Pin Quest Ontario

Kenora District

A rectangular lapel pin with the name “Dryden” on a blue background except for the letter ‘D’ which is on a green background. Below the name is a small pine tree.

Dryden, City of

John Dryden served as a member of parliament for Ontario South from 1875 to 1905, and as Minister of Agriculture from 1890 to 1905. In 1893, while travelling through the Wabigoon Lake area, he noted that the area might be good for growing crops and established an experimental pioneer farm to draw settlers to the area. A town grew around the farm and residents named it Dryden after the Minister.

A lapel pin with the words The Township of Ear Falls. The top and bottom of the letter f is curved to span the width of the pin.

Ear Falls, Township of

Ear Falls. The township is named after a waterfall with many stories about how it got its name.

My favourite is from an Ojibwa story. The spirit of a giant beaver lives at the falls, and when it swims, you can see its ears through the foam.

A lapel pin with indigenous style artwork of a spruce tree standing on top of a hill. Below the hill are the words Kenora Lake of the Woods.

Kenora, City of

Based on the pin, I had guessed it took its name meant lake of the woods. I guessed wrong.

It was named Rat Portage until renaming in 1905 by combining the first two letters of its name and its neighbours Keewatin and Norman.

A lapel pin in the shape of a ship sail. At the top are the words Lake of the Woods Kenora. A speedboat skips over waves.

Kenora, City of

An alternative pin for Kenora.

A lapel pin shaped like a shield. A box with the name “Machin” divides the shield vertically. On the top is a scene of a pine forest beside a field with two grain stalks and a silo. Above is an eagle holding the date 1909 in its talons. On the bottom of the shield is a scene of a sun rising over a lake with a fisher in a boat and an outcropping with a pine forest. Around the border are the names Eagle River, Vermillion Bay and Minnitaki.

Machin, Township of

The earliest records of the Municipality of Machin were accidentally lost, but we do know that the first meetings to incorporate the municipality were held in 1908 in the unincorporated communities of Eagle River, Vermillion Bay, Waldhof, Minnitaki and Oxdrift. Ostensibly the meetings were to help organize the area, but according to some of the few remaining records, the real goal was to obtain a license for an Eagle River hotel.

A diamond shaped lapel pin with the capital letters P and L arranged to fill the upper half of the diamond. A border around the top reads Township of Pickle Lake. At the bottom black and white stripes radiate from the bottom point.

Pickle Lake, Township of

Pickle Lake took its name from the lake whose shape was thought to resemble a pickle.

The community also includes a ghost town called Pickle Crow. No word on whether there was a crow that looked like a pickle too.

A lapel pin with a circle containing a coat of arms, and a Norseman Float Plane over the circle. Inside the circle is a repeating pattern of dots. At the bottom of the circle is the slogan “The norseman capital of the world”. The coat of arms is divided into thirds. The top left third has a gear and a silo. The top right third has a row of trees. The bottom third has a maple leaf. Above the coat of arms is a banner that says “Municipality of”. Below is a banner that says “Red Lake”.

Red Lake, Municipality of

According to the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre, the name of the town comes from an Ojibway legend. In the legend, two warriors of the Chippeway nation tried to kill a moose that they believed was the manifestation of an evil spirit called Matchee Manitou. The wounded animal escaped into the lake, turning the water red with blood. The warriors named the lake Misque Sakigon, or “Colour of Blood Lake” which eventually became Red Lake.

A lapel pin with an Indigenous Canadian style of art depicting a large yellow sun with orange rays behind a green forest of evergreen trees and a body of water in blue that also appears as a fish. Below the scene is the name “Sioux Lookout” and the motto “Hub of the North”.

Sioux Lookout, Municipality of

Sioux Lookout’s name is said to come from a local mountain where the Ojibwe posted sentries to watch over the nearby rivers. From this lookout point, it was possible to see the sunlight bouncing off the birch canoes of approaching Sioux warriors. This gave Ojibwe warriors enough time to intercept the approaching Sioux so the rest of the community could leave to safety.

Still Need

Still Need: Ignace Township

Municipalities Without Pins

Sioux Narrows - Nestor Falls, Township of

Pin Donors

All pins donated by the municipality except for:

Dryden: donated by Jen Mayes
Pickle Lake: donated by Joe Tiernay
Red Lake: donated by Joe Tiernay
Sioux Lookout: donated by Christopher Carbone

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