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Weekly newspaper Atikokan, Ontario. Biomass generation, canoe builders, outdoor education, Quetico Park, OPG, cross-Canada solo paddler, seven decades on the trapline, Wilderness Wife, Rentech, wood pellet manufacture, Resolutre Forest Products, Sunday Wilde, Jinx Stus, stromatolites, XY Paddle Co., Paul Kane, Royal Ontario Museum, Souris River Canoes, Fletcher Canoes, Atikokan Generating Station
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Celebration Edition
ATIKOKAN PROGRESSATIKOKAN PROGRESSAtikokan-Quetico, Canoeing Capital of Canada
September 8, 2014
A NEW DAWNat the Atikokan Generating Station
After 28 years as a coal-fuelled station, the Ontario Power
Generation AGS has been successfully converted to North
Americas largest 100% biomass-fuelled power plant.
Its a new start for the plant, and a key part of the revitalization of
Atikokan, after a long decade of uncertainty. The Progress
presents a celebration of the conversion, and of the community.
Max Clement sets a beaver trap on his
line north of Atikokan; and at right, at his
Marmion Lake trappers cabin.
ome say God was tired when He made
Sit;Some say it's a fine land to shun;
Maybe; but there's some as would trade it,
For no land on earth - and I'm one.
Max Clement's feelings about the
trapline he has worked for 50+ years are
pretty clear when we stop to ponder an
ice-edged river and he's moved to quote
poet Robert Service.
He knows his three trap lines north of
Atikokan like the back of his hand,
including the habits, highways, and
habitats of its resident wildlife, and on a
mild day typical of this November, bush
road trapping with him proves a lesson in
wildlife observation.
What kind of tracks do we have here?
becomes a query nearly every time the truck
rolls to a stop, as Clement again spots
evidence of wildlife.
Noting the abundant and subtle signs
of marten, mink, fox, rabbit, squirrel,
beaver, otter, fisher, and timber wolves,
come as second nature to Clement. The
tracks of a pine marten or the fresh
cuttings of a beaver are just some of the
evidence that, despite the stillness, the shy
wilderness is in fact teeming with life.
Clement has worn many business hats
in his life since he moved to Atikokan in
1942 but he considers his career that of a
trapper first and foremost. Even though
the business isn't as lucrative as it once
was - with declining fur prices, new trap
requirements, high fuel prices and last
year's economic downturn all factors -
Clement still has an MNR harvesting
quota of 100 beaver (and takes about that
amount of marten) to fill on his 350 square
kilometre block of traplines that include
over 100 lakes. With one of the largest
land masses of any trapper in northwestern
Ontario, he is busy every day this time of
year with sets to check either daily, or
every two to three days, depending on the
type of trap used.
Trapping has been in his blood since he
was a child in Stratton, and one of his first
introductions to the romanticism and lore
of the trade was the RCMP hunt for the
fugitive known as the Mad Trapper of Rat
River (Albert Johnson). Clement recalled
listening to the drama unfold on a home-
made radio at his father's store during the
1930s, where old men would sit around a
barrel of peanuts and argue about whether
the sound was coming out of that box or not.
Clement began trapping at age 11,
when he and brother Don began catching
muskrat on a neighbour's trapline along
Split Rock River in the Lake of the Woods
region, north of the family homestead.
My brother and I used to take a blanket
and hike 20 miles into the bush and trap
Muskrat for our Easter holidays. The
Depression was on and the money the
boys earned was very welcome. My dad
was working all winter on a government
road job for $2 a day as foreman. We came
in with about 150 muskrat that spring and
Lake of the Woods rats [the best on the
market; their furs were bigger and thicker]
went for about $3.25 each.
At 16, Clement moved to Atikokan to
run a piece of heavy equipment known as
a Latourneau scraper at Finlayson Lake as
part of the mine project. Then followed a
stint in the army (he was to be stationed to
the Pacific as a Sherman tank operator and
mechanic, but the war ended before he
made it overseas), from which he returned
with diesel mechanic certification.
In 1946, Clement went to work on log
drives south of Flanders for MANDO
forestry company, where he worked on a
diesel tug boat overseeing the hauling of
7,500 cord of logs from Wagita Bay down
the Seine River to its destination, Rainy
Lake. He was also a logging camp
foreman for that company.
The Rompass Cat
Trapping was still in his blood however,
and in 1957, shortly after he opened
Clement's Service (the Main St. Husky
Station station and garage), he and Don
were also able to pick up two traplines
here. He built his own snowmobile with a
Volkswagen engine, a few years before
the first commercial snowmobile was on
the market. (I was the first trapper who
mechanized)
His autoboggan caused a bit of a flap
when he unveiled it a month before the
town's snowmobile races and inadvertently
trumped the unveiling of the first-ever
snowmobiles at Atikokan stores, he recalled.
The police came over to tell me I
couldn't compete because mine was
homemade. Thanks to Mayor Syd
Hancock however, the 32-horsepower
vehicle (also known as the 'Rompass Cat')
had its moment of glory.
He knew I had it and said 'Would you
let me use yours for the VIP races [up
Main St.]?' He said, 'I passed the rest of
them just shifting into third gear. There
was nothing around here that could touch
it; it was ahead of it's time'
Clement was called in to break the
trail down to Little McCauley Lake for
Ely, Minnesota snowmobile racers and
the machine generated a lot of attention.
A lot of people said I should have
patented it. He didn't however, and the
very next year Arctic Cat came out with
an almost identical model.
The vehicle took him on many
excursions as he continued trapping even
while working again at Caland in 1965 to
oversee its fleet of Ford service trucks,
and throughout the time as fire chief
during the construction of the Atikokan
Generating Station.
Trapping always came first. [My
employers] understood that trapping was
my main job. I'd put in my eight-hour
shift at the mine, and then go trapping. I'd
say if I don't show up tomorrow, you'll
know something came up on the line.
During his time at AGS, he built a
trapping cabin on the shores of Marmion
Lake. It was just down the road from the
station, so he would head out after work
each day to work on the cabin, and using
a complex pulley system single-handedly
built the structure from large logs.
Driftwood Classic
The lake front view from his cabin
serves as the convergence point for his
two passions: trapping and golf. The
second passion he discovered a little later
in life. For the past eight years he has
hosted the Driftwood Classic golf
tournament, where teeing off on spring
ice amidst the countless stumps and
deadheads (for which the 'Floodwaters'
are famous) creates a one-of-a-kind
challenge.
He discovered the sport while
recovering from a snowmobile accident
when brushing trail out on the line a few
years back. His leg got caught between
the machine and a fallen tree, and I
looked down and the leg bone was poking
through my rubber boot, he said. His
sons and a friend loaded him onto a
toboggan and placed him on a double-
track snowmobile ran it pretty careful
back to the truck parked at the old Caland
airport. It was a lengthy recovery and his
wife Louise bought him golf clubs during
his convalescence. She now says she
created a monster, he jokes.
It wasn't the only mishap over 50 years
of trapping. I've had two or three close
calls on Floodwaters, but taking precau-
tions has eliminated many more, he says.
You've got to read the ice if you live in
this part of the country. I carry an ice
chisel and all the time and a flashlight.
One of the founders of the Atikokan
Sportsmen's Conservation Club, and its
volunteer search and rescue service, he
has seen the danger of heading out into
the bush unprepared and unaware.
I've spent all weekend hunting for peo-
ple who didn't have a compass. I found
one guy three times. That particular
disoriented outdoorsman bought a
compass on Clement's recommendation,
yet ended up lost two more times. The
reason? He said, 'I used the compass, but
it kept pointing north, and I didn't want to
go north, Clement recalls with a chuckle.
He also taught trapping courses as
president of the Atikokan Trappers'
Council and showed students how to set
traps, skin (he can skin four beaver in an
hour), and stretch furs - and how to
harvest their lines responsibly.
On his own lines, he said he tries to
take two beaver from each house every
second year. If you take the surplus off
every year, the beaver population never
crashes. He is also known for getting the
biggest, glossiest beaver furs: evidenced
by the numerous times his pelts have
earned the honour of being selected as the
'top lot' - representing the ten top quality
beaver pelts selected out of well over
40,000 furs at the Fur Harvesters Auction.
The secret of getting the biggest ones,
such as the 50 lb. beaver he caught last
Friday, is to set [the traps] in the main
tunnels and right on the lake bottom -
that's where the bigger ones come out,
he said.
Clement has also shared his
knowledge with local conservation
officers who have occasionally rode along
on a day of trapping to learn the business
and how to spot poaching.
These days, Clement acknowledges
wryly that not many trappers have more
whiskers than me, yet he has no
immediate retirement plans. I guess I
wouldn't be doing it if I didn't enjoy it.
This story was written in the fall of 2009,
and appeared in the Atikokan Progress
then. Max Clement continues to tend his
trapline, is a regular on the links at Little
Falls, and is still disappointed when ice
conditions arent right for the Driftwood
Classic.
Atikokans Max Clement
Seven decades and counting on the traplineby Jessica Smith
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS CELEBRATION EDITION SEPTEMBER 8, 20142
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS, CELEBRATION EDITION, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 3
Almost ten years ago, the province announced it would close the Atikokan
Generating Station.
The news was a dire blow to this small community; Atikokan was to lose
the single biggest contributor to its municipal government, and one of its
largest employers.
There had been political rumblings about putting a stop to coal-fuelled
generation in Ontario for several years (in fact, three of the major political
parties had endorsed the idea). But here, it was very hard to conceive that the
province would simply walk away from a facility into which it had invested
almost three-quarters of a billion dollars.
Provincial officials tried to allay local concerns by promising major
investments that would foster new growth and more than replace the jobs lost
in a plant closure. But Atikokanites had been working hard to grow the
community for 25 years (in fact, the AGS was one of the major success stories
in that effort). We knew exactly how challenging it would be to replace the
station in the Atikokan economy.
The original driving force behind the closure was the smog problem. Smog
alerts had become a regular part of summer weather reports in much of
southern Ontario, and the 'smog season' had started to expand into winter. We
could understand that, but at the same time the science was telling us the
Atikokan plant was not contributing to that problem.
Concerned citizens formed an energy group that pressed the case for saving
the plant here - either by investing in technology to burn coal more cleanly, or
by converting the plant to some other fuel (peat moss from the region was one
such idea).
Gradually, however, the main argument against coal-fuelled generation
changed to the greenhouse gases it produced. It soon became fairly clear the
province was not going to budge - coal had to go.
In 2006, the province committed $4 million to bio-energy research and
development, and made the AGS and the Northwest the focal point of the
effort. Although it was noted here, at the time it did not seem to have any
direct import to what Atikokan was facing. It wasn't until the first successful
tests of wood pellets in the AGS boiler in 2008 that there seemed any light on
the horizon.
By that time, however, Atikokan was caught in a perfect storm of economic
woe. Both the particleboard mill and the lumber mill - the other two major
employers here - had failed, throwing hundreds out of work.
Atikokan has been a resource extraction town since the late 1940s, when
iron ore started to be removed from beneath Steep Rock Lake. So we know
that when recession strikes, it's the resource extraction towns that feel it first.
And Atikokan was feeling it. This downturn would cost us about 20% of our
already small population.
Ironically, the provincial effort to ease the impact of the coal-plant closure
made Atikokan better able to withstand the economic tornado unleashed by the
financial meltdown of late 2008. With three years of planning completed, and
considerable support from senior government (mostly the province, but the
feds were on board, too), Atikokan was able to renew itself in a big way.
The Atikokan Mineral Development Initiative - a sophisticated, multi-
million dollar geo-physical surveying project proposed as one way to help
mitigate the AGS closure - contributed massively to a mining exploration
boom. One project in particular - a gold deposit at Hammond Reef - generated
well over $200 million worth of exploration and development over the next
five years. A dozen smaller projects in the area likely added at least half as
much again to the regional economy.
Meanwhile, the Town was able to use special economic development funds
from the province to avert the razing of what remained of the particleboard
mill, which would later become a wood pellet production plant.
Provincial support also helped spur cottage lot development here, and
allowed our summer festival, the Atikokan Bass Classic, to take a huge step
forward. The Town was able to upgrade the water treatment plant, create a
gem of a recreational area at Charleson, rebuild Main Street, and repave the
Atikokan Airport, all thanks to provincial (and federal) support.
Without the planning that started with the AGS closure announcement, we
would have been fortunate to have completed a third as much.
Meanwhile, despite some setbacks, the conversion of the AGS inched
ahead. Then, in 2012, it moved into full construction... meaning another $170
million investment here over three years, and a solid future for the station.
The forest industry finally started to rebound. Years of declining newsprint
usage have decimated the pulp and paper industry, but Ontario's commitment
to biomass offered a badly needed new market for forest fibre, and helped kick
start the development of two new pellet mills, including the rebirth (fall, 2014
production) of Atikokan's former particleboard mill. The new wood biomass
industry undoubtedly helped convince Resolute a multi-million investment in
a new lumber mill in this area was warranted. (It is scheduled to start
production in 2015.)
So, nearly ten years later after the Energy Minister announced the closure
of the AGS, Atikokan, although smaller, has three major employers with what
are essentially brand new facilities, and a much improved municipal
infrastructure.
We're by no means out of the woods. (We really don't want to be - we love
the bush!)
But Atikokan has always been the Little Town That Could. And we will
continue to work at building a good place to live, a little off the beaten track
and amidst nature's splendour.
From the editors desk by Michael McKinnon
What are we celebrating?
Published Weekly by
Atikokan Printing (1994) Ltd.
P.O. Box 220, 109 Main St. E.
Atikokan, Ontario P0T 1C0
Ph. (807) 597-2731
Fax (807) 597-6103
Editor: Michael McKinnon
Advertising: Eve Shine
Reporting: Jessica Smith
Accounts & Subscriptions:
Christine Jefferson-Durand
Printed in Fort Frances, Ontario
Since October, 1950 www.AtikokanProgress.ca
Mike Ranta and Spitzii, April, 2014 in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
Just out for a paddle, are ya, bud?M. McKinnon
Mike Ranta (AHS Outers, 1987-88) is
the real deal.
In 2011, he paddled from Rocky
Mountain House to Montreal, retracing
the original Voyageur fur trade route.
That's 5,400 km. He did it in 130 days. By
himself.
His 'support team': his dog Spitzii.
And friends, some new who he met along
the way, some old who caught up with
him to lend a hand.
In 2014, he went one better: he started
in the Pacific Ocean (April 1) and headed
east, aiming to get to Cape Breton before
Hallowe'en. (He pulled into North Bay on
September 4; no one is betting against
him making it to Cape Breton.)
Thanks to modern technology, he isn't
totally alone out there: he uses the SPOT
locator system that regularly reports his
position via GPS, and a cel phone that
allows him to post daily updates online of
his adventures.
And every day is an adventure. You
can make all the plans you want in a
canoe, but winds, weather, and balky
equipment mean there always has to be a
plan B, and a plan C. When the sun rises,
he never knows where he will be when it
sets. Somewhere further east, he hopes.
Ranta started paddling as a boy with
his father Marty. Atikokan and Quetico
were the perfect place for him to grow up,
and his grade 11 Outers experiences
reinforced his love for canoe tripping.
Work took him to the western oil fields,
but the highlight of his year was always
his summer trips in Quetico.
In 2007, he was the first Atikokanite to
complete the Quetico Canoe Challenge, th
part of the Park's 100 anniversary
celebration. He planned a two-week solo
around the perimeter of the Park (the
challenge involved visiting each of the
ranger stations), and then surprised
himself by completing it in one.
After years of hearing the stories of
canoe adventurers Don and Joe Meany, he
remained fascinated. Don is the founder
of the XY Paddle Company (see page 14)
and Joe (with wife Vera) was a Quetico
Park ranger for decades. Both of them had
completed the Voyageur marathon (Rocky
Mountain House to Montreal) in 1967:
Don as part of the Ontario team in the
Centennial Canoe Challenge, Joe with
partner Gene Tetrault in a kayak.
Did Mike Ranta have enough of the
paddler's spirit to take on such a
challenge? To him, the question became:
What if he can't make it? He finally
concluded the only failure would be the
failure to try.
I put my heart and soul into it,
honestly and truthfully. You can't fail if
you stay positive. Don't let anything hold
you back - especially fear of failure.
That's what he told the students at
Atikokan High School after his 2011 trip.
And those students - the young people of
Atikokan - are always near his heart. Day-
to-day, his trips are about the journey, and
the certainty that there was nothing else
he'd rather be doing. But he has adopted
the Atikokan Youth Centre as a partner for
both trips, and whenever asked why he's
taken on such a challenge, he shares a
message for young people:
Sometimes when we come from a
small town, we think we're worth a little
less... can't really expect to accomplish
much, he says. But that's just not true.
Anyone can do anything. There is nothing
you can't do. It does take preparation,
confidence, honesty and hard work -
nothing worth anything comes easy.
Mike Ranta and his specially-made Souris
River Canoe at the Atikokan Youth Centre
prior to his 2014 trip. The wheels helped
on the long (50 km-plus) portages; and of
course, he uses XY Paddles.
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS CELEBRATION EDITION SEPTEMBER 8, 20144
M. McKinnon
Vast. Wild. Truly accessible only to the intrepid.
Sigurd Olson, in The Singing Wilderness (1956), offered one of the
finest descriptions of what makes Quetico a special place:
The Singing Wilderness has to do with the calling of loons, with
northern lights, and the great silences of land lying northwest of Lake
Superior. It is concerned with the simple joys, the timelessness and
perspective found in a way of life which is close to the past. I have heard
the singing in many places, but I seem to hear it best in the wilderness
lake country of the Quetico-Superior, where travel is still by pack and
canoe over the ancient trails of the Indians and voyageurs.
Quetico Provincial Park is the wilderness gem in the Ontario Parks
system, and is the reason Atikokan, which hosts the Park headquarters,
calls itself the Canoeing Capital of Canada.
It is among the world's premier destinations for canoeists. Lonely
Planet, the ultimate guide to exotic travel, lists Quetico among its top
five boating destinations, saying: Paddling along the glassy surface of
Northern Ontario's pristine lakes puts you smack in the middle of the
Canada's signature wilderness. Combine canoeing and camping to spot
moose mooching at the water's edge or drop a line for a spot of sport
fishing. The 4,800-sq-km park is known for its remote canoe routes
(1,500 km of them), and there are opportunities for guided and self-
guided forays in and around the park.
The origin of the park's name is a mystery. Locals say the park is
named after the 'Quebec Timber Company', however, no such
company existed. The name may also be a version of the French words
qute de la cte which means 'search for the coast'. It may also be from
an Ojibwe name for a benevolent spirit who resides in places of great
beauty. (Wikipedia)
The Quetico Forest Reserve was created by a provincial Order in
Council in 1909, and became a charter member of Ontario's parks
system four years later, when the Provincial Parks Act was passed. It
wasn't completely protected from logging until 1971; motor boats were
banned in 1979.
(As part of agreement of co-existence, the Lac La Croix First Nation
has some limited motor boat privileges. That agreement was struck
during the 1990s, after the Ontario Minister of Natural Resources,
apologized to the First Nation for the way the province had unilaterally
cancelled the band's reserve in 1915 and relocated its people.)
Quetico is specialQuetico Foundation
This land isn't for the faint of the heart. With black bears, untamed
rapids and challenging portages, it takes a certain kind of traveler to
come here. But as cities and suburbs continue to grow, Quetico is a
sanctuary of true wilderness in Northwestern Ontario.
Quetico is huge!
You could fit land the size of Prince Edward Island inside the Park!
Quetico includes 1,400km of canoe routes, 612 portages, over 2,000
campsites and over 500 lakes - lots of space for the hundreds of animal
and plant species who call it home. A protected wilderness area of this
size is both wonderful and rare.
Quetico is part of Aboriginal culture.
Aboriginal peoples have lived in this region for thousands of years.
In fact, 28 Aboriginal pictographs can still be sighted in the Park. For
many Anishinaabe at Lac La Croix, these pictographs and their
locations are sacred. To protect and respect this land, we're deeply
honored to work with and learn from the Lac La Croix First Nation.
Quetico is Canadian history.
In addition to being home to Aboriginal peoples, Quetico houses the
Voyageurs' Highway once traveled by French explorers, Scottish
traders, and the Hudson's Bay Company. The army even passed through
Quetico on their way to the Louis Riel rebellion battles. Visit the Ridley
Research Library to learn more.
Quetico is ecologically rare.
Quetico sits at the junction of three ecozones: the Great Lakes
forest, Boreal forest, and prairie - all within the Arctic watershed. The
continental divide runs through the Park. That makes it an ideal hub for
long-term ecological research on subjects like climate change, forest
harvesting, and other high-impact environmental issues.
Quetico is filled with wildlife.
The park is home to hundreds of species: from much-loved small
animals like loons, chipmunks and beavers to big creatures like black
bears and moose! We've even had rare sightings of lynx, deer and timber
wolves. Lucky birdwatchers may spot over 250 different species.
Anglers will find lake trout, bass, walleye and northern pike.
The Quetico Foundation was created by letters patent in October,
1954. That's 60 years of wilderness preservation programs and
initiatives, and 60 years of ensuring that Quetico Park is the same today
as it was 60 years ago. Part of its anniversary celebrations included
launching a new website at http://queticofoundation.org
Quetico: A true
canoeing paradise
A misty morning in the Quetico interior
Agnes Lake A hidden beach on Beaverhouse Lake
Snake Falls, at Keats Lake
DETAILS
For more on Quetico Park, phone (807) 597-
2735. For reservations, call 1-888-ONT-PARK (1-
888-668-7275) or see www.ontarioparks.com
Provincial Park campground, as well as the
Quetico Information Pavilion and the John B. Ridley
Research Library are at Dawson Trail, open summers;
winter camping, including yurts, is available
Friends of Quetico and Quetico Foundation sup-
port the efforts of the park; ask how to become a member.
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS, CELEBRATION EDITION, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
The Outers of 2011-12 arrive at Nym Lake at the end of their 12-day spring trip.
From the Outers student guide: Why 12 days??
One long canoe expedition is necessary to produce strong social, psychological and physical
stress. Things begin to happen on the tenth and eleventh days that do not occur on shorter trips. This
will put the Outer in uncharted waters, where they must get beyond personal differences and unite
as a brigade to overcome obstacles - simply put: CHARACTER BUILDING!
5
M. McKinnon
The Atikokan High School Outers program has helped
generations of students develop character, achieve maturity, and
reach their true potential through the challenges of trust-building
and problem-solving activities in the natural physical
environment.
That's Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, in July, 2005, for the
fortieth anniversary celebration of the Outers program.
The grade 11 credit program has become something of a rite of
passage for Atikokan teens. And now, it's not uncommon for the
Outers experience be one they can share with their grandparents,
many of whom completed essentially the same program during
their high school days in the 1960s.
Outers is built around ten wilderness trips: four in the fall, five
during the winter, and one 12-day extended trip into Quetico Park
in June. Students also have to complete a swim test, a wilderness
first aid course, 30 hours of community service, a trip journal, and
several dozen lunch hour planning and debriefing meetings.
Outers work in brigades of six (there are separate boys and
girls brigades). AHS staff go out of their way to compose the
brigades so that students are forced to work with students not in
their usual social circle.
The program was launched in the 1960s by AHS staff (Bill
Peruniak, Jim Smithers, Art Rheault, Al Kerr, and Gord Peterson)
and was modelled on the Outward Bound program. Their vision -
still held to this day - was to make Outers an experiential learning
program. Outers paddle their own canoes, choose their own
routes, navigate for themselves, and sort out how their brigades
get what needs to be done accomplished.
Staff do travel on all of the trips, but unless a brigade is
headed for physical harm, staff will not intervene. If a brigade
paddles off course, staff will follow - but it's up to the Outers to
recognize their mistake.
The school provides packs, snowshoes, canoes, cooking gear,
paddles and life jackets, but after that it's up to each Outers
brigade to figure out what they need to bring. (That's what all
those meetings are about. Also, with three generations of Outers
in the community, it's never hard to find someone willing to offer
advice.)
In the fall, the trips involve a one-day canoe orientation outing
(portaging the six-person canoes, and practicing how to recover
from a tipped canoe), a one-day navigation exercise, an overnight
camp, and a double-overnight camp.
Once the snow flies, the students do two day hikes, two single
overnight trips, and one overnight walk.
Each of the trips challenge the students in different ways, and
the most successful brigades are those that have six members
working together.
The spring 12-day trip is the highlight of the program. The boys
and girls brigades take different routes - most years, they never
even see each other - and the students always plan demanding
routes. It's nine days of heavy-duty wilderness trekking.
Nine days?
Each Outer does a three-day solo during the spring trip. Staff
put each Outer at a separate camp site, and then check on them
daily. The time is their own, and the Outers ethic has grown
strong over the years not to break solo (communicate with anyone
else, except the staff checking on them).
The program is difficult and demanding in ways students do
not experience in any other course work. And, when they paddle
into Nym Lake, the traditional end point for the spring trip, a big
crowd of family and friends is always on hand to welcome back
the young people, each of whom clearly stands a little taller.
Every student who has been an Outer had a unique
experience, says Mike Lewis, a long-time teacher and
administrator at AHS (and now chair of the Rainy River District
School Board). Not all students will say at the end of a trip, or a
portage, or an overnight walk, or a twelve day trip in changing
weather conditions, it was fun, or I would do it again
tomorrow. However, nearly all participants after a time away
from completing an Outers trip will say, I am glad I took part in
Outers. For most participants that statement comes easily and
quickly, for others it is a matter of the passage of time, and of
some reflection, before that statement is uttered.
Outers: Three generations
of wilderness trekkers
High school credit course a rite of passage here
th
KNOW THE FEELING? The 48 group of Outers (2012-13) successfully completed the tripping
portion of the fall program - but that's not to say the portages were dry, or the waters deep, or the canoes
any lighter! That's Kyle Bimm, Adrian Ricci, Brody Riding and Joe Anthony (fifth brigade member
Dylan Gushulak is on shore) pushing through the muck on the haul between Plateau and Fire Lakes on
the season's first trip. Next up, the 27 Outers will complete a Wilderness First Aid program, and then
spend a service day at Quetico Park.
Even at -30C (the coldest temperatures Outers will face)
staying warm on an overnight camping trip is possible, with
a little brigade work. Richard Campbell, Dylan Matichuk,
Brady Coulson, Robbie Derochie, and Erik Larson at their
quinzee, February 9, 2012.
hen a young American couple turned up
Win the tiny village of Atikokan in 1912 announcing their intention of building a cabin in the wilderness, it caused quite a stir
amongst the inhabitants. Pioneer/writer Katherine
Pinkerton was amused to discover that rumours
about her and her husband Robert ran the gamut
from crime to forbidden love.
We were loading the toboggan for our return
journey when Mrs. [Mary Rawn], wife of the hotel
keeper revealed her own explanation of our
presence in the North when she said briskly, 'Live
and let live, I say. Folks who've gone to all that
trouble to make a home deserve any happiness
they've taken.' Apparently she considered our cabin
a 'love nest,' though it did not seem to affect her
opinion of us, she later wrote.
In fact, the very legally married couple came
here because Robert's health could not stand a city
reporter's lifestyle, and the two were looking for
adventure. They spent five years here, writing and
trapping (and apparently mystifying the locals) and
Pinkerton, who had never been off a sidewalk nor
picked up a paddle, wrote of those experiences in
Wilderness Wife, a fascinating tale of her life in the
wilds of northwestern Ontario.
While I looked at that raw hamlet I tried to
reconcile it with the clear circle and print on the
map, and to remember that, after all, it had chosen
us. It was the one railroad stop in two hundred miles
that had both store and post office. What we had
chosen was the wilderness around it, and that
wilderness had receded only enough to permit a
station, roundhouse, a few cabins, a store and a bar.
The pair purchased food and supplies from
storekeeper Frank Scheider and set out in their canoe
to look for a home site.I'd give a good deal to know what those two folks did in
the States that they've got to come up here and hide.The quest carried us into a big lake
connected with the town by a river. It was a
logical choice, for it meant no portages. The
lake had possibilities. Shaped like an enormous
'M,' it extended in long traverses and deep
arms.
That M-shaped lake was none other than
Steep Rock Lake, and the Pinkertons soon
picked out a spot on Wagita Bay that had
everything they needed - a stand of gorgeous
white pine, nearby portage, sandy beach,
waterfall, and a spruce swamp in behind that
promised good hunting. Further exploration
revealed a clearing containing an abandoned
gold mine camp with two log buildings, still in
good shape after 15 years.
The seasoned logs in the old ruins were
perfect for building the cabin and meant a huge
time saving for the young couple, who went on
a three-week canoe trip to explore their new
neighbourhood and give Pinkerton a chance to
learn how to paddle and portage. As they travelled,
The photos above are from A Home in the Wilds, the reprinted version of
Katherine Pinkertons Wilderness Wife, and show the author on her trapline
and the home she and the family lived in on Steep Rock Lake, 1912-1917.
Below, the late Myrtle Leishman with a family heirloom: the bellows the
Pinkertons found while living here.
Facing the wilds - with little knowledge and even less experienceIn 1912, a pair of adventure-loving New Yorkers gave up city life to settle on the shores of Steep Rock Lake. Wilderness Wife, Katherine Pinkertons
first-hand of that experience, provides a unique glimpse of life during Atikokans very earliest days, writes Jacqueline Boileau
they stopped at the many settlements where people gathered to visit
after the lonely winters on the trap lines.
Kaw-win ish-quay!
My clothes fascinated the natives. Groups gathered around
me. I thought it was admiration until the chief of a small band,
apparently a wit, convulsed his villagers by pointing at me and
repeating 'Kaw-win ish-quay!' Kaw-win ish-quay!'
'Not a woman! Not a woman!' Robert interpreted. 'He
means your riding breeches.' The village roared and shrieked
its mirth. That became the summer's joke. And durable! Years
later I would turn a bend in a portage and hear a giggle, 'Kaw-
win ish-quay!'
During that trip they discovered a ghost town, likely
located up at Sawbill Bay north of Marmion Lake, that had
been deserted for 15 years.
We had stumbled on the only ghost town in the Canadian
wilderness, an enormous stamp mill, hotel, store, dwelling
houses, dam for water power, turbines, two miles of electric
light poles straggling through the bush, wires and bulbs in the
log cabins. I turned an electric switch, almost expecting light.
The pair divided to see what they could pick up from the
abandoned buildings.
I had to content myself with odds and ends, grain sacks,
glass jars for canning, a few pans and a leather bellows which
I carried home in the hope of having a fireplace some day.
The Pinkertons had many interesting adventures in the north,
like watching a friend go for a ride on a moose. It was a feat
accomplished by paddling right up to a swimming animal,
grasping the horns and easing oneself onto its
back, aided of course by the liberal imbibing of
alcohol.
Another time they travelled to the other end
of Steep Rock Lake with their two mothers,
showing off the modernity of their surroundings in a
new gas-powered boat. Pinkerton was pregnant at
the time and wanted to prove that her new home was
safe for a family.
The launch behaved so admirably we dared
make a twenty mile trip to the farthest arm of the
lake to see the latest marvel, a farm. Several acres of
level tree-less land had been discovered by Mr. [Tom
Rawn] when hunting. No one knew by what geologi-
cal or other force it had been laid bare, but he began
immediately to improve it We visited the farm in
its hey-day when it had a cow and calf, some sheep,
chickens and a garden.
That farm was operated by Rawn's nephew Phillip
and his wife Anna, who were also expecting a baby
(that baby was Myrtle (Rawn) Leishman, who
passed away at 93 in 2007.).
Pinkerton went 'out' for several months to give birth
to their daughter Bobs, and they added on to the cabin to
accommodate her, an expansion that took 40-45
cords of wood a year to heat. Fortunately, timber was
plentiful and Robert was not afraid of hard work.
Myrtle Leishman
After five years in this area, the Pinkertons
decided it was time to move on. They gave the cabin
to the master mechanic at the roundhouse in return
for his promise to treat it well and to burn it after he
left. That was a promise he didn't keep, since the
building eventually fell into the hands of Sandy and
Myrtle (Leishman) Johnston. One of the things they
salvaged from the cabin was the leather bellows that
Pinkerton had found at the Sawbill Bay ghost town
(pictured here).
My husband Sandy Johnston got the bellows be-
cause he bought the original house they built. It had
passed through many hands before he bought it for a
summer camp, said Leishman. People kept taking
things from it in the wintertime and they disap-
peared eventually, except the bellows, which we
took home because we had a fireplace in our
camp. Dad used to use it in his workshop.
During the Pinkertons' time, Atikokan was a
tiny railroad town of about 300 people, with a
post office, general store and hotel, run by
Leishman's uncle and aunt, Tom and Mary Rawn.
Leishman's mother Anna came from Sweden
at the age of 15, a young woman hoping to find
a job, and she ended up working in the Rawn's
hotel where she met Tom's nephew Philip. After
they married they moved to Steep Rock Lake
and became friends with the Pinkertons, who
lived at the other end of the big lake.
[Their daughter] Bobs and I were born, I
believe, on the same day, said Leishman. Mom
and Dad were friends of the Pinkertons; we lived
out on the Rawn farm about four miles north of
Atikokan. The Pinkertons lived in quite a big
clearing where they were, near what we called
Cedar Springs, which was a favourite picnic spot
for the whole town.
All of Atikokan's small members used to go to Cedar st
Springs for the 1 of July picnic. I remember I used to try to
run races on the sand beach. It still exists of course, but when
the lake was drained [for the mines] it made a difference in
the whole area. It was a beautiful spring. One end of the
beach was all cedar trees and it was very special drinking
water. They had Indian pow-wows [there] and the whole
town used to go. About 50 Native people lived in the area. It
was a favourite meeting place for people.
Leishman's parents moved into town not long after the
Pinkertons left.
We came in from the farm when I was about four. My
brother Lloyd was eight so we came in to go to school. My
house [where Fotheringhams live on Clark St.] is the house
that my father built when he was a young man working for
Uncle Tom and it was the annex to the hotel.
Wilderness Wife was published in 1939, and was greatly
enjoyed by the whole Rawn family.
I read it many times when it first came out. Mrs. Pinker-
ton sent us a copy of the book, which someone borrowed
from my mother and we never got it back, even though we
sent the Mounted Police to get it back. It was signed.
The book, a fascinating bit of Atikokan history and a
Canadian classic, was re-released in 1976 under the title A
Home in the Wilds. Copies of the book can be found at the
Atikokan Public Library.
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS CELEBRATION EDITION SEPTEMBER 8, 20146
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS, CELEBRATION EDITION, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 7
Pembina Institutes biomass
sustainability analysisOPG
In discussing the biomass option with stakeholders across
Ontario, the sustainability and climate change benefits of biomass
are always topics of interest. At the same time, OPG recognizes
that the science around biomass is expanding and questions about
the use of biomass fuels have been raised. OPG continues to take
steps to ensure its biomass program is sustainable and delivers
climate change benefits.
In 2010, OPG contracted
The Pembina Institute, a well-
respected Canadian
environmental organization, to
conduct an assessment of the sustainability and climate change
implications of electricity generation at four OPG coal plants,
using two million dried tonnes per year of forest-based biomass,
sourced and processed in Ontario.
The Pembina study examined the full life-cycle emissions
associated with harvesting, transportation, processing and
combustion of two million tonnes of Ontario-sourced, wood-
based biomass fuel per year at four OPG coal plants.
As part of the study, Pembina conducted an analysis for a
northwestern Ontario scenario with an hypothetical annual supply
of 100,000 tonnes per year of forest-based biomass to be used at
OPG's Atikokan GS. That analysis found that:
There is no systematic decline in forest carbon stocks over
time. This fact, combined with sustainable forest management
planning and practices, means OPG's biomass program can satisfy
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) definition of renewable biomass.
The wood pellet electricity pathway for Atikokan GS offers
significant greenhouse gas benefits over combined-cycle natural
gas generation (on average about 90 per cent lower).
Economic benefit will be concentrated in the local area. The
study estimates that 130 jobs would be created and $18 million
per year would be added to the area economy.
Over nine days in early May, 2013, the
most visible part of the conversion was
completed: the erection of two 43-metre tall
storage silos for the wood pellets.
The walls in the silos are a
half-metre thick, so each
required almost 1,400 cubic
metres of concrete (305 truck
loads for the two silos) and
over 200,000 kilograms of
rebar.
The FWS Group
(Winnipeg) used two
independent 1.2 metre tall
slipforms (one inside, one
outside), and started pouring
concrete on May 2. It flowed
almost continuously until May 11; when the
concrete was flowing, the silos (they were erected
simultaneously) rose about 1.5 metres per hour.
Pouring the silosWhy Biomass at the Atikokan GS?
When the province mandated the end of coal-fuelled
electricity production in Ontario, OPG examined a variety of
ways the province's power needs could be met without using coal.
Wood biomass was found to be the best option for the
Atikokan station.
It makes use of the existing facility, which was built in 1982-
84 at a cost of $754 million, and had considerable life left.
Converting the plant to biomass ($170 million) was less
expensive than building a new 205 megawatt plant.
The plant, designed to burn lignite coal, was quite suitable
for conversion to wood biomass.
OPG research, and the study by the Pembina Institute, clearly
indicated wood biomass is a sustainable and environmentally
responsible fuel source.
Key contractors were AECON, which designed and
constructed the fuel handling and storage systems, and Nordmin,
which did the controls integration.
Once converted, the AGS would be available when needed to
meet peak demand for electricity, and back-up hydro-electric
generation in low-water years, as well intermittent power sources
like wind and solar.
Finally, wood biomass presents synergies with Ontario's
forest sector.
The conversionBasically, the conversion project involved three separate sets
of modifications to the existing plant:
Modifying the furnace (including the installation of 15 new
burners), and designing and installing a new distributed controls
system.
Erecting two 5,000 tonnes (each) storage towers for the
wood biomass.
Installing a transfer tower between the plant and the storage
silos, and a receiving facility to handle the truck delivery of wood
biomass.
Health and safetyOntario Power Generation approached the entire project with
health and safety as the primary focus, in both the short- and
long-term.
If we hurt one person in this project, it's a failure, said Brent
Boyko, shortly after the work had begun. (He was then manager of
Continued on page 8
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS CELEBRATION EDITION SEPTEMBER 8, 20148
Health & SafetyFrom page 7
the AGS; he has since become OPG's director of biomass business
development.)
All of the workers - there were over 200 construction workers
on-site for the project, with over 100 different contractors involved -
received safety training, and safety was considered first at every step
of the construction process.
For operational safety, OPG studied how best to reduce both fire
and explosion risk, and worker exposure risk. It also conducted a
third-party industrial hygiene study that assessed hazards associated
with handling wood dusts. The results of that work is reflected in all
of the final design.
Receiving strategyContracts for the wood pellets, 45,000 tonnes per year each, were
awarded to Rentech (which will produce them in Atikokan) and
Resolute Forest Products (Thunder Bay). OPG will use only all-
wood pellets in the Atikokan GS, so it is essential the pellets be
protected from the elements .
The pellets will be delivered in specially designed self-
unloading, closed trucks (a contract for this has been awarded).
OPG estimates the ATGS will receive up to 10 35-tonne trucks
per day, five days a week. (The system is designed so that a truck
will take about 15 minutes to unload.)
Pellets will be unloaded onto a belt-feeding system that can
send them to either the storage silos, or to the new in-plant surge th
bins. (These are about 1/16 the size of the coal bunkers they
replaced, to reduce the quantity of in-plant fuel.)
The storage silos are equipped with spiral chutes that reduce
fuel drop, temperature monitoring systems (at multiple levels) to
avert self-heating, aeration and recirculation capabilities to cool
pellets, and an inert gas injection system for fire prevention. Each
also has explosion panels, and an elaborate dust control system.
Regular staff at the plant were intimately involved with all the
conversion work. They served as contract monitors and
administrators, and worked closely with the contractors on quality
control. Their knowledge of, and familiarity with, the plant were
essential in the work to adapt the facility to the new fuel.
Pellets will come to the plant in self-unloading 35-tonne trucks
specially designed to deliver wood pellets and protect them from
the elements.
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS, CELEBRATION EDITION, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 9
The new distributed
controls system means a
whole new look for the
control room.
The AGS from the air, taken
shortly after the erection of
the storage silos.
The empty coal yard, and
coal handling facilities, are
being preserved in a safe
state.
The heart of the operation:
the staff and the turbine
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS CELEBRATION EDITION SEPTEMBER 8, 201410
The Coal Legacy
On June 10, 2013, the grand opening of The Coal Legacy exhibit
was held at the Atikokan Centennial Museum. This permanent
display includes models, historic photos and artifacts. It is a tribute
to the Atikokan Generating Station's very proud past -- serving the
community from 1985 to 2012. It also introduces the station's
conversion to biomass fuel to the community.
Photo: Atikokan Township Mayor Dennis Brown (centre) with
OPG's Wray Clement (left) and Brent Boyko (right).
The early yearsIn 1906, some 1,500 municipal representatives
marched on Queen's Park to demand that the
government establish a publicly-owned electric
company. That May, the Ontario Legislature created
the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. Its
first chairman was Sir Adam Beck. The dream - to
provide a low-cost hydroelectric power system that
would belong to and serve the people of Ontario.
Building the system was underway and by 1910 the
Ontario Commission began supplying electricity
while new development continued.
The Town of Atikokan &
Hydro a partnershipThe town of Atikokan, which was established in
1899 when the CNR reached that point, developed as
a result of the vast amount of iron ore under Steep
Rock Lake. Extraction started in 1930 and the 'hidden
riches' were first located in 1938. Development
ensued. The first construction road was started in
1943 and paved the way to the lake with the 'billion
dollar bottom'. That same year, the Hydro-Electric
Power Commission of Ontario built a 115,000 volt
transmission line into the area from Port Arthur.
Post-World War II brought economic prosperity
and rising demands for power. In 1955, a second
115,000 volt line was built while power consumption
continued to increase. That year, the township
purchased the distribution system and a supply of
power. Atikokan became a member of the Hydro
family on December 18, 1956 when the Hydro-
Electric Commission of the Township of Atikokan
was established.
The load at that time was about 2,500 kw and by
December, 1958, had increased to 3,268 kw. Ontario
Hydro's area work force handled the outside work on
a cost basis. Development continued. Caland Ore
Company Limited joined the economic burst, and
with Steep Rock Iron Mines Limited developed the
Steep Rock Range.
In June, 1958, a contract was signed to supply
power to Canadian Charleson Limited which
extracted ore from gravel deposits in the area. The
local utility built one mile of 44,000-volt line into the
plant site to supply the company's 4,000-kva
substation.
The Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario
became Ontario Hydro in 1974. Hydro invested
heavily in expanding and creating new generating
facilities and selected the site for a new thermal
generating station in northwestern Ontario. The
Atikokan Generating Station was the first Ontario
Hydro station planned with the guidance of the public
participation of a committee of community leaders.
The Atikokan
Generating StationOntario Hydro constructed the Atikokan
Generating Station on Marmion Lake at the outskirts
of Atikokan after new
technologies forced closure
of the ore mines in 1979-
80. Built at a total cost of
$754 million, the station
burned low-sulphur lignite
coal from western Canada
until September 11, 2012.
At that time, the
conversion to biomass fuel
was underway. The station
has conventional
environmental control
devices and is the only
When the planning and construction of the Atikokan
Generating Station started in the late 1970s,
computerized design was still a pipe dream. That
meant miniature scale models were created as part of
the design process; actually, the old models came in
handy when planning the conversion of the plant to
biomass fuel. OPG has since donated some of the
models to the Atikokan Centennial Museum for its
Coal Legacy exhibit.Steelwork during the
original construction
station in Ontario with an on-site railway car dumper.
Coal-fired stations were generally used to meet
periods of peak electricity demand when supply. To
distribute the power, there are tie lines to Manitoba,
the US at International Falls, Minnesota and an east-
west tie line with southern Ontario.
The Atikokan Generating Station was
commissioned on November 14, 1985. Then Atikokan
Reeve Dennis Brown, presented a plaque on behalf of
the Township of Atikokan that continues to hang in
the control room of the station today. The station
achieved ISO 14001 certification for environmental
management and went on to attain Wildlife Habitat
Council certification for sound environmental
practices.
Restructuring
Ontario HydroRestructuring of the province's electricity industry
brought change to Ontario Hydro which, for over 93
years, made a huge contribution to the growth and
prosperity of the province. On April 1, 1999, Ontario
Hydro ceased to exist and Ontario Power Generation
(OPG), the largest of Ontario Hydro's five successor
companies, was launched to generate the electricity.
(The others are: Hydro One Networks Inc. -
transmission and distribution; Independent Electricity
System Operator -administers the electricity grid;
Electrical Safety Authority - enforces electrical safety
across Ontario; Ontario Electricity Financial
Corporation - responsible for servicing the debt and
liabilities of the former Ontario Hydro that were not
assigned to the successor companies.) Ontario Power
Generation is one of the largest electricity generators
on the continent.
Repowering coal-fired
electricity generation
in OntarioClosing Ontario's coal-fired power plants and
replacing them with cleaner energy sources was first
posed in 2003 by the Ontario government. On April 8,
2014, the last coal was burned in Ontario for the
production of electricity. Today, the Atikokan
Generating Station is the largest capacity, 100 percent
biomass fuelled power plant in North America. Close
to 100 percent of the electricity OPG produces is from
sources that are free of climate change and smog
causing emissions.
Supporting the
CommunityOntario Power Generation encourages its
employees to participate and help out in their
communities. Staff members also conduct an annual
employee charity campaign and contribute through
payroll deduction to raise funds for charity. In
addition, Ontario Power Generation supports the
communities in which it operates through its
Corporate Citizenship Program. Some of these
sponsorships include funds for equipment for the
Atikokan General Hospital, the spawning bed at the
Abie/Marmion Lake cut and the three-year restocking
program, barrier-free access for the Atikokan Public
Library and support for the Atikokan Entertainment
Series and other arts, education, health, environmental
and community initiatives.
Atikokan Generating Station is a proud
community supporter and plays an important role in
Ontario Power Generation's production of electricity.
Atikokan and OPG: An intertwined history
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS, CELEBRATION EDITION, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 11
Resolute's new Sapawe mill
taking shape on scheduleJessica Smith
We're starting from a clean slate and building up from that.
That's Guy Legarrie, in late August, 2014, talking about the
construction of Resolute Forest Products' new lumber mill at Sapawe,
just east of Atikokan. He's overseen the construction of sawmills in Ear
Falls and Thunder Bay, where he headed up production and
maintenance for 12 years, and is the sawmill supervisor here.
Legarrie worked for Atikokan Forest Products for 16 years at the
Sapawe site, before moving on to Avenor (a predecessor of Resolute
FP) in 1997. The AFP mill went bankrupt in 2008, and was dismantled a
few years later.
Resolute bought the property in 2013, after announcing it would
build a lumber mill in the Atikokan area to complement its operations in
Thunder Bay (lumber, pulp & paper, biomass pellets) and Ignace
(lumber). In the fall, Rainy Lake Tribal Contracting levelled the new
site, blasting and relocating of some 120,000 cubic metres of rock (now
being used for gravel in the site construction), and removing 300
truckloads of old mill waste.
Construction began in the spring of 2014. It includes a planer (the
most modern in North America) and a kiln, and will produce a variety of
lumber (1x3, 1x4, 2x3, 2x4, 2x6 and 2x10) in eight and sixteen foot
lengths. The production target here will be 150 million board feet per
year, about 50% more than the old mill's typical output. The natural gas-
fired kiln will also handle logs for the Ignace mill; it's annual capacity
will be 265 million board feet per year. (The company's Thunder Bay
mill lists annual production at 300 million board feet.)
The project is on schedule for completion in spring 2015, with
operation by summer.
The approximate $65 million investment in the Sapawe operation
will create not only direct employment, but spinoff jobs in harvesting
and hauling. By the start of production, the mill will have 90 employees,
including 20 tradespeople, 20 [supervisory] staff and 50 labourers and
operators.
Resolute contracted Fab Tech for most of the mill construction, and
KTG Group for the equipment installation. (Both are Quebec
companies.)
AFP had some top-of-the line pieces of equipment such as the
DDM 6 and DDM 12 sawing machines, which will be installed here.
KTG will also remove, refurbish and rebuild equipment from
Resolute's idled mill in Oakhill, Nova Scotia and transport it here.
The saw line itself is brand new, said Legarrie.
It's what we call the heart beat of the operation. It's
just the equipment that is feeding [the saw line] and
taking it away, that is going to be used equipment.
The sawmill will cut 16 foot boards into a variety of
dimensions.
A brand new, state-of-the-art planer is being
purchased and that is a very, very key component to
the success of this mill. From a speed and finishing
perspective, it will be able to plane lumber faster, he
said.
The planer, which removes the rough or excess
surface from the kiln-dried lumber, will be used for
boards from both the Sapawe mill and Resolute's
Ignace mill (9 foot stud lumber).
The log handling conveyor system will feed new
logs into the de-barker and sorting area (three bins)
and feed on into either the sawmill (to be cut into 16
foot lengths and kiln-dried), or to the chipper area.
The sawmill runs parallel to the planer and the two
adjacent lines run about 360 feet. The sawmill line's
lumber output area is adjacent to the input of the
planer, which mean efficiency of layout; the newer
technology means fewer workers than the old mill,
M. McKinnon
One of the chief selling points in the plan to convert the Atikokan
Generating Station to wood biomass was that it would help kick-start a
new, homegrown wood pellet industry in Northwestern Ontario.
The forest industry was hurt badly during the recession, but it has
also been facing an ongoing decline in the demand for newsprint, which
has closed dozens of pulp and paper mills across North America. That's
hamstrung efforts to get the maximum value from every tree taken from
the forest. For years that has been achieved by sending the best wood to
lumber mills, with the rest going to manufactured building materials
(oriented strand board, etc.) and pulp and paper.
The new biomass wood pellet industry can help forest companies
replace some of the lost pulp and paper mills. That was the original idea,
anyway.
It seems to be working.
In May, 2013, Rentech, Inc., which operates wood fibre and
nitrogen fertilizer businesses, announced it would make a $70 million
investment in Wawa and Atikokan to convert idled mills to wood pellet
manufacturing facilities. It had won large wood pellet contracts with
Drax, a U.K. power producer that has made a major move into biomass-
fuelled generation, and Ontario Power Generation.
Six months earlier, Resolute Forest Products announced it would
invest $10 million to build a wood pellet plant in Thunder Bay; it, too,
had won a contract to supply OPG. (Resolute's plant is slated to enter
production during the fourth quarter of 2014.)
The Atikokan plant was commissioned in September, 2014, and has
meant jobs for about 25 Atikokanites.
The heart of the operation here is three pellet presses that will take
wood - reduced to sawdust size - and turn it into pellets. Each of the
presses is designed to produce about four tonnes of pellets per hour, so
the plant will have a capacity of 12 tonnes per hour, or about 100,000
tonnes per year.
The wood yard - which operation has been contracted to Rainy Lake
Tribal Contracting - has a broad mix of woods, in varying states, from
sawdust to full size logs. The wood is debarked (the bark fuels the
CELEBRATING THE REVIVAL OF THE FOREST INDUSTRY IN ATIKOKAN
Workers at Rentechs Atikokan wood pellet facility; inset, the product from an early test run.
Rentech commissions
Atikokan wood pellet facility
but higher production. In the AFP days, the sawmill
and planer were in two separate buildings but this
new design is all under one roof, said Legarrie.
You don't have as many people functioning in
these areas because you don't need to. The same
person who walks the one line, now walks both lines.
The technology of optimization is the key, he
adds. In the new world, optimization pays the bills.
Synergies among the Atikokan, Ignace, and
Thunder Bay mills will be maximized. Resolute will
use the chipped wood from the sawmills for its
Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill and new wood
pellet plant, and for sale to Rentech's wood pellet
plant here. (Both Rentech and Resolute's pellet
plants have contracts to supply the Atikokan
Generating Station.)
As Resolute brings these three additional plants
on-line, it will use the trees from the five forest
management units on which it holds sustainable
forest licences: Crossroute (here to Fort Frances),
Dog River-Natawin (Quetico to Thunder Bay), and
three northerly units (English River, Black Spruce
and Caribou).
Sawmill supervisor Guy Legarrie and safety supervisor Scott Manford in front of the de-barking
facility at Resolute Forest Products' new Sapawe lumber mill.
heating system for the sawdust drier), and then
chipped and screened. Small particles go right into
the pellet production line, while the larger pieces go
to a couple of hammer mills that will reduce the
wood to the appropriate size. Everything is then
dried; the driers can produce up to 18 tonnes of dried
wood per hour.
Once pressed into pellets, the product is cooled
and is then ready for shipping. Rentech has installed
a pair of large silos for storing production, but the
best case scenario has storage kept to a minimum.
Trucks, all bound for the OPG plant here, will
load right inside the plant on one side of the
production line. On the other, pellets will be loaded
into rail cars, bound for Quebec City (from where
they will be shipped to Drax in the U.K.).
Rentech is providing extensive training for the
workers, even sending some to spend time in
American wood pellet plants. All of the workers here
have completed two weeks of core skill training,
everything from First Aid to industrial safety and
workplace harassment. Safety North Ontario, Intola
Safety, and the Rainy River District Shelter of Hope
delivered the training.
It's all about setting up the staff for success, said
plant manger Bill Carson. People are the ones who
make the company, and they are the biggest asset.
This is the fourth wood plant start-up Carson has
been involved with (the others were in Kenora, High
Level, Alberta, and Truro, Nova Scotia).
may not be a train man, but I
Icertainly am a train fan, and I've been one for as long as I can remember. As a boy living in Niagara
Falls and later in Croatia, during the
1940s and 50s, I watched freight trains
at crossings, on bridges, steaming up
mountains, and pulling in and out of
stations. I recall wondering where they
came from, what they were carrying and
where they were headed. Trains always
held a deep fascination for me and must
have been the equivalent of boats on the
Mississippi to Tom Sawyer and Huck
Finn. But in all honesty, my love affair
with trains didn't truly begin until we
moved to the wrong side of the tracks in
Atikokan in the early 1960s.
After I accepted a teaching position
with the Atikokan School Board, we
Forty years on the wrong
side of the tracks
moved to Highland Park.
Highland Park was a
single dirt road lined
with houses and shacks
of various descriptions,
located on the other side
of the tracks from the
town proper. At the time,
the CN line through
Atikokan was very busy.
Grain cars from the
prairies, iron ore pellets
from two local mines, as
well as unusual cargo of
every description, gave a
resident of Highland
Park only a 50 - 50
chance of getting across
the tracks at any given
time. Passenger trains,
work crews, and cars
being shunted back and
forth, made the odds
drop even further.
One would think that
with all this train
nonsense, people would
be discouraged from
living in Highland Park.
And, indeed this was the
case, except for the
diehards who loved the
sound of the train
whistle, the shaking of the earth, the activity, the
mystery, the ever-changing scenery. All this was
a gift to those living on the wrong side of the
tracks. Mind you, if we were stuck at the
crossing at inconvenient times, we were not
above complaining. However, waiting for the
train to pass gave us a chance to slow down and
socialize with the neighbours who were also
waiting. Then when the train finally got moving,
we entertained ourselves by guessing at the
number of cars yet to pass before the caboose
cleared the crossing. We never understood why
sometimes a whole train would get through the
crossing, except for the last one or two cars, that
infuriatingly blocked the road for good lengths
of time. Why couldn't the train have pulled up
just a little further? Another train mystery.
I asked my three children, who are now in
their forties, about some of their recollections of
living near the CN Yard. Their memories were
very interesting indeed, and I'd like to share
some of them with other train lovers.
Walking and balancing on the rails while
playing the game of who can stay on the
longest.
Collecting pop bottles along the tracks for
pocket change.
Searching the ditches for snakes and frogs, just
for the joy of it.
Rescuing turtles stuck between the rails.
Sliding bikes under stationary grain cars
instead of taking the long way around.
Throwing small rocks under the wheels
of fast moving trains to watch them
explode into dust.
Going to the tracks to see blood stains
of stray animals hit by a train.
Making weapons from thin pieces of
sheared off rail.
Getting your dogs to stay, to prevent
them from darting under a moving train
in an attempt to join you on the other
side.
Flying kites on the tracks in the spring
time if the yard was reasonably empty.
Lying in bed and listening to the
constant activity on the tracks while
falling asleep.
Recalling the bright high beam of light
from the engine, lighting up
EVERYTHING in sight!
Using iron ore pellets from the tracks as
perfect sling shot ammo.
Dreaming of going across Canada on a
freight train,
needing only
coveralls, a
sleeping bag, a
good book, and
some money.
Secretly riding a
freight train to
Thunder Bay.
Becoming a
vegetarian as a
result of seeing
cows transported in
cattle cars across
the country.
Building forts with
loose boards
removed from
freight cars parked
on the sidings.
Taking the
occasionally
offered caboose
ride to school when
late.
Playing on a huge
pile of ties that was
the ultimate jungle
gym.
Recalling our
neighbour
collecting spilled
grain from the
tracks to feed his chickens.
Although occasionally the trainmen gave
instructions to use the official crossing, the
kids rarely listened because the crossing was
so far away. Parents made every effort to
instruct their children on safe crossing
practices because they understood the futility
of trying to keep Tom and Huck off the
Mississippi. As parents we felt that having fun
in the train yard was a sight more stimulating
than watching sitcoms and television
advertising.
As far as I am personally concerned, I love
trains and all the activity in the yard. I spent
endless days photographing both details and
panoramic views of this ever changing stage.
Those were the days, no Facebook, no reality
TV, no Blackberries, just real life and the
trains
(Editor's Note: Joe Marohnic, who has
trained more Atikokan photographers than
anyone, originally wrote this story for Rail
Fan Canada magazine, Fall, 2009. The
Progress carried it in March, 2010. All of the
images with this story are by Joe Marohnic.)
Article and photographs Joseph Marohnic
Email: [email protected]
Station House at Night
Bending Pennies
Out of Service
Story and photos by Joseph Marohnic
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS CELEBRATION EDITION SEPTEMBER 8, 201412
ATIKOKAN (ONT.) PROGRESS, CELEBRATION EDITION, SEPTEMBER 2014 13
M. McKinnon
That's not likely to be seen on the town's calling card
any time soon, but Atikokan's Tramin Mining and
Industrial Services is making a move in that direction. It
has completely rebuilt a pair of vehicles to make them
suitable for use in hard rock mining, and hopes the effort
will lead to something bigger as the mining industry in the
region expands.
We've got a lot of time and money invested in this,
said proprietor Gord Martin last week. We think we've
got a winner here Time will tell.
Specifically, Tramin took a pair of vehicles made by
Genco, a Utah-based mining services company that
produces a specialized personnel vehicle for use in
underground coal mines, and rebuilt them, almost from the
ground up, into vehicles that should stand up to the more
rigourous hard-rock minerals mining of this region.
It's designed to haul four or five guys, with tools in the
back, underground, said Martin. (It's an off-road vehicle
only.) We're really proud of it, and are working with a
couple of clients now to get the truck on site and put it
through its paces. We need to test it out on an actual job
site; it's still in the development stage.
Martin has been eying the Genco vehicles at mining
shows for almost a decade. When a client approached him
Jessica Smith
Many of us know the words by heart.
The Atikokan Song, written by Jinx Stus for the town's th
100 birthday in 1999, is now gaining broader exposure as
a marketing tool for the town.
The song, which traces Atikokan's history from its
railroad, logging and mining roots to more recent
economic challenges, lauds the indomitable spirit of the
town with the great big heart. It forms the sound track to
archival and scenic photos of the town.
Stus worked with filmmaker Patricia Lambkin,
Atikokan Centennial Museum, the Atikokan Economic
Development Corp., the Chamber of Commerce, and all
kinds of friends and neighbours to assemble the DVD.
The finished product features the song while the
accompanying photos date back to early days - including
dirt roads and the construction of the first mining houses,
churches, new businesses and the original Atikokan Hotel
(courtesy of current hotel owner John Torbiak).
Included are scenes from some seven decades ago
featuring Max Clement working on the log drive at age 17.
Those shots were shared by his son Albert, and Stus said
she was thrilled to get her hands on them. In addition to
those obtained from the Museum's archives, others were
taken by local photographers Deb Riley, Doug Strom, Ron
Krukoski and the late Cliff McIntosh. The works of local
artists Linda Kennard, Kendra Faykes and Heather
Schmutzer also help celebrate the area's beauty.
When Patricia and I watched the finished product in
her living room, I choked up, and I knew that's how others
would view it too, said Stus. It's a memento of
Atikokan this little town has been through a lot.
The Song
It's the town's ability to survive that inspired the song,
and that spirit remains as relevant to the community today
as it did when the iron ore mines shut down in the 70s and
80s. More than industry drives the town; it's the beauty of
the unspoilt wilderness, quality of life, and warmth of its
residents, the song and video tell us.
When Stus first put pen to paper to create the Atikokan
Song, it was a spur of the moment decision, just three th
weeks before the 100 birthday. When she first performed
it, it clearly struck a chord that still resonates today.
During the birthday celebrations I played it under the
tent every day and people were crying, and before I knew it
I was getting requests to play it three or four times a day.
Still, every time she performs she gets request for it,
she said. It's kind of neat when you're singing it, and
people are joining in on the chorus.
She recorded the song over a year ago with the help of
Roy Lusignan (who provided the guitar and bass, and
recorded the song at his own Dream Studio) and Raymond
Simard on banjo and harmonica. But in spite of finally
recording the CD, Stus still longed to make it both a
musical and visual journey. I wanted the DVD. I wanted
the pictures behind it, but I knew I couldn't do it on my own
[because it was expensive].
Stus, who recorded a 45 rpm record in 1978 and a CD
(Jinx and the Soulmates) 20 years later, has now written
about 10 songs for a new CD and hopes to begin recording
soon. And should anything significant be added to the
Atikokan story, I could always add a few more verses,
she adds with a laugh.
M. McKinnon
How far can you go on a great voice, a passion to make
music, and an unwavering commitment?
So far for Atikokan's Sunday Wilde, the answer is: four
original CDs, air play everywhere from BB King's
Bluesville (Sirius XM Radio) to roots and blues stations, a
pile of indie music awards, and a growing legion of fans
from around the world.
This blues singer has been found performing
everywhere from small logging and mining towns at
coffee houses, to funeral parlours, blues joints, large
festivals, house concerts, and big city night spots.
Wilde is a powerful and intense vocalist, a rare voice
that speaks from the primal soul. She writes, too -
exploring the subjects of grief, addiction, love, and the
torment of social and family dysfunction. Her lyrics and
delivery make it abundantly clear that she speaks with
authority and from experience. Wilde writes from the
heart and draws from observations of personal
interactions and emotions.
She has a big entrepreneurial streak - as a young
mother, she built a successful business out of her home
Blues Blast magazine on Sunday Wilde:
...rather deep pipes that have been toned by experience,
one part Etta James with a tiny dash of Janis Joplin...
making and marketing energy bars before launching her
musical career - so when she committed fully to making
music, she was not daunted by the prospect of doing it
from the wilds of northern Ontario. (She's even used it to
her advantage. The back story to her third CD, He Gave
Me a Blue Nightgown - it was recorded at Branch's Seine
River Lodge, a wilderness resort near Atikokan - intrigued
listeners, and helped set her apart from the crowd.)
In 2013, she recorded at Clarksdale, Mississippi (at the
Hobson Commissary, not far from the crossroads,
Highways 61 and 49) with the Blues Women International
project. Fifteen female blues performers gathered for a
week of music creation and recording. Wilde cut two
songs there, including More than a wee bit crazy, which
earned her a third Independent Music Award.
Her fourth CD, He Digs Me, was released Valentine's
Day, 2014, and by early April had reached the top of the
charts at BB King's Bluesville on Sirius XM.
Sunday Wilde continues to write, perform, and record
(she was back in the studio in August, 2014).
How far will she go? What does 'success' mean to her:
I contemplate this every day... every artist has to
wonder about this. My definition of success has more to do
with my ability on the instrument, as I am growing and
learning all the time. And, of course, to hit someone deeply
with a tune inside of themselves is a success, too. Business
success in music is a much different beast!!
(www.IndependentMusicAwards.com)
You can sample some of Sunday Wilde's recorded work
at her website (cleverly named www.SundayWilde.com).
Her music is also on CD Baby, Amazon and ITunes.
The Atikokan Song brought to life
The Mine Fox: Tramin builds specialty underground mine vehicle
Atikokan: The vehicle manufacturing capital of the
Northwest?
a couple of years ago about providing vehicles for
underground operations, he looked more deeply into what
was happening in that corner of the supply industry. What
he found convinced him there was a niche that could
prove profitable, if Tramin could develop the right vehicle
at the right price.
We've got guys who can weld and
fabricate, he said. Genco was keen on the
idea after meeting with Martin, Chris Stamler
and Jason Mattson. So we said, let's see what
kind of reception we get once we've built a
vehicle that meets our standards. Everybody
had input into the design; we wanted it to be
functional and to look nice - guys will take
much better care of it if it looks nice.
Martin was effusive with praise for the
effort and care the crew (Jason Mattson, Jim
Ferguson, Angus Manford, Brendon
Sampson, and Jesse Barnard) are putting into
the project,
The Mine Fox (as the rebuilt vehicle has
been christened) uses a heavy-duty drive
train made in North America, a body Genco
imports from China, a simplified electrical
system designed by Genco (There are no
computers; it's easy to maintain and service,
said Martin.), and will come with a variety of
engine, transmission, chassis and braking
options. The 'showroom' version features a
four-cylinder Duetz Turbo diesel, a Borg
Warner HD four-speed transmission and
divorced transfer case, custom Dana HD axles, four-
wheel disc brakes, and has a half ton capacity.
The Atikokan-based Tramin Limited has been
providing contracting services to Canadian mining,
forestry, power generation and other heavy industrial
sites since 1988.
MINE FOX Tramin Mining and Industrial Services Mine Fox, with
builders Brendon Sampson, Jason Mattson, Jim Ferguson and (back)
Angus Manford and Jesse Barnard.
M. McKinnon
How does our search for life on
Mars connect with Steep Rock?
Ask NASA (Amer i ca ' s
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) or Penn State,
and they will tell you it's all about
astrobiology and the three billion
year old fossils that dot the Steep
Rock landscape.
NASA's interest in the fossils -
known as stromatolites - is based
on its search for ways to detect
whether life ever existed on Mars.
The stromatolites are layered
mounds, columns, and sheets
found in rock. They were built by
prokaryotic cells (the simplest and
earliest form of life on Earth), in a
process similar to the way coral
forms. The stromatolites at Steep
Rock, exposed decades ago when
the mine was in operation, are
estimated to be close to three
billion years old, which means
they are among the oldest known
evidence of life on the planet.
The Steep Rock stromatolites
were formed primarily by cyano-
bacteria (more familiarly known
as blue-green algae), which for
about two billion years were the
dominant life form on the planet.
They are, like plants, photosyn-
thetic: they use carbon dioxide
(then the major gas in the
atmosphere), water and sunlight to
create food. The by-products of
the photosynthesis, oxygen and
calcium carbonate (lime), are a
vital part of the story.
O