It is now 61 years ago this month (March 29th) that Barry’s Bay defeated the Eganville Eagles to win the George Cup. Over 1000 people attended the final game in Renfrew. This was when TV was in its infancy in Renfrew County and people were still accustomed to attending hockey …
Thank you to Lois Yantha of Barry’s Bay for sharing these materials from the original Gun Mountain Lodge “back in the day.” Current contributor Gil Glofcheskie remembers Gun Mountain Lodge well. He was in a unique position to earn some cash during his school years and recalls, “My Dad was …
This interesting picture was sent in by Bob LaRochelle of Whitney after reading The Current’s article about clergy of long ago visiting lumbermen in Valley shanties and conducting services during those trips. The picture belonged to Bob’s father (Greg LaRochelle 1923-2008) and his grandfather (Joseph LaRochelle 1887-1966) before that — both …
This is actually a newspaper clipping from the Barry’s Bay Review. It’s a high school hockey team in 1960 representing St. Joseph’s High School which was located where today’s Beer Store is. Next door was the arena (today’s Valu-Mart) and the picture does a good job of displaying the interior …
This picture shows Bishop P.T. Ryan, accompanied by Fr. A.J. Reynolds on an excursion to visit lumber camps. They look to be warmly dressed and it could be that they were experiencing the same kinds of cold temperatures that we have been experiencing lately. Bishop Ryan (1864-1937) was born in Ireland …
Here’s a family on a hunting excursion near Chapleau, Ontario. The father, Martin Corrigan, is in the centre of the picture. From left to right are brothers Joe, Bill, Jack, and Martin Jr., all born in Hagarty Township, and all baptized at St. Mary’s Church (now Our Lady of the Angels) in …
These reminiscences about Camp Tekakwitha come from Cathie Corrigan who was a camper there. The Catholic Women’s League out of Ottawa organized this small camp for girls aged 9 to 15 years. The buildings were situated on the shores of Lake Kamaniskeg looking out on Mask Island and were accessed …
In an article published in mid-May about the Balmoral Hotel I pointed out that artwork by F.J. Ritza depicting a scene from the 1912 sinking of the Mayflower was not in the photograph. It had been featured in “Believe It or Not” showing how a dead man saved three. Three …
This picture was taken in the office inside the Balmoral Hotel which was simply known as the Billings Hotel in the beginning. The original owner was John (or Josh) Billings (c1850-1925) whose wife was Mary Daly (c1861-1947). This picture was shared with me by the late Bernice Billings decades ago, and …
On St. Patrick’s Day this year I was given a copy of an old Toronto Telegram newspaper dated July 1, 1967 – Canada’s Centennial Year. The Weekend Magazine was included, and in it was an article entitled “Who are today’s Canadians?” I was pleasantly surprised to see the above picture …
In 1921, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph arrived in Pembroke and, from there, sent nuns out to various communities to teach children as well as to work in hospitals. As far as Barry’s Bay was concerned, a convent was built across the street from the St. Hedwig’s …
Barry’s Bay resident musician and ‘History Buff’ Ken Ramsden enjoyed seeing the Harry Oakman bird’s eye view of Barry’s Bay last month in The Current. He sent this sister photo – the aerial photo postcard of Wilno, also dating from about 1964. Ramsden said, “Being that I grew up in …
The photo above is from a postcard that was mailed from Barry’s Bay on June 11, 1966, by a woman who was camping just outside of Barry’s Bay (probably in the Carson Lake / Trout Lake area) and sent to another woman in Centralia, Ontario. Although this particular postcard was sent …
Unknown for the most part is that the late Alex Trebek, longtime host of Jeopardy! had roots in Renfrew County.
Sometimes in local history the best you can do is a near miss. I missed out on buying this postcard, but I managed to get a photo of it. I wonder if anyone can identify these Whitney baseball players and managers from 1907. There are two postmarks on the back …
