Joy (Evans) Heft shares 'lasting memories of our treasured roots" in Chapleau remembering Harry 'Butch' Pellow

Butch, Joy, Sharon Swanson at 2012 CHS Reunion

NOTE: Joy (Evans) Heft captures not only memories of our mutual friend Harry 'Butch' Pellow, but also of growing up in Chapleau in the 1940s and 1950s. I vividly recall the games we played in the neighborhood, especially hockey in their back shed and of course, "going down the lake." I lived on Grey Street, just one back lane and back yard  away from Aberdeen. Joy brings back "lasting memories of our treasured roots" in Chapleau. Perhaps amazingly, many of us are still in touch all these years later.   Butch died on December 13, 2016. Thanks Joy.

And the wheel comes full circle in more ways than one. When Joy and I were both attending Chapleau High School, we collaborated on a weekly  high school column for the long gone Mid North News. My email is mj.morris@live.ca MJM

By Joy (Evans) Heft
Butch grew up at the corner of Birch (Main) and Aberdeen Streets two doors from the Evans family home on Aberdeen. In fact at one time their back yard backed onto our side yard but sometime before my recollection there was a smaller home moved to the property which was lived in by the Lapp and Moyle families and later the McEachren family. Butch was a bit younger than my brother, Jim, and a bit older than me. I remember playing with the neighbourhood children, mostly out-of-doors. Sometimes the girls and boys played together – i.e. the girls were allowed. Kick the can and hide and seek numbered among the games and I remember one fierce water pistol fight when I would have been about ten. I think I got called in by my mother likely because it seemed unbecoming.

Our back shed was a frequent venue for some of our games and the loft provided a great hiding place as well as a place to explore to discover what was stored up there. Jim and his friends used the shed more in winter when the boys were a bit older to play hockey or take shots on goal there. When I occasionally played in the Pellow home I had a terrified fascination for the bear rug in one of the rooms.

One of my memories is of a solar eclipse when our family, the Moyles and the Pellows congregated in the Moyles’ back yard early in the morning with our rolls of film through which to view the sun moving behind the moon without damaging our eyes. I think we were about ten at the time and it made a lasting impression.  Butch and I reminisced about this event during a recent visit.  
Another of our activities was going as a group to the Saturday afternoon movies.

My Aunt, Sister Gabriella, recounted an incident which she found very cute. Butch had come over to our place before some of us were heading off to the ‘show’ as we called it. Butch piped up, ‘I have Joy’s  money’. Why he had my money, a dime at the time, I think,  is anyone’s guess, but it presaged his lifelong habit of generosity  from which many of us benefited in many ways, not the least of which were the number of Chapleau parties held at his and Brigitte’s Toronto home, the most recent in October  2014.

CHS "Girl Cadets" from 1950s with CO Neil Ritchie

Another act of generosity that sticks out in my mind was a much later occasion when we returned to Southern Ontario together after a long week-end. I had gone up to Chapleau by train and Butch by car, so he invited me to accompany him  back by car with the plan that I would take the bus from Toronto to Oshawa where I was then teaching. He insisted on driving me on to Oshawa after that long trip  then himself back Toronto. He married shortly afterwards, I believe, and I attended his wedding, but our paths crossed much less frequently in the years to follow. 

Butch, Jim Evans, Doug Slievert, Roger Mizuguchi, Donna Lane, Alison McMillan, Joanne Moyle

Butch attended public school while the Evans children were at the separate school. We met up in high school, though, and once again were part of the same entourage as we dated mutual close friends. Once thing I recall, in particular, was that he loved dancing as we all did and that his favorite song was ‘Stardust’. When I think of it now, it seems like a sentimental song for a teenager, but that is another of his trademarks. I  recall his fondness of the song whenever I hear it. As most know Butch created a wonderful collection of photographs featuring many of his contemporaries in the numerous activities we participated in, a lot of them in the great outdoors  during the summer ‘down the lake’.

Butch and Roger at the Eighteen

One of those was a trip to the eighteen mile rapids for a picnic with a fairly large group. One of my own pictures from that event features Butch clutching an LP (Stardust, perhaps?) about to put it on a portable record player as we called them. 

Butch with record player, Gordon Bolduc, Mabel Doyle

Once we headed off to university we met up occasionally in Toronto – my brother Jim lived with Butch for a short time during that period - and I recall one party Butch invited me to quite a distance from the residence I was living in where the curfew was midnight; the trip to and fro on public transit took more time than we spent at the party and I was docked an hour the following week as a five minute late penalty. In retrospect I reflect upon the gracious stride with which he took the harried return trip, typical of him, really.

During ensuing years when Butch and others of us were young adults home working in Chapleau for the summer we would ‘hang out’ together enjoying our  freedom in the Northern landscape creating lasting memories of our treasured roots.

His appreciation of that youth and the personalities that enhanced it were evidenced in many ways for me not the least of which were the letters he wrote regarding some of my own family members at the time of their death  in which he recalled some of their attributes and/or idiosyncracies and the events involving them that impacted his own life. That he would take the time from his busy schedule to share these is again a mark of his enduring generosity of spirit.

Chapleau Village Shops window display features winter carnival activities

The Chapleau Winter Carnival. "A Taste of the North" is underway from February 14 to 19, and Chapleau Village Shops got into the Carnival spirit with an incredible window display.

After seeing photos of the display on Facebook, I contacted Lucy Bignucolo who gave permission to post them here.

The art work was done by Cara assisted by Nancy.

Chapleau winter carnivals were first held in the 1930s during the Great Depression, and "A Taste of the North" was added to its name in 1974 when Walter Wilson was the chair.

For full program details, contact Joel Langelier at the Chapleau Recreation Centre.

Another upcoming celebration will be Canada Day focused on the 150th anniversary of our country!!!  Reunion anybody?????

Thanks Lucy!!!!!!

'Hi'ya neighbour' greets Chapleau contingent as it reaches Thessalon as Highway 129 opened in Winter of 1949

Tom Godfrey

"Hi'ya Neighbour", and with this "breezy" comment, Mayor Cork of Thessalon greeted a Chapleau contingent who arrived in his community to celebrate the official opening of Highway 129 between the two communities.

The date was January 29, 1949, a day later than planned because of the sudden death of Thomas Godfrey, the day before just after declaring "This is the happiest day of my life," as a cavalcade of cars had just passed the Chapleau portion of the highway on its way to Thessalon.

Mr. Godfrey, a "pioneer builder" of the highway, according to the Chapleau Post, had achieved part of his objective --. ""Bucking snowdrifts and biting winds, and driving over a rugged trail where no cars had ever passed, he had driven completely over the Chapleau end of the road and was on the McFadden road leading to Thessalon when death halted him."

The cavalcade returned to Chapleau after Mr. Godfrey died but another attempt was made the next day as Arthur Grout and Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Vice started out at 6:30 a.m. with the "avowed intention of t rying to get to Thessalon that day..."even though the weather was brutal."

The account of that trip is contained in the Richard Brownlee Papers kindly loaned to me by Margaret Rose (Payette) and Bobby Fortin.

"It was about 35 degrees below zero and one minor trouble after another was encountered, such as the motor freezing up, chains giving trouble, and, then -- something really serious happened. In going to open the trunk at the rear of the car, the keys were dropped in the snow. It was a matter of grave importance that these keys be found promptly because all of the party were getting extremely cold and were at least twelve miles from any assistance.

"After searching through the snow with bare hands  for some time, and just about despairing of ever being able to find them one key was found. It turned out to be the motor key and to their very great delight the motor started promptly and although it was overheating because of a misplaced fan belt they got through to Standard Paving where they got repairs."

They met Tom Carter of Carter Bus Lines who claimed that in all his driving experience he had never had such a trip as the one he had from Thessalon the previous day. He recommended they wait until snow plows cleared the highway. There had been a "howling blizzard."

But the party decided to continue the trip and "proceeded very cautiously so as not to get off the narrow road into the snow-filled ditches." They made to Lessard's Camp where they had turned back the day before after Mr. Godfrey died.

Then, to their delight, they discovered that the snow plow had started out ahead of them, and from then on they were able to enjoy "the scenery and the winding twisty nature of the road."

"As they got down towards the Mississaugi River it was noted how closely the road clung to the edge of the river and at times skirted around high rocky bluffs or steep sloping walls of gravel>"

They arrived safely in Thessalon at about 3:30 p.m and were greeted by Mayor Cork and other dignitaries. Great sympathy was expressed on the death of Mr. Godfrey. A civic reception was held at the Stinson Hotel.

Earle Sootheran, Mr Godfrey, Oliver Korpela

As a matter of historical interest, the first car to make the trip over Highway 129 was not a car "travelling out" from Chapleau but was a northbound car travelling "in" owned by Frank Korpela and driven by Tom Carter. They arrived at Lessard's Camp on January 28 just after the Chapleau party had headed home.

They stayed there overnight and made it to Chapleau the next day reporting bad road conditions and heavy with snow. It was necessary to stop and clean the snow from the grille of the car several times. It was a new coupe driven up from Toronto equipped with snow tires and chains.

The opening of Highway 129, although it was often called a "turkey trail through the bush" was an important moment in Chapleau history, providing highway access to Thessalon and beyond,  and also to American tourists. 

Travelling Highway 129 was always an adventure, and despite many improvements over the years still is. I was over it in 2015 with Alison (McMillan) and Michael McMullen when we travelled to Chapleau for the launch of 'The Chapleau Boys Go To War." My email is mj.morris@live.ca