George Fife managed Chapleau Electric Light and Power Company from 'humble beginnings' to 'efficient public utility'

For 46 years the Chapleau Electric Light and Power Company, had been an "important and intimate part of both private and business life in Chapleau" but at midnight on August 31, 1955, an era came to a close, according to Vince Crichton in "Pioneering in Northern Ontario'.

From 68 homes in 1909 when J. McNiece Austin bought the Mageau and Leblanc power plant and holdings, to the 826 homes plus businesses in 1955. the company had provided the community's electricity needs.

Mageau and Leblanc had built a sawmill on the east bank of the Nebskwashi River (near what is now commonly referred to as the Memegos Property) in 1899, and by 1909 were replacing its first power plant.

Vince wrote: "Coal oil lamps were hazardous to the operation of sawmills, so the owners built the first hydro plant in Chapleau at their mill site in 1905. The purpose was to provide adequate lighting for the mill and its allied establishments as well as to provide hydro for the growing town of Chapleau".

Mr. Austin needed someone to manage the operation of the plant and company, and persuaded George Fife to take the position. Mr, Fife arrived in Chapleau in 1910 from Renfrew.  His duties included those of manager, technician, electrician, line and installation man and bill collector, Vince noted.

As an aside, Mr. Fife is the grandfather of Robert Fife, one of Canada's most distinguished journalists, currently Ottawa Bureau Chief of The Globe and Mail.

Until 1916, the company only provided night service from one half hour before sunset to one half hour after sunrise.

Vince noted that in 1914, there was a building boom in Chapleau as 50 new homes were built plus the Town Hall, Lady Minto Hospital and Fire Hall.

By December 1915, meters has been installed, and rates beginning on January 1, 1916 were 10 cents a killowat hour with a service charge of 25 cents per month. minimum rate of $1.00 per month and a power rate of $45.00 per horsepower per year with 24 hour service now provided.

By 1918 a new storage dam was started which was replaced in 1929 by the concrete dam with which many of us were familiar, as well the power house was built.

The company realized in 1946 that the available water supply could not cope with the demand for power  and a diesel unit was installed.

Clyde Fife, after returning home from service in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II became assistant manager in 1948, and in due course succeeded his father as manager.  Yes, for readers who do not know, Clyde is Bob's father.

Residential school in background

In 1955 the Township of Chapleau had purchased the holdings with the exception of the hydro plant and dams, and agreed to take the entire output of the company.

Vince noted that by 1955 "from a humble beginning in 1910 with a staff of two, the company had expanded to an efficient public utility ... with a staff of three operators, two electricians and line men, a secretary, and assistant manager and a manager."

George Fife "devoted his life to the power company but not to the exclusion of service to Chapleau in other respects. He served as a councillor and was the reeve from 1938 to 1942  -- which included scheduling an "unofficial visit" by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on their Royal Tour of Canada in 1939, at about two a.m.

The first hydro commission was established in 1956 with Cecil Smith as chairman and members were C.O. Carlson, Leo Racicot and Larry Ribout.

By 1965, a contract had been signed with Ontario Hydro and on September 1, a new era began when a new line was completed into town. Vince wrote that the plant was "deserted and still." 

The Chapleau Post in a tribute to Mr. Fife upon his death said that he watched the company grow from "supplying a handful of homes to ultimately serving the entire community", arriving when "life was rougher, amenities fewer, and there were great things to be done."

It added: "In assuring an adequate public utility, he did much to assure greater development of Chapleau as a modern community.

"Equally enviable is the safety record for Chapleau Electric Light and Power. In a hazardous industry he was able to boast that no employee was ever killed or injured in an industrial accident."

The newspaper article concluded that many communities boast of citizens who devote much to them and Mr Fife was one of them who had done so as Chapleau and the north had "grown great from men like him".

My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau's Armand Ruffo honoured with 2016 Life Membership Award by League of Canadian Poets

Armand Ruffo, who was born and raised in Chapleau, has been honoured by the League of Canadian Poets with the 2016 Life Membership Award for his contributions to Canadian poetry.

In making the announcement, at its annual awards ceremony recently, the League said it was "thrilled to grant life membership to Armand Garnet Ruffo" adding that he has made a "significant contribution to poetry in Canada."

The League further explained that "life members are selected for their incredible contribution to poets and poetry in Canada and the award is presented as a mark of distinction and appreciation for special achievements." Armand now joins the ranks of the distinguished Canadian poets who have received a life membership -- one named a year.

In extending congratulations to Armand, the department of English language and literature at Queen's University where Armand is Associate Professor and Queen’s National Scholar, noted that his most recent volume, The Thunderbird Poems, is a companion to his acclaimed biography of artist Norval Morrisseau Man Changing Into Thunderbird.

In 2015, Armand became a finalist for a Governor-General's Award in the non fiction category.

Before joining the Queen's faculty, Armand taught at Carleton University in Ottawa. He has a Master's degree in literature and creative writing from the University of Windsor and an Honours degree in English from the University of Ottawa.

Born in Chapleau with roots to the Biscotasing branch of the Sagamok First Nation and the Chapleau Cree First Nation. He is a graduate of Chapleau High School, and as I have noted on previous occasions when sharing Armand's success stories, he played on the 1970-71 Midget hockey team I coached, and yes, the plaque is still on my wall. I just looked at it!

Armand's work on Norval Morrisseau: Man Changing into Thunderbird inspired Armand to write poems "reflecting the on both the works of art and the context in which Morrisseau painted them," the publisher of The Thunderbird Poems noted adding that the poems "complement the highly evocative and poetic biography, delving into Morrisseau's creative life through compressed, imagistic language, while untangling the complex and powerful threads of meaning, tradition and emotional power that resonate throughout Morrisseau's strong lines and vibrant colours (in his paintings)"

What an incredible undertaking by Armand to deal with Morrisseau's work in prose and poetry. For absolute sure, if I was a bit younger, and looking for a place to study English language and literature, I would head to Queen's University and take courses from Professor Ruffo.

But, some years ago, Armand wrote a play A Windigo Tale, which he turned into an award winning movie. It deals with the intergenerational impact of the residential school system in Canada, framed as both a mystery and a ghost story.

In a recent email Armand advised that he has new projects in the works, and commented, "Must be something in the Chapleau water." There sure must be as Liz Howard recently won the Griffin Poetry Prize for 2016, and like Armand was nominated in 2015 for the Governor-General's Award for poetry.

Congratulations!  My email is mj.morris@live.ca

'Colouring outside the lines ...exploring new paths' as open house for St. John's future to be held in Chapleau

Recently I attended the 50th anniversary celebration for a Shared Ministry between the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada at Invermere, British Columbia. 

It was an experiment that has worked and the celebration brought the Primate of the Anglican Church and Moderator of the United Church to rural British Columbia to be part of it. In fact, while chatting with Archbishop John Privett of the Diocese of Kootenay, he commented that it was not often the leaders of these two churches, would be seen at a service together. Good point by Archbishop John.

My thanks to Joel Vinge for taking me to the service.

Shortly thereafter, I received an email from Jason Rioux telling me about an Open House planned for August 4 starting at six p.m.to brainstorm new uses for St John's church which he recently purchased from the Diocese of Moosonee. It will still be used for church services

.I immediately thought of one of the hymns sung at the Invermere celebration 'My Love Colours Outside the Lines' written by George Light in 1995. In fact I am listening to it now on Youtube being sung by the Northwest Barrie United church choir. Here is the chorus:

“My love colours outside the lines,
Exploring paths that few could ever find;

And takes me into places where I’ve never been before

And opens doors to worlds outside the lines."

As new paths are explored for St, John's new worlds will assuredly be opened "outside the lines".

In fact, in 1885, St. John's may never have become a reality if the committee of adults meeting to discuss plans for the church had their way.

 Let me share a bit of what happened from my 1984 book, "Sons of Thunder...Apostles of Love". The first motion put before the meeting proposed that the matter be dropped as the amount of $500 was too great for the people to raise. 

The motion was defeated but a stalemate arose over who would be on the finance committee. 

Mrs. R.V. Nicholson preserved an account of the meeting which relates the next development: 

 "At this point Miss Annie Nicholson, although only seventeen years old got up and said that if the meeting would allow her, she would volunteer to collect the amount with the assistance of her friend Miss Minnie Richardson."

Several "prominent" members ridiculed this idea, but a motion passed appointing the two girls to the finance committee, and at the next meeting Miss Nicholson commented that a "a really strong box" would be required to hold the money subscribed.Slightly more than one thousand dollars had been collected and paid.

The first St. John's located on the old tennis court was opened and dedicated on July 1, 1886 -- colouring outside the lines by the adults led to the church being established.

On April 23, 1906 at an Easter Congregational meeting a motion was passed to build a new church but at the outset of discussions a majority favoured enlarging the existing building but Rev, W,L. James, the Rector, who Archbishop R.J. Renison referred to as a 'flame of fire' held out and the meeting agreed unanimously.

The first service in the new St. John's was held on March 29 1908, when it was dedicated by Bishop George Holmes.

G B Nicholson

By this time in St. John's history, G. B. Nicholson, had become the the first reeve of Chapleau in 1901 and was greatly involved in the life of St. John's. At Easter 1918, St. John's paid tribute to Mr. Nicholson in a letter that was framed and can still be seen on a wall in the church.

It reads in part: "As a member of the congregation from the day the first service was held in the town, as a member of the committees which have planned and directed the building of both church and rectory, as a member of the choir, and as a warden for twenty-two years, you have had much to do with every stage of the work. Your business ability, supported as it is by your great generosity, has helped more than anyone can say in establishing the parish on a sound financial basis with a splendid rectory, and a beautiful church, both free of debt."

Chapleau, not only St. John's owes so much to Mr. Nicholson, who coloured outside the lines in so many ways for the betterment of the community by obviously colouring outside the lines.

Rev John Sanders

Although, he did not serve as Rector of St. John's, Rev. John Sanders, also spelled Saunders, born to Ojibwe parents at Flying Post in 1845, was one of the first indigenous priests of the Anglican church in Canada, then the Church of England. He was ordained priest in 1979. John Horden, the first bishop of Moosonee, recruited him for the ministry -- certainly colouring outside the lines in 1872 when he took the young man to St. John's College in Winnipeg.

As a missionary he travelled from his base at Mattagami to Flying Post to Missanabie and Michipicoten. He also travelled  by way of Loon (Borden) Lake, the Loon Lake portage and the Chapleau river to the present site of Chapleau. He conducted a service on the banks of the river. After Chapleau was established oldtimers recalled open air services he held at the Indian Reserve and at St. John's church.

Descendants of Rev. Sanders (Saunders) still live in Chapleau and area. 

And now, fast forward to 2016, as St. John's embarks on a new journey. Like so many churches today, many in communities near where I live in rural British Columbia, with dwindling congregations and declining financial resources, other uses are being found for them.St. John's will continue to be used for church  services under an agreement with the Diocese of Moosonee, but the open house is designed to explore other opportunities for the historic building

I was delighted to hear from Heather Campbell who is working with Jason Rioux on plans for St. John's. She wrote in an email about the open house planned for August 4 .

  "As Jason Rioux works toward renovating and revitalizing the church building, we want to invite the community to experience what the Church space could become, and experience some of the ideas for possible new uses.

"We are also inviting everyone to share their memories of the space and other key community gathering spots in Chapleau. We’ll have displays celebrating the Church and community’s heritage, highlighting some other important landmarks in the community, and offer the opportunity to meet some of the local artisans who are interested in using the basement space as a crafts market."

 "Community consultation and engagement are a very important part of the project, as the space has been, and will remain, a very community-centric one. Inviting everyone into the space – and into the process – at this early stage is essential to creating a place that is truly owned by the community 

"There will be plenty of opportunities to give input into the vision of what the space will become. Draw us a picture, drop off a notecard, tell us your thought there are many ways to be involved!  

As I was thinking about this column, I sent an email to my cousin Anne (Zufelt) McGoldrick, with some questions and request for photos she might have of our family's involvement with St. John's. 

As always she replied with information and photos but I am saving them for another day. 

However, as Chapleau folks prepare for the open house, I was reminded of one anecdote about St. John's which occurred before I was born. In 1935, the church celebrated its 50th anniversary which was attended by the Primate Archbiahop Derwyn T. Owen. My grandfather George Hunt was the choirmaster, my mother Muriel was a soloist singing 'Now the Day is Over', my grandmother Edythe and Elsie, (the mother of Anne, Betty, Joan and Leslie) were all in the choir. What a great moment it must have been for my family.

 I am sure you have memories too.

Heather is with Small, a company which works with rural communities to assist in the transition from natural resources-based economies to cultural resource-based ones. These efforts help diversify economies while celebrating the natural heritage, built heritage, and intangible heritage (skills and traditions) within these communities. Beginning in Newfoundland with communities affected by the cod moratorium, we’ve also recently worked in New Brunswick, Ontario and the Yukon. 

She said: "We’re thrilled to be involved in the St. John’s Church project in Chapleau, to experience the rich cultural heritage of the Church and the community."

I wish all the very best as you meet to plan the new journey for St. John's and leave you with the last verse of 'My love Colours Outside the Lines':

My soul longs to colour outside the lines

Tear back the curtains, sun, come in and shine

I want to walk beyond the boundaries where I've never been before

Throw open doors to worlds outside the lines. 

My email is mj.morris@live.ca