Timmins High and Vocational School - Porcupine Quill Yearbook (Timmins, Ontario Canada)

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13 1 The PORCUPINE QUILL sent site. The personnel still consisted of volunteers. A horse-drawn fire engine was obtained to replace the hand reels. The fire- men did not have their own horses, but had to depend on delivery horses when there was a fire alarm. It was no uncommon sight to see two or three teams racing neck-and- neck along the street to be hitched up. The team that was ready first was paid five dollars. In 1916 a standing fire department was organized with Mr. Borland as the chief. After a short time he turned down the posi- tion, and Robert Day replaced him. He stayed here about three weeks. Mr. Borland returned on March lst, 1917, and has acted as chief of the Timmins Fire Department from that time to this day except for a brief period last year. In the days when the firemen had only a horse-drawn wagon and reels, there were only eighteen hydrants. To-day the department is motorized. There is one light combination hose, and chemical truck, and one LaFrance city service truck carrying hose, chemicals, and ladders. We have now 160 water hy- drants. The fire alarm system is of the most modern kind, with forty-two boxes distri- buted about the town. There have been as many as sixteen men in the department, but to-day there are, be- sides the chief ten men Working on the tw-o platoon systemf In case of a major fire there are twenty volunteers at call. The all-volunteer fire department of 1914, when Timmins was a youngster of five, con- sisted of twenty men: Jack Nolan, the chief. who at present is somewhere in Tennesseeg Frank Stockwell, the deputy chiefg Gillespie Dickson, secretary-treasurer fthe last-men- tioned went overseas during th-e War, and their present homes are unknownl. Charlie Harrington, who is now in Detroitg E. P. Gauthier, still a resident of Timmins, Charles Dalton, now deceasedg Sam McCloud. now in Cochraneg M. Daher, still a member -of the T. F. D.g Leo Mascioli, to-day one of Tim- mins, contractorsg Henry Fitzpatrick, now in Kansas: S. I. Bucovetsky, still in Tirnminsg Torn Wilson, who is living in Eastern On- tario, J. K. Moore, 'who died in Englandg S. Robinson, who is now the chief of the Kapus- kasing Fire Departmentg Jack King, de- ceased, W. G. Smith, now in Aurorag A. Belanger, who is said to be a farmer in this vicinity: Andy Seeds, in Detrcitg P. M. Bar- dessono, still in Timmins and his bull-pup, I-Iinkiej' who died long since. On March 7th of this year the worst fire in three y-ears broke out at noon in the St. Onge block at the end of Third Avenue. This was a difiicult fire to handle, as the sawdust in between the walls was burning. This made it very difficult to check the progress of the ire. After struggling with it for the whole afternoon, the fire 'was checked. There were no accidents and the department worked sms-othly, like one man. As a final word, I think that our fire department would be a credit to any town. WILHO SIVUNELN Scene III: BUSINESS BEFORE PLEASURE We reckon hours and minutes to be dollars and cents. Business in Timmins Then and Now In the year 1909 prospectors fbegan to flock into what is now known as The Porcupine. Aftlr the discovery of gold at the Dome, Gol- den City and South Porcupine, towns of about 3,000 became the chief commercial centres. They were very progressive and had several stores, hotels and a hospital. In 1910 there was a rich find at the Hollinger. The Hol- linger mine then formed a townsite and lots were sold by auction to the highest bidders. In 1911 a, great disaster occurred-Golden City and South Porcupine were destroyed by fire and many lives were lost. Then, as the Hollinger began to lb-com, all eyes turned to- ward Timmins. The first store in Timmins was begun in a tent. It was a 'general store situated on the Hollinger property, near the present golf course. This store was owned by Mr. Charles Pierce. Mr. Pierce soon moved to a wooden

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14 mli. The PORCUPINE QUU-L + wwf '1 ' Pills and Things structure on the site where his present store now stands. Near him Mr. McLaughlin also had his general store built. Mr. Charles See built a drug store. To every good pioneer his slogan, Pills and Things is very well known. How did these early stores get their sup' plies from the larger cities? At first all goods had to be hauled, on wagons or sleighs, from South Porcupine. In 1911 tracks were laid to Timmins, but were not used until the following year, as the road bed was not solid. Two box-cars on a side track served as station and freight oflice. Trains ran daily from other centres to Sooth Porcupine giving a very g-ood service. Later th-ere was a daily connection between Timmins and South Por- cupine. To-day Timmins has a daily train schedule connecting it with all the im-portant centres of our country. The freight-shed is a large building and the station is a brick structure. Where did the town get its water, and how did it get its lights? At first its water supply was from several natural springs. One of these was at what is known to-day as the corner of Elm Street and Third Avenue. Then pipe lines from a huge reservoir, built behind the present fire-hall, were laid to all the houses. Now Timmins has a modern water system, with purified water from the Mattagami entering every home. The earliest lights were coal oil and gasoline lamps, But as a mine needs electricity to run its various departments, as early as 1912, when it was barely three years old, Timmins was equipped with electricity generated from Waiwaitin Falls. As the town became established, a bank was necessary to deposit the payroll. This problem was solved when, in 1912, the Bank of Ottawa opened a branch, where the Reed Block is now situated. Later the Imperial Bank of Canada established itself on the corner, where it remains to the present day. Now Timmins has five diiierent banks. What did the people do for amusements? In 1912 Kings Amusement Parlour was established. This had a dancing floor up- stairs and a billiard 'hall downstairs. A silent movie was started by Mr. Leo Mascioll in 1913. A block was laid aside for an Athletic Grounds, where, every Sunday, various teams played keen baseball. This block is still in the central part of the town. In the winter, hockey was the leading sport and players were imported. In 1934, its Silver Jubilee year, Timmins had two talkies and several dance halls. With the finding off gold 'Timmins soon grew into a larger town. From the early years, particularly from 1914, to the present year, it has 'been the scene of much activity.