Research

With the future of the James Whalen tugboat undecided, let’s look into the life of the man for whom the tugboat became a namesake and the history of the boat itself. James Whalen was born in 1869 and moved with his family to Port Arthur in 1875 at the age of six. After school, he…

Daylight savings time changes have been an annual tradition in the Lakehead region for decades. In fact, Port Arthur and Fort William were the first to implement this change back in 1908. This change began to promote summertime leisure activities and allowed residents to access more sun in the evening to better enjoy the summer…

Unidentified flying objects in our Thunder Bay skies have been a phenomena scattered throughout our city’s history.  To promote January’s National Science Fiction Day, let us tell you the story of the Flying Saucer Frenzy of 1950.   This tale begins March 14, 1950 in Geraldton, with a casual observer of the night sky noticing a…

In 1914, as WWI commenced and soldiers began deploying overseas, a major concern for the Canadian government was the safety of key infrastructure, industry, and supply lines. Spies within Canada, loyal to the enemy, could pose a threat to the Allies in their own backyard. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Bridge in Nipigon, Ontario, was…

The Great War between the Allied and Axis forces wreaked havoc across European soil, with naval battles fought furiously in the Atlantic Ocean and wartime materials being built swiftly worldwide. In the final year of the war, the November 11th armistice was signed, ending the First World War, but manufacturing contracts still existed, and nations…

Why would the famous Sherlock Holmes author and spiritualist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visit the Lakehead, let alone stay long enough to conduct a séance? Doyle visited the Twin Cities on two separate occasions; the first time in 1914 that appeared to just be part of his travels through Canada, however he did buy property…