No mention of downtown Powassan would be complete without the inclusion of The Windsor Hotel, which was located at the southwest corner of Main and King Sts. It was demolished in February 2010 for redevelopment. Originally, a general store was on the site. It was built in 1887. After changing hands several times, a Mr. Desjardin built the Windsor, perhaps by adding on to the original store. George Purdon was also an early owner of the Windsor.

After several more owners, the building was purchased by Harold and Carol Oswin. After Harold Oswin’s 1996 death, Roger and Rose George bought the building. Making extensive changes, Mr. George offered a restaurant and bar and rooms for rent. The Windsor once again became a popular community watering hole. Mr. George sold the property to a developer, who worked to restore the Windsor; however, plans changed, property on either side of the Windsor was purchased, and the Windsor was demolished to allow for this larger development.

Visit Jamie Toeppner’s website to see Windsor Hotel brick removal and demolition. Below is a video of the Windsor’s demolition.

 
See an 1884 image of the CPR at North Bay, Ontario.

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We’re excited to share a recent find with you — an important pioneer photograph of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) railroad workers in North Bay, Ontario. Penciled on the reverse is a note which says: “Old Time Ry. Men, CPR, North Bay. Taken in March 1884.” The image is sharply focused and well composed; we can’t help but wonder who the undoubtedly experienced photographer was.

While North Bay served as a regional trading center as early as 1851, it wasn’t until November 1882 – only 1-1/2 years before this picture was taken — that it incorporated as a village. In fact, the first train reached North Bay in December 1882, having traveled west from Mattawa. That train, the “Lucy Dalton,” carried 19-year-old John Ferguson, a Scotsman who delivered mail for the CPR. Ferguson, as we know, was one of the founding fathers of North Bay. Regular rail passenger service began in 1883 and, while the village grew rapidly, it wasn’t incorporated as a town until 1 January 1891, almost seven years after this photograph was made. Learn more about the history of the CPR.

If by some improbable chance anyone knows who the photographer was, or recognizes any of the men in the photo, we’d be interested in hearing from you.

To learn more about Canadian railroad history, read Pierre Berton’s two seminal Canadian history books, The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881 and The Last Spike: The Great Railway, 1881-1885.

Look inside a furniture store from 100 years ago in North Bay.

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This important early North Bay, Ontario real-photo postcard (RPPC), tells us much about the lifestyle and social mores of North Bayites nearly 100 years ago. The imposing gentleman wearing an overcoat and hat is local businessman Frederick J. Martyn. Born on 22 April 1868 and a teacher by trade, he arrived in North Bay from Bowmanville, ON in 1890. The 22-year-old teacher, along with his brother, came to town to build homes. Within a few years, he married Marian (as listed in the 1901 Census of Canada, née McKenzie), also known as Mary. Son Mervyn was born 30 June 1892, and Ian was born on 4 May 1896. William McKenzie, brother to Mary, came to North Bay in 1887, and owned a furniture store at 28 Main St. W. In 1897, the brothers-in-law formed a partnership to run the business. In 1907, Martyn bought out McKenzie’s share and, as a sole proprietorship, the business was renamed as F.J. Martyn Furniture and Undertaking.

And thus we arrive at a glimpse of the interior of a late Victorian furniture store. Mr. Martyn, by now age 44 and rather imposing looking, stands at the right wearing his coat and hat; three younger employees are also present. The store has overstuffed leather chairs for sale, along with mirrored coat racks, a slant-top desk and numerous pictures on the wall for interior decoration of North Bay homes.

One of the three young men was Alex, who wrote on the reverse of the real-photo postcard, the photo having been taken by the J. W. Wilson Co. of Toronto and Regina. Writing on 8 February 1912 to a lady named Mabel, Alex said: “Just a line to let you know we are surviving the cold weather of the far North. Have had it as cold as 32 below but ‘you don’t feel it.’ I suppose that is what Lizzie says about the West, but I have had both ears frozen. What do you think of our staff? Aren’t they a fine-looking lot of fellows, ha ha. That is Mr. Martyn with the overcoat on. He is very seldom in, as he is the largest contractor in the town and we three have to look after the furniture business.”

Embalming was uncommon in the 19th century, the rituals of death were different then. Following a death, someone outside of the deceased’s family circle was usually called to prepare the body for visitation in the home. Since local furniture stores or cabinetmakers usually supplied the coffin, these most often were the people asked to prepare the body for viewing. Embalming became popular at the turn of the century and, eventually, undertaking became Martyn’s full-time business, with the furniture aspect of the business sold off.

By the time of Frederick Martyn’s death in 1949, social mores had changed: fewer and fewer wakes were held in private homes and more and more were occurring in funeral parlors. The Main St. location had been outgrown. The property was sold to Solomon Weiser, who went on to operate a men’s clothing store at the Main St. location for many years. After a brief relocation to 220 Worthington St. East, the Martyn Funeral Home moved to its current location at the corner of Wyld and Worthington Sts. Formerly the Rankin home, the house was remodeled, with an enlarged visiting parlor and a chapel to offer church funerals. Later, Ian and his wife, Elizabeth, lived above the funeral home — a common practice at the time. The Martyns also provided ambulance services until the mid-1960s, when the Ontario government began standardizing provincial ambulance service. The Martyn family is now in its fourth generation of providing funeral services in North Bay.

See other photos of Mr. Martyn and his business here.. Or, read about QSL cards and ham radio operators in North Bay.

Photo credit: Martyn Funeral Home, Inc.

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Ham radio operators have been sending QSL cards for almost a century, and here are two examples from North Bay, Ontario. QSL stands for “I acknowledge receipt.” The traditional use of the postcard-sized QSL card was to serve as written confirmation of a two-way amateur radio communication or one-way reception of a signal from a radio or television station.

The heyday of private citizen turned ham radio operator was in the 1950s and 1960s, much as CB (citizens’ band radio) radios were all the rage in the 1970s and 1980s. QSL radio cards actually date back to at least 1916, when a QSL card was sent from 8VX in Buffalo, NY to 3TQ in Philadelphia, PA. Since QSL cards are a ham radio operator’s calling card, they often are an expression of individual creativity, as is the case with the QSL card of Ennis and Joyce Scobie of North Bay. Their card, showing a “Lone Ranger” image, probably dates from the 1950s. “The Lone Ranger” was an American TV show which aired from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. See a large collection of QSL art here. Another website has a collection of over 28,000 QSL cards.

Most QSL cards contain information about one or more contacts and their names, the stations, and the call signs exchanged between two ham radio operators. Often, information arranged in a check box format on the reverse side may include the date and time of the exchange, the radio frequency used, a signal report and information on the transmission mode.

Ham radio operator Jim Holman, who lived at 132 Whitney Ave. in North Bay, broadcast at XM47-754. His QSL card probably dates from the 1970s or 1980s.

The advent of the Internet enabled electronic exchange of QSL cards as an alternative to the need for mailing a paper card, with jpeg or gif images exchanged via email as proof of contact. Computer databases store the information previously verified by QSL cards. With the emergence of electronic QSLs, the old-fashioned paper QSL cards have become collectibles.

Learn about early North Bay area breweries.

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This historically significant Azo Tri 1 real-photo postcard, dating to World War I and a 1914-1918 time frame, shows troops from the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) posing at the Queen’s Hotel in Sundridge, Ontario. The two-story hotel seen in this scarce image appears — from its architectural details, including Italianate-style porch post trim — to have been built c. 1880 to 1885. The otherwise unused RPPC (real-photo postcard) bears a handwritten notation on the reverse which says: “162 Battalion at Sundridge.”

As was noted on the Commanda page, James Arthurs (1866–1937), who opened a general store in Commanda in 1885, was instrumental in establishing the 162nd Infantry Battalion of the C.E.F. in 1914. The C.E.F. was created in response to a United Kingdom call for troops after World War I began. Mr. Arthurs’ dignified portrait is seen to the left.

The scarce 1916 postcard to the right offers greetings from the 162nd Battalion, C.E.F. at Sundridge, and bears an interesting message from a soldier named Russ, who sounds somewhat bored. Penned on 25 July 1916, the message reads: “I have not very much to say this time, only that I am still living. I hear there is to be a big day in town on the third of August and you bet I will be up if I can get there at all. Well, I have been soldiering for six months now and we are still in Canada yet, but it is hard to tell where we will be at the end of another six months.”

This real-photo postcard shows a bird’s-eye view of dozens of tents at the 162nd’s campsite in November 1916. Perhaps a reader will recognize the large hill in the background and thus be able to give us a more precise location for the camp.

Although it would now be considered politically incorrect and perceived as animal cruelty, soldiers at Sundridge kept a black bear as a mascot for the camp. The bear no doubt was an amusement intended to alleviate some of the fear and anxiety soldiers must have felt as they awaited their overseas departures to the front lines in Europe.

Catch a glimpse of c. 1908 Commanda.

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Commanda, in the Parry Sound District of Ontario, is located about equidistant between Trout Creek and Golden Valley. It served as a way station on the Old Nipissing Road, also known as the Rousseau-Nipissing Colonization Road, which was one of the last routes built to encourage immigration to the Near North. James Arthurs (1866–1937), who would later go on to establish the 162nd Infantry Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in 1914 — about which you can learn more here — opened a general store at Commanda in 1885. From 1908 until 1935, Arthurs represented the Parry Sound district in the House of Commons, and was a Canadian senator for the Conservative Party from 1935 until his death.

Interestingly, the handsome portrait of Arthurs seen above was made by William James Topley (1845–1930), a prolific Canadian photographer. The Ottawa-based Topley was known for his portraits of Canadian politicians and was a business partner of legendary Canadian photographer William Notman. In 1872, he took over Notman’s studio in Ottawa. A large number of photographs by Topley, including this one, are now in the collection of Library and Archives Canada.

The general store served the community for 92 years, moving to a new location in the early 1930s, where it remained until its 1977 closure. It was the hub of the community, and is a notable example of High Victorian commercial architecture. The store most recently has housed a museum highlighting the history of this once-thriving community, seen in the postcard above.

The first post office opened in 1877, when the area was known as Commanda Creek, with Thomas Carr serving as postmaster. The post office name was changed to Commanda in 1881. At some point after this, as best we can piece the dates together, the post office was in the Commanda general store. After postmaster Carr’s death in 1900, his wife, Adeline Carr, was postmistress until April 1905. Mr. and Mrs. David Watt ran the post office at the time this scarce Commanda postcard, postmarked at Commanda in August 1908, was mailed to Miss Ella Moore of Golden Valley. The sender wrote of a bountiful supply of berries, most likely blueberries.

The antique postcard is made scarcer by the fact that the cancel is from a DPO (dead post office) and the name on the front of the vintage postcard is misspelled as “Commando.” The image appears to be in a picture frame, which is a trompe l’oiel (“fool the eye”) artistic technique not commonly seen in vintage postcards. The technique is employed here in the suggestion of a three-dimensional wooden picture frame surrounding the image.

Other Commanda postmasters included H. Schwarze, Benjamin E. Schwarze, Mrs. Florence Edith Smith, Charles James Hoffman, George Otto Hanselman and Lynda J. Verhage.

Read more about the 162nd Battalion in Sundridge.

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The New Ontario Brewery led a short but eventful life in North Bay. Established in 1905 by a group of businessmen headed up by James Palango, it produced a German-style lager beer. The company prospered, and enough beer was produced to supply both North Bay and surrounding communities. By 1910, the New Ontario had begun to hire “brewery boosters,” traveling salesmen who traveled by horse and buggy to locations as diverse as Cobalt to the north and Kitchener, Kingston, Ottawa and Pembroke.

However, the quality of the lager produced was inconsistent: for some unknown reason, the brewery had five different brewmasters from 1906 to 1915. By the time that a fire destroyed the brewery in 1915, the first World War I was on. Supplies were being rationed and there was a shortage of manpower. Anti-German sentiment of the time also factored into the decision not to rebuild the brewery.

A locally-owned brewery which met with more success was the Sudbury Brewing and Malting Co., Ltd. It was founded in 1907 by amateur boxer and former hotelier J. J. Doran of North Bay, whose nickname was the “Brewer of Northern Ontario.” His brothers-in-law, Richard A. Fee and J. J. Mackey, partnered in the business. Eventually, they went on to buy other breweries: in 1911, they bought the Soo Falls Brewing Co. (begun in 1900 in Sault Ste. Marie) and, in 1913, they purchased the Kakabeka Falls Brewing Co. in Thunder Bay (Fort William). They also built Doran’s Brewery in Timmins in 1929. The Port Arthur Beverage Co. marked the company’s final purchase, in 1948. Brewmeister Doran died in 1958.

In more recent times, consolidation led to the creation of Doran’s Northern Ontario Breweries, which has been known as Northern Breweries since 1979. Northern Breweries, in a deal with Molson and Labatt, sold Superior Lager and Northern Ale to southern Ontario. Finally, in 2004, Northern Breweries was sold to an investment group.

Learn about early Old Home Week celebrations in Canada.

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We never did find out who created this video of vintage postcards from our Mattawa collection, but we like the results and the rousing Stompin’ Tom tune. Someone with the handle “lindprod” put it up on YouTube in December 2007, where it’s since had almost 3,000 views. Enjoy!

Read about Bruno Charron, a late 19th c. Mattawa photographer.

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A serendipitous purchase has solved a mystery: the former location of Canada’s largest Indian, a roadside attraction which was in North Bay, Ontario. Chief Standing Moose, a spectacular example of roadside Canadiana (technically known as roadside Americana) was 24 feet tall and billed as “Canada’s largest Indian.” He was located beside a log cabin storefront offering “Indianware” for sale.

If you look closely, you’ll see that the right-hand corner of the Portage Trading Post, and a small shed behind the white teepee (which was where Chief Standing Moose was) exactly match the location of the buildings and construction materials seen in the vertical image of the Chief. (See the original post here.) The Portage, located in Ferris, advertised on the reverse of this chrome postcard as offering Hudson’s Bay blankets, Indianware, tartans, and other gifts and souvenirs. William Forder photographed this image in the mid-1950s. The Portage building sported advertising for honey as well, just above an old Coca-Cola vending machine. To the left of the entrance, a large moose head was mounted on an exterior wall. The Blue Jay Auto Court was to the left of the Portage.

We still don’t know who created the Chief, or what became of him. We’ve been told that the Portage morphed into The Bay Post, a two-story building located at 573 Lakeshore Dr. which offers similar merchandise. In this c. 1960s to 1970s postcard, one sees a totem pole and a carved, freestanding Indian figure at right front. If you can add anything to the story of Chief Standing Moose, let us know and we’ll update this post.

See a close-up photo of Canada’s largest Indian, a former roadside attraction in North Bay, Ontario.

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Since the automobile opened travel opportunities in the 1920s, North Bay’s Lakeshore Drive — hugging the shoreline of Lake Nipissing — has been the home to many of the city’s motels, cottages and cabins.

Somewhere on Lakeshore stood Chief Standing Moose. This spectacular example of roadside Canadiana (technically known as roadside Americana) was 24 feet tall. He was billed as “Canada’s largest Indian” and was located beside a log cabin storefront offering “Indianware” for sale.

Whatever became of Chief Standing Moose? What was the name of the store, and what was its address? Who created Chief Standing Moose?

Chief Standing Moose was part of an American and Canadian tradition of larger-than-life roadside folk art sculptures such as “Touchdown Jesus,” who arose in 2004 along I-75 at the Solid Rock nondenominational mega-church in Monroe, Ohio. Ironically, the right hand of Touchdown Jesus (also known as “Big Butter Jesus” for his creamy color and ““Drowning Jesus” for his position at the edge of a baptismal pool) was struck by lightning in June 2010; the entire Styrofoam and fiberglass structure was quickly immolated.

Well-known examples of roadside outsider art include Chimo the Polar Bear at Cochrane and the Big Nickel at Sudbury. See more fascinating Ontario examples of this genre at Large Canadian Roadside Attractions. Sometimes these roadside attractions are created for civic promotional purposes, but often they are created by outsider artists. Art critic Roger Cardinal coined the term “outsider art” in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut, a French term meaning “raw art” or “rough art.” The term is meant to describe art created outside the norms of what is typically thought of as art.

Read about a 19th century Canadian photographer who lived in Mattawa.

Photo credit: Drust/Flickr

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