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Sault Ste. Marie's City Hall recently had a name change: as of 2020 it is now known as the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre. Obviously, if someone has earned having their name on the building they must have done some impressive things, but who exactly was Ronald A. Irwin beyond simply being a former mayor? Let's find out.
Born here in 1936, Irwin was quick to educate himself by acquiring both an undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario, as well as a Law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. Later on in his life he would be elected to the position of Mayor of the Soo. He would keep this post from 1972 to 1974, and it did not take long for him to leave a mark on the city.
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Written by: Sam Keen  My time working at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum has been a great one. I have made many friendships; memories and I have learned so much about the Sault’s military and cultural history.
I had visited the Sault Ste. Marie Museum a few times in the past, but it wasn’t until my job placement through the Sault Community Career Center’s TIP (Transitioning into Independence) program, that I had the opportunity to experience the ‘’inner workings” of the museum and all that it has to offer. One of the many highlights was getting to see the clocktower, it’s gears and pendulum and knowing that the inner support frame is original. Written by Justin Brett Sometimes a small town can be touched by a far more famous figure or event. We've seen that on this blog with the Red River Rebellion, where Sault Ste. Marie was the site of a dispute between Canada and America, one that ended up causing the creation of our own Lochs. One person who came by our town in its earliest years had his work become so famous it is now in the Smithsonian: George Catlin.
Catlin lived from July of 1796 to December of 1872, meaning he lived through what is now known as the 'Old West' period of North America, when the land was very new to settlers and interactions with natives were both common and full of problems. He had a short career as a lawyer, but that changed when he witnessed a delegation of Natives at Philidelphia. Feeling that they were a 'vanishing race', he decided to chronicle them himself, by recording their appearance and customs through paintings. Written by Justin Brett Being an educator is often a job that doesn't receive the respect it deserves. These people evaluate and inspire the next generation, but can end up being overlooked in many ways. To push back against this trend, today's blog post is about an educator who worked to mold the past generation, Gladys McNeice.
Mrs. McNeice was born and raised in the Port Stanley-St. Thomas area, and studied herself first at the Victoria College in Toronto, then the Ontario College of Education. After obtaining her teacher's credentials, McNeice would work in several positions across Ontario, including the Algoma College, before arriving at the Sault. Gladys was a teacher at Sault Collegiate, or Sault College as it's known today, from 1923 to 1969. She specialized in French, German and Modern History, and recalls teaching nearly every period of the day at the beginning of her time there. Written By: Justin Brett There are many famous people who lived in Sault Ste. Marie, many of whom have also appeared in this blog. People like Thomas Durham or Paul Kane are fairly well-known in this category, but one people may not know off-heart is Joseph Laderoute. Rather than being a politician or an explorer, he was a professional singer, and a very talented one at that.
Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Joseph seems to have led a normal life as a young boy, becoming one of many choir-singers at his local church at the age of five. This might have ended up being just a short chapter of Joseph's life if not for a twist of fate: as it so happens, a man named Arthur S. Somers, a Brooklyn educator in singing, happened to be at Sacred Heart Church that day on invitation. He was meant to sing himself, but claims to have been so overcome by Joseph's soprano voice, which he likened to an angel's, that he was unable to. Wemyss Mackenzie Simpson was a Canadian politician and businessman who was active in Canada in the mid-to-late 1800s. He is notable for quite a number of accomplishments around the Algoma district, which obviously makes him very relevant to Sault Ste. Marie's history. If you don't know much about him, you hopefully will by the end of this post.
Written by: Justin Brett One landmark of old Sault Ste. Marie that is unfortunately no longer seen in the city is the International Hotel. It was constructed in 1888 by N.M Neald and J.C. Meagher, two local businessman, and as the title suggests it was an attempt to court the business of people traveling to or through Sault Ste. Marie. To that end it was well-equipped for its time, boasting 255 rooms, a dining room that could seat up to 400 people, and all the modern conveniences of the time, such as hot water for guests and electricity running throughout the building. It was even built directly facing the river and had its own dock for guests.
The International Hotel seems to have been very successful despite numerous competing hotels in the area, including the Algonquin Hotel which wasn't far away. It even held some banquets for major Canadian names, such as Francis Hector Clergue. All this would come to an end in 1916, however. Written by: Justin Brett A local television and radio broadcaster no longer seen today was CJIC-TV, which broadcast from 1955 to 2002. One personality who was especially prominent was Grace Pitt. She worked for over forty years at the station, long enough she became something of a local celebrity.
Her career began with her as a co-host of the morning show, before eventually becoming women's director at the station and hosting her own television program. As you can see by these photos, she would often interview people, help advertise products, and even did cooking shows. Outside of the station she was one of the founding members of the Great Tug Boat Race, an event that ran yearly in the summer from 1982 to 2015. Written by: Cathy Beaudette  Everyone said Kanada would be better. Kanada needed farmers and the government advertised for Ukrainians to come. Our farm was too small to divide among all of the brothers. Daddy was the youngest brother and he loved adventure so he left for the New Country. He was going to work and send money so that we could cross the sea in a big ship to a new life in a better country.
I was almost four years old and my sister Lena was just a tiny baby when he left. He was gone so long that I hardly remembered him. He used to lift me up and tell me to touch the sky. We waited and waited. Baba and my uncles and aunties were kind but without Daddy we were not a family. Written by: Justin Brett Many people traveled through Canada when it was still largely an undeveloped area, helping to paint a portrait of what the country was like back then. Few did this more literally than Paul Kane, an artist who traveled the Pacific coast when the Fur Trade was beginning its decline. Through graphite, watercolours and oil on paper, Kane would produce over seven hundred pictures and accompanying journal descriptions of the lives of indigenous people.
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