Pin Quest Ontario

With 75% of its residents being Francophone, and the community being just beside the Quebec border, it is unsurprising that the Township of Casey has strong linkages to Quebec as well as Ontario. One such linkage is that Casey was one of few places outside of Quebec to have a Caisse populaire branch (now known as a credit union) at the beginning of the credit union movement in Canada.

The Town of Cobalt is named for the presence of the mineral cobalt that was first discovered in the area in 1884. A small silver rush also occurred in 1903 at the discovery of the second rare metal. By 1908 a mining camp in the area was the largest producer of silver and cobalt in the world. The industry survived fires in 1909 and 1977 which each destroyed over 140 local buildings and is beginning to expand again as cobalt demand increases for use in electric car batteries.

Coleman Township is named after a geologist called Arthur Philemon Coleman. Born in Quebec and raised in rural, eastern Ontario, his studies in geology would take him as far as Germany. But it was Coleman’s work for the Ontario Bureau of Mines and the federal government that would see the Township eventually named after him. Coleman surveyed much of northern Ontario including the Sudbury basin and through his work many of the nickel deposits that would lead to mining communities emerging across the region.

Englehart was incorporated as a half-way point between North Bay and Cochrane along the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway. The railway and community were critical to the settlement and development of northeastern Ontario, in particular the Temiskaming District. Englehart is named after the Ontario Commissioner who was appointed to oversee the construction and operation of the essential railway line.

In 1900, a man named Jack Munroe won his first boxing title and three years later defeated world champion James Jeffries by knockout. While travelling as a boxer, Munroe found himself in Mexico City where he adopted a dog named Bobbie who belonged to Mexican President Francisco Madero. When returning to Canada to join the silver rush, Munroe was separated from Bobbie who traveled 200 miles in ten days through the bush to find Munroe. During WWI, Munroe brought Bobbie along with him where the dog became the official mascot of the Princess Patricia’s Regiment, even receiving a collar from the Princess herself.  While overseas during the war, Munroe was wounded, losing the use of his right arm. After such a fascinating series of life events, you have to wonder whether Munroe counts the fact that he was elected the first Reeve of the Township of James as one of his most notable achievements.

An alternative lapel pin for the Township of James.

Kirkland Lake was originally named the Township of Teck after the Teck-Hughes mine but was later renamed after a nearby lake that was in turn named after Winnifred Kirkland, a secretary from the Department of Mines. Not only did Kirkland never visit the lake or township named after her, but even if she or her descendents wanted to, the lake no longer exists having been filled by mine tailings over time.

A 1907 advertisement in the Ottawa Citizen declared Larder Lake as “the richest gold country ever known” bragging that “soon will commence the most tremendous outpouring of gold known to civilization”. This was not the case. Between 1907 and 1911, The Kerr-Addison Gold Mine was only able to produce $314 worth of gold, however this small amount was used to mint Canada’s first $5 gold coins.

A lapel pin commemorating Larder Lake's centennial.

Latchford’s Sgt. Aubry Cosens VC Memorial bridge which appears on this pin is named after one of only 81 Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross and who was from the community. Cosens was awarded the Victoria Cross after a battle where his Platoon Commander and many members of platoon were killed in action leaving only Cosens and four other survivors. Taking command, he told his companions to give him covering fire while he ran through enemy fire to an allied tank that he directed to ram into some buildings where enemy soldiers had taken defensive positions. He stormed the buildings alone, killing 22 defenders, and taking the rest prisoner. That’s certainly a large legacy to leave a small town!

Matachewan Township began as a Hudson’s Bay fort where they traded with the local First Nations who travelled along the Montreal River. The area located at the headwaters of the river is still a popular portaging destination with unique landmarks along the waterways such as Old Woman Rapids which is named for the profile of an old woman's face on rocks near the portage.

McGarry has long been a mining community and home to many hardworking Ontarians. In 1972, a group of criminals found a much easier way to get rich quick. The robbers entered the bank in the middle of the day with masks and guns. Why were they so bold? When local police went to respond, they found that all four tires on their vehicle had been flattened, preventing them from driving to the bank. It wouldn’t be the police who responded first - the owner of a nearby gas station had seen the robbers enter and then taking up a rifle he kept behind the gas bar, fired a round into the porch of the bank. The shot scared off the getaway driver, forcing the remaining robbers to take the bank manager hostage using him to escape and catch up with the getaway driver without taking anymore fire. By the time the police were able to respond, the robbers had disappeared and were never found.

Haileybury in Temiskaming Shores is another community that was destroyed by fire in the early 20th century. The Great Fire of 1922 destroyed 90% of the town leaving thousands of people homeless. The Toronto Transit Commission sent decommissioned streetcars to the community to serve as temporary housing. One of these vehicles can still be seen at the museum in Haileybury.

An alternative lapel pin for Temiskaming Shores.

A pin for the Town of Cobalt's recreation department.