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

progress@nwon.com

Editor: Michael McKinnon

Advertising: Eve Shine

Reporting: Jessica Smith

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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: josmarohnic@gmail.com

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