A few items from the 1941 newspapers, for your reading enjoyment.

People were flocking to local theatres to see Walter Pidgeon in “How Green Was my Valley” and Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon.”

Obviously, films were quite popular in Timmins, so much so that a new theatre was opened on June 20th. The Broadway Theatre, located on the corner of Third Avenue and Maple Street South was declared one of Ontario’s most modern theatres by those in the know.

It offered seating for 800 patrons, a large lobby, an intimate balcony and state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment. The design featured neon lighting in a variety of colours, complementing the pastel shades for the walls and carpet.

The air conditioning made for a comfortable atmosphere during the hot days of summer. The ventilation equipment whisked away cigarette smoke allowing for a clear view of the screen.

Anti-fume ashtrays in the balcony area also assured that people would not be annoyed by their smoking neighbours. Four local girls were hired as usherettes and sported uniforms that included maroon gabardine knee-length jackets with tan coloured draped trousers, white shirts and dark blue ties.

On opening night, a full house was on hand to view the film “It’s in the Air”, a British war comedy starring George Formby. Mayor Brunette officially declared the theatre open with a gala celebration and Lorne Moore, manager of the theatre vowed to “do everything possible to assist with local war charities and government activities.”

And speaking of war effort activities, town hall received the following telegram:  “August 8th 1941 – His worship the Mayor of Timmins — Visit HRN Duke of Kent STOP Party expected arrive at Timmins 3:15 p.m. Tuesday August 19th 1941 STOP Senior Air officers will be in touch with you concerning your presence on arrival STOP HRH will be wearing service uniform and civilian officials therefore expected to wear business suits not formal dress STOP HRH cannot accept invitations for any formal occasions.”

On the fateful day, the Duke (King George VI’s younger brother) landed at the airfield near Porquis Junction. More than 2,000 cars had gathered there to meet him. After meeting with the crowd, he got into a car and the convoy set out for Timmins.

The route had a few cheering spectators, and miners came out in their work clothes to wave to the Duke who saluted them on his way by.

In Timmins, crowds lined Fourth Avenue in front of town hall, which sported a huge “V” for victory metal sign made by Fireman Ayotte.

Enterprising businessmen rented out chairs on the roofs of their buildings allowing people to get a bird’s eye-view of the proceedings. After the necessary official remarks and review of the Boy Scouts, the Duke crossed the street and went to greet Mrs. Roza Brown of Kirkland Lake, who had been waiting there all day.

Mrs. Brown had sent a black lamb to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. The Duke was then taken on a drive through Timmins with the mayor. HRH then enjoyed a tour of the Hollinger Mine where he helped pour a $50,000 gold brick. He stayed at the Hollinger Lodge that evening, and visited the McIntyre Mine on the following day. He was presented with a chunk of gold to commemorate the event (that piece was auctioned off by his son, Michael, the Duke of Kent in 2004, who, it appears, was a wee bit strapped for cash). The Duke of Kent who made that visit to Timmins was killed in an airplane crash in Scotland a year later in 1942.

On a more mundane note, members of the town council made a trip to Sudbury to study their parking and traffic control systems. Precisely, council was looking at introducing parking meters in the downtown area.

Coun. Bartleman wanted to make sure the merchants in Sudbury were canvassed for their opinion on the system before Timmins committed to the project locally.

Mayor Brunette said he had spoken with a few store owners who had opposed the plan in the beginning, but were now “100 per cent in favour of the move”.

While in Sudbury, the councillors also discussed the licensing of buses using town streets (at the time, private businesses operated the bus system locally), as well as the licensing of elevators.

And what would an article be without a few fireworks from town council?

Mayor Brunette provided said fireworks when he had Coun. Bartleman escorted out of a council meeting for trying to discuss an item that was not on the agenda. It happened after a motion to adjourn was read out. Coun. Bartleman rose to his feet and wanted to talk about providing work for people on welfare (a pet peeve of the councillor’s for many years).

Mayor Brunette was having none of it and thundered, “This matter is not on the agenda and cannot be discussed at this meeting.” Bartleman countered that argument with, “It doesn’t say in the procedure bylaw that a councillor has to give notice at a committee meeting of his intention to discuss a subject at the next council meeting. This only applies to ratepayers.”

The mayor yelled back, “You are out of order and I ask you to sit down.”

When the councillor brazenly kept standing, the mayor asked the police chief to escort Bartleman out of the room.

Other councilors piped up and offered their two cents: “Put it on the next agenda,” said Coun. Terry. “You could have done that at the last meeting,” added Coun. Eyre.

By this time, Bartleman was seething: “All right. Cover up just like you did with the $2,800 payment to Hill-Clark-Francis.”

He then sat down. The motion to adjourn was re-read and the meeting came to an abrupt end. It should be mentioned that Coun. Bartleman had made numerous accusations against councillors, the clerk and the police chief regarding “vice, bootlegging and graft” during the previous election campaign. However, he failed to show up to a meeting of the police commission where he was supposed to speak to those issues. Drama, drama, drama…

Karen Bachmann is the director/curator of the Timmins Museum and a writer of local history.

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