Sunday May 17th, 2009 Abitibi Bowater

Are you inspired when you should be asleep? I am. Early one morning I started to wonder about the future of Abitibi Bowater. Could this really be the demise of what was once a giant? As my thoughts went on and on, I realized I had the makings of this week's column on what I still think of as Great Lakes Paper.

Like many of you I have a family connection to the mill that goes a long way back. My Dad was a master mechanic in charge of the woodlands garage. His career spanned several decades starting in the late 30’s. As a child I grew up listening to late night phone calls about some piece of machinery that had just broken down. I recall the thrill of getting tickets for pop, hotdogs and ice cream at the annual picnics at Chippewa Park. And who can forget the huge Christmas parties at the Fort William Gardens. There was the excitement of getting a new toy and a small bag of candy featuring candy coated peanuts. Over the years my Mom got a lot of teacups and mugs. I still have two of her mugs from parties featuring Raymond Briggs' snowman. In the early 90’s we went with my Dad on informative bush camp bus tours, conducted by Wally Zaremsky. I think it was important to my father for us to see what it was all about. And it was interesting to see the camps, the equipment at work and reforestation sites.

History

We carry a great book that has an excellent chronology of company history in it. The company dates back to its organization in 1919, with construction taking place in 1924. Over the years it has had many names, but has always been a local fixture. I see that the first Athletic Association picnic and Christmas party happened in 1937, which is long before I ever went to one, in case you're wondering.
Source: Paper & People: An Illustrated History of Great Lakes Paper And Its Successors 1919-1999

The Fox home

In 1995 The White Fox Inn opened in what was once the stately 8,000 square foot home of Great Lakes company president, C.J. Warwick Fox. It was built on 15 acres of land in 1962 and prior to being an inn it served as a group home for the Lakehead Association for Community Living.
Source: Chronicle Journal June 26, 1995 page B1

Mr. Fox

Sadly Mr. Fox may have been best known for being a victim of crime. On July 15, 1971 four armed men broke into his home and robbed him. He and his wife were tied up and chloroformed. The thieves got away with $70,000 worth of jewelry alone. A massive investigation led to the arrest of 4 people from Quebec. C.J. Fox passed away 2 months later, after a short illness.
Source: LF TB Crime Local History Files

The Brodie Reference department has a clipping file on the company. Flipping through the articles I see headlines regarding layoffs, shutdowns and expansions. I also looked in our card catalogue (yes, I mean card catalogue) for more historical articles on the company. It led me to a July 19, 1962 article about a newly developed tree harvester. Scanning the article I realized it was the harvester that my father helped to adapt to local requirements. For his participation we got 2 colour televisions and carpeting for the basement. I always say you'll never know what you can find in our local history collection.
Source: LHF Industries , Pulp and Paper, Great Lakes Paper Co. Ltd.

Articles

For more information on the company check our Thunder Bay District News Index in the Virtual Collection on our Web site. A search for Bowater gives you a list of articles. Newspapers can be found at Brodie and Waverley carries the last few years only. For recent information try one of the databases located in the Virtual Collection. These are just my memories of what was once the Great Lakes Paper Company.

Families all over Thunder Bay have their own memories of what was once a thriving paper mill. We all share a part of it. Their future remains unknown, but I wish all the best to the employees and their families.

Karen Craib is a Library Technician