Author Archives: edgarlavoie

Passed it many times on Hwy. 61, south of Thunder Bay. Heard about it multiple times. Today, Sunday, June 4, 2023, I did a quick tour of it with my sister, Susanne. First, we stopped in the “ticket office” in a replica of the Upsala railway station. Each paid $5.00 cash. My eye was drawnContinue reading “DISCOVERY OF PIONEER VILLAGE”

[FIRST ELECTION] The business men of the community were becoming annoyed withthe Provincial Government[. In] 1937, any requests for financialassistance to the community were ignored. Community leadersdecided to form a Chamber of Commerce. They wanted somerecognized organization to pressure the Province at least torecognize that Geraldton was a thriving community and could notbe ignored forever.Continue reading “Part 17 – [Geraldton : An Alternative History]”

Ma-Nee Chacaby spoke a prayer in Anishinaabemowin before setting out on her walk. She was going home, home to Ombabika, walking the railway track. This documentary film features, and is narrated by, an Ojibway-Cree elder, Ma-Nee Chacaby. It was one of three short films screened on Tuesday evening, May 22nd, at Magnus Theatre in ThunderContinue reading ““RETURN TO OMBABIKA””

Posts by Brett Anderson received some online comments that enlightened us about the history of Ombabika and Auden. They are collected here without my editing the text. Anonymoussays: January 16, 2018 at 3:14 amyou were almost there just another ten minutes up the trail past the tracks you would of hit the Ombabika Cemetary. IContinue reading “Comments on BA’s OMBABIKA TRIP POSTS”

This serves as an introduction to another lengthy post by BA, which also reveals BA’s proper name: Brett Anderson. Brett hails from Nebraska, and at the time of the post he had logged 54,000 miles in his quest to visit every one of the 92 places mentioned in the Hank Snow lyric “I’ve Been Everywhere”.Continue reading “Intro to “HANK SNOW” GOES TO OMBABIKA”

This coming Tuesday, Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay is screening a film titled “Return to Ombabika : A Journey Home”. The filmmakers are Ma-nee Chacaby, Zoe Gordon, and Shayne Ehman. I know nothing about them. I am one of the few human beings who has visited, or tried to visit, Ombabika, or the place whereContinue reading “Intro to OMBABIKA OBSTACLES, Parts 1 & 2”

As I drove north of Nipigon, I found snowbanks and frozen lakes. Greenstone was recovering from the last blast of winter. As I neared the construction zone of Greenstone Gold Mines, I found little change ̶ at least viewed from the highway. As I did on October 3 last fall, I found a vantage pointContinue reading “GREENSTONE UPDATE May 8, 2023”

[The following article by Ken Johnson was forwarded to me for posting in Greenstone History PLUS. All images below come from the film “Kifaru – the Black Rhinoceros” in archive.org.] With the world heading for the abyss on all fronts, it’s inspiring to periodically find a ‘life story’ that has a major moral-boosting ring toContinue reading “From Geraldton to the African Wild”

The president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (CCNR) wrapped up a tour in Northwestern Ontario this past Sunday, April 23rd, at Castlegreen Community Centre. Gordon Edwards made a presentation in Kenora, Dryden, and Thunder Bay. His presentation: “Nuclear Wastes – The Questions Multiply”. Gordon graduated from the University of Toronto in 1961 withContinue reading “AFTER THE CLIMATE CRISIS, THEN . . .”

My sister Susanne and I visited the Thunder Bay Art Gallery on Friday afternoon. It was a picturesque experience. It’s been years since I visited the Gallery, but two reasons prompted me this time. One, the Gallery’s location will soon change ̶ from Confederation College campus, or thereabouts, to the Waterfront and a facility soonContinue reading “VISIT TO THUNDER BAY ART GALLERY”