ARTHUR GROUT OF SMITH AND CHAPPLE IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE OF CHAPLEAU IN MANY AREAS

Grace and Arthur Grout

There I was, sitting in the Starbucks of the new Target store in Cranbrook, chuckling to myself and thinking about Arthur Grout, of Chapleau.

Mr. Grout, one of Chapleau's best known citizens, and as Dr. Bill Pellow, writing in Chapleau Trails noted, he had "his fingers in the pie, many pies and sometimes both feet in every aspect of Chapleau's existence" at one time.

But, it was one of the Target managers, they call them "team leaders" that had captured my attention with his clipboard. In fact, it seems like all the team leaders scurry around the store with their clipboards.

Out of the mothballs of memory, I saw Mr. Grout, president of Smith and Chapple Ltd., never without a clutch of papers or a clipboard as he seemed to be always in a hurry, going somewhere, but never failing to stop to talk with a customer.

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When I got home I went to Bill's piece about Mr. Grout, and he too, had taken note of the clipboard. "Remember him racing around from one department to another with his clipboard, jotting down memos to refresh his memory and putting order into a very busy day..."

In fact, when I was going to high school and university, and working part-time at Smith and Chapple, Mr. Grout once confided in me that if I wanted to be successful in business, always carry a bunch of papers -- looked impressive to people.

No way that all these years later, Target would have received advice from Mr. Groutto include in its team leader training program, that all carry clipboards, but there you have it, in more ways than one, A.J. "Art" Grout was ahead of the curve.

As a Smith and Chapple alumnus, I worked in the men's wear, furniture, grocery and garage, as well as at Mid North News and CHAP TV in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Mr. Grout started as a messenger boy at the store, and in 1930 with his business partner D.O. Payette, took it over with Mr. Payette as president.

When the end of an era came for Smith and Chapple Ltd. on April 30, 1987, although Mr. Grout had retired in 1962, Bill Payette, commented in an article, "My father was a great businessman and he and Art got along very well." Bill had joined the store in 1941.

In the 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression, the Chapleau Winter Carnival was founded with Mr. Payette, the catalyst with meetings in his office, but Mr. Grout was more the public face as carnival chairman.

Also, in 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were visiting Canada and the Royal Train would be passing through Chapleau. Mr. Grout and Earle Sootheran, manager of the jewelry department chartered a plane for a fishing excursion to the Goose River. The plan was to catch some speckled trout to present to their majesties.

It worked. The fish were accepted and Mr. Grout received a letter of appreciation from the Royal couple.

Mr. Grout took over the business in 1949 when Mr. Payette retired, and during the 1950s the physical face of Chapleau changed. Mr. Grout expanded the store to "the other side of Main Street" where CPR houses had been, and is now Collins Home Hardware. He established a real estate business and built houses at the end of Monk Street as well as several on King Street primarily to house CPR employees as the diesel shop was established.

When oldtimers, like me now, talk about major activities we remember from Chapleau, two are always recalled -- the draws at Christmas held at Smith and Chapple and Dr. G.E. Young's Christmas display.

After Mr. Grout established Mid North News and CHAP TV, I got my start in journalism writing a Chapleau High School column with Joy (Evans) Heft and hosting a television program with Phyllis Chrusoskie. Imagine, a small place like Chapleau, had a television station in the 1950s.  In fact it had two competing cable television companies after Dr. Young established one too.

In  a 1958 store advertisement in Mid North News, I counted over 120 employees of the company, making it a very large employer in Chapleau.

Although business was always on his mind, Mr. Grout was also very much involved in the community and the province. In Chapleau, he was active in St. John's Anglican Church, the chamber of commerce, the hospital board, and served as a township councillor as well as reeve for short time -- and that is likely only a partial list. He was also on the committee that built the Chapleau Memorial Arena on Lorne Street.

He was also a member of the boards of the Northern Ontario Development Corporation, Northeastern Associated Chambers of Commerce and the Northern Tourist Outfitters Association.

Also active in the Chapleau Rotary Club, he commissioned Frank Barberio to build the Rotary Table depicting wood from every country in the world that has Rotary. It is now located in the civic centre.

A major part of Mr. Grout's legacy to Chapleau occurred in 1964 when he arranged to purchase CPR Engine 5433, and bring it to Chapleau to be placed in the park by the station. The engine was moved to its present location by laying a special track from the shops to the park with J.M 'Bud' Park as the engineer of 5433, and Earle Freeborn on the engine pushing it to its new home.

Mr. Grout also headed the Chapleau Centennial Committee which built the centennial museum, now called the heritage musuem which I understand has now been closed for more than a year.

After he retired from Smith and Chapple in 1965, when Gene Bernier and Robert Warren took it over, he continued to promote Chapleau. In 1978 at the official openings of the Chapleau Civic Centre, Chapleau Recreation Centre and Cedar Grove Lodge in June, he seemed to be everywhere and made a donation of paintings to Cedar Grove. He also loaned his Cadillac to transport dignitaries.

For many years, Mr. Grout's first wife Nettie worked with him at the store. After she died, he married Grace Hartman who had been a councillor and mayor of Sudbury.

For sure, Mr. Grout could be controversial, and not always appreciated. It goes with the territory when you are as active as he was in the life and times of Chapleau, but he made a difference that improved the quality of life for us in the community's boom years. Mr Grout died in 1980. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau Cree First Nation seeks help with names in St. John's Indian Residential School Graveyard restoration project

Donald and Ian White at Fox Lake Memorial Service

As Chapleau Cree First Nation continues the process of restoring the St. John’s Indian Residential School Graveyard beside the Blue Heron Inn at Chapleau, assistance is needed in confirming the names of all those who are buried there.

Donna Byce, the economic development officer of CCFN contacted me asking if I may have information that may help, but although I am aware of the graveyard and was on Chapleau council when Tom Corston, now bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Moosonee, headed a restoration project in 1973, I do not know  the names of students who attended the school..

However, after a delightful telephone chat with Donna, I told her I would help spread the word and hopefully someone will come forward who is more familiar with the school and its students from when it opened in 1921 until its closure in 1948.

Donna explained: "Currently we have a hand drawn map with most of the names of the deceased, I was wondering if you would happen to have any information on this as it is difficult to read the hand writing and we would like to have all the names put on a commemoration cairn."

She added that they have been working at this project for the past two months removing brush, raking, identifying graves and replacing old grave markers.

Although restoration of the Residential School burial ground located on the outskirts of Chapleau within the area of Chapleau Ojibwe First Nation is one of the project goals,  "Raising awareness and educating everyone on the history of Residential Schools and securing a dignified resting place for the deceased is the main goal.  A Commemorative Plaque will be created and displayed for visitors."

On August 16, a day before the CCFN Traditional Gathering and Pow-Wow is held on August 17 and 18,  "Ceremonies... for the welfare of our elders and families affected by Residential Schools and  to pay respect to the former Indian Residential School survivors and those who have passed" will be held.

While chatting with Donna, I could not help but ask her if she would extend my warmest regards to folks in Chapleau, but my list kept getting longer and longer, so I will say "HI" to everyone there, with special thoughts to my First Nation friends as they hold ceremonies in connection with the residential school and participate in their traditional gathering and pow-wow.

Thank you Donna for the kind invitation to attend, but I will be unable to do so this year.

 If anyone can assist with the names, please contact Donna at e-mail: ccfn.edo@chapleaucree.ca

After receiving the email from Donna and chatting with her on the telephone, I thought about an email, among many that I have received from Ian White, whose older brother Donald lives on the Fox Lake reserve. Donald was one of the 1932 adventurers who made the canoe trip from Chapleau via Missanabie to Moose Factory.

Ian shares an anecdote regarding my mother, Muriel E. (Hunt) Morris, my grandmother, Edythe Hunt, and him which took place shortly after he was born in 1920.

Ian relates that his family lived in a flatroofed cottage at the corner of Grey and Birch streets where eventually Henry Pellow built a log house.

"When i was about four months old for some unknown reason I stopped taking food. This lasted for many days and caused my mother much anxiety. At wits end and very discouraged about her baby she decided to take me out into the cool Autumn air hoping it would create an appetite.

"While pushing the carriage and crying at the same time two little girls who were out walking and munching on oatmeal cookies stopped and asked why she was crying. So she explained what the cause was. One of the little girls asked if she could give the baby some of her cookie. My mother consented and the youngest girl (your mother) put a piece of her cookie in my mouth. The taste must have been good because it was the first piece of nourishment I had for many days and apparently I finished the rest of the cookie.

"My mother told me this story many times and insisted your mum saved my life because I started eating after that..." My mother would have been about nine years old at the time

Ian added that for about six years of the Great Depression he had an arrangement with my grandmother to bring her two rabbits every second week during the Winter for which she paid him 50 cents.

Although my father, Jim Morris was older than Ian, closer to Donald's age, they knew each other through the Youth Bible Class at St. John's Anglican Church. Ian told me that when he was in Toronto waiting to leave for overseas during World War II, my parents came to visit with him. At the time  my Dad was a Flying Instructor with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan after having enlisted in the RCAF. Donald also served in the Canadian forces in World War II.

Every so often, I receive an email about something or other that I have written, and the person comments, referring to me, "You can take the boy out of Chapleau, but you can't take Chapleau out of the boy." As I write I have lived in British Columbia 24 years now, but I will do what I can to help with the Chapleau Cree First Nation project to restore the residential school graveyard.

And as Ian White tells us in his anecdotes, Chapleau friendships last a long, long time. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Six young Chapleau adventurers make trip to Moose Factory mostly by canoe in 1932

Six adventurers made a canoe trip from Chapleau to Moose Factory in July 1932 recording their progress in writing as they travelled. Their chronological account was kindly made available to me by Dorothy Turner, and I am delighted to share parts of it as the Chapleau Cree First Nation hold their annual Traditional Gathering and Pow-Wow on August 17 and 18.

The young men were Donald White, Oliver 'Doc' Potts, Howard Cachagee, Mike Turner, Fred McAuley and Vince Crichton. In 1968, Vince typed out an account of the trip from the notes and sent it to Mike Turner, Dorothy's uncle, with the following comment written on the top of the first page: "Mike. I hope I have recorded this properly. Vince".

Mike Turner, Fred McAuley, Don White, Doc Potts

They left Chapleau on July 1, 1932, by train for Missanabie with two canoes and all their equipment. "We arrived at Missanabie about 8;30 p.m. and immediately started on the first lap of our canoe journey. We camped a couple of miles north of the railroad track... After a late supper we sat around the camp fire, telling stories, as the fuel turned into dying, glowing embers. The night was clear and cold and after making our canoes and provisions safe from marauding animals we turned in with high expectations of the morrow."

"Shortly after sun up the next morning we were having breakfast of bacon and eggs. The aroma of the repast with the boiling coffee whetted our desire for the adventure and it was not long before we were on our way. Loading up our big freight canoes with equipment and three men to a canoe, we were content to let a small three horsepower engine do most of the work for the first day.

Howard Cachagee, Vince Crichton, Don White

"The night had been cold and frosty. The surface of the lake was like a sheet of glass and covered with millions of mosquitoes, presumably killed by the frost of the previous night.

After a seven mile run up Dog Lake, they portaged to Crooked Lake a distance of about 150 yards. "All along Crooked Lake we saw moose and bear and in almost every bay either a live of dead beaver house."

At the end of the lake they made another portage over the height of land to Missinaibi Lake. This height of land separates the waters flowing into Lake superior from those flowing into James and Hudson Bay.

Don White, Mike Turner, Doc Potts

Upon reaching Baltic Bay they took a route to the northeaast arm arriving at a long peninsula varying in width to three miles.

"It terminates abruptly in a granite cliff, towering in places to well over two hundred feet. This is known as Fairy Point. Many years ago, the Cree and Ojibway banded together for self protection from bands of Iroquois and drove an armed band over the cliffs to complete destruction. Looking closely at the cliffs one can discern Indian pictographs of centuries ago which only time can eliminate."

They arrived at Brunswick House to explore the remains of the once thriving Hudson Bay Company Post. They note that most of the buildings were in ruins but some still some were standing, the remains of an old boat were on the shore and along the beach and in the ruins were old rifles and flintlocks with the stocks nearly eroded completely away.

They also visited a cemetery to which pilgrimages were still made "every few years to keep the hallowed spot of their loved ones clean and in good order."

By the end of the first day, they had run rapids and travelled about 60 miles making camp at Peterbell on the Canadian National Railway.

They enjoyed a "well earned supper of fish, bannock, jam and tea" and then "crawled into their eiderdowns and with the sky for a roof, slept as only those on the trail can sleep, seldom being troubled by the mosquitoes and black flies. 

Don White, Fred McAuley

The next day after shooting rapids calling one a "thrilling experience" Donald White remarked, "It gives you a tingling feeling, shooting rapids like these." (Perhaps someone can ask Donald if he recalls the remark).

The adventurers reached the Hudson Bay Post at Mattice on the CNR and decided to spend the day there washing their clothes and darning socks. 

After supper, the Indian Chief, who they do not name, came down to their tents and invited them to a dance being held at his home that evening. The cost for all six was 25 cents. When the chief was asked what it was for, he replied "to buy coal oil for the lamps".

They found themselves at the chief's home "Listening to music from two violins and a moose hide drum. Everyone danced jigs and reels which included the Midsummers Night and the Rabbit dance. To top off the evening's entertainment, Fred (McAuley) who is a violin player of no mean ability gave the folks a lesson in step dancing which was received with loud cheers and hand clapping."

The only mishap of the trip appears to have been while shooting the rapid below the Black Feather where a canoe hit  a submerged rock, but they made shore all right and got it fixed. But, while they were making dinner, in opening a packsack they discovered that a top had blown off a can of jam.

"What a mess. Howard and Fred cooked dinner while the rest washed every article and including the packsack and repaired the canoe."

As they neared the end of their trip, here is part of one of the vivid descriptions provided. "We shot Frenchman's rapid and then portaged Frenchman's gorge. It is a very beautiful place. The gorge is cut out of red granite and the square cut rock is topped with black spruce.

"What a place to stop and ponder over the beauties of nature that the north is so profusely endowed with."

On the final day they travelled the broad expanse of the Moose River, past the mouth of the Abitibi and Kwataboahegan rivers and reached Moose Factory about four in the afternoon. They had made the trip in six days, apparently a record time which was still stood in 1968 -- they note only two other parties had made the trip and it took them about two weeks.

For the next two weeks they stayed in Moose Factory visiting and relaxing. "We loafed and rested." Some of the adventurers were recruited to play ball for the Moose Factory team.

They returned to Chapleau via the moose, up the Mattagami, and then into the Kapuskasing River to the town of Kapuskasing. From there they continued to Elsas on the CNR to the northeastern corner of the Chapleau Game Preserve, into the Nemegosenda River to Trout Lake  and into Twin, Round, West, LeBlanc, Emerald and Loon (Borden) lakes. A portage of a mile took them into the Chapleau River and home. 

It took them 12 days and was a much harder journey. Over the years, notes were lost of the return trip.

My sincere thanks to Dorothy Turner for sending me the account of the trip. I have provided some highlights but the complete story is fascinating. My email is mj.morris@live.ca