Q & A : GREENSTONE'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
[Posted 8 Mar 2016]
Snappy Question
#5. Geraldton was first town in the Little Long Lac mining camp. Who or what is it named for?
a) two early mining men
b) a town in Western Australia
c) an early settler named Gerald Tonnes
d) an Ontario cabinet minister named Gerry Alton
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#5. Geraldton is a composite name: the "gerald" comes from syllables in the name S.J. Fitzgerald, and the "ton" comes from a syllable in the name Joseph Errington. Fitzgerald and Errington were the top management in the Sudbury Diamond Drilling Company and in Little Long Lac Gold Mines Limited. The drilling company optioned the property in 1932 from the mine finders, Tom Johnson and Tony Oklend, and proceeded to develop a mine.
Snappy Question
#5. Geraldton was first town in the Little Long Lac mining camp. Who or what is it named for?
a) two early mining men
b) a town in Western Australia
c) an early settler named Gerald Tonnes
d) an Ontario cabinet minister named Gerry Alton
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#5. Geraldton is a composite name: the "gerald" comes from syllables in the name S.J. Fitzgerald, and the "ton" comes from a syllable in the name Joseph Errington. Fitzgerald and Errington were the top management in the Sudbury Diamond Drilling Company and in Little Long Lac Gold Mines Limited. The drilling company optioned the property in 1932 from the mine finders, Tom Johnson and Tony Oklend, and proceeded to develop a mine.
[Posted 4 Mar 2016]
Snappy Question
#4. Beardmore began as a flag stop on the railway line between Longlac and Port Arthur. Who or what was it named for?
a) a famously hairy local prospector
b) the founder of the men's charity, Movember
c) a carnivorous plant of the iris family
d) a prominent family in Toronto
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#4. A.J. Hills named Beardmore in either 1914 or 1915. The railway built through Caramat and Longlac and Beardmore was originally called Canadian Northern Ontario Railway. William Mackenzie was co-founder of CNOR, and A.J. Hills was both Superintendent of the CNOR and a long-time friend of William Mackenzie's family. The prominent Beardmore family of Toronto had married into the Mackenzie family, and twice in 1915, the Beardmore family suffered losses of family members. Perhaps those losses were factors in the naming of Beardmore.
Snappy Question
#4. Beardmore began as a flag stop on the railway line between Longlac and Port Arthur. Who or what was it named for?
a) a famously hairy local prospector
b) the founder of the men's charity, Movember
c) a carnivorous plant of the iris family
d) a prominent family in Toronto
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#4. A.J. Hills named Beardmore in either 1914 or 1915. The railway built through Caramat and Longlac and Beardmore was originally called Canadian Northern Ontario Railway. William Mackenzie was co-founder of CNOR, and A.J. Hills was both Superintendent of the CNOR and a long-time friend of William Mackenzie's family. The prominent Beardmore family of Toronto had married into the Mackenzie family, and twice in 1915, the Beardmore family suffered losses of family members. Perhaps those losses were factors in the naming of Beardmore.
[Posted 1 Mar 2016]
Snappy Question
#3. The village of Caramat began as a rail stop on the railway line between Sudbury and Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay). Who or what is it named for?
a) a railroader named Will Caramat
b) a chocolate bar
c) a species of tree
d) a sweet-smelling herb of the carrot family
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#3. Caramat was originally named by Arthur J. Hills, who simply reversed the spelling of "tamarac", a local tree species (the conventional spelling today is "tamarack"). A.J. Hills was Superintendent of the railway back in 1914, responsible for naming many of the new stations. There were literally hundreds of them, and sometimes it was a struggle to come up with a name. In a manuscript, he writes simply, "Caramat is Tamarac spelt backwards."
Snappy Question
#3. The village of Caramat began as a rail stop on the railway line between Sudbury and Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay). Who or what is it named for?
a) a railroader named Will Caramat
b) a chocolate bar
c) a species of tree
d) a sweet-smelling herb of the carrot family
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#3. Caramat was originally named by Arthur J. Hills, who simply reversed the spelling of "tamarac", a local tree species (the conventional spelling today is "tamarack"). A.J. Hills was Superintendent of the railway back in 1914, responsible for naming many of the new stations. There were literally hundreds of them, and sometimes it was a struggle to come up with a name. In a manuscript, he writes simply, "Caramat is Tamarac spelt backwards."
[Posted 26 Feb 2016]
Snappy Question
#2. The village of Jellicoe is named for a famous personage who never visited the place, never even visited Canada, but did distinguish himself at sea. Who was he?
a) Admiral Jellicoe, British naval officer
b) Bo'sun "Tight" Jellicoe, crew of the captain's gig
c) Captain Jellicoe, leader of the Barbary pirates
d) Lieutenant Jellicoe, American gunboat officer
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#2. Jellicoe originated in 1914 as a divisional point on the railway between Longlac and Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay). In May 1916, Admiral John Rushworth Jellicoe commanded the British Grand Fleet in the only major naval battle between the British and the Germans in the Great War. He achieved a controversial victory off the coast of Jutland, Denmark. A Canadian railway official displayed his patriotism and support for the mother country by changing the name of the village. For Your Information (FYI): Jellicoe was founded under another name. Can you guess it? If not, wait for Volume 2 of this series.
Snappy Question
#2. The village of Jellicoe is named for a famous personage who never visited the place, never even visited Canada, but did distinguish himself at sea. Who was he?
a) Admiral Jellicoe, British naval officer
b) Bo'sun "Tight" Jellicoe, crew of the captain's gig
c) Captain Jellicoe, leader of the Barbary pirates
d) Lieutenant Jellicoe, American gunboat officer
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#2. Jellicoe originated in 1914 as a divisional point on the railway between Longlac and Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay). In May 1916, Admiral John Rushworth Jellicoe commanded the British Grand Fleet in the only major naval battle between the British and the Germans in the Great War. He achieved a controversial victory off the coast of Jutland, Denmark. A Canadian railway official displayed his patriotism and support for the mother country by changing the name of the village. For Your Information (FYI): Jellicoe was founded under another name. Can you guess it? If not, wait for Volume 2 of this series.
[Posted 23 Feb 2016]
Snappy Question
#1. When did the first post office in Macdiarmid open?
a) when the ice went out each spring
b) when Greenstone was founded
c) in 1920
d) about the time of Confederation
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#1. The first post office opened in "MacDiarmid" on 1 September 1920, in the federal electoral district of Thunder Bay. The postmaster, T.J. Bell, served just over eight years, till 30 October 1928, when he resigned. The earlier spelling using a capital "D" has been abandoned in favour of a small "d": Macdiarmid.
Snappy Question
#1. When did the first post office in Macdiarmid open?
a) when the ice went out each spring
b) when Greenstone was founded
c) in 1920
d) about the time of Confederation
Splendid Answer ©E.J.Lavoie
#1. The first post office opened in "MacDiarmid" on 1 September 1920, in the federal electoral district of Thunder Bay. The postmaster, T.J. Bell, served just over eight years, till 30 October 1928, when he resigned. The earlier spelling using a capital "D" has been abandoned in favour of a small "d": Macdiarmid.
