Alexandre Langis cleared land for townsite of Chapleau in 1885 and later became general merchant

In 1885 Alexandre Langis arrived at Mileage 615.1 on the Canadian Pacific Railway with a contract from the company to clear the land that would become the townsite of Chapleau.

Born in Rimouski, Quebec, Mr. Langis, who would later become a general merchant, had been working in Biscotasing before moving to Chapleau. For sure, he was one of the community's pioneer citizens.

After fulfilling his contract, Mr. Langis, became a CPR employee, first as a trainman and later as conductor.

In 1891, he married Marie Louise Mageau of Le Bic, and the young couple became active members of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church.

Helen Wolfe, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Kruger, in an article about the Langis family written at the time of the Roman Catholic church centennial celebration, related that at one time Mr. and Mrs. Langis shared a house with Mr. and Mrs. James Rose which she said was located on the west side of Beech Street near the CPR tracks.

(Note: Mr. and Mrs. Rose lived on the west side of Pine Street which I think later became the Babin residence. Does anyone recall if they moved from Beech to Pine at some point, sort of across the street and a lane!)

Mrs. Wolfe related that the "two women got along beautifully sharing a kitchen" even though Mrs. Rose could not understand French and Mrs. Langis could not understand English.

In 1901 Mr. Langis left the CPR and started a business with E. Jackman in 1902 at 4 Birch Street West at Birch and Young streets,  in a building which at the time was owned by Patrick Mulligan, my great-great uncle. In later years the building housed the Dominion store and then Bank of Montreal for a time.

Albert Desjardins came to Chapleau in 1908 from Montreal and bought out Mr. Jackman so the name was changed to Desjardins and Langis, General Merchants.

In 1909 they relocated to the southwest corner of Birch and Lorne streets which for a short time had been the site of the first Roman Catholic church.

Later, Harry Wolfe, who was the son-in-law of Mr. Langis, purchased the interests of Mr. Desjardins, and in 1924 the store became known as Langis and Wolfe.

In 1928, Charles W. Collins, the son of Mr. and P.J. Collins, who had arrived in Chapleau in 1909, bought out Mr. Langis and the store became known as Wolfe and Collins. The Collins name has been associated with ownership of a  store at that location ever since.

Mr. and Mrs. Langis later lived on Lorne Street near the Roman Catholic church. They also enjoyed "picnics down the lake" at Mulligan's Bay where they built a camp, later owned by Mansel Robinson.

They had four children Joseph, Wilfred, Lydia and Julia. Julia was a charter member of the Catholic Women's League in Chapleau.

I have really just provided a glimpse into the life of Mr. Langis and  his contribution to Chapleau -- and opened the door a bit on the Rose, Jackman, Desjardins, Wolfe and Collins families, and of course my own Mulligan ancestors. 

Thanks to Doug Greig for his research assistance. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

George Bucciarelli decided to do something for Chapleau children and 'Bucciarelli's Picnic' was born in 1931

One day, George Bucciarelli, who had arrived in Chapleau in 1910 and established a grocery store on Lorne Street, decided that he wanted to do something for the less fortunate children of the community.

According to the Chapleau Post, it was exactly August 22, 1931, just as the effects of the Great Depression were beginning to be felt.

Mr. Bucciarelli made a decision, which was to become one of the most popular events for children for many years to come when he decided unfortunate children of the town needed a treat -- in the beginning he was thinking about those who were in town year in and year out without so much as a trip down the lake or highway,

"The more he pondered, the more his desire to give kids something grew," the Post reported.

Finally, he had a "brilliant idea" and at that moment, Bucciarelli's Picnic "without a doubt the biggest event" of the years for children was born.

Mr. Bucciarelli saw a group of children playing on the street in front of his store and called them aside and asked if they would like to go on a picnic down the road the next day.

"You bet your life they would," was the response.

He told them to be in front of his store at one p.m. the next day, August 23, 1931, and they would go on a picnic. He added that "Tell all your friends I'm going to make a picnic and bring them along".

All well and good but Mr. Bucciarelli didn't know what he had started.

The next day, at 12:40 p.m., he looked out the window of his store, "rubbed his eyes, looked again" and instead of the 30 to 40 expected, there were over 200 children assembled. More were arriving every moment.

He called Angelo, his son and other employees, asking "What are we going to do?", he asked. They had only prepared enough treats for a much smaller group. As a matter of interest, the Post reported that the other employees present were Frank Principe and Leslie Perfetto.

At 12:50 p.m., Mr. Bucciarellei bellowed, "OK! Fix them up!" and one headed into the candy department, another was downstairs getting more crates of oranges and extra cases of soft drinks, while Leslie managed to find a couple of nice watermelon.

By this time, the crowd has reached 275 children.

And, Mr. Bucciarelli? He was "sitting in a corner, ringing the telephone hot in a valiant last minute effort to get sufficient cars."

The result? Enough vehicles were found to accommodate all the children (quite an accomplishment in itself in 1931 Chapleau when there were not that many motor vehicles) and the procession left the store at 1:15 p.m., just 15 minutes late. The kids had a whale of a good time at his farm at Mileage 17, the Post reported.

George Bucciarelli decided that the children should have a yearly event of this kind. "I like to see the kids playing and having lost of fun."

Thus began Bucciarelli's Picnic which continued for years and evolved into Bucciarelli's Beach where many events, including the annual Chapleau High School wiener roast was held each September.

More to come on Mr. Bucciarelli in future columns. Thanks to Doug Greig for providing information.

Just another friendly reminder that you are invited to become part of the public library online history project by providing photos and stories about your family and/or community events. Please contact Doug or the library for more details. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Philias (Felix) Fortin family lived in old Canadian Pacific Railway boxcar after arriving in Chapleau in 1909

When Philias (Felix) Fortin and his wife Arthamise, along with their growing family arrived in Chapleau on May 16, 1909, there were few places to rent so their first home was in an old Canadian Pacific Railway boxcar by the river near the old pumphouse.

Writing about her family to mark the centennial of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Parish, their daughter Jeanne (Fortin) Morin said the boxcar had no running water or electricity, but they fixed it up and it became a comfortable place to live until they built a house at 25 Grey St, North a bit later.

Mr. Fortin was born on August 17, 1874 in St, Fabien, Quebec, while Arthamise Courturier, who was to become his wife was born on August 9, 1879.

At an early age Arthamise left home to work in a cotton factory in Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. Mrs. Morin wrote that "Mom and Dad were sweethearts before Mom decided to leave home for the States so he was not going to stay in the province of Quebec without her". He went to the United States and they were married on April 28, 1898.

Several children were born there including Emile (the oldest), Amanda (Mrs. Zenon Rioux), Alfred (Tarzan), Eugene (Froggie), Emma (Mrs. J. E. Michaud). They decided to return to Bic, Quebec where two more children Willie and Rosanna (Mrs. Tom Butler) were born.

As Mr. Fortin could not find steady work they decided to move to Ontario and on May 16,1909, he was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway Bridge and Building department at Chapleau. Later he became a brakeman.

Mrs. Morin also noted that they wanted their children to be fluent in French and English.

Raymond Morin, Louis Fortin, Marcel Morin are grandchildren

After settling in Chapleau the family continued to grow with the births of Edgar (Mick), Romeo (the cook), Jeanne (Mrs, Tony Morin), Bernadette (Mrs. Dome Brillant), Delia (Mrs. Harvey Fortunato),  Cecile, (Mrs. R. Martin), Lydia and Zita (Mrs. R. Mackay)

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Mr. Fortin was laid off from the CPR, so he decided to go into the cord wood business and his three eldest sons worked with him in the beginning. They built a sawing machine to cut the wood.

"They managed but it was hard work," Mrs. Morin wrote.

"Mother had her share of courage with a big family," Mrs. Morin noted but the older daughters helped. "Mom was a good cook. She kept us clean, healthy and happy even though we did not have money."

Mrs. Fortin died on November 23, 1953, and her husband on July 17, 1956.

We moved to Grey Street in 1945 and the house was heated by a giant wood stove, (or at least it seemed real big to me). My grandmother, Edythe Hunt did the cooking on it, and it was also used to heat the water for washing and baths on a Saturday night.

Each Fall for several years Mr. Fortin and his sons would bring us a load of cordwood that was piled in the backyard, and was about six feet high -- a great place to play with my friends.

Then they would come with the sawing machine and saw it into stove wood lengths, which my grandfather George Hunt and I, often assisted by my mother, Muriel (Hunt) Morris,carried into the "back shed" where it was neatly piled before Winter set in.

In 1961, after my first year at university I was working for the Department of Lands and Forests at Missanabie, and on a Friday it was common to catch a ride on a freight train into Chapleau for the weekend.  On one occasion, Eugene (Froggie) Fortin was the conductor on one, and I approached him and asked if I could get a ride on his train.

He glared at me and sternly said, "Why should I give you a ride on my train?" I turned to leave, but before I could, Mr. Fortin said, "You are Jim Morris' son," and I nodded that I was.

"You can have a ride on my train any time you want," he smiled, and proceeded to tell me a story I have never forgotten.

During the depression, Mr. Fortin had caught a freight out of Chapleau, heading for the Prairies in the hope of finding work helping with the wheat harvest. My father was a CPR Police Officer at Fort William, now Thunder Bay, and part of his job was to remove transients from freight trains. On that day he saw Mr. Fortin who of course he knew, and gave him a one train head start on the others, by removing them and as Mr. Fortin told me, giving him "my private train west."

Chapleau folks cared about and helped each other. 

Doug Greig and the public library are working on a huge project to create a web site with the stories of all Chapleau families, and the life and times of the community since its founding. They invite you to participate by making available photos, stories, etc.about your family. Contact Doug or the library for more information. 

I will continue to remind you in Chapleau Moments and on Michael J Morris Reports  that your family is important to the success of the project. They all add to the Chapleau story and bring back  memories like this one about the Fortin family has done for me. 

I also became friends with grandchildren of Philias and Arthamise Fortin -- and in Chapleau, you never really knew who was related. My cousin Leslie Zufelt married Richard Morin, the son of Jeanne (Fortin) Morin and her husband Tony. My email is mj.morris@live.ca