Every time I hear the ACR
train whistle I smile. It is an immediate reminder. The wilderness is only a
few hours away. But for how much longer is anybody’s guess.
Talk of the ACR
passenger service to the lands north of the Sault has heated up coffee stops
for several weeks now. And since spring is still under winter’s thumb, there has
been a lot of opportunity to share what the loss of access to the ACR corridor
will mean. I look upon the ACR as an amazing part of our heritage.
The ACR hauls around a
lot of history. The other day I took some time and poured over a 1980 ACR map.
I followed the winding curve of the track and counted out 44 stops, each with a
unique name. Some of them, like Searchmont, Achigan, Montreal Falls (affectionately
known as 92), Canyon and Dubreuilville are still used today. Others, like
Horsey and Bucyrus, have fallen away with time.
But every name had an importance. There’s the town of Hearst, named
after a former Sault resident, William Howard Hearst. He had studied at Osgoode
Hall and became a lawyer in 1888. For some reason, (maybe his compass pointed
north too), he ended up practising law in the Sault. It wasn't long before politics
was his forte. In 1908 Hearst was an elected member of provincial parliament;
in 1911 he became minister of Forestry and Mines. Then, 100 years ago, in 1914, when Premier
James Whitney died, Hearst became the new Premier of Ontario. He was the kind
of man who looked out for workers and believed in compensation for injuries. He
developed reforestation and fire prevention programs and also provided loans to
settlers.
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Qualities of light on snow inspired Franz Johnston . |
An irreplaceable gift from the
ACR is the way it sharpens the artist’s creative edge. Frank Johnston was a
painter who came to Algoma in 1918 with the first members of the Group of
Seven. He fell in love with the landscapes that he saw on his trips up the ACR.
In a 1919 Algoma show,Johnston contributed 60 works, more than any other
artist.
The area around Hearst
and Franz was deep inspiration for Johnston. Although he moved to Winnipeg in
1921 to become principal of Winnipeg School of Art until 1924, Ontario called
him back. Johnston returned and taught in Toronto at the Ontario College of Art
from 1927 to 1929. But it was his connection to Algoma and Northern Ontario that
had rooted into his soul. So much so, that in 1927 he changed his first name
from Frank to Franz, after the town on the ACR line.
Another special locale
is Hawk Junction. In 1909, ACR officials established “Hawk” as a crucial stop
along the line. A vibrant community sprang up. In 1923, when a fire destroyed
the town, residents pulled together and rebuilt everything. The train station
there is a step back in time. It would make a marvellous movie set. The impressive,
two-story brick structure even could be a candidate for heritage status. Several
years ago, I took the train from Hawk up to Hilda to spend a couple of days at
Errington’s Wilderness Resort. I bought
my ticket at the original wicket. I sat on the worn, oak bench where a waiting
passenger, decades ago, had carved a fancy, handwritten initial H into the arm beside the
seat. Such intimate details add to
the overall magic of train life. And no doubt the ACR has been magic for
thousands of people.
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ACR station at Hawk ... courtesy Panttila family album |
Local videographer,
John O’Donnell, tells the story of how during a film shoot of the ACR he
captured some remarkable footage. His camera was running as the engineer on the
passenger train opened his window before approaching a steep grade. As the
train slowed climbing the hill, a raven flew alongside his window. When the speed
was just right, the engineer handed off some food - he gave the raven half of a
sandwich! O’Donnell says that the funny thing was a young raven was flying
about twenty feet behind the mother. The engineer thought that the mother was
teaching the young one the ropes.
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A favourite raven on his favourite perch |
Mmmm. Could there be
some learning here? Can we teach the next generation what Northern Ontario can mean,
to us as well as to the rest of the world? There is spirit and hope in the wild
spaces. There, folks can find their true self in their own private way. That is
a rare thing in these changing times.
No doubt the future
will be a digital one, where most experiences are virtual. But maybe we can help
some of the real ones stick around for a little while longer. Like that long,
slow whistle as the passenger train pulls away from the station.
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The ACR train heads home. |