St. John's Parish House completed in 1919 became 'The Legion' a lasting landmark in history of Chapleau

From St. John's Parish House completed in 1919 to the Royal Canadian Legion Hall of today, the building is a "lasting landmark" in the history of Chapleau. 

Writing about the hall in 2006 in his Snapshots of Chapleau's Past article, the late George Evans wrote "May it still be going strong  in 2019, serving the town and always reminding those who took the time to lean back and read the inscription above the door of the sacrifice and pain of the barbarous 20th century."

The inscription reads: "St. John's Parish House. In memory of Lt. Lorne W. Nicholson and all those who voluntarily gave their lives in the Great War. Erected by his father and mother A.D. 1919. John 15:13." There was an official opening in 1920.

Mr. Evans noted that it is "significant" that Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson did not put their names on the inscription. They were content be remembered as the father and mother of Lorne Nicholson.

John 15:13 reads: "Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends". (KJV)

Lorne W. Nicholson. the son of George and Charlotte (Weller) Nicholson, went overseas with the First Chapleau Platoon of the famous 227th Battalion of the Sudbury Manitoulin Algoma Overseas Battalion (Men 'O the North). He was killed in action on November 4, 1918, one week before World War I ended.

Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson included all those who gave their lives in the war.

His father was the first reeve of Chapleau serving from 1901 when Chapleau was first incorporated in 1901 until 1913, while his mother was one of the community's first school teachers. Mr. Nicholson also served as a Member of Parlieament and was also in the lumber business.

Mr. Evans wrote that Lorne Nicholson's parents decided to "endow the community with a lasting and useful memorial.

" In a town of small buildings made of wood they caused to be built an impressive building of fired brick..." It was designed to match St. John's Church 1908 and the Town Hall 1913. Mr. Nicholson played a major role in the construction of the church and town hall.

official opening 1920

Built as a parish house for St. John's, by 1935, during the Great Depression it became too much of a financial burden for the church, especially after Mr. Nicholson died on January 1 of that year, and in due course the building was taken over by the municipality.

After Branch Number 5 (Ontario) of the Royal Canadian Legion was formed in 1926 following a founding convention in Winnipeg attended by a Chapleau delegation,  in 1925, it started to use the building. By 1955, the branch officially had bought the building when B.W. Zufelt was reeve.

Mr. Evans noted that it simply became known as 'The Legion' and had fallen into "responsible hands and continued to be a great asset to the life of Chapleau."

Upstairs became known as the Cranston Auditorium named after Frank Cranston a veteran of both World War I and II who became Chapleau's last surviving veteran of World War I. It has been used for a wide variety of functions. 

Downstairs became the Bisco Room "a legenadary place" according to George Evans.

In his article George Evans hoped that it would be going strong in 2019!!  It still is thanks to all those who have been involved with "The Legion" over the past 100 years. Congratulations.

George died in a tragic vehicle accident in 2012 shortly before the 90th anniversary reunion of Chapleau High School in 2012.

My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau Volunteer Fire Department responded to 'Fire! Fire!' conveyed by 'bell, yell or fire alarm' for over 100 years

No matter how the the message "Fire, Fire" was  conveyed whether by bell, yell or fire alarm, it has always been a cause for alarm, and the Chapleau Volunteer Fire Department has responded, Margaret Costello wrote in the Sudbury Star in 1965.

"From the time it was founded officially May 25, 1910, Chapleau's volunteer fire brigade has been trained to a dither and within minutes is at scene and in action.

As an aside I was impressed with Maggie's word choice of "dither"!!!

Maggie noted that Chapleau founded in 1885 when the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived, the community, surrounded by bush, was fire conscious even before the fire department was officially established.

D.O. Payette who arrived in Chapleau circa 1904 noted that the first "primitive equipment" was a fire reel with 500 feet of hose and a hand pumper. 

However, by 1910 with the arrival of a water system and the construction of a fire hall on Pine Street, the fire brigade was officially established with about 20 members. Chapleau had been incorporated as a municipality in 1901 with G.B. Nicholson who served as its first reeve until the end of 1913. 

J.B. Dexter was appointed as the first fire chief.

Mr. Dexter served as chief until 1935 when he retired and was succeeded by Mr. Payette who served until 1946 when George Collinson took over until 1958. Adam Andrews became chief.

The first alarm system was the CPR siren.

After the fire hall was built, with the town jail in the basement, the fire department members also built a club room where they held regular meetings and worked on the latest methods and procedures. Fire prevention was a large part of its program.

Maggie wrote that in its first 55 years as an organized fire brigade it had "kept in step" with the ever growing needs of an expanding community incorporating new approaches. It gained a reputation as one of the best volunteer fire brigades and won awards.

In 1958, the call box fire alarm system  at various street corners throughout the community was replaced with a telephone system located at the pump house, which Maggie called a "Chapleau first" as at the time it was the only community in Northern Ontario with this system.

It was first tested by Reeve Leo Racicot.

Operated by the Bell system, when a call came in, it was sent out to fire department members by phone. Chapleau had come a long way from the bucket brigade of its very early years!

Over the years the fire brigade had several trucks replaced by better equipment as time went on to serve the community.

In 1978 a new fire hall was opened as part of the Chapleau Civic Centre.

The fire department celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010 as it continued to serve and protect the community. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau Intermediate 'A' Huskies set new record for three goals scored in Northland Intermediate Hockey League in 1977

John Theriault photo

Three goals in 19 seconds!!!!

That's how long it took the Chapleau Intermediate "A" Huskies to score three goals in a game against the Hearst Lumberkings in Northland Intermediate Hockey League play at the Chapleau Memorial Arena in November 1977.

The Chapleau Sentinel  reported that the Huskies "exploded" for three goals late in the second period. League officials confirmed later that the three goals in 19 seconds smashed the previous league record of three in 27 seconds.

The Sentinel reported that the record setting performance was started by Ron Larcher with 3:17 left to play in the second period "when he scored a power play goal assisted by Dave McMillan and Jamie Doyle.

"Following a line change Paul Scheer took an excellent pass from Pat Swanson and beat Hearst netminder Simon Charbonneau just 12 seconds later.

"From the centre ice faceoff Pat Swanson took a pass from Bill Scheer and an easy shot from the left side dribbled past Charbonneau seven seconds after Paul Scheer's goal to set the record..."

The first place Huskies with Doug Prusky in his first year as coach, went on to defeat the Lumberkings 10-2.

Ron Larcher, (left) Bill Scheer  a John Theriault photo

They had to settle for a 7-5 win in a second game Sunday afternoon at the memorial arena.

At the time the Huskies were in first place with 11 wins and two ties with Calvert GMs and Kapuskasing As in second and third place respectively. The Huskies had an eight point lead in the standings.

Bill Scheer was the leading scorer with 25 goals and 21 assists followed by Pat Swanson with 14 goals and 25 assists and Paul Scheer with seven goals and 23 assists.  

In the second weekend encounter  Jamie Doyle notched two goals while singles went to Bill Scheer, Pat Swanson, Ted Swanson and Ron Larcher got singles.

Despite the team's success in early season play the Sentinel writer noted that the Huskies "seem to play just as well as required to win a hockey game which can't be faulted considering their record this season. However, they will have to watch for lapses during the second half of the season."  The lapse actually occurred in the playoffs when they were defeated in the semi finals by their archrivals the Timmins North Stars in six games, for the third consecutive year.

They finally defeated Timmins in the 1978-79 semi finals.

A couple of other notes from the article said that David McAdam and Glen Cappellani shared goaltending duties while Jamie Doyle "gave a fine exhibition of penalty killing Sunday which was described by one fan as "poetry in motion'.

I was the manager of the Huskies in the 1977-78 season and don't recall that we celebrated any more than usual when this league record was set. I found this article while going through old files.

A quick Google search indicates  that in the National Hockey League it appears that Bill Mosienko may hold the record for fastest three goals by one player at 21 seconds in a game between Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers in 1952. The fastest by a team may have been around 15 seconds so the Huskies were close!!  If anyone has further information, please email me at mj.morris@live.ca