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Authority record
Northwestern Ontario Development Association
Corporate body · 1955-1972

Established as the Northwestern Ontario Development Association in 1955; in 1967 became the Northwestern Ontario Development Council with no significant change in functions and operations; dissolved at the end of 1972 due to provincial defunding which led to the closure of Development Councils across Ontario.

The Northwestern Ontario Development Association (NODA) was founded at planning meetings in March, 1955. At that time, it was funded half by the Government of Ontario, and half by member municipalities across the Northwestern Ontario region, which contributed in proportion to their size. Municipal membership varied year by year, especially due to financial constraints on various municipalities. However, most Northwestern Ontario municipalities are represented within the NODA files in various ways.

In 1966, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 89, “An Act respecting Regional Development Councils." Regional Development Associations became Development Councils in 1967.

The role of the NODA/NODC was to support and promote business and industrial development across the Northwestern Ontario region. This involved supporting individual businesses and entrepreneurs; organizing and carrying out research on existing and potential industries and availability of services in the region; facilitating the flow of information between governments, researchers, existing businesses and prospective businesses; and advocating for the needs of Northwestern Ontario to multiple levels of government. Transportation, utilities, and financial incentives are recurring themes; mining, forestry, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and more are also heavily reflected in the records.
Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
Corporate body · 1978-

The Northwestern Ontario (NWO) Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1978 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is currently housed in the former Fort William Land Registry building, 219 May St. South, Thunder Bay.

The former Land Registry building was constructed in 1916. It became a home for the Thunder Bay Historical Society in 1972, and was turned over to the City of Thunder Bay in 1977. In 1996, the NWO Sports Hall of Fame took ownership of the building.

The Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame aims to preserve Northwestern Ontario’s sport heritage. NWO Sports Hall of Fame consists of a museum and archives, and commemorates over 200 athletes, teams, and supporters. Collections and archival documents have been primarily donated by the public. The Sports Hall of Fame holds the memory of various teams across Northwestern Ontario.

Sources
Pajala, Toivo
Person · 1903-1972

Toivo Pajala was born in 1903 in Vimpeli, Finland and educated at Western Bible College in Winnipeg. At age 19, Pajala migrated to Canada; by 1923, he migrated to Port Arthur, Ontario. Originally Pajala worked as a bushworker. Pajala is known as a preacher: first Laestadian and then Pentecostal. He was ordained in Toronto, in 1946. In 1949, Pajala married his wife, Sylvia.

In Port Arthur, Pajala served as the pastor of Saalem Finnish Pentecostal Church (1949-1963). By 1951, Pajala founded a Finnish-language Pentecostal radio program; it reached the rural areas of the Lakehead, including the camps of bushworkers. In 1936, Pajala migrated to Waukegan, Illinois; he worked as a pastor until retiring in 1967. Upon retirement, Pajala returned to Port Arthur. He remained active in the church until his passing in 1972.
Petrone, Penny
Person · 1925-2005

Penny Petrone (1925-2005) was an Italian-Canadian teacher, author, researcher, and world traveller, who taught at Lakehead University's Faculty of Education. She made significant achievements in the field of Canadian literature, especially in researching and anthologizing Indigenous Canadian literature. In later years she also engaged in works of memoir, as well as philanthropy.
Phillips, Alexander
Person · -1978

Alexander Phillips was born in Milton, Ontario, and spent most of his life in Northwestern Ontario. He began his working life as a journalist: particularly writing for the Fort William Times-Journal, and becoming its News Editor in 1939. He also wrote as a correspondent for TIME and other national and international magazines and newspapers. He continued to write articles and columns throughout the second half of his career with the Northwestern Ontario Development Association/Northwestern Ontario Development Council.

Phillips began his work as General Manager of the Northwestern Ontario Development Association in 1955, and continued with that organization until its dissolution at the end of 1972. As General Manager, he supported local business and industry through advocacy and information sharing, and advocated for Northwestern Ontario at provincial and national stages.

Records of his other activities are integrated through the records of the Northwestern Ontario Development Association. These include his writing, and work with other organizations such as: the Lake Superior International Highway Association; the Mississippi River Parkway Commission; the Ontario Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Foundation; the Quetico Centre; the Quetico Provincial Park Advisory Committee; the Thunder Bay Press Club; and the Twin City Gas Division of Northern and Central Gas Corporation.

He enjoyed a long marriage to Lillian, and had two daughters and one son.
Phillips, Margaret
Person · 1931-2015

Margaret Phillips was born in 1931, in Ottawa, Ontario, and spent much of her life in Northwestern Ontario. Phillips is known as a feminist and social activist, also credited for her anti-racist activism. Beginning her career in organized recreation, Phillips became the first Canadian woman to work as an arena manager (Iroquois Falls 1957-1960), and then as municipal recreation director (Kenora, 1960-1967). Furthermore, Phillips was the first woman President of the Society of Directors of Municipal Recreation of Ontario.

Phillips worked with numerous social activist organizations. She served the Lakehead Social Planning Council as Executive Director (1971-1981), participated in founding the Thunder Bay Women's Centre (1973), was a member of the Northern Woman's Journal Collective (1982-1992), served as a board member of the Canadian Council on Social Development and the Ontario Welfare Council, and co-founded (with Anna McColl) the Northern Women's Bookstore (1984). Notably, the Northern Women’s Bookstore supported local Indigenous and Northern women with various women’s literature, writing groups, and social gatherings, such as book clubs and potlucks. Philips advocated for education around violence against women, lesbian issues, and women’s health.

City of Thunder Bay. Margaret Phillips. https://www.thunderbay.ca/en/city-hall/margaret-phillips.aspx
Lakehead University Archives. Margaret Phillips fonds. https://archives.lakeheadu.ca/index.php/margaret-phillips-fonds
The Chronicle Journal. Margaret Alberta Phillips: 1931-2015. https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/chroniclejournal/name/margaret-phillips-obituary?id=42970445