Take a ride on the North Bay Museum’s 1928 Bickle Fire Engine while turning the pages of Back in the Bay’s Fall Edition, which hits the streets of North Bay and area Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 15. There are 4,000 copies being delivered by Canada Post to various neighbourhoods so our advertisers get immediate bang for their buck. The other 1,000 copies go to paid subscribers, retail outlets for single copy sales and advertisers to offer their customers and clients.
The iconic pumper is featured on the cover and its restoration plan kicks off the Tourism North Bay newsletter, once again the centre spread sponsor. The fire engine was purchased from the city by employee Cliff Cowcill, who refurbished it to running order and it was a popular entry in parades. He later donated it to the museum.
Cliff Cowcill driving the 1928 Bickle in a Christmas parade. Kevan Cowcill Photo
Pat Madill Stamp’s Sentimental Journey tells the story of how the Capitol Theatre was saved from the chopping block and morphed into the Capitol Centre. Special permission was granted so the magazine could republish a famously relevant For Better Or For Worse ‘Jocks vs Smocks’ cartoon strip by Lynn Johnston.
Butch Blaire’s story about the start of Hockey for Beginners and the role his parents Rose and John Blair played as West Ferris Hockey volunteers, executives and coaches. Several team photos from the 1970s are included.
Blackstrap, a popular bluegrass sensation from the 1980s, covers Pages 10 and 11, including a photo of the band and Loren Chadbourn playing guitar with his mom, Norma, with the banjo. See the photo gallery at the bottom of this story.
One of the magazine’s standalone photos is one from 1990 with Ruth Knight, Girl Guides commissioner, surrounded by her grandchildren who were all involved with Guides or Cubs. Another is an artistic collage of Suzanne Sweet’s St Amour, Lafferiere, Johnson, Dumouchel and Lamothe relative connections.
Dave Palangio has an eye for photography.
Veteran news photographer and artist Dave Palangio is the focus of a two-page spread, right before the four-page Tourism North Bay newsletter about Cliff Cowcill’s donated fire engine, the North Bay Mountain Bike Association and dedication of the Michael Gauthier bridge in Laurier Woods.
Naomi Hehn of the North Bay Museum wrote about the Canadian Federation of University Women. There’s a display being unveiled to celebrate CFUW’s 80th anniversary Oct. 13 to Dec. 2.
The third of a series about the Sunnydale Speedway and later North Bay Motor Speedway runs across Pages 16 and 17. Photos in the magazine include George Harrison, George Steele and Dennis Evans with one of the 1980 programs providing the storyline. See the gallery of additional scans at the bottom of this article.
New this edition, Nancy Avery’s Lakeshore Memories column covers a lot of ground, including the wrestling characters who spent their summers on the Lake Nipissing shoreline back in the day.
Natasha Wiatr’s Callander Museum piece salutes local historian Don Clysdale’s contribution to the community. One of his last stories, about the 1950 derailment that brought the circus to town, is published in memoriam and entitled: The Monkeys Were Loose in Callander.
Pam Handley’s Heritage Matters column puts the spotlight on Sydna Shorse, who was one of the areas early Victorian Order of Nurses member who started her career in 1919.
Also new is the inclusion of poetry for the first time with local author Denis Stokes giving tribute to the late Darren Renaud with his work entitled: Arrow.
Dave Dale’s editorial promotes some of the plans for the fall while also sharing a positive spark this summer. He writes about Theresa Hutter finally finding his Nugget story published 15 years ago about the passing of her husband, Gus Hutter, a popular and talented chef and teacher known as the Pastry Monk.
The big pitch …
We hope you enjoy the third issue of the Back in the Bay Magazine published by Dave Dale’s Small Town Times Productions. The Fall Edition is packed with stories about the people, places and events that make North Bay, Callander and area a great place to call home. Additional copies can be purchased for $5 at the North Bay Museum, Callander Bay Museum, Darkhorse Comics, Maroosis Art Centre, East Side Variety, and 176 Lakeshore, plus Backwoods Outdoors Live Bait and Gerry’s Auto, both in Corbeil.
If you haven’t already, please support our efforts by subscribing to receive the next three editions (Winter 2021, Spring 2022 and Summer 2022). It’s $30 for the package of magazines, delivery and HST included. Add $5 for each of the back issues. We will soon accept credit card payments on this website storefront. Also accepted are e-transfers to davedale@backinthebay.ca and cheques to Back in the Bay, 176 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 3, North Bay, ON P1A 2A8 .
The 3-Pack of future editions makes a great Christmas, birthday or friend gift for someone who appreciates reading interesting articles in a high-quality print product (written, produced and printed locally). There’s also an option of downloading a PDF of the magazines ($7.50 per PDF package) instead of the print product. Please support and thank the advertisers by becoming a customer, client or merely mentioning that you saw their business promoted in this magazine. It all helps.
Writer, photographer and proud father. My mom’s family is from the Soo with its Algoma Highlands, dad hailed from Cobden in the Ottawa Valley and I spent my teen years in Capreol. Summers were at the beach on the Vermillion River and winters at ‘The Rink.’ Born in East York but Toronto never was my thing. Ever since a kid looking out the window on long trips, I imagined living on the highway in a little house with a big yard and trees growing all around me.
