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Technology: The good, the bad…

30 Jan

The ugly? Haha. I think this title appropriately sums up the week I’ve had and how technology has flavoured it, both positively and negatively.

I always say that technology is a double-edged sword; great when it works and a pain when it doesn’t (I guess so does everyone else). I experienced both, but it’s funny that technology usually picks the worse time to fail. For me it was on Thursday, which was the first day of semester 1 exams. For the last few years I have been using response technology on the multiple choice sections of my exams. While there is some inherent laziness, since I do not have to mark, the “clickers” allow me to analyze the data and use it to improve my teaching/questioning. Last year I switched to a new system, the CPS Pulse by eInstruction. Everything went fine, as did the trial run I did on the Monday before the exam. However, when my period 1 class arrived (Grade 10 Canadian History, Academic/AP split), the program would crash when I tried to activate it. After many restarts and failures, I told the students to go to plan “B” and use the answer sheet. Shortly thereafter, it started working. ????? There were a few choice words muttered to myself but I was glad it was working (worked fine for the most part for the next 2 exams).

On the upside, there were some great things that technology did for me on the research front. I have spoken before about how great the digitization of old books has been and the impact it has had on researchers like myself.  This past week has been a flurry of discoveries, which unfortunately had an impact on the article writing I was supposed to do (sorry Lee). However, I could not resist the temptation to continuing digging, which is clearly more my forte than writing. I began probing a site that I had visited before, but now I’ve realized that there is way more material available than I initially thought. Hathi Trust has been an absolute gold mine of information and I continue to find more and more material (I was just on it prior to writing this and looking up Poor’s and Moody’s Railroad Manuals). You must download each page individually, but that isn’t such a terrible problem since you never really need more than a few pages from each book or article. Everything has not been entirely perfect, as there are a few sources that are not available even in a digital format. Take for example the 1897, Volume 67 issue of Railway News which has some very important information. It cannot be downloaded and the closest library that has copies is in Kansas City (1250km from my house in case you’re wondering). I’ve tried to get a copy from that library, which hopefully works.

The one by-product of all this new research is that it has left me with stacks of paper that needed to be properly filed. They have been accumulating for a few months now and on the weekend I decided it was time to organize it all. I ended up with 21 piles of paper; I couldn’t resist taking a photo. It started me thinking about the time and money I’ve devoted to this project. There are hours on the internet, in the library and in particular tromping through the bush in the heat and bugs doing field work. Cost? I can’t even begin to calculate what I’ve spent on printing, gas and in the “old” days postage and film developing. Some people golf, some people drink…I research a “dead” railway (that’s what my wife calls it). We all have our vices right?

So speaking of this vice of mine, I finally decided to try to complete some of the critical research that needs to be done before I can contemplate any real writing. For years I have been making plans to visit the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa where some of the most important railway files are located. I also need to go back to the Archives of Ontario in Toronto and re-examine some of the material I looked at in 1999. I am very fortunate that my job allows me to take a deferred salary leave and pursue this goal. Therefore, if everything goes smoothly, I will be off from February to September 2016! I know it is a long way away, but I’m sort of excited already. Now the big decision is going to be how many days do I need in each city?

I guess the last thing I will leave off with this week is the fact that there are some really great people who share my interest in the railway. In the past few weeks I have received some awesome pictures of the railway and some of its associated history. First was a picture from Brett showing an aerial view of Trestle Bay on North Lake, where you can clearly see the pilings left from when the 1000 foot bridge burned c.1909. Today it was a series of pictures from Don of the old Bishop’s property also on North Lake. North Lake is a bit of special place for me as it was where I first encountered the railway way back in 1990. The photos showed the old Bishop’s cabin where I stayed on my first moose hunting trip. It also makes me think about how fragile history is and how quickly it moves and changes. Maybe this is what motivates and drives me; just as these gentlemen have shared history with me, I want to share history with others. Until next week…

 
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Posted by on January 30, 2012 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Do lawyers hate history?

23 Jan

So, yet another enigmatic title huh Dave…well, if the shoe fits. Now you’re probably looking for an explanation, but you’ll have to wait, as I usually save the railway related babble for the second half of the blog.

This past week was the last full week of classes before the start of exams, which is certainly a relief. While they mark the midway point of the year, exams are also a reminder that the new semester will soon be starting and with it a new set of students; some fresh blood so to speak. Not that I don’t like my current students, but after five months it is time to change things up with some new faces and new ideas. I’ve finally cleared up most of the backlog of marking that I had, which will certainly leave me more time to for other pursuits. There will be a brief flurry of marking because of exams and culminating projects, but I’m usually able to finish those off fairly quickly, especially since marks are normally due soon after the completion of exams.

Now some of the things that I “need” to get to are projects around the house. My wife and I are nearing the end (finally) of our three-year project to finish our basement. One of the last pieces of the puzzle is to install the laminate floor, which I am hoping comes in this week. When we ordered it in mid-December we were told it was on backorder until January 23rd or so, which would allow me to get it done this coming weekend. I’ve never installed a floor before, but I’m fairly handy so I don’t think it will be too much trouble (fingers crossed). I’d really like to have it ready since Superbowl is approaching soon, and I host an annual party for my friends; a new floor makes it feel finished.

Aside from some prep-work in the basement, this past week was fairly uneventful. We experienced a cold snap last week, so the temperatures prevented any cross-country skiing or trips up the mountain (on Saturday it was still -19C at noon). It gave me some extra time to work on railway-related matters (not yet…) and also do some planning for a few upcoming events. The trip to Europe is going in 71ish days, and we just got approved to attend the Glazier Football Clinic in Minneapolis from February 16-19. We try to get to this event every two to three years as it is a fantastic opportunity to learn and connect, drawing coaches from Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, northern Ontario and Manitoba. Glazier is one of the largest football clinics in the states, and they bring in some of the top high school, college and pro coaches. Really looking forward to it and for the first time I’m going to do some tweets from the sessions; I know everyone will be excited to hear about zone blitzing and the 3-3-5!

I did get a chance to do a bit more writing last week on the article, focussing on silver mining and its role in the construction of the railway. I’m sure I’ll write more this week, and that will only increase as the new semester starts. My “railway” time was also consumed with some additional research, which I feel at times will never end. Each time I type something into Google it reveals some new information or a new lead. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly qualifies my previous statement. I had an interesting exchange with a contact on Twitter last week and her suggestion was to get this “done” sooner than later. I spent some time pondering that statement as I had the same comment made to me at last year’s Gunflint Green-up presentation. I would love to dedicate my time to this project but as a husband, father and teacher there are other priorities in my life. Maybe I need my wife to hurry up and win that lottery she plays every week! More realistically though, I will be submitting the paperwork for a deferred salary leave this week (in 4 or 5 years…I haven’t decided), which will give me the time to travel to research and do some writing.

Alright, I guess I’ve kept the suspense going long enough. So what’s with the title? Well, it ties in with my railway research from last week. I was examining the material on the sale of the railway in 1899 again and it gave me an idea. In 1890 the Canadian Bank of Commerce loaned the PAD&W funds for construction totalling $1.5 million dollars, I think. I thought the best way to clarify this would be to contact CIBC Archives and see if they possibly had any information. I sent an email request on Wednesday and received a reply on Thursday. The contents of that response inspired the title of this blog.

Okay, so what did it say? Unfortunately, the answer was one that I had received before and made me extremely frustrated. Last year I wrote to TD Bank Archives for information on the Toronto General Trusts Company interest in the railway. While the archivist was very helpful, my efforts were thwarted by the “legal department.” In both requests, I was informed that the material I was looking for might be found in executive council minutes; for reasons of confidentially however, these records are permanently closed to the public. Arrrggghhhh! So, the bank lawyers are worried that someone might sue over financial information regarding companies that are long since gone and people who have been dead for nearly 100 years. While I can understand their concern, since everyone sues today, as a historian it is extremely frustrating and disappointing. Why are these records kept if no one can look at them? And unlike publicly held information, I cannot use access to information to get it. Damn you lawyers! Obviously a little tongue-in-cheek here, since I’m sure lawyers don’t hate history, but hopefully it explains the title. Make sense now?

Anyway, ’til next week.

 
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Posted by on January 23, 2012 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Of mountains and railways…

16 Jan

So, what’s with the title Dave? Well, it’s sort of a play on the Steinbeck novel “Of Mice and Men,” which I haven’t read by the way. I don’t really read much outside of history (go figure), mostly because I don’t have time to with all the other stuff I need to read. Anyway, I was stuck for a title and that just popped into my head. I think it’s appropriate though; just as Of Mice and Men was based on Steinbeck’s experiences, this blog was talks about my past week. So, there is a decent explanation!

Well, since I have now opened the proverbial can of worms, I guess I should elaborate on the events of the past seven days. It did take me a few days to get back in the swing of things after returning to work, and I was certainly feeling drained by Friday. I was struggling to clear up that backlog of marking, which by the way I’m still not all the way through (I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though). Saturday was our second cross-country ski lesson, which was a bit more active than the first. The kids got to experience going down a hill, and so did Dad! However, going back up the hill was interesting, especially since I didn’t have poles to help me out. My glutes were feeling it a bit later that day.

Sunday afternoon found me and boys back on the trail up the mountain, determined to surpass last week’s distance. So we headed up another level on the mountain, which unfortunately has some tough sections. One area, which is too rough and narrow for snowmobiles (most of the trails are used by both hikers and snowmobilers), includes a 250 foot vertical rise in 1100 feet. That’s a thigh-crushing, hamstring-tightening, lung-popping 23% grade…how’s that for a description! Trying to get two little boys up that is not easy, nor is the fact that I could stand to lose 10 pounds and am somewhat out of shape. However, the view makes it all worth it, as does the time I get to spend with my sons. I really hope they grow up to appreciate and enjoy the outdoors as much as I do. I’m already mentally planning where I’d like to take them on my personal day in June…Leeblain comes to mind 🙂

As for railway related events, I did not get to the article as I expected to (I wasn’t holding out a lot of hope). However, there were some interesting developments. On Wednesday I received an email from the Chik-Wauk Museum, which is located at the end of the Gunflint Trail (just across the border in northeastern Minnesota in case anyone is wondering). They wanted to know if I was interested in doing a presentation there at some point in the summer; of course I said “yes.” It’s been quite a few years since I done a public lecture, probably dating back to 2000. In a four-year span I gave a series of presentations on the railway (twice), mining and logging at the Paipoonge Museum (now known as the Duke Hunt Museum). There is no date yet, but hopefully I will know by the end of March. I must say that I’m excited; it love to talk about the railway and I know there will be a receptive audience. I also relish the opportunity to bring a little Canadiana to our neighbours to the south and describe how closely related our histories often are.

My second development was another contact in the ongoing Alexander McEwen saga. I received an email from a kind lady across the pond in Britain, who as it turns out is the great-granddaughter of McEwen’s mistress. Wow, quite the interesting tidbit! While she was not able to offer any additional information, it is another piece of the puzzle and might help me get to my goal of finding a picture of him.

Digging through my files for his information led me to a few other things on the weekend. First I continued with my article filing that I mentioned in my previous post, which unfortunately I did not get entirely through (damn US railroads!). From that I spun into looking at the book chapters and a new chapter I added regarding the sale of the railway in 1898-99. As I looked at the file, I really wished I could get to Toronto sometime in the near future. There is a file at the Archives of Ontario on the sale of the railway that has some really important information (I looked at it in 1999, but I need a second go-around). In the meantime I think I will email the archives at CIBC to see if they have any documents related to the money loaned to the railway in 1890 and how it factored into the sale. Wow, I have some work to do, never mind working on the article!

Until next week…

 
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Posted by on January 16, 2012 in Hiking, 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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What exactly is Boxing Day?

26 Dec

I’ve always wondered what Boxing Day was; I had to turn to our friends at Google for the answer. I guess the traditional meaning has long since gone as I certainly don’t have any servants! For those of you not in Canada and unfamiliar with the holiday, Boxing Day is our version of Black Friday. People get up at ridiculous hours to stand in line (apparently the line at Futureshop was 1000+) and try to get some good deals. I hate crowds, especially for shopping, so I never partake in the event. Besides, I’m on vacation and as much of a morning person I am, getting up at some obscene hour to go shopping is not in my plans. However, I may have picked something up during the Christmas Eve online sale, but I won’t spill the beans until it gets here!

I certainly had a good Christmas, though it seems that the day goes by ever more quickly the older I get. Thankfully I did not emerge as bloated and stuffed this year as I normally do, which is perfect for my future diet 🙂 As a parent though, I think that Christmas is more about my kids’ enjoyment. My boys certainly had a great day as Santa brought the Lego they were looking for; the Millennium Falcon for Ethan and Plo Koon’s Starfighter for Noah. There were lots of other presents as well, so they (and dad) have been kept busy playing and building Lego sets. You don’t realize how long it takes it assemble a 1200 piece Coreillan freighter!

Since Christmas has now passed, and today is drawing to a close, it makes me reflect a bit on the next event. Tomorrow is my birthday; it’s funny how when I was younger I was so anxious for the day to arrive and now it’s become such an anti-climactic thing. I suppose that in my less follicly challenged days it was about catching up to my friends, but now it just reminds me that I’m drawing another year closer to 40. However, I must say that I don’t dwell on this or feel old. As my wife’s “boyfriend” Jon Bon would say, I’m “not old, just older!”

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been taking a bit of a break from railway related matters. Last week I did finish reading the Ole Paulson book, which turned up some really good information. There was also some interesting material on Ole’s emigration from Norway and his experiences in Minnesota. Anyway, although it would not hold up in court, I think I’ve been able to fill in all the pieces of John Paulson’s life. I’ll get back into some research in a few days once things settle down. Next week I’m hoping to get together with Lee in Duluth and then I will be able to resume working on the article.

Until next time.

 
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Posted by on December 26, 2011 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Dear Santa…

20 Dec

All I want for Christmas is a marking elf and a research assistant! Sincerely, Dave.

Did I really write to Santa? No I didn’t, but I wish I could! Now, you’re probably wondering why a grown man, a few years removed from his fourth decade, would be doing such a thing? Well, it certainly is a weird request, but boy could I use that elf! There’s only a few days left before Christmas holidays but I’m struggling to clear up a huge back-log of marking that has been accumulating for a while. It’s kinda of a never-ending battle; well, it sort of does end, but that’s usually at the end of a semester.My biggest priority is to return my Grade 12 History Independent Studies, which I promised to have done before the break. I should have them for Thursday. The research assistant is a story for another paragraph.

Speaking of Christmas vacation, it can’t come soon enough; I’m pooped! It has been a crazy last couple of weeks. On top of the marking, I’m still trying to do some railway stuff and plan the trip to Europe. Tonight is the first traveller/parent meeting, and that means I’m a step closer to making the leap across the pond! So I’m really looking forward to the two-week break and a bit of a rest. It’s going to be nice to relax and spend some time with the family, especially with my boys Ethan and Noah. They are getting particularly excited for Santa’s arrival on Sunday; hopefully he brings the Lego they are hoping for!

The railway has been the railway; the usual cycle of research, reading and a bit of writing has continued. Last week I spent some time gleaning the web pages of Google Books for information on the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western. I was able to find quite a bit of new material, particularly on the early history of the railway (1885-1890). I also turned up a bunch of stuff on iron mining and the whole Minnesota connection. It seems as if any free books seem to end at 1890; I don’t know if that is a mandated date because of copyright or what. I’m also curious if there would be more material available if I lived in the US, since Google just launched their whole ebook store here in Canada just over a month ago. There are times where all you get is a “snippet” view, which is like a tantalizing little morsel that leaves you dying to see the rest of the information. Maybe it’s a big conspiracy by Google to tease people like me!

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Ole Paulson’s book which I had been told contained some tidbits of information regarding his brother, John Paulson. It arrived via inter-library loan from St. Olaf College, which was a pleasant surprise since I was told that books could not come from the States. This is not the original book, which was written in Norwegian, but rather a translation that was done in 1981. I’m about two-thirds of the way through the book (it’s not very big, and I’ve skipped over parts), and there are some really interesting sections. The book has also helped to confirm some details in the life of Paulson, whose life story is slowly starting to come together.

This brings me to the second part of my Santa request. As much as I love researching the railway and making discoveries, it would be nice to have someone helping out occasionally. I’ve mentioned before that this has been a particularly busy year and I feel somewhat overwhelmed at times. The process of finding information can be very tedious and time-consuming; I can’t imagine how many hours I’ve spent doing this over the past 17 years. During the break, my wife and I are planning to complete the basement project that we began more than two years ago. The last major task is to install the laminate floor, which should not be too difficult (I hope; I’ve never done it before!) but will limit the time I have to do any railway-related stuff.

Anyway, it’s time to wrap-up this latest ramble. I most likely will post again after Christmas; maybe Santa will visit…though it would be disturbing to see an elf and some person under my tree in the morning. Merry Christmas!

 
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Posted by on December 20, 2011 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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The Polar Express meets LMFAO

12 Dec

What does a children’s book about a train that takes kids to the North Pole on Christmas have to do with an electro pop band from California? Well, nothing really. Talk about two completely unrelated topics; however, they are the things that are currently on my mind. Surely you jest Dave! No, I haven’t started reading kids books on a whim, nor have I changed my musical tastes (LMFAO is not at the top of my playlist on my Ipod or Blackberry). I’ll explain.

The football highlight video finally made it on to the web (for all of an hour) after I made a few tweaks this weekend that were wholeheartedly embraced by the players. This year, the team (or at least the offensive pretty boys…can you tell I coach defence?) adopted the LMFAO song “Sexy and I Know It” as their motto. They even named our offensive spread package after a line in the song, “Wiggle Wiggle.” So, at the behest of the coaches, I added this song to the end of the video. The words have been stuck in my head since. Unfortunately all my efforts have come to naught; when I uploaded the video, the audio was disabled because of a copyright issue. So I deleted it and I’m back to the drawingboard looking for new music.

As for the Polar Express, I’ve been thinking a lot about one of the images in the book that I saw while I was reading it to my son Ethan one night. The picture was of the train, pulled by a steam engine, passing through a forest of conifers as it picks up children on its way to the North Pole. It was snowing and dark, and it had an almost mystical sense to it. That image made me think of the railway, and something I seldom envisioned. Most of my exploration of the PD has taken place in the summer, mostly because it makes it a lot more difficult to see things with snow on the ground. I’ve often found myself picturing what it would have looked like in the area that I am exploring when the trains were still running. The image from the book made me think of a forested and remote place, and my mind was immediately drawn to the boundary waters of North and Gunflint Lakes. I visualized a train, similar to the one in the book, gliding along the snow-covered tracks in those early years (1893-94ish) in what was a very lonely, but probably beautiful and breathtaking place. It must have been an amazing sight and I would have loved to see that!

Speaking of the railway, things having been plugging along. The research continues unabated, though nothing substantive in the last few days. Last week my investigation on Alexander McEwen (yes, apparently this is the spelling of his name) continued. I did find some bio material of his life in a June 1891 obituary, but I’m amazed that there is not more information out there on a man who is supposed to have been such a big investor. I posted on Ancestry looking for help, which netted the following response; “type Alexander McEwen 1831-1891 photographs into Google and you’ll get tons of hits.” Ah, thanks, but I posted because I couldn’t find anything on the net! Well, hopefully my plea turns up something.

As for the article, I’ve started clicking a few keys;  I’m officially up to a whopping 128 words! I must say it was a bit of a struggle. I guess I need to spend some time refining my outline to make it more specific. Maybe that will help me focus my thoughts since I have little wiggle room with the word count. It’s really tough trying to figure out what I NEED to include and what I can leave out. Makes for some tough decisions. Hopefully I’ll have time this week to write a bit more.

 
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Posted by on December 12, 2011 in Hiking, Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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Google books and the countdown to Christmas

06 Dec

According to the calendar, there’s only 19 more days until Christmas; hopefully I’ll get there! No, this isn’t 2012 on the Mayan calendar, nor do I expect to suddenly keel over at some point in the next few weeks (or at least I hope not). This is more a comment on the current state of things, which is usual given this time of year. September to December in the school year is a long haul, especially with all the things going on ie. football. By this point I’m getting a little burned out, and so are the kids; everyone needs a little break to re-charge the batteries! So, yes I will make it, but three weeks does seem like a long way to go!

Since I’ve now completely finished the football highlight video (going to YouTube next Sunday), I can now concentrate on some railway related matters (if I don’t get sidetracked with other things that is). I’m supposed to be starting to write the article, but the aforementioned tangent has already started. Last Friday I found myself on the internet scrolling through Google books. The net has really revolutionized researching with all the digital content that can now be accessed. While not everything is free or available, it really gives you a lot of direction as to where to look. The amount of scanned books and newspapers is simply astounding; makes it so much easier to find information that otherwise would be inaccessible. Anyway (see, it’s happening again!), I was searching for references to the railway in Google books which turned up some great material. In the 1887 Volume 13 of “Railway World,” I came across a very interesting development regarding the first aborted attempt to build the railway in the fall of that year.

One of the news items describes the commencement of construction, and lists Sir Alexander Galt, Thomas Marks and a “Alexander McEwin” as promoters. I was already familiar with Galt and Marks, but this was the first I had heard of McEwin, or rather McEwan. Turns out, while biographical facts are sketchy, that Alexander McEwan was some sort of promoter/financier. I haven’t narrowed down a place or date of birth, but working out of London, it seems he was extensively involved in railway and mining projects around North America (Grand Trunk, Reading Railroad). There were a few from the Thunder Bay area, such as Silver Islet, the Huronian Mine and the Jarvis Mine. He apparently died in 1891 in New York, but that’s as far as I’ve got. We’ll see what else I can dig up, as this is quite the interesting and intriguing discovery.

So maybe I will get to that article soon as I attempt to survive the next few weeks. I’ve got a pile of marking to clear up (ugh!) and tomorrow marks the start of winter football work-outs…didn’t the season just end? The more time I have, the more things I have to do! Anyway, hopefully I’ll have a word count at my next update; stay tuned.

 
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Posted by on December 6, 2011 in Miscellaneous, Research, Writing

 

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