From the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre:
The Northland tour of HRH The Prince of Wales energized the post war community of Timmins like no other high profile visit before or since. However, it almost didn’t happen at all.
The bitter miner’s strike in Cobalt may have put the prince in a potentially awkward, even compromising position in the fall of 1919. To the relief of loyal citizens the strike broke and the tour was back on schedule.
The prince’s private train car rolled into town to the cheers of ecstatic citizens, the Advance reported it as “the best reception given outside of the big cities”. The Great War Veteran’s Association rallied veterans to be inspected, the younger generation of Girl Guides and Scouts were among them as well. The fashion conscious “prince charming” as he was known by the press remarked on their “smart appearance”, Timmins at its best.
His Royal Highness also toured the Hollinger mine property including the mills, eager to see the goings on of our main industry for himself. He’s said to have been delighted by the display and tour of the North, although in private he admitted to confidants that he despised official duties.
He was rewarded for his trouble however and was gifted a gold nugget mounted on a polished maple frame by mine manager A.T Brigham, valued at 15,000 dollars at the time, not bad for a day’s work! We could certainly spare it as the community experienced a huge spike in production post war.
Each week, the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre provides TimminsToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Timmins Museum has to offer at www.timminsmuseum.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here.
