Atikokan, Ontario,
Steep Rock Iron Mines, Caland Ore,
and Sapawe, Ontario :
Mostly Photographs

Updated May 14, 2013.

ATIKOKAN :

• Seine River at Steep Rock, 1909. A postcard which is postmarked 1909. The photo is titled "Seine River at Steep Rock".
• Summer of 1938: From the Memoirs of Rev. James Carder. In 1938 James Carder was a student minister sent by the United Church to Atikokan and Mine Center for a summer mission. This is a short chapter from his un-published memoirs. The only names mentioned are Mr. & Mrs. Hoover and their son Kenneth, of Mine Centre.
• Six aerial photos of Atikokan, 1950's and later. One of the photos shows the old and new (present) O'Brien Street bridges standing side by side while the new bridge was being built.
• Main Street Atikokan in the early 1950's. This postcard image shows Main Street jammed with cars. There is a message on the card mentioning Atikokan, Pass Lake, Port Arthur and Fort William, but it is in Icelandic. Can you translate it for me?
• The Rockton Hotel, 1953. Thanks to Tony Hlady for these seven photos taken both inside and outside of the hotel. At least two of the photos were taken on opening day. Tony's father, Walter Hlady, who was manager, and Bill Carlson & Peto Carpenter, who were waiters, are identified.
•   Staff of the Imperial Bank, 1953. Thanks to Tony Hlady for these four photos. Only two people are identified: Fern Conway and Tony's mother, Rose Ewacheski. (Updated January 7, 2013)
•   Grade Eight Class Photo, 1953. Thanks to Jay Blacksher for this class photo. Colin Smith was the teacher. Surnames so far: Davidson, Demchuk, Gauthier, Harris, Heale(?), Johnston, Knutsen, Pastuck, Robinson, Zuke. (Updated February 3, 2013)
• Margaret & Dora Dobie, Laurie Cannon, 1953. Photo was taken at Rawn Lake in July 1953, according to the inscripton on the back.
• A heavy string of fish, 1953. Charles & Dora Dobie and Clayton Reed.
• Hunting party at Tracy Rapids, 1953. Merv & Jimmy Upham, Bill & Charles Dobie at an old cabin near Tracy Rapids.
• Dora Dobie and Gloria Kristjanson, 1953. Taken in one of their front yards on Hematite Ave.
• Charles Dobie, 13th birthday party, 1954. Two photos, both badly underexposed but everyone is more or less visible. Surnames: Bannister, Dobie, Heale, Kervin, Upham, Wells, Youngberg.
• Dora Dobie, Gloria Kristjanson, Elora Turpin, Gordon Starr, 1954. Three photos which seem to have been taken behind #9 Hematite Ave.
• Pat and Gib Hele, 1954. Two photos, taken at a picnic at Steep Rock Lake with various members of the Dobie family.
• Elfie Galler with Dora & Margaret Dobie, 1954. Taken in Galler's living room.
•   First Protestant Church junior choir, 1954. This shows the cover of the First Protestant Church cookbook with a photo of the junior choir. This church later became the Anglican Church after the various denominations had left to build their own churches. Surnames: Armstrong, Ayres, Bannister, Bergman, Beyak, Boone, Bryk, Crookes, Dewar, Dobie, Fotheringham, Lesak, Sutton, Waranuk. Everyone has been identified. (Updated January 27, 2013)
  • Same choir a year or so later. Two photos. A few of the people are the same as on the cookbook cover but there are many new faces. Most of them I can't identify. Can you help? Surnames so far: Boone, Faulkner, Hele, Knutsen, Polischuk, Prignitz, Sutton, Wilkins.
•   Grade 7 Class Photo, Marks St. School, 1954. All are now identified. Surnames: Anderson, Bryk, Carlson, Cromack, Danard, Davidson, Dobie, Flatt, Haag, Harmon, Kachakowski, Kehl, Kennedy, Kuiack, Kunzelman, Landry, Leeson, Mantha, Markovich, McKay, McLeod, Nagorski, Payton, Potts, Provost, Redshaw, Reed, Reid, Senarchuk, Shields, Thibodeau, Thorlakson, Waranuk, Wells, Wenstrom, Whiddon, Zerebeski. (Updated Dec. 13, 2012)
•   Alfeo Verin, about 1954 and 1965. Thanks to Dario Verin for these two photos of his father, Alfeo Verin. (Added May 14, 2013)
• Lions' party, early 1950's. A few people are still unidentified. Surnames so far: Dobie, Hele, Roberts.
• Dance recital, 1955. Four girls are pictured but only two are identified -- Bonnie Baxter and Dora Dobie.
• Four women of the Anglican Church auxilliary, 1956. This is probably an Atikokan Progress photo. The late Margaret Dobie, at age 101 in August 2009, immediately remembered the photo being taken and the occasion, and she recognized everyone but herself. Pictured are: Margaret Cole, Margaret Dobie, Patricia Hele and Molly McInnis.
• Atikokan Progress: Bob Clarke, editor, about 1956. I'm guessing at the year, but it seems about right.
• Atikokan Progress: Art Reykdal, linotype operator, about 1956. His primary interest was rabble-rousing -- so much so that he got fired at least once a week.
• Evelyn and Rev. Jack Ayres, April 20, 1956. This photo was taken at a presentation on the occasion of their leaving Atikokan. For many years Jack was the only Protestant minister in Atikokan, and conducted services for several different denominations.
• Mike Zabirka gives a haircut, about 1956/7. Mary Jane Hele, aged about one year, gets her first haircut from Mike Zabirka. Two photos.
•   Cub packs with leader Tom Wilkins, about 1956/7. Three photos which include cubs and adults, including an unidentified cub leader. Many people still unidentified. Adults: Armstrong, Dobie, Wilkins. Cubs: Dennis(?), Hamilton, Hirshfeldt(?), Kennedy, Knutsen(?), McInnes, Newman, O'Kroneg, Tefs, Zuefle. (Updated May 15, 2012)
•   Cubs gathered on Apple Day, about 1956/7. Many thanks to Sheldon McRann for this photo. Twenty-three boys but not everyone is identified. Surnames so far: Botel, Busby, Falconer, Gashinski, Hamilton, Kopechanski, Leishman, Lesak, McRann, Newman, O'Kroneg, Polischuk, Thorsteinson. (Corrected August 16, 2012)
• Atikokan High School Field Day. Definitely 1956 or 1957 as Mr. Hogle, the principal, is in the crowd. Five photos. Names so far: Wayne Ash, Jim Bird, Doug Heale, Leona Pross. Lots more faces I more or less recognize but can't name.
•   AHS Student Portraits, 1956/57. I have no idea why I took these 25 portraits unless it was for a school yearbook. These seem to all be top students and/or perhaps student council members. Everyone is identified: Harry Anderson, Vera Beyak, Beth Boone, Marlene Brown, Sharon Bryk, Vera Demchuk, Chris Eoll, Ron Eyton, Eddy Fay, Liz Hegler, Judy Johnson, John Kervin, Paul Le May, Larry Loverin, Connie Mantha, Don McLeod, Don McRorie, Robert Munn, Sharon Pastuck, Ralph Shields, Jim Sullivan, Joni Swanbergson, Candia Thew, Annette Turpin, Fritz Zens. (Updated July 2, 2012)
• Atikokan High School Drama Night, 1957. On Feb. 1, 1957, the AHS Drama Society performed three plays. Luckily, the performances were reviewed by The Atkokan Progress, so the exact date as well as the names of the players are known. Eight photos. Names are: Harry Anderson, Wayne Ash, Imre Berry, Marlene Brown, Shirley Collett, Ed Danard, Vera Demchuk, Charles Dobie, Irene Ferguson, Liz Hegler, John Kervin, Don McLeod, John O'Donnell, Mrs. W. Owen, Gerald Pyper, Candia Thew, Annette Turpin, Marjorie Wenstrom.
• Atikokan Camera Club, 1957. Winter, 1957. Five photos -- two are on the same roll of film as the Drama Night photos above and High School teachers photos below. Three portraits were taken at a camera club meeting around the same time. The only people identified are Robert Cromack and Glenn Young.
•   Some teachers of the Atikokan High School, winter, 1957. This photo was at the end of the same roll of film as the drama night photos above. I can't figure out what the occasion was, as both Mr. Morgan (principal up to 1956) and Mr. Hogle (principal 1956 & 1957) are in it. There are also people who might have been members of the school board, not to mention two military men. Three people are unidentified, can you help? Surnames so far: Boone, Brennan, Clarke, Edwards, Hogle, MacMillan, Morgan, Penner, Rafferty, Stamler, Thorpe, Watt. (Revised July 2, 2012)
•   Anglican Church People, about 1957. Eight photos by Klaus Prufer, of various people, including the choir, at The Church of The Good Shepherd, the first Protestant Church in Atikokan. Most people are unidentified. Names so far: Rev. Greg Armstrong, Peggy Bergman, Vera Brooks, Bill, Margaret & Charles Dobie, Patricia Hele, Heather Pooley. (Updated May 15, 2012)
•   Group at Nym Lake, 1957. I'm almost sure I have these names right: Connie McDougal; Myrtle, Nancy & Patsy Johnson; and Dora Dobie. (Updated May 14, 2013)
• Dora Dobie, birthday party, 1957. Three photos. Only one girl remains unidentified. Names so far: Pam Adey, Linda & Patsy Brewer, Laurie Cannon, Gloria Kristjanson, Elora Turpin.
• Parade with Pipe band, Legion, etc. 1958? My color slides of this parade are not dated so I'm guessing at the year. I think the pipe band was from Thunder Bay. What was the occasion? Was it the official opening of the highway? This shot includes pipers and members of the Legion marching on Main Street. All five Legion members are named. Can you identify anyone in the crowd? Surnames: Anderson, Dickson, Lee, McMillan, Pinette.
  • Two kilted marchers in the same parade.
  • More kilted marchers and a lot of spectators.
  • Four cool dudes watching the parade. Bruce Baxter, Richard Donohue, Lloyd Bunt and Chester Draper standing in front of Chapples store.
• Downtown Atikokan, mid to late 1950's. Postcard photo looking east from the Park Theatre all the way up Main St. An expert on the cars of that era may be able to date the photo more accurately.
• Public School Field Day, 1958. This must have been near the end of June, 1958. Dora Dobie is in the middle of a broad-jump.
• Bruce Baxter hitching on the Atikokan Highway, about 1958. For some reason Bruce and I hitched back to Atikokan from Thunder Bay. I can't remember why we were there in the first place.
• Group at Nym Lake about 1958. Bill & Margaret Dobie and Klaus Prufer, who was a printer at the Atikokan Progress.
• Charlie Dobie, Nym Lake, about 1958. Youth is wasted on the young . . . .
• Unidentified man and boy at winter campfire, about 1958. I vaguely remember this and I think it was at an Atikokan Camera Club outing at Nym Lake. I don't have a clue who the man or boy are.
• Unidentified teens with a car on the ice on Nym Lake, about 1958. They must have been friends of mine but I can't remember the occasion. They aren't quite clear enough for me to identify them. Can you?
• Atikokan High School, Mr. Marcinek's home room class, about 1958/9. Mr. Marcinek and 18 or 19 students. Of course the photographer got left out. One student is still unidentified, can you help? Surnames so far: Berry, Booth, Danard, Douglas, Draper, Gordon, Harris, Kimerlie, Kunzleman, Marcinek, Nagorski, Redshaw, Reid, Stamborski, Sturtz, Waranuck, Young.
• Atikokan High School, hockey during PT class, about 1958/9. Nine photos, players mostly identified. Wayne Ash, Fred Berry, Lynn Booth, Ralph Carlson, Ken Danard, Pat Reid, Glenn Young.
• AHS students goofing around, 1959/60. Names are: Graydon & Jim Bird, Betty Bromley, Judy Bundza, Yolande Jeansonne, John Kervin, Leona Pross, Mike & Pat Reid.
• Atikokan High School field day, Wayne Ash pole-vaulting. For some reason this field day was held in the ball park rather than the High School grounds. Wayne is doing the pole-vault in his socks.
• Terry Phair's photos, late 1950s. Terry Martin was known as Terry Phair when he went to high school in Atikokan in the mid-to-late 1950's. He sent me eight photos of his Atikokan friends. In January 2011, he sent me 11 more photos; I've put one in this section and the other 10 I've listed in the Steep Rock Iron Mines section. Names are: Melvin Bone, Colby Dickison, Buzz & Danny Gagne, Jerry Hamel, Terry McLenndon, Terry Phair. He also sent a clipping from the Atikokan Progress, dated May 13, 1959, titled "Hockey Players Presented Awards". Names are: Len Foisy, Jim Kruger, Terry Phair, Cameron McLeod, Keith Prignitz, David Ringus, Lloyd Rolling, Leroy Rostie, Gary Summers, Larry & Vern Thorsteinson, Ed Werner, and three unknowns.
• Dora Dobie, birthday parties, 1959-1964. Seven photos. Names are: Sally Beliveau, Linda Brewer, Laurie Cannon, Lawanna Chumway, Dora Dobie, Millie Fredrickson, Erin Harrison, Barbara Icton, Faith Ivall, Donna Jackson, Patsy Jackulac, Rita Nault, Sharon O'Beirn, Kathy Oddleifson, Elora Turpin, and two unknown.
• Members of the Cole and Hele families, Nym Lake, 1961. Patricia, Gib, Mary Jane and John Hele with David & Gordon Cole.
• Donna & Pauline Armstrong, 1963. They are the wife and child of Greg Armstrong, who was the Anglican minister at the time.
• Peter Shrive, age 18 in 1963. Also with a recent photo of Peter.
• Art group, 1964. An Atikokan Progress photo. A link to my genealogy website.
• Anglican Church confirmation group, about 1964. A link to my genealogy website.
• Draper Family, about 1965. This photo and the next were taken in Streetsville, Ont. Chester ("Red") Draper, Sr., was a diesel mechanic who worked at Steep Rock from the mid-to-late 1940's until the early 1960's. Mrs. Draper was teaching school in Streetsville at the time this photo was taken.
  • Chester ("Checker") Draper and his father, about 1965. In the living-room of their house in Streetsville, Ont.
• Group gathered at Nym Lake, 1967. The Kristjanson and Dobie families. Two photos.
• Jack and Marie Leighton, 1976. This well-known and well-loved couple lived at Nym Lake.

ITEMS FROM THE STEEP ROCK ECHO :

• Many thanks to Sheldon McRann for contributing these clippings from the Steep Rock Echo. Most of them relate to people and events in Atikokan as well as at Steep Rock Iron Mines.
•   November, 1956 : Name This Group For $25. This photo of 22 women shows the Ladies Choral Group of Atikokan. They were re-named "The Northernaires", presumably as a result of this contest to suggest a new name for the group. Many are unidentified. Surnames (a couple are questioned) so far are: Berry, Breakey, Douglas, Eyton, Hele, Johnson, MacMillan, McCuaig, McInnis, McTaggert, Munn, Scott, Stamler, Youngberg. (Corrected October 12, 2012)
• August, 1957 : "10 Years a Safe Worker". Eleven men and their wives gather for presentation of desk pen sets. Names are: Bill Bochula, Jack Munn, Danny O'Connell, Ray Hergott, Fred Hirshfelt, Steve Krukoski, Paul Kirjewski, Merrill Leeson, Arthur McDonald, Harvey McRann, John Brzoza, Mike Chromiczuk, Al Labrie.
• November, 1957 : Preparation for Remembrance. Some SRIM employees gather to commemorate our war dead. Names are: B.W. Carriere, Mel Dodds, Alec Drobot, Bill Ferguson, Roy Greig, Frank Moronics, Ed Oczkus, H.H. Wilkins.
• July 1959 : SRIM Lab Picnic. Five photos of the picnic at French Lake. Names are: Jim Magee, Herrick Wilkins.
•   July 1959 : News Photos. Six photos of interest to Steep Rock people. Names are: Joan Frykas, Anne Marie Girard, Dolly Jackson, Peter Oxley, Jean Rasi, Beverley Rostie, Len Rostie, Betty Scott, Georgina Whitlaw. (Updated October 11, 2012)
• July 1959 : Sports Photos. Thirteen photos, mostly of local baseball teams. Surnames include: Albrecht, Allan, Bainbridge, Beyak, Bottenfield, Brown, Bruce, Cain, Cairnes, Campbell, Carleton, Carpenter, Chambers, Chubey, Clement, Cooper, Donaldson, Dunn, Fay, Flatt, Gabbs, Garrioch, Girard, Goodfellow, Hamilton, Hudey, Huntley, Ibey, Kolton, Koroscil, Legros, Lewicki, MacDonald, Maki, Markle, Munn, Ostrum, Pare, Polischuk, Prignitz, Pyper, Ripplinger, Rosnow, Rousseau, Rundle, Slater, Teschke, Thompson, Timmons, Walker, Whitman, Youd.
• September 1959 : Before & After Photos. Two photos and accompanying story. One photo shows the intersection of Main and O'Brien Sts. as an empty field. The other shows the same scene a few years later with buildings under construction.

STEEP ROCK IRON MINES :

• Time Magazine, Aug. 28, 1944. A bit more than 1/3 of a page of text about the development of Steep Rock. Names mentioned: Julian Cross, Cyrus Eaton, Joseph Errington, H. L. Smyth.
• Life Magazine, Oct. 24, 1949. A six-page photo essay and article titled "A Great New Ore Supply". The only people mentioned are Julian Cross, Cyrus Eaton, Joe Errington, and Don Hogarth. A couple of photos show unidentifed local people. Can you name them?
• Dredging at Steep Rock Iron Mines, 1952. A photo from the archives of the Chicago Sun, stamped "1952 Mar 14" on the back.
• Steep Rock Iron Mines underground staff, 1952. Seventeen men, all identified. Surnames are: Anderson, Bannister, Calder, Cronsilver, Dawson, Dewar, Dobie, Ferguson, Goranson, Haggerty, Hele, Lang, Olafson, Roberts, Thew, Upham, Williams. Photo by Norman Kipnis.
• Steep Rock Iron Mines staff party, 1953. Two photos of the same group of 27 men. All are identified. Surnames are: Ainsworth, Bannister, Bergman, Calder, Chesney, Cole, Crawford, Dewar, Dickison, Dobie, Ferguson, Foisy, Gorinson, Hamilton, Hegler, Hele, Hull, Hyla, Jeansonne, MacKay, McDougal, McGee, Olafson, Roberts, Starr, Upham, Yanisew.
• Ore Trucks in the pit at SRIM, 1953. Two photos from the archives of the Beacon Journal, stamped "June 18, 1953" on the back.
• SRIM Superintendant Willard "Bill" Bennett, 1953. A photo from the archives of the Beacon Journal, stamped "June 18, 1953" on the back.
• Julian Cross, 1953. He was the man who discovered iron ore at Steep Rock Lake. A photo from the archives of the Beacon Journal, stamped "June 18, 1953" on the back.
• Clearing clay, bottom of Steep Rock Lake, 1954. Presumably Steep Rock Iron Mines but could also be Caland. A photo from the archives of AP Newsfeatures, stamped "Jul 29, 1954" on the back.
• Terry Phair's photos of Steep Rock, 1950s? Eleven photos with only one person, Leon Pinette, identified.
• Safety Rally in the pouring rain, 1957. I took this shot of a bunch of bedraggled local people in the pit peering into a hole in the ground.
• Raft Lake water diversion rock-cut. A postcard mailed in 1957 and an aerial photo taken in 2002, courtesy of Brian Jackson.

CALAND ORE :

• Dredging in Falls Bay, 1954 - 1956. A series of 13 photos courtesy of Dan Moziar who worked for CAC during the summers of 1955 and 1956.
• Dredging in Falls Bay, October, 1957. News release photo from Inland Steel, Co.
• Dredging in Falls Bay, Summer, 1958. News release photo from Inland Steel, Co. Photographer was Robert McCullough of Chicago.

SAPAWE :

• Mink Ranch at Sapawe, 1941. Charles Parsons and his nephew John Blair Stone started a mink farm at Sapawe about 1940. It lasted only a short while before the animals died of disease. Nine photos. Surnames: Cassels, Parsons, Porter, Stone.
• Graham Harris, late 1950's. This portrait was taken by Frank Morice, founder of the Atikokan Camera Club, about 1957.
• Graham Harris, another photo. Taken by Margaret Dobie about the same time as the one above. He's sitting in front of his cabin in Sapawe.

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