had from Thessalon the previous day. He recommended they wait until snow plows cleared the highway. There had been a "howling blizzard."

But the party decided to continue the trip and "proceeded very cautiously so as not to get off the narrow road into the snow-filled ditches." They made to Lessard's Camp where they had turned back the day before after Mr. Godfrey died.

Then, to their delight, they discovered that the snow plow had started out ahead of them, and from then on they were able to enjoy "the scenery and the winding twisty nature of the road."

"As they got down towards the Mississaugi River it was noted how closely the road clung to the edge of the river and at times skirted around high rocky bluffs or steep sloping walls of gravel>"

They arrived safely in Thessalon at about 3:30 p.m and were greeted by Mayor Cork and other dignitaries. Great sympathy was expressed on the death of Mr. Godfrey. A civic reception was held at the Stinson Hotel.

Earle Sootheran, Mr Godfrey, Oliver Korpela

As a matter of historical interest, the first car to make the trip over Highway 129 was not a car "travelling out" from Chapleau but was a northbound car travelling "in" owned by Frank Korpela and driven by Tom Carter. They arrived at Lessard's Camp on January 28 just after the Chapleau party had headed home.

They stayed there overnight and made it to Chapleau the next day reporting bad road conditions and heavy with snow. It was necessary to stop and clean the snow from the grille of the car several times. It was a new coupe driven up from Toronto equipped with snow tires and chains.

The opening of Highway 129, although it was often called a "turkey trail through the bush" was an important moment in Chapleau history, providing highway access to Thessalon and beyond,  and also to American tourists. 

Travelling Highway 129 was always an adventure, and despite many improvements over the years still is. I was over it in 2015 with Alison (McMillan) and Michael McMullen when we travelled to Chapleau for the launch of 'The Chapleau Boys Go To War." My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Flame Lake Lodge a place to fish, hunt, hike, relax near Chapleau

 The folks at Flame Lake Lodge kindly agreed to make some of their outstanding photos available for me to share with visitors to Michael J Morris Reports. Much appreciated!


Flame Lake Lodge is operated by Maureen (Moore) Pedersen, her son Gary and his wife, Karen..

Maureen is the daughter of the late Mrs. A.W. "Hockey" Moore, a member of one of Chapleau's first families, and one of the community's most popular citizens.

The Mrs. A.W. Moore Arena at the Chapleau Recreation Centre is named after her.

The lodge is located just off Highway 129 near Chapleau.
http://flamelakelodge.com

Flame Lake Lodge on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flame-Lake-Lodge/170485353022392

LINK TO FEATURE ON MRS A.W. MOORE http://michaeljmorrisreports.blogspot.ca/2009/11/mrs-aw-moore-chapleaus-greatest-hockey.html

Bill McLeod reflects on going to the Old Fort on a Wednesday afternoon, down the road for a washtub full of raspberries, Highway 129 and Turk Broda and the triple play

Turk Brod

After Bill McLeod read my piece about going down the lake by two rivers to reach Mulligan's Bay, he was in touch with his memories, and also shared his family's trips 'down the road' generally meaning Highway 129 and some side roads. Bill had also earlier shared an anecdote with me about the time Turk Broda brought his ball team to Chapleau in the Fifties for Beach Day, celebrated on the Civic Holiday weekend in August. It is all here!

I invited Bill, who has written three books on Chapleau and area, and has been a good friend since our childhoods -- in fact, Bill lived just down the Grey Street lane from me, although he may tell you that I lived up the Aberdeen Street lane from him -- to be a guest columnist. Bill agreed, and here he is with his memories of down the lake, down the road and the visit by Turk Broda. And thanks Bill too for giving me a vacation -- first week off in two years!!!

Also, as special bonus, see Paul Carson's great video on Mulligan's Bay. Scroll down!

By William E. "Bill McLeod

GOING DOWN THE LAKE

There was another bunch, including us, who also have a bit of "down the lake" history. Like some other families, we didn't have a camp. But we did have what was for the time, a state of the art boat and motor which my dad (Borden "Bordie" McLeod) inherited from John Hun. The motor was a Johnson outboard with the flywheel on top. The boat was a big Hudson's Bay square sterned freighter canoe. We used to go down the lake to picnic and swim at the "Old Fort". Usually it was on Wednesday afternoons but I have no idea why. There were often other Chapleau folks there too. My dad eventually sold the motor to Gussie Evans and the boat to George Corston, mainly because my mother didn't like either boats or the water. (Note: I think it was Wednesday afternoon because stores in Chapleau closed..mj)

DOWN THE ROAD

Going down the road was another matter. We did it often. On Sundays we would go as far as what is now Unegam Lake. Fred and Rose Primeau had a little lunch bar and some cabins, some of which are still there and are called "Sunset View". Mrs. Primeau who was a sister of Joe Steen's mother was a fabulous cook. 

During berry season we would go to about mileage eight for blueberries and on the Nemegos road for raspberries. There was a little nameless lake off the Nemegos Road on the right before you got to the Kennedy Lake road. There were some abandoned lumber camps there and we would have our lunch in a little screened in building that had been the meathouse. I'm sure I could find the exact spot today. One time we picked a wash tub full of wild raspberries.

If we went anywhere on Saturdays we had to get off the Nemegos Road and on to 129 shortly after four in the afternoon. My dad was paranoid about the mad rush from Sultan to Chapleau on Saturdays. They blew the whistle at the mill in Sultan at five on Saturdays (six other days). The guys would dash to their cars and drive like maniacs to get to the liquor store in Chapleau before it closed at six. Sometimes they didn't make it and had to go back to Sultan and pay bootlegger prices for a week.

In the summer we would often go fishing for little brook trout at Poulin Creek. Sometimes, usually with Charlie Swanson, we would canoe up Poulin Creek to what they called the "spring hole". On one of those excursions we saw a cow moose teaching two newborn calves how to eat water lillies. When she realized we were watching she tried to chase the calves into the bush but one was too small and became stuck. So the mother crouched down on her haunches, the calf climbed on her back and away they went.

In the fall we would go partridge hunting almost every weekend. Some times we would take the Nemegos Shortcut from about Mileage 12, drop in to Mike Koski's place for coffee and come back via what was called 118. Perhaps on the same day we would walk in to Five Mile Lake where the Provincial Park would eventually locate. Sometimes we would go to Island Lake and hunt the network of lumber roads near the mill. And, late in October, we would go dip netting for whitefish on the Nebsqwashi River where it narrows near Gravel Lake. To get there you had to go first to Island Lake.

MORE ON THE ROAD

There is so much more to write about "going down the road". The dramatic change in the type of road at Horton Lake just before the road up to the fire tower in Township 9 E. That corner at Horton lake is where Tom Godfrey's efforts ended and the new piece of road built by McGuinty Construction began. The 12 miles of pavement in the middle of nowhere was built by Storm Construction under the supervision of Grant "Grizz" Henderson.

Then there was the section of road on that steep hill down to the Mississaugi River. There were a number of wrecks at the bottom of the hill where drivers had lost control and had a choice of taking the bush or the river. You can still see the "hole in the hill" where that old road started down. There was a Bailey Bridge over the Mississaugi with giant white pine logs for safety barriers. How about that flue where the logs were diverted around Aubrey Falls? And also the hairpin curves around the Mississaugi River. And the Rainer (sp?) dam that backed up the Mississaugi to form Tunnel Lake. They used the same engineering techniques used on the Hoover Dam.

The Griggs from Iron Bridge were distantly related to my mother, I think by marriage. I remember Dougall Grigg, the store and hotel owner One time I asked my dad why he was always so happy to see us. My dad laughed and told me that when we stayed at the Grigg Hotel he always had a bottle of Canadian Club in his suitcase. Mrs. Grigg wouldn't let Dougall drink. So one time they polished off the bottle of Canadian Club and decided to go to the bootlegger in Blind River to get another one. On the way back the fog rolled in and my dad had to get in the back seat, stick his head out the window, watch for the white line and keep Dougall on the right side of it. And they think we were crazy!!

TURK BRODA AND TRIPLE PLAY

(According to Greatest Hockey Legends, regarded as perhaps the best clutch goaltender of all time, Walter "Turk" Broda was "Mr. Maple Leaf" for 16 seasons, with two years lost to Canadian armed forces duty in World War II.)

My Dad was chairman of the Recreation Commission (in the 1950s) and in those days "Beach Day" was a big deal, celebrated on the Civic Holiday weekend. One year they brought in a real bunch of entertainers including some boxers from Toronto. But the highlight was Turk Broda and his Allstar softball team - sponsored by Labatts. They arrived on Train No. 3 which came in around noon.

Broda had ordered a large number of cases of beer and told my dad to have them available at the station as soon as the train pulled in. All clearly illegal of course. (Chapleau did not have licensed premises at that time.) My dad and Bubs (B.W. Zufelt, then the reeve of Chapleau) showed up in our car with the beer in the trunk and me in the back seat. The first guy they ran into was the single O.P.P. Constable in Chapleau at the time. Anyway, nothing happened and the team headed to the Boston Cafe for lunch. I was one of the lucky ones who got in for autographs.

Of course I can't tell you the names of all the players but Broda, Flem Mackell, Leo Labine and Joe Klukay were among them. I shared bat boy duties with Johnny Thornton and can distinctly remember what good ballplayers those hockey players were. They could have really beaten Chapleau but realized they were there to entertain and entertain they did! All I remember of the game was one inning when Broda's gang had a couple of guys on base and one of them hit into a double play. One of the hockey players, I think it was MacKell, jumped off second base in a phony attempt to steal third and Tommy Godfrey tagged him out. TRIPLE PLAY CHAPLEAU!! It was the only triple play I ever saw.

HIGHWAY 129 BETWEEN CHAPLEAU and THESSALON 'GOING DOWN THE ROAD'

Highway 129, connecting Chapleau and Thessalon, Ontario, was officially opened on a cold winter day on January 28,1949, after years of being a political football. It may not have been much more than a "turkey trail" through the bush, but a highway was a highway, and Chapleau's now had a highway connection to the wider world.

The opening, however, was marred by tragedy when T.J. Godfrey, whose great passion was the building of the highway, died of a heart attack while participating in the first drive over the highway.

But Mr. Godfrey saw his dream become a reality.

Like everyone, I have so many memories of trips over Highway 129, and each was an adventure unto itself. I am sure you do too. Please feel free to share them. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

When I was a kid, when someone said they were going for a "down the road" it meant Highway 129, not to be confused with railroaders saying they were going "out on the road".HIGHWAY 129 OPENED ON COLD WINTER DAY Click on Link for related story with more details.

Here is an incredible collection of photos on the highway sent to me. They bring back many memories too.

Hugh McMullen and George Crichton circa 1935  'down the road'

Enjoy a trip on Highway 129!

Pat Purich-Russell capturing the Fall colours along Highway 129 in Northern Ontario

Pat Purich-Russell, and her husband Ken, who also happens to be a long serving former Mayor of Chapleau, Ontario, took a drive recently  on Highway 129 through the Mississauga River area, Pat sent these photos that she took on their trip, bringing back memories of home in the beautiful Fall season. Thanks Pat and Ken.

Chapleau highway to outside world opened on cold winter day in 1949

Earle Sootheran, Tom Godfrey, Oliver Korpela

While it was often referred to as "a turkey trail through the bush," on January 28, 1949, in the midst of winter, Highway 129 was officially completed.

Since 1885 when Chapleau was founded as a divisional point on the Canadian Pacifc Railway, train travel was the only viable way of getting to and from the community. In 1947 the longest drive anyone could take was about 35 milles from town and the motor vehicle was considered a luxury. As a youngster I recall them arriving by rail at the old freight sheds on Lisgar Street.

A highway had been promised for many years and activity would begin around election time but after the votes were counted, it would cease. However, in 1948, a disastrous forest fire changed the dynamics as the provincial government offered opportunities to lumber companies.

Therefore, Highway 129 was completed to Thessalon, and turkey trail it may have been, but a highway was a highway, and it was a first step in improving Chapleau's transportation links with the outside world.

One of the major proponents for a highway over the years was Thomas Godfrey Sr. Mr. Godfrey, who was one of the early builders of Chapleau, played many roles in community life. He was reeve from 1914 to 1916, and at various times owned the pool room, the old as in "old old" arena on Lorne Street, as well as being an insurance agent, Notary Public and Indian Agent. He
was also an inventor and long time member of the Chapleau Town Band where he played the euphonium.

Writing in Chapleau Trails, edited and published by Dr. W.R. "Bill" Pellow, Betty (Good) Godfrey, the wife of Thomas Godfrey Jr.
wrote the following about her father-in-law and the completion of Highway 129.

"Tom Sr. lived to see his beloved Chapleau highway completed in 1949 and he was a member of the party that drove the first automobile across those last one hundred yards to join Chapleau to the outside world bu uniting two primitive bush roads. It was winter. The snow was heavy and deep. It was bitter cold day. The drive had been long and arduous, excitement was high, anticipation of this moment was trying on the healthiest and bravest, however it proved too much for Tom Godfrey and on that day when he was experiencing fulfillment, ultimate pleasure and satisfaction, he had a heart attack and died."

Interestingly the first car that made the trip over the new highway was not one from Chapleau it was a a northbound car from Thessalon owned by Frank Korpela and driven by Tom Carter. The Chapleau group heading south had turned back to Chapleau after the death of Mr. Godfrey. The car was new and was equipped with chains and snow tires.

According to a report in the February 3, 1949 Chapleau Post, there were bad road conditions and it was heavy with snow.

The report said that snow was measured on several occasions and was 8-10 inches on the highway and it was often necessary to stop and clear the snow from the grills of the car. On a few occasions it was necessary to shovel drifts in order to get through.

The two men did not make the trip in one day. They left Thessalon about 9:30 a.m in the morning but stopped at Lessards Camp along the way and finished the drive into Chapleau the next morning.

For some reason after the highway opened, the department of highways paved about a twelve mile stretch in the middle of nowhere near Aubrey Falls. I think they said they wanted to check the durability of pavement ina harsh climate.

Over the years Highway 129 was improved, but to me at least, it was always an adventure to travel it. By the Sixties, Highway 101 had been completed between Chapleau and Timmins and Wawa. However, the Ramsey Road continues to be a project unfulfilled for at least the past 50 years as promises are made and then broken to finally complete it.

However, Tom Godfrey Sr. and all those pioneer community builders deserve much credit, even to this day, on their efforts to open Chapleau to the outside world.

Just a note to express my thanks to all those who have been sending me emails about Chapleau Moments. So much appreciated and I am delighted to hear from all of you.My email is mj.morris@live.ca.