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School’s out for summer!

03 Jul

Yes, the legendary rocker Alice Cooper put it best, though it would be nice if school was out forever! I guess I wouldn’t get paid then, and unemployment sucks. Oh well, the two month break is very much appreciated and will be very relaxing.

In a stroke of perfect timing, the weather over the last week has seemed to settle down. The temperatures have been on the rise and at times it has even been uncomfortably hot. I guess that is what happens when the weather is all over the place and the sudden onset of heat gives the body a bit of a shock. Could be worse though; there are people in the northeast US who are dealing with 40C temps and no power. Kinda makes the 28C in my bedroom Sunday night a bit more bearable.

So, what have I been up to? Well, with aforementioned hot weather on the weekend, the family and I decided

Bass Lake, June 2012.

that camp was the best place to beat the heat. We really hadn’t been out to camp this year, aside from a few short little visits, so it was nice to get out to the lake. Swimming in the water was a treat as well, especially after a relaxing sauna. My kids love being at camp, a sort of change of pace from the regular routine. The only part I hate is when I have to cut the grass, since I LOVE to cut grass and do yard work. It only took 2.5 hours to do the whole thing!

If you’re a regular follower, you’ll have noticed that I’m a day late with this post; that’s ‘cause I was away from home for a few days. The family and I headed down to Duluth, MN for the night on Monday to do a bit of shopping and we just returned home. It was a nice little break, though the only downside (if you can call it that) was the heat. Yesterday was hot, and today was even hotter. The heat generated a pretty wicked thunderstorm last night, with bolts of lightning flashing across the sky; it was quite impressive.

Duluth Lighthouse, July 2012.

We spent most of today either driving or inside, which was a good thing since the truck thermometer was showing 30C+ (it was 33 at one point). We drove down to Minong, WI to take a look at some boats and the heat was absolutely stifling there. Even now it still is 34C with the humidity; I might just hide in the basement so I can get a decent sleep!

On the railway front there is not a lot to report. I wasn`t able to get out hiking last week, but I am heading out tomorrow. I want to finish the hike I started along Whitefish Lake between Wolfe Siding (Suomi) and Mackies. It`s not supposed to be as hot tomorrow (25C), but I`m not taking any chances and I will be heading out early to beat the heat.

Even though I was not out in the bush on field work, I did get a few things accomplished last week. While I was finishing up exams, I had a little lieu time coming to me, so I took Tuesday afternoon off and ended up at the Lakehead University (LU) Library. The Library you ask? Yes, the library. Seems pretty bizarre, but I had some time and there was some stuff I want to look at.

The internet has been a gold mine of information for me, but unfortunately not everything I find on the net is downloadable. They are like tempting little morsels, taunting me with what they might hold. I had found some hard copies of some material I was after at LU so I decided to pay my old alma mater a visit. It had been quite a while since I had been in the library to look up old books, so I was a bit dumbfounded at first. I had to ask for directions!

Most of the information I was after was located in old mining and forestry reports. There was some valuable information, particularly in the mining reports, since the Gunflint Range that holds the Paulson Mine extends into Canada for some 50 miles; the railway was supposed to tap into some of this Canadian iron as well. These geologic reports shed a lot of light into the quality and quantity of iron located in this extension of the Mesabi Iron Range. You can imagine how disappointed I was however when one book, which was supposed to have 4 maps of iron location along the railway, was missing two of the maps. They had been torn out! Thanks dirt bag whoever you were-now I have to try to find this book elsewhere, probably in Toronto!

I also found some time to start working on an article for the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, of which I am a member. I have been wanting to write an article for TBHMS on Leeblain for a while now, and since I have already written one article this year (no idea when that will be completed), I thought I would move on to something else. I have about 550 words so far, which is a decent start. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to work a bit more this week, as I know I will have to put it on hold soon to begin working on my slide show for my presentation on the 25th of this month. We’ll see where I am by next week.

Anyway, I better wrap things up since I have an early morning. I’ll have a bit more to report after tomorrow’s hike, and next week I will be on time! Until then…

 
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Posted by on July 3, 2012 in Hiking, Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Farewell and Adieu

25 Jun

Well, there are no Spanish ladies around, but I can hear the proverbial fat lady warming up. In case you haven’t guessed it, this is the final week of classes for the year and I’m just a wee bit excited. It’s not that I don’t like my job, but as I’ve mentioned in previous weeks, it is time for a break. I’m tired. I just need some time away from the building, without the stress and just relax. This is not to say that I’m going to do nothing for the next two months, far from it, but I just need to recharge the battery.

On that note, there are still a few days left and a bunch of stuff to do. There is still one exam left to go (for me anyway) and I have a bunch of projects to mark. By Thursday it will be all good and I can put things on cruise control. The end of the year is somewhat sad though, as I say goodbye to the students from this year. This is especially true for the graduates. I’ve known some of these young adults for four years (if they played football), and some have been in my classes three years in a row. It is amazing to watch them grow, mature and move on to the next phase in their life. Reminds me that I’m getting old though, as I graduated from the very same building exactly 20 years ago. Class of 1992; wow, where has the time gone? How quickly time flies by. I sometimes wonder where all my former classmates are? Some are still friends; some I work with; some I see glimpses of their lives on Facebook. There are the few that you just don’t know.

Anyway, enough with the memory lane crap. So what’s new on the railway? Well, not a whole lot. We unfortunately got another dump of rain last week, which is perfect since things were just starting to dry out from the last one. It ruined the last day of our annual spring football camp, which is the best one by the way. I always love playing a bit of ball with the kids, and I know they like to see what the old guys can do. I guess we should count ourselves lucky though, since we only got 50mm of rain, not like our sister city to the south, Duluth, Minnesota. They were walloped with 250mm, which is more than double what we received in our big storm. I really feel for people there, since there was a hell of a lot of damage that was done. I wonder when this crazy weather is going to settle down?

Last week I did receive some encouraging news however regarding Gunflint Lake. On Wednesday I received a long-awaited response from my local MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly of Ontario). Bill Mauro’s office told me that they are looking into the matter and will get back to me when more information is available. Then on Thursday I received another email, this time from the local Archeology Review Officer for the Ontario Government. He acknownledged that there are some valuable historic artifacts in the area and they do need to be protected. The information will be forwarded to the appropriate government agencies so if and when an application for development is made, it will trigger a proper review. We’ll see where things go from there.

Magnetic Lake, with Gunflint Narrows and Gunflint Lake in the background, August 2008.

All this talk of Gunflint Lake has made me excited to get back to hiking. Next week I’ll be able to get into the bush; I think I’ll finish the examination of the Wolfe Siding to Mackies section that I didn’t get to a few weeks back. However, what has really got me going is Gunflint. Since the road down to the lake on the Canadian side has been repaired, I am contemplating getting out there in a few weeks. I last did this route back in 2008, and it was one crazy drive; maybe with the road in better shape it won’t be so bad. I am going to be on Gunflint in August, but I figure if I can get out there before that trip, it will take some pressure off of me.

I’m really curious to see what shape the road is in too; the only unfortunate part is that it will take me more than 2.5 hours to get there, since it is almost 150km

Rock cut, Gunflint Lake, August 2008.

away. The temptation is too much to resist though! I’ll save Leeblain for August, and concentrate on covering the stretch from there to Gunflint Narrows, which is an 8km round trip. I can properly document the rock cuts on my GPS (which I didn’t really do in 2008) and take video to post on YouTube (didn’t start the railway videos until mid-2010). Let’s hope the weather holds!

Speaking of video, and I’ll wrap up with this, I decided to add a little spice to my hiking videos. Just happened to catch a video from BWCACAST, which had a neat little intro to it, so figured that I could do that too! I contacted a former student who is in the multimedia program at Confederation College. He agreed to help out and I’m eagerly anticipating the completion of this cool intro clip. I’ll be sure to post the link when I get the first new video up!

Anyway, time to shut it down for this week. I might be late on next week’s post, just so no one thinks I’m dead or anything. Until then…

 
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Posted by on June 25, 2012 in Hiking, Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Are we there yet?

04 Jun

No, we are not on a vacation to Kansas with Toto, but we are certainly in need of a break! I’m done! Kaput! Toast! (I could go on with the metaphors) It seems as though no matter how much sleep I get, I still wake up feeling tired. There are way too many things swirling in my head that will only go away once the school year is done. Now I know what you’re saying, poor teachers, it must be rough having the whole summer off! Well, truth be told, this occupation is getting harder to do all the time.

Once the weather begins to turn warm in April, this whole idea of “teaching” becomes much tougher to do. The nice temperatures bring with them thoughts of summer and the kids begin to lose their focus. It is now June 4th and we have completely lost them! They have no attention span, trying to do work is like pulling teeth and the senior kids just don’t show up; June is like a good month/bad month. Therefore June 29th can’t come soon enough!

I must admit though that I do have an ulterior motive; summer means that I will have time to do what I want, namely hiking the railway. Unfortunately the bush it still wet from last week’s rain, so I can’t really get out. The city continues to be in a state of emergency, since our water treatment plant is still out of action. More than a thousand homes were flooded by the rain, and I really feel for those people. I hope that things get back to normal as soon as possible.

Gravel Lake Station, June 2012.

I did get out for another drive this week, mostly to complete my task from the last drive. Moving beyond Nolalu, I marked Hillside, Silver Mountain, Whitefish, Wolfe Siding (Suomi), Mackies and Gravel Lake on Facebook. Being out there made me want to be hiking so bad; maybe I have a bit of an addiction! Or it could be that I love being in the outdoors and it gives me the peace and quiet I crave. I never really hiked a lot of the line along Whitefish Lake and my curiosity has been peaked. This area is fairly high and dry, so I might be able to get out next week.

One of my stops was at the Silver Mountain Station, one of the few remaining buildings on the line. It was built circa 1911, replacing an existing log structure and is an identical copy of the station that once stood at North Lake. For many years it has been an iconic landmark on the corner of Highways 588 and 593. During the railway era, it was home at one point to Dorothea Mitchell, the famous Lady Lumberjack. The book on her adventures makes for a very interesting read, not only chronicling some of the history of the area, but also of the life of a female entrepreneur in a frontier wilderness.

Silver Mountain Station, June 2012.

Today the station is a restaurant, recently acquired by chef and baker Shelley Simon. I had a quick chat with her on Saturday, but I need to stop by again this summer and sink my teeth into a PD burger. If you’re in the neighbourhood (or even if you’re not…the drive through the Whitefish Valley is beautiful) be sure to stop in for some great food and hospitality!

Last week I wrote about my concern for the potential development near the ghost town of Leeblain. Unfortunately I did not receive any replies to my emails, which is a bit frustrating. I know that it has only been a week, and that people have other business to attend to, but I had hoped to hear at least something. Maybe I’m used to my profession and things just operate differently. In my line of work, I’m expected to reply to messages/emails as soon as possible. Then again, I’m responsible to parents for their child’s education, so maybe there’s a bit more urgency in that!

My last news for this week is very good news. I’ve written about my planned talk at the Chik-Wauk Museum scheduled for August 5th, but I’ve managed to land something closer to home. On Friday I paid a visit to one of my old stomping grounds, the Duke Hunt Museum. Located just outside Thunder Bay in the Municipality of Oliver-Paipoonge, it will always be known to me by its old name, the Paipoonge Museum. I first visited this great little gem back in 1997 and I spent many a day there in years past. I was privileged to be able to give a few lectures at the museum back in the late 90’s.

It had been quite a while since I visited the museum, especially given that it was recently relocated to a former school just down the road. The director is a great lady by the name of Lois Garrity and it was nice to sit down and catch up with her. Our conversation naturally turned to railway and we reminisced about the presentations I had done all those years ago. It was then that Lois said, “Hey, it been a long time since you spoke about the railway, are you interested in doing it again?” To be honest, I was hoping that she would ask. Needless to say I jumped at the idea and we were able to pin down a date. So on July 25th I will make my return to the lecture world and I could not be more excited. I love to research and hike the railway, but I probably like talking about it even more!

Anyway, enough yapping for now; I’m sure I’ll have more news and things to say next week. Until then…

 
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Posted by on June 4, 2012 in Hiking, Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Uh, I think we have enough rain now. Thanks.

28 May

A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months. The term was first used in English in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and neighboring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the region (Dictionary.com).

Pic from the net of Vibert Road in Oliver-Paipoonge.

So you’re probably thinking, “Dave, you live in Thunder Bay and according to Dr. Koppen, it is a Humid continental (Dfb) climate (sort of)…you don’t experience monsoons!” As I demonstrate some of my geography skills in jest for you, it seems as though we do. It has been raining for the better part of five days now. It is actually quite bad; several outlying municipalities have declared emergencies today as well as the city of Thunder Bay. We have received well over 100mm of rain that have caused flooding, washouts and for the first time in my teaching career, cancelled buses. Some unfortunate people have had their basements ruined. The ditches, creeks and rivers are full of water; my backyard looks like a swamp! The sun is supposed to return on Wednesday, so let’s hope it dries up soon.

This week is the last week of May and it could not come soon enough. My burnout only seems to get worse! Football training camp starts soon and there are a whole bunch of things that need to get done before that happens. There is timetabling, graduation and a bunch of meetings still to go. I know that it will fly by, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I just need a breather!

Another picture from the net of an OPP SUV in a rather precarious situation.

All the rain doesn’t bode well for my plans to do any hiking in the near future. Rather hard to walk near rivers and lakes when they’re flooded. On Sunday I decided that since I could not hike, I would take the boys on a little drive. My one hour expedition turned into three hours, but it was all good. What could I possibly do in those wet conditions you ask? Well, my main objective was to create some places on Facebook with my phone so that I could effectively locate them when I post. I didn’t get everything done, but the Harstone Bridge, Harstone, Silver Creek, Hymers, Sellers, Leeper and Nolalu are now all officially recorded. I’m sure I’ll finish the job soon enough…the drive made me want to look at these areas sometime soon.

The most dramatic development of my week (other than the flood of course), was when I was informed that a very sensitive area of the railway is due for some development. The North-Gunflint Lake corridor is my favourite on the railway and I try to get there as often as I can (I booked my field work for August 5-8 at Gunflint). It is the farthest area from Thunder Bay and fairly inaccessible, so it has remained mostly free from human interference.

Rock oven at Leeblain, August 2011.

I received an email on Saturday that there were plans in the works to possibly open a resort on the Canadian side of Gunflint Lake, near the ghost town of Leeblain. I have spoken about Leeblain before, and it contains the remains of an old hotel and workers camp, the most important of which are several rock ovens. These ovens were used by Italian labourers on the railway to bake bread and in other places such as BC they are preserved in parks. About 2.5km west of Leeblain is the Gunflint Cross I wrote about a few weeks ago.

I’m not against the development; it would actually be nice to access Gunflint Lake without have to endure a 1 hour boat ride from North Lake or go through the US. However, I think it is critical to ensure that these important historical sites are preserved and protected. I’ve written emails to local MLA’s Michael Gravelle and Bill Mauro, as well as the local archeological review officer for the Province of Ontario; hopefully someone listens to my pleas. I will certainly mention any developments should they arise in my subsequent blogs.

Now speaking of Gunflint and Leeblain, I’ve confirmed my plans to visit the area this summer. On August 5th I will be doing my railway/mine presentation at the Chik-wauk Museum and I had hoped to conduct some fieldwork in the following days. By chance I stumbled upon long-time Gunflint summer resident and current lodge owner John Schloot. Back in the 60’s John spent many summers on Gunflint and often visited the Bishop family on North Lake and the old railway station there. He recently purchased the Moosehorn Lodge on Gunflint, which is now known as Cross River Lodge.

I’ve visited the US side of Gunflint Lake several times, staying mostly at the Gunflint Pines Resort, but I also spent an evening at the historic Gunflint Lodge. John graciously suggested that I stay at Cross River and I was more than happy to oblige. Besides, John has old films of the North Lake Station taken in the 60’s and I am very eager to see them. He has even kindly offered to provide me with a copies that I can post on my YouTube channel. The trip should be interesting since I managed to convince my wife Jo-Anne to tag along with the kids. She’s not particularly outdoorsy, so hopefully we can find some things for her and kids to do while I hike the railway. If the weather is good, it should prove to be very a memorable visit.

Anyway, I think it is about time to wrap things up. Maybe be next week the water levels will have subsided somewhat and everyone can return to a relatively normal routine. Until then…

 
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Posted by on May 28, 2012 in Hiking, Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Shorts in March?

19 Mar

Yes, you read that title right. So, you’re probably saying, “it’s March, in the northwestern Ontario…what is he thinking?” Well, I’ve never worn shorts in March, but there’s a first time for everything right? I guess it all started last week when we were in Minneapolis and the mercury climbed to +18C; things only got better from there! Yesterday the temperature rose to +21 and I couldn’t help myself…actually I got too hot in pants. So I broke out the shorts and made history! Needless to say I feel very proud of my accomplishment. I even Tweeted about it 🙂

Today unfortunately it was back to work and boy was I dragging! Teaching is a great profession with some good holiday time, but coming back from vacation is always tough. This is especially difficult when you have to jump right back into the swing of things such as the Battle of Passchendaele and the Enlightenment. I’m certainly going to sleep well tonight!

Now speaking of sleeping, there are only 15 more sleeps until Europe! Can you tell I’m excited? Tomorrow I am having the final meeting with the travellers and their parents, so the reality is really setting in. Last week I picked up a new suitcase and some travel adapters so I think I’m ready roll. I am a little concerned with the current Air Canada labour issues, but fingers crossed everything will be okay.

I’ve been looking at our hotels and where we are heading from those locations. After our two days in Paris, we move to Rouen from which we visit Dieppe and Juno Beach. Then we’re on to Amiens which is close to the Beaumont Hamel and Ypres, as well as the culmination of the trip, Vimy. On paper they seem so far away, but they are really only an hour to an hour and half apart. Anyway, enough about that; you’ll be reading about it soon.

So, what about the railway? Well, there’s a lot to report on that front. I worked more on the article last week and I’ve almost reached 2800 words. I’ll try to get more writing done tomorrow and hopefully I can wrap things up next week. Since I’m almost done, I need to start thinking about pictures and maps for the article. I think I’ve got the pictures covered, but I’ll need to try and find some decent maps. I might have to make a few phone calls and see what I can dig up.

Last week I also received some good news regarding my presentation at the Chik-Wauk Museum. After the exchanging a few emails with Ada from the museum, I’ve been confirmed for Sunday, August 5th at 2:00 pm CST. I will be talking about the railway and the Paulson Mine…obviously pretty pumped for this event! It’s been a while since I did a public lecture on the railway so I’m great to get back into the saddle so to speak.

I managed to get that Wikipedia article on Leeblain finished as well. Quite proud of myself; it was actually a bit of work to put that together, especially with all the research involved (well, more like digging through my files). Maybe this will lead to more Wikipedia stuff, though I don’t want to get too carried away…I have anough on my plate. Paulson Mine next?

Joseph Fisher Eby

For my closing comments I thought I’d mention the busy week this is going to be in the history of the railway. Here’s the list:

Thursday-Gunflint Lake Iron Company is organized in 1892 by John Paulson, Kristian Kortgaard and Orrin D. Kinney

Friday-Investor Joseph F. Eby is born in Berlin, ON in 1844 and Canadian Northern VP Donald Mann is born in Acton, ON in 1853

Saturday-the last train runs on the Canadian National Railway-North Lake Sub-Division in 1938

Of all the events, the last is probably the most important, but I`ll save my comments for next week.

Until then…

 
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Posted by on March 19, 2012 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Waterparks, Ikea and the Battle of Yavin

12 Mar

So I’m sitting here in the parking lot at the Albertville Outlets, typing away while my wife shops. It’s a bit too wet outside for the boys to play on the equipment, so they’re watching a movie on their DVD’s. It is Monday, so it’s blog day, so I thought I’d get a head start on this week’s post. Unfortunately I just lost part of because it wouldn’t save, so I’m now resuming this post at 7:00 CST.

Lego Store, Mall of America

Now for the title; what else would you expect from me? We’re obviously on vacation, but it is somewhat abbreviated, since we head back home tomorrow…no Duluth on this trip 😦 Besides the usual spat of shopping, we did make time for a visit to the Waterpark of America which the boys loved as usual (Dad’s legs certainly didn’t love the trips up and down the stairs to the water slides). There was also some time spent at Nickelodeon Universe…the Splat-o-Sphere was particularly wonderful. Ethan kept saying to me, “isn’t this awesome!” as I struggled to keep my lunch down. We also squished Ikea into the agenda, as we were looking for some office furniture for the newly floored basement. We also made Mom happy by eating at her favourite, the Cheesecake Factory, but we had to roll ourselves out after dinner!

Well, that leaves the Battle of Yavin right? I mentioned in my last post that Ethan and Noah were excited to visit the Lego store (Dad always is too) and they were hoping to get some of the newly released Lego sets. Their wish came true, and the boys spent Saturday night assembling the X-Wing and Y-Wing while Mommy went to Kohl’s. Since then, the Battle of Yavin (the end scene from Episode IV: A New Hope, where Luke blows up the Death Star for all you non-Star Wars people) has been raging unabated. Today we celebrated Ethan’s 7th birthday with a traditional trip to the Rainforest Café and they’ve been at it since we got back. I’m sure Luke-Red Five and Dutch Vander-Gold Leader (and poor Jek Porkins-Red Six) will relish tomorrow’s travel day and a break from the war against the Galactic Empire!

In other news, the countdown is still on to Europe. Three weeks tomorrow I will be on a plane to Paris! Ironically, this is my first trip overseas since I went on my own EF Tour to Greece and Rome back in 1992…the 20 year anniversary trip! Last week I was sent all the flight and hotel information so it’s that much closer to reality. Last week I also taught my two Grade 10 classes about the Battle of Vimy Ridge, so I promised them pictures direct from the battlefield. When I return, we will be starting WWII so it will perfect timing to show them pictures of Dieppe and Juno Beach in Normandy. Talk about living what you teach!

As for railway related matters, last week was a fairly productive week. I managed to get another chunk of writing done on the article, bringing my word count to almost 2300. I will definitely have to do some cutting, but maybe by re-jigging the incomplete first part of my section I can minimize what is removed. I’m hoping to finish in the next week or two, for sure before I leave on the trip. I’ll need to get Lee’s input on what he thinks, as there will certainly be some tweaking that will be necessary. A summer or fall publication date? Let’s hope!

I did get a bit of research squeezed in last week too; I need to remember to download a few things that I bookmarked while surfing over lunch at work. With a bunch of new material to print out, I guess I’ll be doing some filing over the last few days of the break. I’ve probably killed more than a few trees in the past 18 years of research. One could argue that in this electronic age I could somehow keep everything on some sort of digital file, but I would have no idea how to organize that in a way that I could keep adding material. Anyone know?

Last week I also made a little foray into the realm of Wikis, for the first time creating a new page on Wikipedia. I have edited pages in the past, but this was the first time that I made something from scratch. It was completely off the cuff too; I just thought about it while my kids were writing a test on Friday and began plucking away on it over lunch. It is by no means complete, but I hoping to finish it off at some point during the break. The topic was on the ghost town of Leeblain in case you’re wondering, one of my favourite places. I always wondered what it might look like today had it worked out. Hmmmm…

Anyway, gotta go; long day tomorrow. Until next week…

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2012 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Hockey, Legos, Railways and Ghost Towns

03 Jan

Happy New Year! My New Years was low-key, as it has been for the last number of years; tough to do much with a 6 year old and a 4 year old at home. For the best anyway…hangovers suck!

So we’re a few days into the new year, and here I am in a hotel in Duluth, typing away on a little keyboard while my boys sleep. I guess at this point you have two questions: 1. why are you in Duluth and 2. what’s with the little keyboard? We’ll I’ll tell ya. I’m in Duluth for a few reasons, mostly because this year the Christmas break left us a whole week after New Years off and it was a good excuse for a little holiday and shopping. Ya, you’re probably thinking “those teachers have it so rough” (my wife and I are both teachers). Hey, that’s the way it goes I guess. The price for the hotel was good, so why not (my wife doesn’t need a lot of arm twisting if a trip to Kohl’s is involved). I also figured that while I’m there I could meet up with Lee to discuss the article we’re working on.

So that brings me to the second question about the small keyboard (which is a bit tricky to get use to, especially since I’m not a super-proficient typer). In my previous post I mentioned that I had bought something on the Christmas Eve pre-Boxing Day sale. Well, it’s here…sort of. I bought a Blackberry Playbook from Futureshop as a present for my wife and the boys (she claims that I’ll be the one using it the most, which is probably true). The sort of part is that I got it in a roundabout way. I was ticked off that it didn’t ship until the evening of the 28th, and then it didn’t show up on the 30th as Canadapost claimed it would. We went into the Futureshop on the 31st and after finding out I could return the web order in store, I bought one right there. I even upgraded to the 32gb version. This way I could bring it with me instead of the laptop.

Now, I’ve probably raised yet another question; why a Playbook? Aren’t all the cool kids using iPads (my wife asked the same thing)? Well, it was a combination of things, but mostly the price. This wasn’t a must have purchase, so shelling out $600+ for an iPad did not appeal to me. The $350 discount on the Playbook did. Don’t get me wrong, the iPad is awesome, especially the apps, but I had heard some good things about the Playbook so I decided to try it out. My brother has an iPad and he really likes it, but the lack of Flash is annoying. The Playbook links to my BB Torch and the OS update coming out soon will allow the downloading of Android apps, so I think it will be okay.

Now as for the railway, I haven’t done much work since before Christmas, mainly because of the craziness of the season. I spent a lot of time putting together Lego sets after Santa’s visit, and I’ve also tried to take in some of the World Junior Hockey Championship, which is one of the few hockey things I make a point of watching (yes, seems weird for a Canadian-I’m more of a football guy). I did however have a chance to catch up with Lee tonight, so I think the article is back on track. I’m planning on getting to the library on Thursday, so that should constitute my research quota for the week.

While I’m on the topic of the railway, tomorrow marks an important date in the history of the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western. January 4, 1893 was when the railway was completed, sort of. Well, I should clarify; there is no definitive date for its completion, but on January 4th there was a tour given to investors and dignitaries. They rode the line to North Lake, Gunflint Lake and crossed the border to the Paulson Mine. John Paulson himself led a tour of the mine site and the work being done. While they were there, the dignitaries christened the city of Leeblain on Gunflint Lake. Leeblain was intended to be the railway’s major terminal point outside of Port Arthur. It was named after two important Toronto investors, Arthur B. Lee and Hugh Blain. So a big day to say the least.

Anyway, enough for this week and this little keyboard. I’ll have more to say next time.

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2012 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Christmas Trees, Grey Cup, Football Highlights and Pierre Berton

29 Nov

So I spent a very interesting Sunday. After cleaning up some of the snow that fell on Saturday, it was that time of the year to put up the Christmas decorations. Needless to say my boys Ethan and Noah were ecstatic, probably more so about the approach of the season that about the tree(s) coming out. Had I had more time, I would have done my part which is to put up the lights outside. Unfortunately some of my talents were needed inside and I also had plans for later in the day.

The last Sunday in November is traditionally a football day here in Canada as it is playing of the Grey Cup. For those of you outside Canada, football here means the gridiron (not soccer) and the Grey Cup is the Superbowl of the Canadian Football League. This year was the 99th installment of this great tradition and since 1992 my good friend Dave (yes, another Dave; there are three of us!) has hosted a Grey Cup party. Unfortunately my Eskimos were not in the big game, but it is a good excuse to get together with the guys (btw, BC beat Winnipeg 34-23).

Speaking of football, much of my time over the last few days has been devoted to putting together a highlight video of our past season. I use this video for recruiting in the off-season and for promoting our program. I know the kids also love to watch the video; keep an eye out for it in the next week or so on YouTube.

My railway work over the past few days has consisted of a mixed bag of things. In preparation for writing the article, I pulled some material from my files regarding the need for railways in Canada and how it became part of our national identity. I also busted out my copy of Pierre Berton’s The National Dream as it had some great stuff about Canada’s enchantment with railways.

I’ve also spent some time doing a little light research on the net. It is very interesting how you can find yourself bouncing around from subject to subject as you get ideas or some other sort of inspiration. I found myself on Saturday night looking up some material on John Paulson; I was able to find a few good tidbits. First, Paulson was involved in another railway project before his Paulson Mine days called the Lake Superior, Willmar and Dakota Railway (I have no idea if it was ever built). My other interesting development was stumbling upon a website for the Eagle Lake Lutheran Church, where Paulson’s brother Ole was pastor for 11 years. The site talks about how many parishioners moved to the Willmar area from Carver County after the Civil War.

Yesterday I found myself vainly trying to find information about the establishment of the customs house at Leeblain. At the same time this city was being abandoned (trains stopped running to Gunflint in 1903), the Pigeon River Lumber Company was starting its operations at the east end of Gunflint Lake. They built a short logging railroad called the Gunflint and Lake Superior and both US and Canadian governments established customs houses in the area. The office on the Canadian side became know as Leeblain (even though it was several miles away from the original location). It was opened in July 1903 and closed in April 1909 (it was moved to North Lake). Unfortunately I could only find a short excerpt on the net; I’ll need to try to get a copy of the Acts of Parliament for 1909.

There was one curious and unexpected revelation that came from my digging yesterday. I had heard stories that there was a gold exploration north of Leeblain during the 1890’s; I believe it was Justine Kerfoot who first told me about this. I found a report from the Ontario Bureau of Mines that mentions this small development. Maybe at some point I will have to try to locate this shaft, but given its location it might be quite the undertaking. I’ll be sure to write about the mine if I ever get there.

 
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Posted by on November 29, 2011 in Hiking, Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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