GO CANADA GO at the Olympics while Justin is being Justin

MJM photo by Michael Pelzer

By Michael J Morris

My hunch is that most Canadians are much more interested right now in the Winter Olympics in Sochi than the biennial conference of the federal Liberals in Montreal, but I just can't resist mixing metaphors.

In 1967, when Dr. Jacques Goutor, who was one of my favourite History professors, arrived in Canada from France, the headlines in the first newspapers he saw were LEAFS WIN STANLEY CUP.  At the time Dr. Goutor had no idea who the Leafs were or what the Stanley Cup was, but when he found out, he told his wife this must be a pretty safe country if the top story was about a sporting event.

Dr. Goutor had been raised in France during World War II.

Judging by the frenzy on Facebook and Twitter where it seemed like everyone had become a sports commentator as Canadian athletes increased their medal count at the Winter Olympics, Dr. Goutor's point, albeit about hockey at the time, includes other sports too. Whatever may divide us politically disappears for the moment at least as the Olympic games gives us a common cause as  we  cheer on our athletes.

Too bad our politics has become so divisive.

Let's go to Montreal for a moment where the federal Liberals, for the past year led by Justin Trudeau, are putting on their face for the 2015 election.

Just before the convention, an IpsosReid/CTV News poll showed that 54% of Canadians shared Mr. Trudeau's values, up eight points over an earlier poll, centred around "innovative and forward thinking". 

Interestingly perhaps, the poll also shows that support has increased most in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario. The Prairie provinces in recent years have been pretty solidly Conservative, and of course still may be, but maybe, just maybe, folks there are tired of the same old, same old.

Having attended Mr. Trudeau's no frills meet and greet in Cranbrook last summer as he toured British Columbia in a motor home, it was obvious a new political style was emerging in Canada. I was impressed to be honest, and I have never been a card carrying liberal.

Jane Taber, writing in The Globe and Mail as the Liberal convention opened noted that the Liberal 2015 election campaign focus will be "all about Justin Trudeau".

Will  Justin being Justin work?  Too soon to tell methinks.

But, for the moment Canadians are preoccupied with our athletes at the Winter Olympics, and it is refreshing to follow the Likes, comments, tweets and retweets and cheers as we join together in our support of them. Dr. Goutor had it right but more sports are now included, and we do live in a great country. GO CANADA GO! My email is mj.morris@live.ca

This post also appears in the Cranbrook Guardian at http://livablecranbrook.blogspot.com

John Theriault asks 'Is this an alligator?' after 35 pound Northern Pike landed at Alcorn Lake near Chapleau

With warmer weather hopefully in sight, it seemed like a good time for a fishing story.

John Theriault kindly sent me a copy of 'Trespassing in God's Country' by his father George, who arrived in Chapleau in 1954 and founded Theriault Air Service. He had also served in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mr. Theriault now in his 94th year lives in Sault Ste. Marie.

Here is the story:
 
BY GEORGE THERIAULT from his book 'Trespassing in God's Country'
During our first year in Chapleau, I met Mr Ralph Stedman from Flint , Michigan. We had the pleasure of taking care of him and his son Larry for many years. He was such a naturally amicable man that within a year or two our business relationship turned into a long standing friendship between our families. 

In the fall of 1956 my five year old son, John, and I accompanied Mr. Stedman and his son Larry to our little tent camp on the north end of Nemegosenda Lake. I didn't have any boats at the site, so for safety we tied two canoes together--a 17 foot square stern with a 9.9 hp motor and a smaller 16 foot canoe, loaded with our gear. We motored down the river to Alcorn Lake and spent the better part of the day still fishing for walleye.

Once we had our fill of catching walleye in the holes along the shore,we decided to troll down the center of the lake. I was using a red and white daredevil in hope of tempting a northern pike to hit my line. Most northern pike are found in shallow water near weed beds where they feed on smaller fish. Ralph and Larry were using casting reels whereas I was using an Alcock spinning reel with about 300 yards of 6 pound test line. It wasn't monofilament line: it was actually made of silk like the thread used on parachutes.


All of a sudden I felt my line tighten, as if I had hooked into a huge log. Ralph immediately saw my line go down and told his son Larry, who was running the motor to turn around because he thought my line was snagged. There was no reverse on motors back then , so Larry turned the boat around and I held the rod up. We motored back up the river about a 100 feet. The line was still out another 200 feet. At this time I began to entertain doubts about this snag. Larry pushed the motor a little faster until we were a 100 feet from where the line was hugging the bottom. Only then did I coinfirm my suspicions that this had to be fish. Whatever was on the line took it on a run for another couple of 100 feet.

We had to wait 10 minutes to get a glimpse of the fish. As soon as it surfaced, I knew it was a northern. It barely stayed on the surface for a few seconds before it dove to the bottom, pulling at least 50 yards of line.Then it sulked and pulled and held the 6 pounds of drag. We sat in this suspended state for several minutes. I knew if I expected to land this fish , I had to make the next move.


I asked Larry to paddle the canoe so that I could put side drag on the line. The northern made a dash and we followed, running the motor slowly enough to keep the pressure on. After a few minutes of this chasing game, the fish stopped, turned 90 degrees and took off a little faster. By now we were in the middle of Alcorn Lake, at a depth of 30 feet and the fish still on the bottom. The pressure was so intense that I could only imagine that I had hooked a 15 pound northern by the tail.


It seemed we had been trailing this fish for an hour, but when I looked at my watch, it had only been about 20 minutes. My hands were sore and tired, but I wasn't about to give up until I had gotten a good look at my opponent. Finally the fish eased up and I could reel in some of the line. This time I got it within 30 feet of the boat. 


From our vantage point, we could see a huge northern. It looked like it was about 5 feet long. I knew my line couldn't handle much more pressure and I figured if this fish decided to take another dive to the bottom it was going to take all my line with it. I began to feel satisfied just to have seen this monster.


Just about the time I was giving up all hope of landing it, the line slackened. I quickly used the opportunity to reel in. My last ditch efforts to get the fish close to the boat paid off. Fortunately the fish seemed to have given up all its will power. By the time I got it within a foot of the boat, there was no fight left in this brute. Larry leaned over the boat and got his hand on the gills. 

With a litle help from  Ralph, he managed to hoist the fish into the small canoe.

My young son John took one very nervous look at the fish and said "Is that an alligator Mr. Stedman ?" His fear of the fish soon subsided and curiousity took over. He climbed over to the other canoe, examined it and decided it was the biggest fish or alligator he had ever seen. It was a huge one. The fish turned out to be a 35 pound northern--the biggest one I ever caught. We had the fish officially weighed and measured and the Stedmans took it home to have it mounted.

Chapleau Post Extra headline blares 'WE GOT IT' with Trans Canada Highway announcement in 1950

The Chapleau Post headline blared "WE GOT IT" in three languages on April 24, 1950 in the only Extra ever published by the local newspaper in its history.

Editor and publisher Arthur Simpson agreed to publish the Extra after chatting with Arthur Grout, of Smith and Chapple Ltd., if Chapleau was announced as being on the route of the Trans Canada Highway.

Mr. Simpson wrote that he almost cancelled the edition when the announcement was not forthcoming but Bill Collings, who happened to be listening to the popular CBC radio program "The Happy Gang" called  with the news that the show had been interrupted with a news bulletin.

Reeve Bubs Zufelt pointing out route

Chapleau was to be included on the route from the Quebec to Manitoba borders.

The Post carried the official announcement in bold face type: " The Trans Canada Highway will follow a route east to west from the Quebec boundary, Hawkesbury to Ottawa, swinging west to Peterborough, a long swing to the northwest will take it to Parry Sound, Sudbury, Chapleau, Schreiber, Nipigon, Port Arthur, Fort William, Dryden and Kenora. It is to be a two-lane concrete paved highway. CHAPLEAU is on the Trans Canada Highway."

Mr. Simpson called it a "momentous occasion" in Chapleau's history, while Richard 'Dick' Brownlee, one of the community's first citizens commented "I've had faith in Chapleau since I settled here when construction was still in progress on the CPR here."

Schools were closed and the celebration began marking what appeared to be the end of a 20-year battle to be located on the Trans Canada Highway.

After Mr. Grout had called the water pump house and instructed the pumper to blow the fire siren, police chief Jack Angove was all set to arrest him, but when told the news about the highway, no charge was ever laid.

Reeve B.W. 'Bubs' Zufelt told The Globe and Mail that he was "jubilant" that "half the world" would be driving down Chapleau's main street. In fact, a photo of Reeve Zufelt pointing to Schreiber showing the route the highway would go, appeared in the newspaper.

Chapleau was entering into its boom years of the 1950s, and Highway 129 to Thessalon was now open. The first vehicle officially travelled it on January 28, 1949. 

Tom Godfrey Senior, a Chapleau businessman and the community's second reeve from 1914 to 1916  had been one of the major backers of Highway 129, and on the very day that his dream came true, Mr. Godfrey died of a heart attack.

Highway 129

However, as time passed,  despite Chapleau's efforts, the Trans Canada Highway took the much more expensive route along Lake Superior from Sault Ste. Marie. Hardball politics at play of course!

The failure of Chapleau to be on the Trans Canada Highway even after Welland S. Gemmell, the local MPP and cabinet minister, told 2,200 Chapleau citizens at the official opening of the Chapleau Memorial Community Arena in February 1951, that it would be "definitely located" through the community was a major disappointment.

I remember the day of the announcement vividly. Hardly ever did I walk to or from Chapleau Public School with my mother, Muriel E (Hunt) Morris, but after the school was closed to mark the occasion, we were heading home at the same time. With us were some of my neighbourhood friends, yelling "WE GOT IT!" and kinda jumping for joy --  not Mom though --- however I am not sure we really fully understand what was happening, but school was closed for the day!

Thanks to Doug Greig and to Anne (Zufelt) McGoldrick for information. My email is mj.morris@live.ca