Canadian Pacific Railway kept pace with Chapleau in community's first 50 years

By 1888 Chapleau had a public library housed in a passenger coach with over two thousand volumes of "fine literature", according to a handwritten history of the community's first 50 years in the Richard Brownlee Papers.

The books were provided by Sir William Van Horne, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, a project that he apparently undertook in other communities too.

In browsing through the article, I decided to start with the anecdote about the donation by Mr. Van Horne which showed his interest in much more than just establishing Chapleau as a railway divisional point with a station, round house, etc. His interest in providing reading material is a story in itself for another day.

Back to the railway, the article says the "round house, a necessity in a railroad town had no doors and when the snow piled up, the section men shovelled it out. The oil was kept outside and had to be heated on stoves. The railroaders had a hard winter in those early days but they were hardy men".

D. O. Payette. who arrived in 1904 put living in Chapleau in context in those early years in an interview with the article writer.

Mr. Payette commented: "At least one half of Chapleau was bush. There were no electric lights and coal oil was used almost exclusively for lighting purposes. The stores and hotels used acetylene gas. The water supply was had from pitcher pumps which drew the water from well points driven into the ground at varying depths."

However, Chapleau continued to make progress as did the CPR by enlarging the shops and round house, building station, freight sheds, large ice house and building several dwellings.

Fast forward to the 1930s and the writers decided to "tell you someting of this busy little railroad town. It had become a divisional point where entire train crews were exchanged as well as engines which filled up with coal for the next part of the journey.

in 1937 an addition was added to the shops to house new enlarged engines. A new coal chutes was built at the north end of the Chapleau yards and it was there that all engines were filled with coal.

They added that "Like all such towns its prosperity depends a great deal upon the railroad. When the railway is busy, the town booms and a slump in the 'road' means a slump in the town's commerce". 

But railroading was not the only industry and that is a story for another day. Thanks again to Margaret Rose (Payette) and Bobby Fortin for the loan of Richard Brownlee Papers. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

NOTE Thanks to all who kept me informed about the recent storm, with special thanks to Lee Martin for photos of tree in my old yard on Grey Street. I planted that tree after the forest fire of 1948.

Dominion Day (now Canada Day) started with sound of cannon in Chapleau's early years

Dominion Day was a time for a "great holiday" celebration in the early years of Chapleau's history from six a.m. when a cannon sounded until a dance ended the festivities in the evening.

Actually, Dominion Day, now called Canada Day on July 1 was a major celebration to mark Canada's birth as a nation, for many years, first sponsored by the municipal council after 1901 when Chapleau became a municipality, and later Branch No. 5, (Ontario) of the Royal Canadian Legion.

According to Vince Crichton in his book 'Pioneering in Northern Ontario' the six a.m. salute to mark the beginning of the day's actvities was fired from an old cannon owned by Tom Lonergan. Mr. Lonergan had served in the military in India and Canada.

Dominion Day 1911

This tradition lasted many years as I remember the cannon sounding during my growing up years in the 1940s and 1950s.

As well as celebrating Canada's birthday, another main objective was to get everyone out to enjoy themselves and participate, and the program involved activities for all ages.

Dominion Day 1903

In the early years a giant parade formed at the rink located on Lorne Street at nine a.m. It was led by the Chapleau Brass Band.

Vince shared details on one parade. The children followed the band some being pulled in small wagons and each carrying a Union Jack or Red Ensign. As an aside I just recalled that houses and stores were decorated with flags for the occasion.

Dr. J.J. Sheahan organized this part of the parade and all children got five cents to spend. In later years J.M. 'Jack' Shoup, veteran of World War I and II, and long time principal of Chapleau Public School was in charge. I think we got ten cents. Mr. Shoup also was in charge of children's races.

J M Shoup far right 1950s

Horse drawn floats all decorated were in the parade and top prize was about five dollars.

Parades in Chapleau were always awesome.

Vince summed up those early years: "The enthusiasm and happy holiday spirit was further enhanced by the music of the band at intervals throughout the day and above all the shouting and huffing of the citizens,"

There were always sports activities including ball games between Chapleau teams and others who came from Schreiber, White River and Fort William. 

They may even have had their own car on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Common in those years. In fact, I recall our Bantam hockey team had our own car for  a trip to Sudbury in the 1950s.

There were also water sports and in the evening the day ended with a dance usually in the Town Hall basement.

I've kinda gone back and forth between the very early days, and later years in Chapleau, but I really wanted to share some photos from the early 1900s to Mr. Shoup's time in the 1950s. 

Dominion (Canada) Day celebrations were always such an important part of community life. Happy Canada Day. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

NAMES OF BAND

The Chapleau Brass Band taken at south-east corner of Birch and Lansdowne Street, 1905. They are as follows: 1 Mickey Lanigan, 2 Max Brunette, 3 Joe Windburn, 4 Dr. Jim Gillie, 5 Harry West, 6 Stanley Dexter, 7 J.B. Dexter, 8 unknown, 9 Tom Lonergan, 10 unknown, 11 unknown, 12 Fred Burrows, 13 D.O. Payette, 14 Alec Sweezy.

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St Jean Baptiste Day celebration rocks Town Hall walls with "excitement and merriment" with 800 suppers served to end day's activities

Gilbert Chevigny with his lamb

On St Jean Baptiste Day activities to mark the occasion sponsored by Chapleau's French Canadian Association attracted hundreds and the day was a great success, according to  Sudbury Star report. 

The report included in the Richard Brownlee papers does not have the year, but judging by the people in the photos, my best guess is around 1959 or 1960. The younger folks were among by good friends growing up in Chapleau in the 1950s. If anyone knows the exact year, please feel free to let me know.

Headed by association president A. R. Morin, the day began with High Mass sung by Rev. Father R. Marchand at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church with special music under the direction of Robert Labelle, with Gaetan Roussel at the organ.

Although rain interrupted the plan momentarily, it did not spoil the pleasure of the hundreds of children and their parents who packed the Town Hall to capacity, following the parade.

A highlight of the parade was St. Jean and his lamb, a real one, with six-year-old Gilbert Chevigny playing the role of St. Jean. There were seven floats plus hundreds of children in the parade.

The parade went from Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School to the town hall where Paul Belair took over as master of ceremonies.

names below

Singers in solo and groups included Jeannine and Rita Morin who also played the piano. Daniel Lemieux, Cheryl Martin and Mrs. Charles Ouellette played selections at the piano while the Frappier sisters entertained with their singing, as did Norman Bosse. Group members included Jacqueline Broyeau, Rejeanne Roussel, Rita Morin and Denise St. Jacques.

The article noted that "After the concert the real uproar began in the basement and the old town hall's walls rocked with excitement and merriment of hundreds of children in high spirits. A supper of beans to end all beans was served as the final event. It was estimated that 800 suppers were served not counting those who returned for seconds."

Members of the executive committee who worked with Mr. Morin to make the day a success included Paul Belair, A. Leclerc, Claude Bourget, I. Charlebois, M. Carbonneau, Maurice Chevigny, N. Roussel and Maurice Levebvre. 

Women also "shared the load in the preparation for the celebration and in carrying out duties to make the day a success," the Sudbury Star article noted. See photo.

names below

Once again I thank Margaret Rose (Payette) and Bobby Fortin for loaning me the Richard Brownlee papers. In working on this column I realized that Mrs. Jeanne Brownlee, the wife of Mr. Brownlee added to the papers after her husband died in 1951.  Mrs. Brownlee was a member of the St. Jean Baptiste Day committee. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

PHOTOS

Organizers included front row left to right: Napoleon Roussel, Paul Belair, Gaitan Rouseel, Father R. Marchand, A.R. Morin, R. Noiseaux. Second row: I. Charlebois, R. Charbonneau, O. Landry, R. Morin, M. Lefebvre. Back: E. Pineault, Claude Bourget, E. Leclerc, Lionel Ouellette

Ladies group members who also assisted: Front left to right Rejeanne Roussel, Ghislaine Longchamps, Lorraine Cormier, Rita Morin. Second row: Jeanine Morin, Mrs. Eddie Gionet, Mrs. Thomas Rioux, Mrs. J. Charlebois, Mrs. Andre Morin. Third row: Mrs. N. Roussel, Mrs. Aldred Leclerc, Mrs. Albert Longchamps, Mrs. Lorenzo Longchamps, Mrs. E. Pineault, Mrs. Jeanne Brownlee, Mrs. A.R. Morin.

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