Photographic slides of various archaeological digs from around the world and in Northwestern Ontario. Slides of various forestry field studies in several regions from 1952-1995. Includes images of trees, equipment, erosion, fire damage, forest management audits, land use, geology, and genetics and tree improvement.
Sem títuloResearch notes and correspondence of Dr. Elizabeth Arthur, professor of history at Lakehead University.
The Ontario government's planning process for forestry and land management through the late 1990s and early 2000s, represented in the records of the Boreal West Round Table, Lands for Life planning process, and Living Legacy Trust.
Lands for Life was a comprehensive land-use planning process that also considered environmental protection in Ontario. It was announced in February, 1997 by the Minister of Natural Resources. The goal was to address the increasing demands for access to the province's natural resources. It was designed for all areas of the Precambrian shield south of 51 degrees latitude.
The project created three "Round Tables" made up of citizens with knowledge of the land, or who were involved with resource based businesses. The Round Tables were: Boreal West (Northwestern Ontario), Boreal East (Eastern Ontario), and Great Lakes - St. Lawrence (Southern Ontario).
As the Lands for Life project concluded, the Province designated the Living Legacy Trust fund to support land use planning and natural resources and environmental management. This fund ran from 1999 to 2004.
A set of articles and published works by economist Harry G. Johnson.
Marshall Blanchard Dean was an early physician in Fort William; his son Marshall Macdougall Dean had a career with the Canadian Coast Guard and a lifelong interest in history and genealogy. Collection includes correspondence, photographs, and research materials.
The Finnish Building Company was formed in 1909 and raised funds for the construction of the Finnish Labour Temple (Big Finn Hall) at 314 Bay Street.
Records of Dr. Pradip Sarbadhikari (1938-2020), professor of political science at Lakehead University from 1964 to 1999. The records reflect his teaching and research (including peace studies and Asian studies), as well as participation in international associations and conferences. Of particular note are records relating to participation in the Canadian International Development Agency's Centres of Excellence programme.
Pradip Ranjan Sarbadihkari was born in Calcutta, India, and also studied at London and Utrecht. He brought his family to Thunder Bay in 1964 to join the faculty of the new Lakehead University, and taught until retirement in 1999. These records were donated through the library probably shortly after his retirement.
Teaching and research materials of Dr. Gerd Schroeter, professor of sociology at Lakehead University. His work focused on teaching sociology at Lakehead and at other institutions, and research into the history of sociology (particularly re Theodor Geiger and Max Weber). Records are divided into three series: Personal, Teaching, and Research.
Records of Reverend Toivo Johannes Pajala (1903-1972), minister of Saalem Pentecostal Church.
Toivo Pajala was born Dec 31, 1903, in Vimpeli, Finland. His family was Lutheran, with some ties to the Pentecostal Church. Pajala migrated to Canada at age 19, and was in Port Arthur at least by 1923. For many years he made a living as a bushworker.
Religion became an important part of Pajala's life: he became Laestadian, then Pentecostal. He attended the Western Bible College in Winnipeg for two years, and then was ordained in 1946 in Toronto. He married his wife Sylvia in 1949 shortly before returning to Port Arthur.
From 1949 to 1963, Pajala was pastor of Saalem Finnish Pentecostal Church in Port Arthur. In 1951, he established a Finnish-language Pentecostal radio program on CKPR, particularly reaching bushworkers and others in rural areas, and people unable to leave their homes. He was also well known for supporting immigrants to the region, and providing funeral services when others would not.
Pajala spent 1963-1967 as a pastor in Waukegan, Illinois. After 1967, he officially retired, and returned to Port Arthur, where he was still active in the church. His death was in 1972.
Most of the records in this fonds relate to either Pajala's religious education in the 1940s (organized by class or by notebook) or the sermons he gave in Finnish or English, in Port Arthur and by radio (organized loosely by theme.)
The last few files of the fonds relate to a project after Pajala’s death: to interview those who knew him and memorialize him. The book “Kansanpappi Toivo Pajala,” written by Tellervo Kähärä and available in the Library, is a result of that work.
Sem títuloPamphlets, photographs, newspapers, magazines, account books, ledgers, membership books, and manuscripts for the Scandinavian Workers Club of Port Arthur.
Records were created, held, or gathered by Cairine Budner over the course of her association with the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society, and other local heritage organizations and sports organizations.
The fonds includes
- Records of the operations of the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society
- Records of the operations of the Thunder Bay Historical Society, Thunder Bay Art Gallery (National Exhibition Centre), Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
- Oral history interviews created with the TBFCHS and Multicultural History Society of Ontario
- Historical photographs and documents gathered from the community, including sports photographs, records of the Finnish Building Company, and minutes of the Nahjus Athletic Club
Photographs and documents from the Silver Islet Mine and Silver Islet Store, including ledgers and a chart.
A rich deposit of silver was discovered on Silver Islet in 1868. A small island at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula, the mine was built deep below the waterline, and relied on breakwaters and pumps. Silver Islet was mined until 1884, when pumps failed, and the mine was flooded. The small community built on shore to support the mine is still inhabited.
Consists of photographs of particularly mining development in Northwestern Ontario in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the waterfront and shipping, local scenery, and notable figures. Also includes some correspondence; railway construction plans.
Lloyd Arthur Dennis (1923-2012) served as Co-Chair for the Provincial Committee on Aims and Objectives of Education in the Schools of Ontario (1965-1968) and was the co-author of the report “Living and Learning," commonly referred to as the Hall-Dennis Report. The fonds consists largely of records related to the Committee; the research, development, and writing of the Report; and responses after the Report's publication.
The records include:
- Committee documents and hearings
- Committee correspondence
- Research & reference documents
- Preparing the Report
- Responses to the Report
Dennis was born in 1923 in Aspdin, ON. He served in the Canadian Armed Forces 1942-1946, and earned a B.A. and B.Ed. from the University of Toronto. He began teaching elementary school in 1948, and worked as Principal at several schools from 1957-1965.
Dennis joined the Provincial Committee on Aims and Objectives of Education in the Province of Ontario first as Secretary and Research Director, and became Co-Chair with Justice Emmett Hall in 1967. After the Report's publication in 1968, he was responsible for public interpretation, and gave many speeches and presentations across the province.
Correspondence, diaries, and reports related to the philosophical and social theories of Dr. Douglas J. Thom, professor emeritus of education at Lakehead University.
The fonds consists of publications and clippings in Finnish, including some of Terttu Koivu’s own writings in Canadan Uutiset and other publications. Terttu Koivu immigrated from Finland in 1953, and died in Thunder Bay in 2013 at age 95.
Derek Burney was a Canadian diplomat, who served as Ambassador to the Republic of South Korea (1978-1980) and Ambassador to the United States (1989-1993), and was instrumental in negotiations of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Burney was born in Fort William in 1939, and received a BA and MA from Queen’s University in Kingston. He served in the federal public service from 1963 to 1993: including diplomatic work, ambassadorial postings, and as Canada’s first Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister (1987-1989), working with Brian Mulroney.
After retirement from public service, Burney worked for Bell Canada, 1993-1999, and sat on the boards of several other corporations. He returned to federal government work leading Stephen Harper’s transition team in 2006.
Burney served as Chancellor of Lakehead University from 2013 to 2017. He also received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from Lakehead in 1990, as well as honourary degrees from Queen's, Carleton, and Wilfrid Laurier Universities.
Most of the records in this fonds relate to Burney’s career with the Department of External Affairs. There is also a small amount of material relating to work in private business, and other writings and memorabilia.
Sem títuloThe 1978 Young Canada Works "Herstory" project's aim was to compile material on women pioneers in Northwestern Ontario with the intention of using the material to write a book on the same theme. The hope was to illustrate the lives and achievements of Northwestern Ontario women and stimulate further interest in women's contribution to Northwestern Ontario history.
The material here was collected through interviews with over 100 women around Northwestern Ontario. Records include 70 audio cassettes with taped interviews, recorded largely in 1975, and mostly accompanied by transcripts. The records also contain research notes, news articles and photographs, related to Northwestern Ontario communities and fields of activity relating to women's history. They also include correspondence, reports, financial and other administrative records of the project leaders and workers.
The project work did not continue through to the writing of a book. These records were held but largely untouched until a project review in 1993.
In the Decade Council's 1993 report, three objectives were listed: To validate women’s contributions within the context of NWO; to restore and catalogue the records of women’s lives in NWO; and to create a resource that would provide a perspective on women’s Herstory in NWO. A detailed summary of those interviewed, their location and details on whether there is a transcript or release form were created. This report concluded with multiple recommendations with the aim of preserving the tapes and collected materials for eventual public use. This project was not continued, and the material was stored in various locations until its donation in 2024.
Two instructional booklets written by A. Koroleff:
"Forest Conservation: Practical Pointers to Woods Workers," published by the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, 1945
"Practical Woodlot Management: How To Use The Forest Soundly and Profitably," published by the Canadian Forestry Association, 1946
Records of the Northern Ontario Pastoral Institute, a nonprofit organization providing clinical pastoral education in Thunder Bay. Established in 1990 and dissolved in 2025. A member organization of the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education, which later became the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care.
Primarily records of the Board of Directors, including meeting minutes, correspondence, and financial records. These originated with and were kept by two long-time board members, Ernie Epp (a Board member since 1990 and long term Treasurer), and Rev. Ed Long (a Board member since 1990 and former Treasurer and President.)
There are also records relating to programming, and relating to pastoral services in Thunder Bay and the surrounding region.
The Canadian Injured Workers Alliance was founded in 1990 as an umbrella organization of injured workers' groups across Canada. It has engaged in advocacy, research, and the creation of educational information for members. Records relate to the labour movement, disability, legal and legislative rights for workers, and the operation of the organization.
Sem títuloThis collection consists of data on over 12,000 probated decedents in Ontario and Manitoba for 1872 to 1927. The historical probate wealth data was collected for four regional areas: Wentworth County, Ontario (1872-1927), Thunder Bay District, Ontario (1885-1927), Ontario (1892, 1902) and Manitoba (1873-1927). The data is in the form of hard copy survey sheets (paper records) and compiled spreadsheets (electronic records.)
A full description of the project and data can be read here: https://libguides.lakeheadu.ca/ld.php?content_id=36498994
Records include meeting minutes, financial information, and some personal/member information of branches and districts of the Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario. The records relate to work at the branch and district level of the organization, with the majority being within the Thunder Bay district.
Most of the records are minute books that also include financial information; they also contain newspaper clippings related to organization. There are also reports and convention information pamphlets.
Area: Northwestern Ontario
District: Thunder Bay
Branches: Port Arthur; Beardmore; Raith; Finnish Branch; Murillo.
These records relate to the establishment and first years of operation of the Women's Studies program at Lakehead University. After a proposal in 1988, the first classes ran in the 1990-1991 academic year. The program developed quickly, with more courses added and cross-listed, and Women's Studies was granted status as a Department in 2002.
The records, most of which date 1990-1996, include minutes of the Women's Studies Advisory Committee, and correspondence about the program and its courses. Some files also relate to fundraising, and local events and issues.
Web material related to the 2018 municipal elections in municipalities across Northwestern Ontario.
Sites crawled include those of municipalities, candidates, news sources, and third party groups making endorsements or recommendations.