The Daily Press is the city of Timmins broadsheet newspaper.
Karen Bachmann is the director/curator of the Timmins Museum and a local author.
Timmins centennial kicks off New Year’s Day at the McIntyre Arena — one of the community’s icons
Well, here we are, finally, sitting on the cusp of our 100th anniversary celebrations for Timmins – and yes, we have much to celebrate, commemorate, ponder and enjoy.
From a small boomtown based on a hope and a prayer, Timmins has grown into one of the world’s most important mining municipalities.
We have been home to the world’s largest gold mine, the world’s largest zinc mine and one of the world’s deepest mines. We are still home to the mine that started it all, and it promises to be in production for many years to come.
Timmins also has many heroes in the fields of sports, culture, art, science and business. The city has seen many of its sons and daughters go on to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, be it in the laboratory or on a stage or in an arena or a lecture hall.
So, in the spirit of those celebrations, I give to you a short list of community icons that will start you thinking about the many things we do have to celebrate during this 100th year.
1. Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines: Think about it – what would our skyline be like if the Hollinger cement headframe and the black ore bin were not there?
The mine was at one time Canada’s largest producer of gold and was one of the biggies on the world scene to boot.
The very beginnings of the town of Timmins are related to that mine, and for that alone it deserves a spot on the list (otherwise I wouldn’t be here to wax poetic every week).
2. The Dome Mine/Goldcorp: Still a going concern 100 years after the first gold was discovered on that property by Jack Wilson and his band of merry men, the Dome was and remains an intricate part of South Porcupine.
While the big red headframe and Dome Ex are long gone, their impact on the community is not forgotten.
3. The McIntyre: The last of the Big Three to come into production, the McIntyre Mine sparked the development of Schumacher, one of the most interesting little towns in the North (and a close contender for a spot on this list!).
Discovered by Sandy McIntyre (the ultimate in Northern Ontario prospectors), the McIntyre Mine would claim the title of the deepest gold mine in the camp, for a while at least.
4. Whitney Cemetery, a.k.a. Dead Man’s Point: Perched on Porcupine Lake, the Whitney Cemetery dates back to 1911, when it was first used as a site to bury the dead from the Great Porcupine Fire.
While many people perished in that blaze, only a few people were buried in the camp. Many of the dead were sent back to their families in southern Ontario and the United States.
Today, you can still see the grave marker for the Weiss family and the memorial to the survivors. The cemetery is still in use.
For the rest of this article, please go to the Timmins Daily Press website: http://www.thedailypress.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3421203