 This autumn marks an important anniversary for a well-known Sault Ste. Marie landmark, Mockingbird Hill Pioneer Farm. The Landslide Road farm has been a long-standing fixture in Sault Ste. Marie for decades, known for its picturesque sights, historical buildings and the infamous goat walks. Just as famous in Sault Ste. Marie as the farm itself is the owner, Robert Cuerrier, fondly referred to for the past few decades as Farmer Bob.
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By Justin Brett  While the Sault is a small city and typically seen as a friendly one, unfortunately, crime can and does still happen here. This isn't always historic, obviously, but one famous crime became the subject of debate when it happened, and is still somewhat relevant today. That is the case of Angelina Napolitano.
 Summer picnic with members of the Finnish Band, 1912 Northern Ontario, and Sault Ste. Marie in particular, has had a thriving Finnish population for more than a century. A 1928 article from the Sault Daily Star suggested that at one time, Sault Ste. Marie’s immigrant population was as much as 25% Finnish. By 1930, approximately 2000 Finns called Sault Ste. Marie "home".
 Those unfamiliar with the world of dance would never guess that an incredibly influential figure in the Canadian ballet world once called Sault Ste. Marie "home". But those who have danced, participated in a theatre show or spent any time back stage at the Sault Community Theatre Centre... they know the name Trixie Hardy.
 360 Queen Street is well known to the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie as the Barnes- Fawcett Block, the current home of Algoma Bicycle. However, in 1919 it was the birthplace of Himmel’s Ladies Wear, a mainstay of women’s fashion in Sault Ste. Marie during the first half of the 20th century, and the home of founder Nathan Himmel.
 By Mitchell Harris
Like many who grew up in the Soo, my first experiences of the museum were school field trips and summer camps as a child. I vividly remember making papier-mâché compositions in the art room on the third floor during a summer camp in 2005 or 2006, when I was 7 or 8 years old. I am now 26 years old and a doctoral student of political science at York University in Toronto, specializing in the history of political thought with a focus on French Marxism in the twentieth century. During the school year, September to May, I work as a teaching assistant in the department of social science, helping undergraduate students learn about social theory, political economy and human rights. While I love teaching, there is one serious downside: the gig only pays during the school year. For me, this means that I need a summer job to keep the books balanced. This is what brought me to apply to, and become the successful candidate for, the museum’s summer student position.  Porter on the Algoma Steel Rotary Parade float, 1967 Most Sault Ste. Marie residents know the H.K Porter engine #7443, No. 10, simply as Porter. Algoma Steel donated the WWII-era fireless engine to the City in 1967 for Canada’s Centennial year after it was retired from service. Porter was paraded through town as part of that year's Rotary celebration, then placed in Bellevue Park with the assistance of Cooper's Crane Rentals.
A look at the prominent local historical figure’s defence of the 1st Earl FitzHardinge Written by Mitchell Harris  John Prince If you take a walk through Bellevue Park on a hot summer day, you will likely encounter something seemingly out of place among the vibrant, buzzing life of the playgrounds, the green fields, the river and the ponds: a lone gravesite. A few feet away, a plaque erected by the Ontario Archeological and Historic Sites Board will inform you that this is the final resting place of the “colourful and eccentric” John Prince (1796-1870), the first Judge of the Algoma District who lived in Sault Ste. Marie between 1860 and 1870.
No-one would argue that Sault Ste. Marie isn't in a rural part of North Ontario - you can look around the city and the surrounding ones and constantly be reminded of the wilderness around us. An area like that brings about certain industries, and one of those is the history of mining the Algoma District has had since back before it was even called the Algoma District.
The first sign of mining being a possibility in Algoma was found by Etienne Brule, one of the Europeans to explore Canada. On Michipicoten Island in Lake Superior he claimed to have found a copper mine built by the natives, bringing back an ingot as proof. While obviously small-scale and more for practical use, this was evidence there were precious metals in the area. Written by Justin Brett Algoma Central Railway is one of the most common sights in Northern Ontario and particularly Sault Ste. Marie. It's very difficult to take a trip within the province or even make your way around town without seeing some evidence of the railway line. Establishing such an omnipresent line took the work of quite a few men who are less recognizable, however, including one with the impressive name of Edgar Barnes Barber.
Mr. Barber spent much or all of his career working for the Central Railway, as his name first appeared in an executive context all the way back in 1913, when the original Hudson Bay Railway was still around and associated with Algoma Central. This was at a board meeting where he was elected assistant comptroller (a person in charge of supervising finances) for the company. |
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