Schumacher: Voices in the Gold Fields

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

Less than a century ago, Northern Ontario was New Ontario. Its forests,
mines, steel mills, and nickel smelters were expected to add vital
economic diversity to Old Ontario’s agricultural, commercial, and
industrial economy. Today, Northern Ontario is a region declining in
population and economic opportunity. Louise Nightingale Smith seeks to
capture the memories of the first two generations who lived in
Schumacher—a Northern Ontario community east of Timmins—from its
origins in 1912 and participated in the mining economy of the great
Porcupine Gold Camp.

The book begins and ends with Frederick W. Schumacher, the American
mining promoter who managed to pin his name on the townsite in spite of
official opposition, and whose Christmas largesse endeared him to the
community’s schoolchildren. In between, the author provides us with a
veritable tasting menu of historical treats drawn from hundreds of
memories and recorded in the participants’ words. Reading them reveals
the nature of work in the mines and on the surface, and reminds us that
work was of primary importance. The speakers describe both the
conditions in the countries from which they emigrated and those they
found and created in Schumacher. We participate vicariously in their
recreation and their children’s education. One chapter is devoted
entirely to the Croatian community.

This is a collection of recollections. While they have the ring of
conviction, the author has not checked them in any extensive and
systematic way against other kinds of sources. She never promised to do
so. She has done enough to capture the voices and record observations
that would otherwise have been lost forever.