'Putting wheels in motion' resulted in World War I battleground tour for Dr Frank Broomhead

Putting the "wheels in motion" while JR Broomhead was on a trip to England earlier in 2017, resulted in a World War I battleground tour for his father  Dr. Frank Broomhead, who has been a history buff since he was a kid growing up in Chapleau.

JR was visiting John Broomhead, the son of Anna and Arthur Broomhead, who lives in England, and as plans progressed, John got in touch with me about the trip. The wonders of Facebook!

John explained that given Frank's interest in the Great War specifically, and 2017 being the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge - a defining moment in the history of Canada - the battleground tour was arranged with a tour guide. JR and his father made the trip in June.

John told me he was "amazed but not surprised" at Frank's knowledge of the Great War (1914-1918), as was the tour guide. I am not. Out of the mothballs of memory, I vividly recall walking down Chapleau's main street when we were both students at Chapleau High School, and then I was amazed at his interest in history.

On their tour they wanted to "track down" as many "Chapleau boys" as possible who died while on active service in our armed forces during World War I.  Obviously I am delighted, as is Michael McMullen, my cousin and co-author of 'The Chapleau Boys Go To War' that Frank took a copy of the book along and used it as a reference.

They located 12 Chapleau boys, and  provided some photos. See below for names and biographical sketches.

As an aside, 32 with a Chapleau connection died while on active service in World War I. We identified 283 volunteers, a remarkable number, given the size of Chapleau.  In World War II there were 418 enlistments and 29 died.

John shares the story of the trip that he, JR and Frank made: "On Day 1 we drove to Ypres, Belgium and covered the John McCrae Memorial (Advanced Dressing Station, Essex Farm),  Langemark Cemetery - one of only three German Cemeteries for the fallen german soldiers in WWI, Vancouver Corner (St. Julien Memorial for the Gas attacks and the Canadian defence of St. Julien in April, 1915) and the fight for Passchendaele in 1917. We ended the day at the very moving Menin Gate 'Last Post' ceremony which takes place every evening at 8pm."

"Day 2 took us to Vimy to see the trenches, tunnels and the impressive Canadian memorial there, and then a visit to the Somme battlefields in the afternoon where we saw the preserved Newfoundland Park battlefield at Beaumont-Hamel, the large (British) Thievpval Memorial to the Missing and the battlefields around the village of Courcelette (where the Canadians fought in September and October of 1916 including the Memorial to the Tank Corps -- the first usage of tanks in WWI, and the Regina TrenTrench."

"It was a lot to pack in two days - but was very moving and informative."

They were able to identify 12 with a Chapleau connection, and Michael McMullen kindly provided brief biographical notes on each of them. More details on each are in our book 'The Chapleau Boys Go To War'.

Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passchendaele, Belgium

E.D. Turner

Edgar Turner was a member of the Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment) 24^th Battalion, when at 18 years of age, he died on November 6, 1917.

Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium

The following five Chapleau Boys died in Belgium during the First World War and were listed as missing and presumed dead.  Their names are commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial.  

J. Hewitt

James Hewitt enlisted in the Canadian Army at Niagara, Ontario on September 7, 1915.  He was with the Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment) when

he died on June 13, 1916 at age 26.

W.D Unwin

William Unwin enlisted in the Canadian Army at Val Cartier, Quebec in September 1914. He was a member  of the Canadian Infantry (Eastern Ontario Regiment), 2^nd Battalion, who died on April 24, 1915 at the age of 21.

P. Chappise

Peter Chappise enlisted in the Canadian Army at the Niagara Camp, Ontario

on August 31, 1915 in the 37^th Battalion. He was 22, when he died on June 13, 1916 in the service of the Canadian Infantry (Ontario Regiment), 3^rd Battalion.

W.S Haskins  

Walter Haskins enlisted in the Canadian Army at Lindsay, Ontario on March 27, 1916 in the 109^th Battalion. He was 19 years of age and serving with the Canadian Pioneers, 124^th Pioneer Battalion when he died on November 14, 1917.

A.A. Therriault  

Alfred Therriault enlisted in the Canadian Army, 52^nd Battalion at Port Arthur, Ontario (now part of Thunder Bay) on June 16, 1915. He was 24 and with the Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment), 52^nd Battalion when he died on June 9, 1916.

Vimy Memorial, Vimy, France

The following five Chapleau Boys died in France during the First World War and were listed as missing and presumed dead.  Their names are commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.  

 A. Mortson

Alexander Mortson enlisted at Niagara on September 7, 1915 in the Canadian Army, 37^th Battalion. He was with the Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment), 13^th Battalion, when he died on September 4, 1916.  He was 30.

J. Moir

John Moir enlisted in the Canadian Army on March 8, 1915 in Toronto, Ontario. He was serving with the Canadian Cavalry Machine Gun Squadron when he died on December 1, 1917 at age 26.

A. Evans

Ambrose Evans  joined the 106^th Light Infantry in Winnipeg, Manitoba in August 1914 and then enlisted in the Canadian Army at Valcartier, Quebec on September 25, 1914.  He was with the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (R.C.A.C.), when he died on May 25, 1915 at age 31.

A.E. Jefferies

Albert Jeffries enlisted in the Canadian Army at Oshawa, Ontario on November 30, 1915 in the 116^th Overseas Battalion.  He was serving with the Canadian Army (Eastern Ontario Regiment) when he died on May 3, 1917 at age 26.

P. Hall

Percy Hall enlisted at Chapleau in the Canadian Army, 227^th (Men of the North) Battalion on April 30, 1916. He was serving with the Canadian Machine Gun Corps, 1^st Battalion, when he died on August 29, 1918 at the age of 22.

Regina Trench Cemetery, Courcelette, France

J.F.P Collings

John Collings enlisted in the Canadian Army at Halifax on November 25, 1914. He died on October 1, 1916 at age 24 as a member of the Canadian Infantry (Nova Scotia Regiment), 25^th Battalion.  

 Thanks so much John, JR and Dr. Frank. Also thanks to Michael K. for his assistance. 'The Chapleau Boys Go To War' is available at Chapleau Village Shops or on  www.amazon.ca. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau Junior 'B' Huskies win league and NOHA championships in Canada's Centennial Year of 1967

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I took a course in twentieth century European history from Dr Jacques Goutor, back in the 1960s and the first thing I learned from him was that hockey kept Canada together. Well, he didn't actually come out and say that exactly, but on the first day of class he told us about his arrival in Canada from France.

Dr Goutor told us that upon arriving in Toronto, he went out and bought the newspapers and the headlines were LEAFS WIN STANLEY CUP! It was 1967, our Centennial year as a nation, and the Toronto Maple Leafs had defeated their arch rivals the Montreal Canadiens in six games. It was to be the last time the Leafs would win Lord Stanley's mug.

Dr Goutor, who at the time had little knowledge of hockey and its importance to Canadians, said he decided to stay here because it had to be a safe place if the headlines were about a sporting event. He was raised in France and lived through the horrors of World  War II and its aftermath. Dr Goutor became a Professor of History at the University of Western Ontario. He retired in 1996, and died a couple of years ago. 

Meanwhile, in 1967, as Canada was marking 100 years as a nation, in Chapleau, the headlines could have been CHAPLEAU JUNIOR 'B' HUSKIES WIN LEAGUE AND NOHA CHAMPIONSHIPS, although I don't have a copy of the Chapleau Sentinel to confirm it.

As our nation marks its 150th anniversary in 2017, I have been looking back at the community's history, and the amazing success of the Junior 'B' Huskies in their first year in the International Junior 'B' Hockey League in 1966-67, stood out as an outstanding moment in sports.

In 1965, artificial ice was installed in the Chapleau Memorial Community Arena, largely because of the efforts of Mrs. A.W. 'Hockey' Moore, after whom the present arena is named, raised most of the funds to accomplish it.

Mrs Moore

In the summer of 1966, according to an article by Keith 'Buddy' Swanson, a "chance meeting" on a golf course between Tom Welch, publisher of the Chapleau Sentinel, and a director of the Wawa Travellers, led to the founding of the Chapleau Junior 'B' team, and its entry into the International Junior 'B' Hockey League for the 1966-67 season.

Buddy

Buddy, Tom and Lorne Riley founded the team. Buddy and Lorne had coached a pretty good Midget team the previous year, and Buddy coached the Intermediate 'B' Huskies to the Northern Ontario Hockey Association title, winning the Max Silverman Trophy.

Off Buddy and Lorne went to Wawa for a league meeting where they received tentative approval to become part of the league for the 1966-67 season. However, back in Chapleau, the response was not all that enthusiastic, as only J.M. 'Jack' Shoup,  showed up, other than the founders, at three different meetings. Tom Welch urged them to continue anyway, and they did.

Lorne

They went out into the community and recruited an executive with Tom as the first president. The executive included Arthur Grout, Earle Freeborn, Albert Tremblay, Jack Shoup, Ken Stevenson, with Roger Mizuguchi responsible for advertising and public relations. Sonia Vaughan became treasurer.

Lorne became the coach with Buddy as manager, while Andre Rioux was trainer. Richard Morin was named the team captain.  

The roster included Merrick Goldstein, Reg Bouillon, Ted Swanson, George Swanson, J.C. Cyr, Corky Bucci, Greg Vaughan, Robert Morin, John Babin, Gerry Boucher, Bruce Pellow, Ray Larcher, John Laframboise, Jamie Broomhead, John Loyst and Mickey Jurynec. 

Unfortunately, Lorne became ill and was unable to complete the season as coach so Buddy took over bench duties, and Lorne attended all the games and they discussed strategy between periods.

They finished the season in third place with 14 wins, eight losses and two ties which meant they met Wawa Travellers the first place team in round one of the playoffs. They had not enjoyed much success against the Travellers in regular season play --- and it looked like the Huskies would be eliminated quickly.

The Travellers took a 3-0 game lead in the best of seven playoff round, and then ...

The Huskies bounced back to tie the series at 3-3. In the final game, the Travellers had completely collapsed losing 13-3 to the Huskies.

In the finals against the Sault Michigan Indians, the Huskies won it in seven games and were the winners of the Mac Nicholson Trophy as league champions.

But their season wasn't over. Two weeks later they played Kapuskasing for the Northern Ontario Hockey Association Junior 'B' title and the Colin Campbell Trophy in a two game total goals series. The Huskies won 13-5.

And now, as Canada marks its 150th anniversary as a nation I believe it is good to reflect on those moments  in our history that brought us together, rather than divided us. Fifty years ago, Buddy Swanson, Lorne Riley and Tom Welch, the players and the executive of the Chapleau Junior 'B' Huskies made it happen in Chapleau  Dr. Goutor was right about Canada.

Huskies at 40th anniversary reunion 2007

I based this column on excerpts from the two articles that Buddy wrote about the team in 2009. He wanted to tell the story of that remarkable year. HAPPY CANADA DAY!  My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Names TOP PHOTO  1966-67 Huskies Back from l: Andre Rioux, Lorne Riley, Merrick Goldstein, John Babin, Ray Larcher, Mickey Jurynec, Greg Vaughan, Robert Morin, Reg Bouillon, Gerry Boucher, Jamie Broomhead; Front: Corky Bucci, Jean- Claude Cyr, George Swanson, Richard Morin, John Loyst, John Laframboise, Ted Swanson, Bud Swanson and missing Bruce Pellow, Bruce Fortin. 

Fond memories of Sacred Heart School in Chapleau by Leona (Downey) Murphy from World War I years

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As another school year draws to a close, I discovered excerpts from Leona  (Downey) Murphy's fond memories of Sacred Heart School, which provide insights into school life in Chapleau as World War I began in 1914. It was prepared for the 100th anniversary of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church

Although I have been retired as a faculty member at College of the Rockies for 17 years now, each June, my thoughts return to school, and so I looked for information about education in Chapleau's early years!

Leona was a daughter of Patrick and Annie Downey, a pioneer family.

 They arrived when Chapleau  was "a hamlet with one school, the public school which all students attended, no hospital, a cluster of a few businesses mostly situated near the railway and a few outlying farms. The rest was bush," according to an article by their granddaughter Joy (Evans) Heft in Chapleau Trails, edited and published by Dr. William R. Pellow.

Leona recalled her first day at Sacred Heart School "at the ripe age of five" in 1914 as if it was yesterday. In those days new classes began at Christmas, Easter and in September.

Her first teacher was a Miss Rheaume who she describes  as a "very gentle person who never raised her voice but maintained good discipline in a crowded class."

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She recalled that one day they heard a high pitched sound coming from  a coal bin. "Of course the boys had to ferret it out; it turned out to be a bat. None of us had ever seen one before. We were provided with a lesson in natural science."

During the winter months, the heat was provided from a coal furnace and the temperature was to be maintained at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. However, at one point the school was closed for a few weeks when a caretaker forgot to fire up one evening, pipes burst. "a great mess!"

The school was also closed during epidemics of diphtheria and Spanish flu.

World War I broke out in 1914, and Leona recalled students singing songs including 'Good Luck to the Boys of the Army', 'Men of the North', 'Tipperary', and 'Over There'.

There was no radio in Chapleau then and only a few phonographs, but they learned the words and tunes.

The students were also active in the Chapleau branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society making mufflers and ear tapes to be sent to Chapleau boys overseas.

"The little knitters would sit in the fire escapes with wool and knitting bags."

School principals were able to declare a picnic day or organize a snow shoe tramp.

Disaster struck on Christmas Eve, 1918, when Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church burned down and nothing was saved except the "Blessed Sacrament" which Father Romeo Gascon, the parish priest, entered the church and retrieved it.

For the next year while masses were held in the Town Hall Auditorium fund raising for a new church opened on Christmas Eve 1919 was a priority. As there were no telephones at the time in Chapleau, students became church messengers.

World War I ended before she left the school and she recalled that when the news was received that it was over, the school was closed. Again, without radio, news of the events were received at the CPR Telegraph office, and then the recipents would rush out to "Tell Everyone".

Leona also mentions an ecumenical side of life  when the separate school grades 7 and 8 hosted public school to a sleigh ride and bean supper, singing and an impromptu program".

Although I am not sure who actually sponsored it, I recall a sleigh ride when I was a kid, with many Roman Catholic friends and we sang Christmas carols, One of which was 'O Come All Ye Faithful' which Lawrence 'Ton' Comte and Raoul Lemieux taught me it  in Latin as 'Adestes Fideles'.

Leona noted that Chapleau has "always had the ecumenical spirit. It was a great place to spend our growing years."

In 1927 Leona returned to teach at the school. "I had just turned 18 and inexperienced, so it was an interesting an exhausting year --- a large class."

But it all turned out well. She didn't think that any of her pupils "went to jail" and many were successful in their professions and other walks of life."

Once again, I must acknowledge the tremendous work by the late Doug Greig for his work in digitizing and making available so much of Chapleau's history. Rest in peace my friend. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

photo information

Separate school class picnic 1917. back E. Fortin, B. Martin, A. Petrosky, C. Bouillon, H. Vezina. 2nd row H. Seymour, B. Downey, C. Martin, H. Burch, I. Mulligan, E. Perfetto. Third row L. Brunette, M. Stadnisky, E. Fortin, A. Blais, J. Stokes. Front V. Downey, L. Hertopan

Charles Mulligan takes class for sleigh ride. Charles Mulligan was a relative  of MJM