Michael 'Pat' Swanson: "Go Huskies Go!"

Chapleau Int A Huskies

For more than 20 years, Michael 'Pat" Swanson was among the leading players who greatly defined Chapleau hockey at three different levels.

My first memory of Pat was watching him head behind the Chapleau goal, pick up the puck from Doug Prusky and be in full stride as he skated past goaltender David McAdam, with wingers Garry Prusky and Ernie Chambers in position for another Chapleau Huskies power play.

The crowd, likely over 1,000 in the Chapleau Memorial Arena started to chant "Go Huskies Go" and away these players from the Chapleau Junior "B" Huskies of the International Junior "B" Hockey League went, scoring another power play goal.

I was the referee that night in the Chapleau Memorial Arena, having recently returned to Chapleau and was teaching at Chapleau High School. 

Here is a quick glimpse from those years in which Pat was at the centre of the action.

 Pat and his fellow players really emerged on the Chapleau hockey scene in 1965-66 their first year as Bantams when they won the Division 'B' Championship in the popular Lasarre Tournament. They repeated in 1966-67 and in 1967-68 topped it off winning the Division 'A' title as well as the Nothern Ontario Playground Hockey Association championship. David Mizuguchi and David Futhey coached and managed these teams.

 I recall having coffee with Don and Olive Card in their kitchen when I would be home for a visit ands they would tell me these "kids are good". Don and Olive, who were involved in minor hockey for years, were right.

By the 1970-71 season in the International Junior 'B' Hockey league the  Huskies were off to a fast start with Earle Freeborn as coach, finding themselves "all alone in top spot" after two weeks of play, according to Keith 'Buddy' Swanson, who doubled as hockey writer for the Chapleau Sentinel and team manager at the time. 

Buddy, Pat's older brother  noted that the Huskies were "keyed up by their already high scoring trio of Pat Swanson, Ernie Chambers and Garry Prusky" who accounted for 10 of 12 goals. They defeated their archrivals the Wawa Travellers to gain first place.

Buddy was instrumental in founding the Junior 'B' Huskies of the International Junior 'B' League in 1966-67, with Tom Welch and Lorne Riley.

By 1974, the Bantams were now overage for Junior hockey, and some were away at  school and others were working.

A delegation visited me in 1974 and asked if I would assist them in reviving Intermediate hockey. In 1975, we attended the annual meeting of the recently formed Northland Intermediate Hockey League, and were accepted.

It was not supposed to be but in the beginning I was coach and manager.

Very few people know that the Chapleau Intermediate 'A' Huskies may have folded after their first game in Timmins against the Northstars, who became their archrivals, had it not been for Pat Swanson.

After being soundly defeated by the Northstars I sat on the bench alone thinking it all over, and Pat appeared.

Pat was attending Sheridan College at  the time, but had come home for the opening game.

"We need some players," he said, expressing the obvious, even though we had the core team. "I can get us some," Pat said. At that moment, Pat became chief scout and recruiter.

David McMillan and Paul 'RP' McDonald were the first to arrive, both of whom were attending college with Pat. The rest is history. Others came. The team lasted four years just long enough to defeat the Timmins Northstars in the semi finals, which was like winning the Stanley Cup.

Pat  and Paul also coached a minor hockey team in the 1978-79 season and it participated in a tournament in Senneterre. 

Pat, back top left with Senneterre team

In a recent exchange of emails with Danny Vaughan who joined the team, we were reminded of a trip to Florida several of us made at the end of one season, packed into Pat's International Jeep. This was long before GPS and texting, so my job was to talk with truckers on the CB Radio to get us through traffic jams. Danny also caught a shark and sea turtle.

In Florida, Pat "Huskies Hockey"

Throughout its history, Chapleau has had many outstanding hockey players and teams who warmed up many cold Winter nights in the first outdoor community rink to the old rink to the Chapleau Memorial Arena to the Mrs A.W. Moore Arena in the recreation centre. Pat and his generation were certainly among them

I had my last conversation with Pat in January 2012 when he sent me a message. Let me share a bit of it.

"How are things MJ", to which I replied fine and asked how he was.

Pat shared that he had some health issues but was recovering, adding that although some things were going slow, "I even went for a skate yesterday for the first time in four years."

Bill Scheer, Pat, Graham Bertrand playing(?) donkey baseball

He told me he couldn't find a puck but had a hockey stick so used a ball --- later he went and bought some pucks.

I teased him a bit about maybe we should start another Intermediate 'A' team to which he replied, "OK, can I be the captain?"  When I replied, "You can be captain", Pat said, "Thanks Chief".

He also shared that he had his children and grandchildren near him and commented, "They are priceless".

Our conversation ended with Pat's comment "Don't be a stranger Michael. Take care and talk at you later". We planned to meet at the Chapleau High School reunion in 2012 but it didn't happen.

Pat, my friend, you will never be a stranger to me or Chapleau hockey fans who watched you and your teammates from Bantam, to Junior to Intermediate bring great hockey to our community for over 20 years. Thanks for the memories and "Go Huskies Go!".

Michael 'Pat' Swanson died on July 2, 2014. He was 61.

My email is mj.morris@live.ca 

CPR running trades in early days part of great railway experience, Harry Pellow writes

         

Harry 'Butch' Pellow 2012

 Harry  'Butch' Pellow, a member of one of Chapleau's earliest families, is better known as one of Canada' foremost architects, but took time to share the history of some of the early days of the running trades on the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Harry is the son of the late Aldythe and C.A. 'Bill' Pellow. He was the architect for the Chapleau Civic Centre, Chapleau Recreation Centre, Cedar Grove Lodge, Chapleau General Hospital and the golf club house.

His brother, Dr. William R. 'Bill' Pellow assisted with the research for this article.

On a personal note, Butch is my lifelong friend, and once again I thank him. 

by Harry 'Butch' Pellow

In the beginning trains were run by commonly understood rules; communications were sent  in Morse code and later telephone and then combined into multiple copies on a parchment type paper and transcribed by dispatchers along the line. Conductors and enginemen were guided by cross-Canada Company timetables which instructed arrival and departure times, distances between sidings and which trains had priority and which did not. There were frequent changes in instructions originally given, and it was a challenge to ensure that information was properly transcribed and passed to engine crews en route.  This was not a perfect system and injury and even death were commonplace.  Today we take so much for granted.  If we have a true emergency we just dial 911 and there is a response network at hand already placed in active mode to relieve stress and within a few minutes we are whisked away and into an emergency unit of a hospital and treatment begins immediately. It was not so on the CPR in the early days.  

          The most dangerous area for the brakemen was with the couplers that held the train together. They became a symbol of the perils of railroading and, known as the link and pin system, were responsible for thousands of injuries.  The brakeman was required to hold the link in one hand and the pin in another and split timing was essential to make the connection between the cars. 

Dr Bill with his father "Bill" Pellow

One fraction off in timing or a slip and there could be loss of fingers and hands and even death. On occasion the brakemen were crushed between two cars being coupled. The Railway Safety Act corrected this dangerous occupational hazard in 1893. In the early years collisions in various forms occurred frequently resulting in death and life threatening injury. It was not uncommon for Chapleau’s shop whistle to signal such an event and we recall even in our own lifetime the signal that would alert every home and every person that some serious accident has taken place and alerted those who must to be ready to come to the station ground and be prepared to assist. 

Chapleau station 1886

          Chapleau is mid-way between Cartier (Nemegos Subdivision) a distance of 136.4 miles and White River (White River Subdivision) a distance of 129.9 miles and a hundred years ago the travel time would have been 4 to 5 hours between each of these points. By the 1940’s transcontinental passenger runs would have this timing chopped to 3 hours and 10 minutes. As we know, transcontinental passenger service is no longer provided in Chapleau and so too, the sights, sounds and smells of the old iron horse are extinct.

          

A glance at a early photo of engine 275, the first came to Chapleau  in 1896,  is what were referred to as “the ‘small power tea-kettles”.  They were designed to handle in the order of 400 tons which compared with engine “1950” the largest ever built prior to 1909 and later the 5433 which handled in excess of 1940.  These are numbers most relevant to the men who ran the engines but demonstrate some relevance to the scale of equipment required to pull loads through Chapleau in its trek westward.

Engine 1950 (Ian Macdonald collection)

          In a very short time from the late 1880’s into the early 1900’s there was a transition from wood burning steam locomotives to those using coal for fuel. Automatic stokers were still somewhere in the horizon and not yet invented.  The engineers of the day were constantly alert to the level of his coal and water and to run short on either was a fault.  To run out completely was a serious offence and was unforgivable.  To run out of water and have your boiler explode, and if you survived, meant termination from the Company. The tenders were small and fuel and water needed replacement often. No wonder that the location of stations were originally determined by the presence of both wood for fuel and water for steam. It would take a few more years to see boilers that moved “superheated steam” and had a pressure of 275 psi.  Engineman of the day were truly engineers and demanded respect which they received.  The “butchers”, who were engineers without skill in handling an engine or the braking would wear their firemen down in short order by abusive handling of the controls and the engine crew were constantly on the deck hand firing. In the day the engineer was call “sir”.  

Chapleau Yard 1886

    

          Life as an enginemen was not a comfortable job in summer or winter but in winter canvas hung down from the ceiling to keep out the cold and the effects of Northern Ontario’s severe weather; there was the penetrating sub-zero cold and the snow and rain.  The wind chill factor was unheard of and if it was 50 or 60 below (F) outside it was almost as cold inside the cab despite the boiler heat or the stoker’s coals. The windows were ill fitting and often opened for visibility. One’s comfort was not a consideration but “running the night express on time and on schedule was critical”.

          Life as a fireman demanded strength and endurance, patience and understanding. There was   a stability pole placed in the cab for the fireman to back into and provide a fulcrum and swivel point   as he shoveled coal from the tender into the firebox and the novice, not used to the sway and roll of the engine, would invariably be hurled off balance and his shovel of coal would wind up at the feet of the engineer and not in the firebox.  Not a popular move. The prospect of promotion was motivation to persist however; and the possibility of a prestigious job as engineer with better pay, better schedules and respect made it worthwhile. 

          This column briefly describes life for the running trades in Chapleau in 1900 when the Railway was little more than a dream; but yard, rail and line maintenance, passenger comfort including awesome dining service, sleeping car accommodation, refrigerated water and ice cooled Pullman cars; and of course their signature hotels, were a very big part of the great railway experience that was created as well, and it lasted for over 125 years. We will never understand or enjoy it again.

Gordon Bolduc recalls summers of swimming, camping, fishing and call of loons at Loon Lake

Gordon with big catch

Summer camping at Loon Lake (now called Borden Lake), brings back cherished memories for Gordon Bolduc of his growing up years in Chapleau.

Born and raised in Chapleau, Gordon is the son of the late Audrey (Robinson) and Gordon Bolduc. His grandmother Barbara (McWatch) and family travelled to the Chapleau area around the beginning of the 20th Century by canoe from James Bay to Missanabie, then moved to Chapleau, one of the first Cree families to locate in the community.

She married Joseph Telesfore Bolduc, who died while on active service in the Canadian armed forces serving in Egypt in World War I.

In 1932, the Chapleau Post reported that Gordon's great grandmother Mary McWatch commonly called "Grannie" celebrated her 101st birthday in Chapleau. Born in Moose Factory on April 1, 1831, moved to Chapleau about 1896. She and her husband Jacob had 10 children and seven still lived in Chapleau.  Mrs. McWatch died at age 104.

Gordon enjoyed camping at Loon Lake and in an email wrote: "It was a summer of swimming, fishing, open-pit fires, roasting wieners and marshmellows, beer for the adults, pop for the kids.  Sleeping in the cabin with open windows to feel the cool air off the lake and the eerie calls of the Loons."

He recalled that as a child he spent his summer holidays there.  "Highway 101 did not exist so my aunt Toots and uncle Clifford Corston would hire a taxi and load the freighter onto the taxi then go to Devon to a place called the JackLadder." His aunt  Toots (Myrtle) was married to Clifford and their daughter was Candi.

Clifford, Gordon, Candi

 "We  would load up the freighter with our supplies and head north up the lake with his 5 Hp engine.  We often met log booms or windy weather which would delay us for a few extra hours until we reached the log cabin my uncle had rented.  It usually took us 4-5 hrs. 

 "Candi was a little girl who would sleep in the bow of the canoe.  We sometimes stopped for a lunch of sandwiches, cookies, tea or pop.  My uncle Clifford dug a root cellar at the cabin to keep our meagre supply of perishables cool.  No more supplies because we were usually out there for 2-3 weeks.

"Once settled in we usually would go back onto the lake to fish or visit friends who went there as well.'

Toots and Clifford

Others who would spend time there included  George and Evelyn Corston; Tony and  Kitty Cachagee with their son Bill;  and Jimmy, Tom, Percy (Mutt) Cachagee. 

Gordon added that his mother, sister Linda, and father  would visit occasionally until they  built a camp in Warehouse Bay. 

Thanks Gordon for sharing these cherished memories from growing up in Chapleau. They will assuredly bring back memories of many who went "camping" before the highways arrived and camps became cottages. 

Boo and Gordon

The photo of Gordon playing table hockey with the late Harry 'Boo' Hong is from a collection sent to me by Gemma Ouellet. Again, this photo will evoke very fond memories of Boo and the Hong family, and playing at the Boston Café. Thanks Gemma. My email is mj.morris@live.ca