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August 6, 2004History notes and footnotes
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Mattawa
The 20th
Anniversary of the opening of the Mattawa Museum by the Mattawa and area
Historical Society was celebrated on July 24th on the front lawn of
the Museum. Jules Paivio the architect of the beautiful log building drove in
from Sudbury and many other friends of the Museum returned. MPP Monique Smith,
MP Anthony Rota, Mayor Dean Backer all participated bringing greetings from
their respective jurisdiction. Former Mattawa Mayor at the time of the building,
Bernie Macdonald was present as was the MP for the area at the time Len Hopkins.
All praised the work of the people who have worked on building to bring it to
its current level. One of the awards went to Claudette Desroches, the current
Board Chair for her voluneer work. Dolores Casselman presented a cheque in
memory of her late husband and past Board Chair Byron. Jack Whelan chaired the
event and gave a brief outline of the history of the area. He recognized that
the Museum was built on the 100th Anniversary of Mattawa’s
incorporation and that this year is the 120th anniversary of
incorporation.
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MPP Monique Smith presenting volunteer award to Claudette Desrocher,
Chair of the Museum Board at the Museum 20th Anniversary, July
24, 2004 |
MPP Monique Smith and MP
Anthony Rota had good visits with the experienced Len Hopkins. Monique Smith had
a long look at the Gordon Dafoe and Tom Cummings paintings on her tour of the
museum. Her mother has some of Tom’s paintings. I told her that there will be a
major exhibition of Tom’s work this September at the WKP Kennedy Gallery
celebrating Tom’s 100th birthday.Later at lunch I had a conversation
with Len Hopkins about his current project of getting the Ottawa River
designated as a Heritage River.
A friendly 120th
anniversary event is identifying Mattawa’s most famous resident. Gilbert Parent
former MP and Speaker of the House, Dr. S.F. Monestene & Phil Rainville are some
of the nominees. Some of the other possibilities that I have written about in
Community Voices are Anabareo (Gertrude Bernard) who won the Order of Canada,
Gordon Dafoe, John Argo and Mike Rodden. Conincidentally I received an email
the day before I went to Mattawa from the daughter of Maurice Nadon who was born
in Mattawa in 1920 and left in 1932 and went on to be the commissioner of the
RCMP retiring in 1977. She is writing his history and wanted some information
his families’ Mattawa years particularly, like Gilbert Parent, his native
connection.
It was nice to see the
renovated Champlain Movie Theatre operating again especially in this year
recognizing Champlain. Congratulations to the new Antoine First Nations store
(across from the Caisse Populaire). A beautiful open space displays many
beautiful native artifacts and other items. I came away with a beautiful T shirt
featuring drawings by Frederick Remington from the former Mattawa Moose Hunt
story that appeared in Harpers magazine in 1890 that I have written about a
couple of times. (#28 on my website).
Samuel de Champlain
As a follow up to my recent
article on Champlain I note that an organization that promotes francophone
tourism (Destination de Noel de L’ontario) has received a $150,000 grant for
provincial, national and international promotion of Circuit Champlain
celebrating the 400th anniversary of Champlain’s historic arrival in
Canada. The Circuit runs from Montreal to Georgian Bay. Three hundred and fifty
businesses and organizations and 20 municipalities are supporting this tourism
initiative
A new 25 cent Canadian
circulation coin celebrating the first French settlers in Canada in 1604 is
being released. The coin shows one of the 5 ships. A mint silver dollar with the
same design is also available. Look for the quarter in your change and look for
the dollar at your Post Office or contact
www.mint.ca or phone 1-800-267-1871.
Tom Thompson
With South River’s Festival of
the Arts scheduled for August 14-15 a couple of footnotes on Tom Thompson who
visited and painted in South River and has been celebrated at the Festival may
be of interest. Two of Canada’s most famous paintings the West Wind and the Jack
Pine will be a part of a Thmpson exhibition leaving for Russia next week after a
successful tour of 120 of Thompson’s paintings in Canada.
There are many theroies on the
cause of Thompson’s death in 1917. Bernard Shaw in his 1996 book Canoe Lake
discusses the Thompson case at some length including extensive forensic evidence
an addendum to a recent reprint of his book adds a new theory which can only be
touched on here. Meteorologists have identified powerful water spouts, mini
tornado like forces that could throw someone out of a boat and drown them.
Details are provided that make a pretty good case for such an event being
possible. This deepens the famous mystery that confounds many Thompson fans.
Bernard Shaw’s book talks
about the exhuming and reburial of Thompson and conspiracy theories…… associated
with it. A report in the Globe and mail reports that a forensic anthropologist
as part of the research in the recent exhibition tried to find Thomspon’s skull
in the Ontario Crime Lab and could not find it and the family won’t allow the
exhumation of his “alleged” grave near Owen Sound to check for it. The mystery
continues.
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The Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway Head Office,
North Bay in 1908 by C. Shouten |
Another Mystery
I mentioned the mystery of the
discovered family album last week and have received some good information on it
which I will report here soon. I have several other items I need some help on
including a new one today.
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The Temagami Station in 1907 by C. Shouten
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Maureen Lovely from Little
Britain near Lindsay found 3 beautiful framed 16x24” drawings at her local waste
disposal site. One was of the Ontario Northland building on Oak Street (1908)
and one the Temagami Train Station (1907). She gave them to my neighbours Cec
and Jan Reid who shared them with me. I called Lorne Fleece, volunteer
archivist with the Ontario Northland (formerly the Temiskaming and Ontario
Northern Railway) who did not recognize the drawing or the artist C. Schouten.
I have a couple of other feelers our. Does anyone recognize the drawings or know
anything about the artist? If so, contact me as indicated below.
Heritage Perspective Home Page
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