October 1, 2004 Thanks for helping me solve the mysteries

I recently wrote about an album of photographs I was trying to identify (July 30) and in another article (August 6) I tried to identify the artist of some beautiful drawings found in a landfill.  I received an excellent response to the first mystery but none to the second about the artist. 

Drawings by Chris Schouten 

When I received no response to my request for information on the drawings I went on 411 on the Internet and typed in the name C. Schouten, the name on the drawings, and got a list of 10 people with that name across Canada.  Since 2 of the pictures had a reference to 1907 and 1908 respectively I assumed that the artist was long gone but that I might find a descendent who could tell me about the artist. 

On the seventh cold call I got a Chris Schouten family member in Ottawa who identified the drawings that had disappeared and had them wondering where they went.  I later talked to Chris, who is a highly successful animation artist in his mid 40’s who has worked on major animation projects in various locations.  He is a graduate of the Sheridan College Animation Program.  He worked in Los Angeles for Fox for 7 years on films like American Tail and Anastasia, and in Japan on the Batman Series.  He is currently the Director of a new series for children, The Secret World of Benjamin Bear, on Family Channel on Tuesday and Thursday at 8:45am and on Sunday. 

Chris did 4 original drawings in 1980 for his brother who was involved in North Bay’s Fifth Wheel Restaurant.  He drew the pictures from photographs he got at the archives dated in the early years of the century, thus explaining the early dates.  After his brother moved on the drawings were lost track of until almost a quarter century later when they were found in a waste site in Lindsay. 

Fortunately Chris had made lithographs of the original drawings and still has some left including the one of the 4 not found.  He is forwarding a copy of it to me to complete the set for the people who found the originals.  A copy of the third one that was found is included here to show Chris’ excellent skills as a young artist. 

Chris Schouten’s drawing of a portage on a lonely Northern Ontario trail.

The Sundridge Album 

As a result of several phone calls and some very cooperative people the people in the two Sundridge 70 year old photos in my article have been identified.  Marie (Wilson) Mitchell and Bert Sinclair are in the picture and they and France Therrien and others have been helpful in general or in relation to a specific person.  Before identifying the people in the photo shown here the important question of who owned the album is of interest.  

By process of elimination it has been established that the album belonged to Annie Kidd of Sundridge (4^th from the right). The Normal School photos in the album led to establishing Annie Kidd at the North Bay Normal School in 1937-38.  Annie’s brother Harold “Archie” Kidd and his daughter Heather have identified the dozen or so photos in our possession from the 100 in the album as Harold and Annie’s parents, Annie, Harold, etc.  It appears that the photo of the man on the Post Office steps is Harold Kidd.  A copy of the album’s numerous photos is being prepared for Harold by the woman in Toronto who found the album. 

Annie Kidd married Gord Lennox and had 4 children while pursuing a lengthy career as an elementary and secondary school teacher in Toronto where she still lives in a seniors' residence.  Her daughter Muriel Lennox is an award winning author of books on horses including Northern Dancer and she has written a book about the famous horseman E.P.Taylor and several children’s books. (Check her out on Goggle). 

The photo of Annie Kidd’s Normal School class in 1938 shows Annie and well known Powassan resident and former teacher Peggy (McGibbon) Brushey.

Original photo of the 1934 graduating class and part of the 1938 North Bay Normal School class showing Annie Kidd and Powassan’s Peggy Brushey (front right).

The people in the original photo are as follows. 

Back Row, L-R: Fred Kent (deceased) brother of Lewis Kent – a farmer and logger in Sundridge who married and had 3 daughters and a son.  Joe Hornibrook farmed all his life, married and had 3 children.  He passed away about 7 years ago.  Bill Smith, deceased brother of Ila Smith (last woman on right, front row) married and had 5 children and taught school in Parry Sound.  Bert Sinclair is a farmer, is married and has 6 children and lives near Sundridge.  Boyd Paget, deceased- a former Sundridge councilor worked for the Ministry of Public Works for years and lived in Sundridge for much of his life.  He was married and had one son. 

The girls are as follows, L-R:  1) Victoria Stewart from Magnetawan spent a lot of her life in the U.S. and married there.  She died in Florida in 1990.  2) Margaret Snow taught briefly and married Chas Percival who had a long and successful career as a teacher in Toronto.  My wife had him as a teacher at the Toronto Teachers’ College in the early 1960’s. They returned to Sundridge and both are deceased.  A son lives in Sundridge.  3) Marie Wilson married H.K.Mitchell and they live in Sundridge.  She worked as a medical secretary.  4) Annie Kidd. 5) Doris Brimacombe married and had 2 children.  She taught for many years including many in Montreal, before returning to Sundridge where she has her own home.  6) Ila Smith, deceased – her daughter Karen is the head cashier at the IGA in Sundridge.  One man and 3 women are still alive with 7 deceased. 

An older woman appeared in several of Annie Kidd’s Normal School photos in the album and was easily identified as one of Annie’s Normal School Professors, Miss Grace Morgan.  By coincidence a recent issue of the Nipissing University Review Magazine noted the first of a series of Normal School Reunions beginning with the class of 1945-56.  The article included a photo of North Bay’s Kathleen Shields, one of the graduates of that class and mentioned that the class had set up a scholarship for their remarkable teacher Grace Morgan.  In a recent interview Kathleen mentioned that about 1968 she was in Toronto in a restaurant and saw Miss Morgan.  They had a nice visit and Kathleen noted that Miss Morgan died 3 months later.  The Miss Grace Morgan Bursary is available to a Nipissing University Teacher’s College student in the Primary/Junior Division. 

There are more photo mysteries to be solved in future articles.  Thanks to all that helped with the 2 above.