Official opening of Chapleau-Timmins Highway 101 connection in 1962 called 'banner day' in Northern Ontario history as aerial bombs exploded everywhere

Between Chapleau and Foleyet Hwy 101 construction

The Chapleau-Timmins Highway 101 connection was officially opened on June 23, 1962, with citizens awakened by the sound of aerial bombs exploding everywhere, making it a "banner day" in the history of Northern Ontario.
Ken Encil was in charge of the explosive start to the activities while Jack Baker, president of the Chapleau Chamber of Commerce, commented that the committee had gone "to great lengths to make this a banner day in the history of Northern Ontario, as indeed (the road) is making history for this part of the country.

Monster dances had been held the previous evening with the teenage dance on Pine Street across from the old Chapleau High School which had been illuminated with coloured lights and the adult dance in the Royal Canadian Legion Hall. The very popular Jim Lane was the master of ceremonies and in charge of music for both dances, and let me tell you, it was one great night in Chapleau for everyone. I was home from university for the summer and remember it all like it was only yesterday.

At 8:30 am. Chapleau vehicles proceeded to the Shawmere River, and were directed to stop west of the river and park under the direction of the Ontario Provincial Police. The directions were very specific as Timmins vehicles were to leave that city, not later than eight a.m. to arrive at the Shawmere not later than 10 a.m. and be "parked two cars wide facing west and must stop 300 feet short of the bridge..." A warning, "Don't forget the fly dope," was issued.

At 10 a.m "sharp" there was a tug of war competition on the bridge between two teams from Timmins and two from Chapleau lumber jacks. I have no idea all these years later who won, but the Timmins Canadian Legion Band was also there playing numbers before the opening ceremonies began.

Jim Wyatt of Timmins was master of ceremonies, while W.E. Brewer, Jack Baker, and Herb Curnow, presidents of the Porcupine, Chapleau and Foleyet chambers of commerce, gave short addresses. Rheal Belisle, MPP, introduced W.J. Goodfellow, the Ontario Minister of Highways who officiated at the official ribbon cutting after which Dr. J.B. McClinton, of Timmins, a pioneer promoter of the highway unveiled an historical plaque. Two years later when I became a reporter at the Timmins Daily Press, I came to know Dr. McClinton and what a great supporter he was of the development of Northern Ontario.

The parade then proceeded to Chapleau, and upon arrival at the outskirts of town, headed by the Chapleau Town Band and with the assistance of the Timmins Legion Band, Timmins Lions Sea Cadet Band, Chapleau High School Girls Bugle Band, Chapleau Pipers, drum majorettes from Timmins, CHS Cadet Corps the procession of vehicles and floats headed into town. It ended up at the Town Hall. Charlie Law and Willard Morrison were parade marshals.

After the parade Balloon Man Ernie Holden and 101 Pennant Man Casey Nowakoski could be found at the beach area where as usual J.M. "Jack" Shoup was in charge of the activities for children. The usual activities associated with Chapleau celebrations took place with the added attraction of a fire brigade competition on Pine Street between teams from Chapleau, Timmins, Porcupine, Tisdale and Schumacher all organized by Fire Chiefs Ad Andrews of Chapleau and Stanley of Timmins.

A challenge grudge softball game was held between Chapleau council and all stars led by Reeve D.J. "Jim" Broomhead and Timmins led by Mayor Leo Del Villano.

I never seem to have the winners of competitions in Chapleau, so if anyone remembers, please feel free to let me know. If you have photos please let me know.

As I look at the program all these years later, it was a non-stop weekend in Chapleau with activities for people of all ages and it brought visitors to the community from everywhere -- or so it sure seems. The organizing committee was chaired by Arthur J. Grout assisted by Ted Demers and Jim Wyatt. Committee members came from every organization.

On the same weekend, the executive of the Sudbury and District Municipal Association held a meeting in Chapleau, and Ontario cabinet minister W.J. Spooner officially opened the Five Mile Lake Provincial Park.

On Saturday evening as soon as it was "sufficiently dark" there was a fascinating outdoor picture show on two screens organized by Yvon Martel assisted by Ted Demers and Eric Gage while near the end of an amateur show in the town hall auditorium there was a playback of a record made some 10 years earlier by Chapleau proponents of Highway 101. Speakers on it were B.W. "Bubs" Zufelt, the reeve of Chapleau in 1951, and Charles W. Collins, A.E. Evans and Mr. Grout. all citizens who in their time were devoted to the best interests of the community. I wonder if anyone still has this recording, a very important historical document.

A giant fireworks display organized by Tommy Godfrey and his crew brought the day's activities to a close

'All Aboard' for a trip from the era of passenger train travel on the CPR as David McMillan travels between Chapleau and Montreal in the sleeping car Rutherglen in the 1940s

David, Grade 11, 1957 from Ian Macdonald

UPDATE: DAVID McMILLAN DIED IN WINNIPEG ON MAY 3,2012. REST IN PEACE MY GOOD FRIEND. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES.
When David McMillan, the son of the late Margaret and Leslie McMillan phoned to tell me that he was coming to Cranbrook, B.C., with his wife Bev and son Chris, where I now live, I knew it would be a fascinating trip down memory lane as we planned to visit the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel located here. We had a great visit and museum tour, and I asked David if he would share his memories about passenger train travel between Chapleau and Montreal to visit family. Here are David's memories, as he takes us back to the wonderful era of passenger train travel in Canada on the Canadian Pacific Railway.

David wrote: "I was fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity to be transported back to that era in the early part of April 2010 when I re-connected with Michael Morris in Cranbrook. Tucked away in the south-eastern section of B.C. is a city that is home to a railroad museum whose main claim to fame is a collection of baggage, coach and sleeping cars from the first half of the last century. One of the cars on display is the C.P.R.'s sleeping car " Rutherglen " that is a member of the renowned 'R ' class of sleepers that were a staple on the Dominions that ran through Chapleau daily.

"They were a heavy car that stabilized the rock and rolling effect experienced on older cars with older suspensions. I recall my parents feeling quite fortunate upon learning that our sleeping car reservations indicated we'd be travelling in an "R" car and the ride was never disappointing. I specifically and unequivocally remember having travelled in the " Rutherglen " in the 40s because at the time I associated it with Wayne Riddell, the son of the CPR policeman in Chapleau, who'd often visit his grandmother in Rutherglen which is a small town on the CPR mainline between North Bay and Mattawa.

"To understand the reason behind the numerous round trips I was fortunate enough to be able to make with my Mother and sister Alison between Chapleau and Montreal on Trains # 8 and # 7 during the 40's through to the early 50's, one has to be aware of the fact that both my parents were born and raised in the Montreal area. According to his CPR record card, my Dad hired on as a fireman in Smith Falls, ON on December 18, 1918 and began his service in Chapleau on New Year's Eve 1919. Between this date and September 30, 1940 he was laid off / set up a total of 7 times each with the longest span being a ten year time frame during the Depression. During the span between 1929 - 1939 he worked in Montreal West, met and married my Mom and they ultimately began their family with my arrival just as the Depression was winding down. By 1941, the prospect of continuing employment was deemed sufficient enough to move the family to Chapleau which was completed sometime that year.

"CPR employees were eligible to apply for passes for free rail travel by their dependents and this was the crucial element that gave us the opportunity to make the trips to and from Montreal several times each year. Although the foliage changed depending upon the time of year ( lakes losing their winter coat of ice at Easter, the return of the trees' summer attire as we began our summer holidays away from the classroom, the leaves beginning to turn by the end of August as we headed back Chapleau and a new school year and snow galore during the Christmas - New Year's break ) the routine remained constant.

"The call to 149 ( why I remember that number so vividly I don't know ) began the process and almost before you hung up the phone Len Perfetto would be at the door to take our bags out to his taxi and off we headed over the infamous horseshoe bridge to the station to catch # 8 before its late afternoon departure for points East.

"From that point on, the pattern was consistent on virtually every trip. Shortly after departing Chapleau, someone from the dining car would come by our Section or Bedroom to determine our sitting preference for supper in the dining car. If I remember correctly, there were 3 time frames you could choose from that prevented line-ups and waits. The Steward would make 3 evenly-spaced return trips to the sleeping cars behind the diner that calling out " First call for dinner, second call for dinner " and so on. When our sitting time came, I can remember walking by the kitchen and marvelling at the way staff went about their duties over the stoves and standing in the aisle taking and writing up meal orders as the train continually rocked back and forth on the curves that abound on the Chapleau to Cartier portion of the trip.

"It wouldn't be too long after returning to our Section or Bedroom that we'd pull into Cartier and head for the lunch room which was the part of the station that was particularly popular with those travelling in day coaches. These passengers from cars at the front end of the train were only able to obtain a limited variety of foodstuffs ( chips, peanuts, pop and the like ) from the Newsie so the soup, sandwiches, pie and desserts available at the station lunch counters across the system were welcomed and very well utilized.

CPR Passenger Train at station in 1946

"Less than an hour later we'd roll into Sudbury after leaving the topography of the Canadian Shield behind for the time being and entering the pocket of farmland that stretches from Chelmsford through to North Bay. By this time dusk, and / or darkness depending upon the time of year, had set in and if you were fortunate enough with the timing, you were able to watch the sky glow red as molten slag was being dumped by the Inco mining operation in Copper Cliff.

"The Sudbury stop-over automatically came with a trip to the spacious restaurant at the west end of the station that, if I remember correctly, had a couple of horseshoe counters complete with stools and a menu that offered a variety of selections beyond those available in either Cartier or Chapleau.

"In later years the CPR reverted to operating one transcontinental train in each direction daily that was either split or amalgamated in Sudbury. Trains heading east were divided into sections destined for either Montreal or Toronto and the reverse took place when trains from Montreal and Toronto were combined into one train headed for Vancouver. This process usually took 45 minutes and one had to be very observant when getting back on board in order to reach your proper destination. I've often wondered how many passengers ended up heading South to Toronto when they were supposed to be going East to Montreal. As the age of majority was attained, a lot of us abandoned the CPR restaurant for the Ledo Hotel but this came with a necessity to keep an eye on the clock given that the Conductor or Head-end Brakeman weren't obligated to cross the street to the Ledo and holler " All Aboard ".

"Shortly after leaving Sudbury and retiring for the night we would put our shoes in a compartment that was basically a hole in the wall between our sleeping quarters and the aisle of the car. There were small doors on either side and the awe that came with waking up Christmas morning to find gifts under the tree was re-created the next morning when you opened the door of the compartment on your side and discovered freshly polished shoes that shone with their brilliance. I don't recall how old I was before I came to realize that this overnight magic was the work of the porter who oversaw our every need throughout the entire trip."

"North Bay was reached by midnight but by that time I'd be in the upper bunk dreaming, with anticipation, to the reunion with my Grandmother, Aunt and Uncle the next morning. With daylight coming so early in June, I always got a kick out of gazing out the window as we rumbled through the downtown cores of Pembroke, Renfrew, Arnprior, Carleton Place and a few others before reaching the Nation's Capital around 7:00 a.m.

"Until I was old enough to grasp an understanding of directions and the track routing, I was confused about why we had to cross the Ottawa River twice .. from Ottawa West where there was a head-end crew change, over the River to Hull and then past the mammoth E.B.Eddy plant with its piles of saw logs. Shortly thereafter a second Ottawa River crossing was made that took us along the Rideau Canal where, if you looked skyward you would be gazing at either Parliament Hill or the Chateau Laurier depending which side of the car you were sitting on.

"The Ottawa Station has been transformed into a Conference Centre and the multitude of tracks that were needed to accommodate the large number of local trains that served the area are long gone although they remain fresh in my mind. The two hour jaunt to Montreal took us over the flat farmland that is the St. Lawrence Lowland and the roadbed was, in most cases, flat and straight which gave the Royal Hudsons on the head-end a chance to let it all out. This capability came to the fore once the Ottawa River was crossed one more time and the island of Montreal reached at a point where the CPR and CNR mainlines run parallel for the 30 or so miles into the city. More often than not there would be a CNR train running alongside and I'm certain to this day there were friendly races taking place between the rival engineers. For entertainment along this stretch, I'd be on the lookout for aircraft heading to or from Montreal's Dorval airport and before long, it was into the Montreal West station and the arms of the the Quebec side of the family.

"In those years things didn't change as quickly as they do these days and one never dreamed that experiences of this sort would ever end. I've retained some pictures from those days and an inventory of memories that I look back on with a fondness and, at times, a longing to be able to return to a time when life appeared to be much simpler and not as complicated.

"To stand in the same aisle and walk between the made up upper berths that were a repeat of something I'd done 60 odd years ago generated a feeling of nostalgia that was both exhilarating and dumbfounding. With thoughts and recollections of all that had taken place in my lifetime between this 2010 visit to the Rutherglen and my 1940s connection with the exact same sleeping car was a definite appreciation of the experiences and opportunities afforded me while growing up in the Friendliest Town in the North "

Thanks for the memories David.

In 2001, David's sister Alison was here with her husband Michael McMullen and his brother Keith,( my cousins) to visit the railway museum (http://trainsdeluxe.com/ ), and Dr. G.E. "Ted" Young has also been here to visit. Gordie Woods drove Dr. Young's motor home across the country and we had a wonderful visit. During the railway museum tour, Dr. Young reminsced about train trips he took as a boy travelling with his family to visit family in British Columbia, as well as during the years when he was attending Queen's University to study medicine. He also recalled his trips back and forth to New York City by train when he was at Columbia University. "Let me tell you," as Dr. Young would often say, he impressed the tour guide with his first hand knowledge of the early days of passenger train travel. Warmest regards "Doc."

Other cars on display include the dining car Argyle, Somerset, Glen Cassie, River Rouge, and Day Parlour Car Number 6751.
My email is mj.morris@live.ca

PHOTO INFORMATION: Perhaps the McMillan family arrived home on this passenger train shown in a 1946 photo of the Chapleau CPR yards. Also in photo from left are water tank, ice house, smokestack of the C.P.R. power and steam plant, old original coal shutes for filling engine tenders, car barns, new coal shutes. Photo from Vince Crichton collection, courtesy of Dr. Vince Crichton

Forest fire evacuation of Chapleau in 1967 called 'masterpiece of planning' even though roast found in with the shoes

As Chapleau life returns to normal after after the power outage of 2010, it was in June 1967, 43 years ago, that a forest fire resulted in the evacuation of about 90 percent of the community's residents.

(See end of story for map explanation.)

Charlie Purich, who was working as a purchasing agent for the department of lands and forests recalled that the fire in 1967 that evacuated the town was called 69-8. 69 stood for the District and 8 was the eighth fire that year. The fire started Friday June 2 just north of Montreal Lake and Mosquito Lake in 13G township and its perimeter as of 21:15 June 3 was 3250 acres and On June 4 at 11:00 hrs. it was 3300 acres. Then it spread to 3550 acres by 14:00 hrs. Then to 4450 acres by 17:00 hrs. Then to 5000 acres by 17:30 hrs. On June 5 at 07:15 it was 5800 acres and then it started to die.

Charlie added that it started in 13 G Township and followed the west side of Sideburned Lake and the east side of Highbrush Lake crossing Highway 101 and continuing on a direct path toward the town. The fire broke out about 12 miles southwest of Chapleau on the south side of Highway 101 west.

Reporting on the fire in its June 8, 1967, edition, the Chapleau Sentinel said that tractor trailers loaded with bulldozers and other equipment were rushed to the area to create fire breaks. However, by Sunday morning at daylight the fire aided by higher winds had jumped Highway 101 and was headed to Chapleau.

District Forester Jim Keddie had advised Reeve T.C. "Terry" Way-White of the situation and a meeting was held in the Town Hall at 11 a.m. attended by the council and other citizens as well as lands and forests personnel and Ontario Provincial Police. The decision was made to evacuate the municipality and the order was given by Mr. Way-White. The exodus began on Sunday afternoon with between 800-900 vehicles beginning the trek out of town after the signal had been given to evacuate. There were 90 boxcars in the CPR yard and a hospital train had left Sudbury to assist with the emergency. At its peak, nearly 400 firefighters were on the scene.

The Sentinel reported that even given the awkwardness of the old horshoe overhead bridge the traffic flow was steady and even and no tieups occurred. The newspaper referred to the evacuation as a "masterpiece of planning" with a committee headed by Mr. Way-White with J.M. "Jack" Shoup and township clerk Ollie Carlson assisting with general directions. Other members included Gene Bernier, communications; Roy May, transportation; Jim Broomhead, those in hospital and in need of special care; Con Schmidt, the contact for reception of evacuees in other communities; OPP Cpl. Ron Lewis and Fire Chief Ad Andrews, policing and safety. George Nutkins and Doug Kavanaugh of the CPR and Chief Forest Ranger Lawless Cecile and Deputy Chief Ranger Lloyd Woods also played major roles during the emergency.

For the record, Charlie and others have been providing me with details on this fire for some time before the power outage caused by a forest fire near Wawa.

Charlie also noted that "When the town was evacuated we assisted the OPP with our Lands and Forests trucks, patrolling the streets and it was an eerie feeling late at night."

By Monday, some rain had fallen and the evacuation order was lifted. Chapleau residents began to return home.
I posted a request for memories from the 1967 fire on Facebook and here are the responses:

Hugh McGoldrick "Michael, I will always remember Veda Warren saying,"I'm not leaving town 'til the walls of (her) house get hot." I guess she never did leave, but it sure sounded funny to me that this sweet little defiant lady was going to 'stand up' to the fire. She clearly had a pioneer spirit.

"Meanwhile, the McGoldricks and the two Jardine families on Grey St. (Doug and Don) were somewhat less defiant and we all went to Least Lake. I think we stayed at Mammy and Pappy Jones' camp. When we arrived there was a duck in the camp that had pooped everywhere. So we had to clean the camp and then find sleeping arrangements for the 15 or so of us. It was cozy but fun.

Ann (Card) Morin: "Since I was only 11 yrs old it seemed more like a camping trip, although we a knew that the town was in grave danger. I also remember feeling pretty important that our town was mentioned in the House of Commons. In the end I was just pleased to have an early start to summer and return to town to find that my new bicycle had not perished in the fire...important considerations for an 11 year old.

"I remember we went to Mulligan's Bay, Uncle George and Auntie Olive's (Boucher) Camp ...mass confusion my mother packed me all tops no bottoms ... we found the roast in with the shoes. It was scary because my Dad had to stay home with the fire department... we could see the smoke from the camp."

Suzanne (Comte Weber) "My grandfather said that the wind would change and the town will be ok. So our family, probably one of the few didn't leave town. I remember walking around town , it was so deserted, hoses all over. houses being watered down. What a memory it was."



Kate Laframboise " I remember strong smell of smoke and the sky was gray.My sister Janet drove us to Timmins, with the exception of my two eldest brothers and my father Bucko. We stayed in a hotel for a couple of days and then heard everything was okay to return."

Eugene Bouillon "I remember a bunch of us kids riding around on our bikes, with bandanas on our faces, covering our noses from the smoke. The smoke was so thick, sometimes, you could not even see the Ball park from our place. Embers were falling all over King Street and even over to Elgin Street. We went to Foleyet, and stayed with some people there."

Joan Lapointe Gauthier "I remember the fire very well. We were living on King Street and my grandfasther kept hosing down the house because of the live embers. I had a Uncle Tom who had had a stroke and was in hospital and we took him home with us. My mom Evelyn Lapointe was working at the hospital and they were delivering a baby when the alarms sounded. I packed as much of the personal belongings as possible into our car. I'm not sure as to what happened to Uncle Tom but if my memory is correct I think he was taken to Sudbury by train. My grandfather was adamant about not leaving the house and we stayed that night after the evacutation order but did go to Foleyet the next day and came home that evening. You could hear the bulldozer as clear as a bell cutting a fire break into the bush behind the houses on the bush side of King Street."

Johanne Wilson: "Roger and other men were helping to put people on the trains. I took my Dad's car and loaded the 3 boys along with some valuables, and so did our neighbour at the time and ,we drove to Sudbury. Waited there for our husbands to come... " When it was safe, we returned home, all ended well."

The Sentinel was also reporting that Eddie Shack was in town the weekend following the evacuation as guest speaker at the Chapleau Junior "B" Huskies banquet as part of their celebration on winning the NOHA Junior "B" championship, and the Scouts and Cubs were holding their annual Father-Son banquet. Life returned to normal very quickly. In years to come, I am sure many stories will be told about the great power outage of 2010. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

p.s. I was working in Toronto at the time of the  1967 fire but my mother, Muriel E. Morris was in Chapleau. Mom refused to leave her home.

 MAP PROVIDED BY CHARLIE PURICH  It is the actual map prepared by personnel at the "Point" during that fire.


Colours showing spread of fire:
Red----------June 2

Yellow------June 3
Blue---------June 4
Orange----June 5