Who? You know silly! He shows up every year around this time; the big, fat, jolly guy! Can we say fat anymore…is that too politically incorrect? Metabolically challenged better? Maybe he’s like the guy from the Rudolph animated show that gains like a pile of weight for December 25-“eat papa eat, no one likes a skinny Santa!” In any case, we’ll be eagerly anticipating his arrival at our house; I’m sure the boys will be on the Santa Tracker this afternoon watching his progress.

The Christmas season has brought with it a welcome respite from work; it has been an insanely busy year since September. Every year I say how much busier it has been compared to the previous year and this time it was no different. I’ve already been able to spend some time relaxing and hanging out with the family and I look forward to doing more of that during the next couple of weeks.

One of the things keeping me occupied during the fall was football, and this year I received a very special surprise when the season ended. On November 19 a very unusual email (and tweet) showed up in my inbox; I had been selected as one of the ten finalists for the NFL Canada Youth Coach of the Year. I was totally shocked…I didn’t even know I was nominated! Turns out one of my fellow coaches, Shaun Berst, wrote a very flattering email that helped me earn the nod. In the end I was not the winner ($5000 for your football program), nor one of the two runners up, but I was honoured to be one of the finalists nonetheless. I coach because I enjoy it and try to make a difference our youth. Besides, in a hockey crazy town like Thunder Bay, it’s nice to get people thinking about some other sports for a change!

On the field, October 2014. (J. Mirabelli Photography)

In other school related news, the pieces are beginning to fall into place for our 2017 trip to Europe. From our first student meeting in early October to now, we have come a long way in a short period of time. There are now 21 students enrolled on the trip, with a few more on a waiting list. We are hoping that our tour company, EF, can land us a larger bus so we can take those extra few students with us. Even though we are more than 800 days away from the trip, the excitement is building. Our tour will bring us together with thousands of other high school for this monumental event in Canadian history.

So with things having returned somewhat to normal, I’ve been trying to get back to some railway related matters. Interestingly enough, I’ve received a couple of emails in the last week that have helped me with that endeavour.

The first was a tweet rather than an email, but important nonetheless. The anniversary of Alexander Middleton’s birthday, who was the chief engineer and briefly president of the PAD&W, sparked some interest in his native Scotland. A number of back and forths later I had some new information about Middleton’s past before he began work on the railway.

A few days later I received another inquiry, this time related to my work on Leeblain. There is very little information about what occurred during its existence, but I may have gained a little more insight. The only know person to live at Leeblain was one Adolphe Perras, who previously operated a hotel in Port Arthur. The email I received from a lady in Winnipeg, who is descendant of Perras, has me looking in some new directions and might even lead to a photo of him.

While I’m away from school for a few weeks, I’m going to try and get back to some work on the Gunflint and Lake Superior Railroad. I still have quite a number of files (rather photos) from the Arpin Papers to transcribe, which I’ve started to pluck away at again. I’ve done a little digging on the internet, but I’m planning to get to the Thunder Bay Museum next week to do a little “ole fashioned” research.

Anyway, I gotta run, as there as is a lot to do before the big day. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and joyous New Year. I’ll be back in 2015 with more news and ramblings. Until then…