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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.
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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. Written by Justin Brett You wouldn't necessarily expect a small city like Sault Ste. Marie to produce many authors, and you might not expect a story about the city itself to be particularly engaging, either. But you would be wrong on both counts. Not only has it produced several authors, but one in particular, Morley Torgov, wrote a very entertaining book about the Soo.
Born in 1927, Mr. Torgov grew up in Sault Ste. Marie as part of its small Jewish community. Jewish culture is in fact a large part of his writing, which includes the book most relevant to us, A Fine Place to Come From. As the title implies, it talks about his time growing up here as a young Jewish boy, through a series of short stories. Written by Justin Brett At the time of this writing, the Sault Museum is showing an exhibit in the Durham Gallery of the Bandettes, a local Drum-and-Bugle Corps, or more commonly referred to as a Marching Band. These are very common in cities or towns, and the Bandettes are a very notable part of the Sault's history. Much of that is thanks to a woman by the name of Mary Wilson.
Written by Justin Brett What do you do these days if you decide you want to go visit Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan? Obviously, the answer is to head across the bridge and (unfortunately) head through customs, a simple enough process that probably won't take much time. But what if that bridge wasn't there? As discussed before on this blog, the International Bridge was only constructed by the early 1960s.
Well, if you had some business in Michigan before then your only option was to take the local ferry, which regularly moved people, vehicles and even some animals between the twin cities. The service in general was around for even longer than the bridge has been today, so it has quite a bit of history to it we can explore. And should, as it is far more fascinating than you might think a few boats can be. Written by Justin Brett This blog has posted quite a few stories of historical importance, or the lives of significant people in history. But does this mean that that a story must be one of these two things in order to be interesting historically? Not so, as the Batchewana Moose Hunt of 1906 proves.
The Batchewana Moose Hunt of 1906 is, well, more or less what it sounds: a group of friends from around Canada and North America traveling to Sault Ste. Marie in order to hunt Moose and other game. Many readers may remember being a part of hunting trips growing up or are still going on them today, but it was obviously a very different experience in the early Twentieth Century. Instead of a local weekend trip, this was a truly dedicated one spanning about three weeks and involving people living as far away as California. Written by Justin Brett Have you ever wondered who first defined points of the land we call Sault Ste Marie and even named a few of our first streets?
Well, I'm going to tell you... I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are in Robinson-Huron Treaty territory and that the land on which we are gathered is the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg, specifically the Garden River and Batchewana First Nations, as well as Métis People. Throughout this story, I tried my best to find resources to fill in the gaps of the story in regard to the indigenous people who inhabited this land before us. I spoke with the people at the Algoma University Library and Collections, to see what they had on the matter and I will share some of that knowledge gained from their resources. I still feel unclear on the story from the indigenous point of view as all my resources are written by settlers points of view. But I will share what I have found and maybe we can work together to fill in the gaps of this story dating back 177 years ago With all that said, let’s get in to it... Written by Justin Brett Throughout anyone's life they're bound to acquire some responsibilities or titles no matter what career they choose. It's just the nature of things. But occasionally some person comes along who manages to acquire a great deal of jobs and duties in their lifetime, either due to their quality as a person or from being in the right place at the right time. Joseph Wilson is one such individual.
Joseph's father George Wilson was a Lieutenant in the British Navy, who in Joseph's adolescent years retired from service and decided to move his family to Canada, where land was free for soldiers. They ended up settling in the Toronto area where Joseph followed in his father's footsteps by joining the local militia. He would then see combat during the conflict of 1837. Written by Justin Brett 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. 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. |
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