Lakehead University - Yearbook (Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada)

Page 25 text:

LAKEHEAD TECHNICAL INSTITUTE YEAR BOOK ORIGIN OF PORT ARTHUR— (Continued) Having restored law and order in the new Western Province of Manitoba the Canadian Government then turned its attention to railway construction, the beginning of which was made from West Fort Wililam in the early sum- mer of 1875 as a Canadian enterprise. In 1881 this Government owned section was taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway. By 1886 Canada was now linked by rail from the Atlantic to the Pacific, an achievement un- heard of in railway construction up to that time. Considering that the popu- lation of Canada barely exceeded 4,000,000 inhabitants it did show vision, enterprise and resolution on the part of both the Government of the day and the directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The young town of Prince Arthur ' s Landing had by this time gone through a great deal of expansion, including one silver mining boom in the early ' 70 ' s and entering upon a second silver mining boom which began in 1882 and lasted pretty much until 1888. Coupled with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway Port Arthur became a town of great importance. In a booklet prepared by the Canadian Pacific Railway at that period the town of Port Arthur was referred to as The Silver Gateway. It will be of interest to the readers of this article to learn how the name came to be changed from Prince Arthur ' s Landing to Port Arthur. It became evident during the early C.P.R. construction of the North Shore Line that Prince Arthur ' s Landing was no longer suitable as a name for the terminus of the first trans-continental Railway. A number of names were then brought to the attention of our town fathers for their consideration, such as Port Royal, Ogama, Bayport, Shuniah, Prince Arthur, Algoma, Rock- ford, etc. If the town fathers were slow in making up their minds as to the proper name for this terminus, William Van Home, then general manager of the Pacific Railway, noted for his quick decisions, decided upon the name of Port Arthur, which appeared on their station, located on the property now occupied by the city car barn, between Van Home and Wolseley Street. A year later in 1884 the name of the post office was also changed to that of Port Arthur and when the town was incorporated in May of the same year it also adopted the same name. Explanations for the change to Port Arthur from Prince Arthur ' s Landing, as decided upon by the authority of the Canadian Pacific Railway, has been recorded by the Sentinel, the leading Lakehead newspaper of the time and repeated in the Port Arthur Illustrated, published in May 1889. It was supposed to be partly as a companion to Port Moody, the Pacific terminus, and a compliment to Prince Arthur and partly for President Chester Alan Arthur, then President of the United States and rather popular with the Canadian people. He used to spend his summer vacations in Canada. He was actually the first President to manifest any interest in Canadian affairs and a deep affection for the Canadian people. It is doubtful if any other city on the continent can claim to have been named after two such historical figures, Arthur, Duke of Connaught, the 7th child of Queen Victoria became a Field Marshall in the Imperial Army. In time he was appointed Governor-General of Canada. President Chester Alan Arthur, a man of very great charm, possessed of a fine physique, did make his contribution towards better understanding between the American and Canadian people. It is to be hoped that our City Fathers will take full cognizance of the centennial of our city in 1957 and in co-operation with our schools, our churches, our Historical Society, our Chamber of Commerce and our Service Clubs organize a celebration which will be worthy of the event. —J. P. BERTRAND. — 23 —

Page 27 text:

LAKEHEAD TECHNICAL INSTITUTE YEAR BOOK 4 The essays submitted by Diane Banks and Ron McKitrick tied for first place in the Essay Contest. The judges found it extremely difficult to pick out the winner from the six essays entered. John Byrka ' s entry deserves honourable mention, and consequently appears following the prize-winning compositions. — EDITOR. The Lake Superior Country jL % VISITOR from the staid East does not appreciate the beauty of the Lake Superior country as he travels mile after mile through the thick bush, along the stony lake shore or past the unending muskeg swamps. Perhaps he cannot be blamed. He has never seen the sun rising over the Sleeping Giant, casting red streamers over the dreaming land and over the tidy tiers of houses stretching up the hill side. He has never seen the moon rising over the black water like a golden ladle, trailing behind its silvery handle of newly-washed stars, nor has he heard the restless waves hurrying shore- ward to inquire the meaning of the driftwood bonfires built on the warm sand. As the visitor travels along the north shore, he forgets that this is the same route that the first Indians travelled as they hunted along the ancient sea coast from Manitoulin Island, their centre of culture. He cannot imagine bronzed Indians worshipping their fire god, with their copper bracelets gleam- ing dully against the dark backdrop of the forest in the small glade where now a solitary moose munching waterlilies bawls defiantly in the autumn night. — 25 —