The Huron Expositor, 1979-04-26, Page 1010 THE HLJROP.. EXPOSITOR, APRIi- 2-k ion
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Serendipity
by L 'ce ibb'
If a man's stature can be ;measured by -'the size of :his
visions, then Narcisse Cantin, of the village of St. JosephA
was truly a giant. It was this. man, who was running his
own business by the tithe he was L7 years of age, and, who
persuaded the government that the small town of St.
Joseph could become a major port, who was one of the first
major propanents'of a scheme to make the Great Lakes a
major waterway. Narcisse Cantin •died before the. St,
Lawrence Seaway was anymore than a paper dream, but
no one should. forget the role this Huron County .native
played in opening the lakes to shipping ROM around. the
world,
Narcisse Cantin eame'from a long line Of Men who bad
shipping in their blood, :H is ancestors came from France to
the colony of Quebee over 35O year ago at the invitatiOnof
the governor of tete Settlement. The Cantins had been
shipbuilders. in France and they re -settled at Lev is an the
St. Lawrence River where they built "batteaux'" for the
adventurous voyageurs earning their living from the fur '
trade,
Narcisse's grandfather was the first member of the
family to leave Quebee and move to Huron County, after
ne heard that the waters of Lake Huron was fertile fishing
grounds. Resettled, in Goderich and launched his boats
front there. . •
Cantin's parents,, Pierre and..Mathilda, lived fitr a time
in' Joliette, Quebec. :but they 'too r ame to Huron County,
settlingiit the small community called French Settlement,
south of Bayfield.
•' CATTLISBIJYER
Narcisse Cantin decided when he came of age, that the
life of a small: farmer wasn't for him. :Instead of following
safely in his father's footsteps. he decided• to become a
cattle: buyer and trader: At 1'' years of•age, when many,
would consider him .still a> boy, he started his own
business. shipping•the animals to Buffalo. His concern;
about the amount of time it took to ship the animals- and.
the d_oa:p
tertion. in aherd' during was: hte first spark
e
which;.led to his dream: of .a seaway between. the lakes.
it w^as, while he was involved. in the cattle business that ^
Narcisse Cantin first watched'ships travelling:: on the Erie
Canal. He reasoned: if a canal eould be used for
trnasporting goods in New York. State,. then the same. idea
could be used between the Great Lakes in Canada.
In the meantime, at 19 wears,:' ltareisse -married
Josephine Denomme and settled in, Buffalo,. While livitfg;
•in the States, he inven,ted a new design t'or a gas burner.
which he patented' and sold and a• new 'liquid furniture,
polish which he also introduced on the market,
,But his' true vision was, for the seawayrCantin's , plan
revolvedaround building. a shipping canal . from his
hon,Jetown. the French Settlement, tt either Port' Burwell
or Port Talbot on Lake Erie. Such'a canal,•he reasoned;
^uld save 350 miles on a :round trip to 'Buffalo and would
avoid some of the shallow, treacherous waters.of the Great-
Lakes..
Once the idea was firmly rooted in his mind. Cantin.
wasted no time inaPp roaching businessmen. and financiers.
in thema'Jor 'money cities of Montreal, Toronto and.'
Chicagli. Stinted. the men who were impressed with the.
.schemeandagreed to, lend both money and support to the•
n
had.,
idea were Charles M. Sehwab, president Of Bettllehent;
Steel and OI44 er Cabana, president o#I the Liberty Bank of
Buffalo.
In 1896 Cantin returned. to the frenels Stettlement,
determined to make :the village a, (major port, which he
believed Would further his dream of making the town the
final: link, on .his canali connecttn . Lake ,Huron 4,110• Lake
Erie. -
ST. JOSEPHi
Over the next few years. Cantin used his. Money„ and
money forwarded by investors to build a hotel, named the
Balmoral, a lumber mill, store, pipe organ, factory and
wharf at the Fench Settlement, which he re -named St,
Jost,*ph in honor of the Saint. The government provided
assistance the constr i taf the wharf and steamers'
inut;t pn
called in. at St. Joseph's regularly for the several years.
Years later. Narcisse told an interviewer thin the
building of St. Joseph was "a. drum to beat upon so that I
,
. p
might draw attention to my .Great Lakes tothe ocean.
aterw•ay project."
In t898, Cantin made his first application for a charter ;to
forth a contf any to construct his canal. Federal government engineers ere mpresseed with the plan n and
with Canon's Argument that the trade in shipping ore to
Ashtabula on the Way -to Pittsburgh would alone justify the
expense of the canal,.
Unfortunately, a number of •the country's. most
influential, capitalists used, pressure to persuade the
government the canal scheme wasn't feasible.
COMPANY FORMED
By 1901, Cantin was, -able to get approval to formally
incorporate the Lake HuronShip Canal Company, with.
financial; backers in the United States and Montreal
supplying niest of the capital,
Immediately Cantin startedP romoting his dream with a
ve a ea t. Hebrought protential investors on the Huron
'Bruce trains as far as Hensall where he would meet them
in handsome carriages or later in his Stanley Steamers, to
take them ' to St. , Joseph, His dream of • making
ph g the
Bal
moral Hotel a major summer resort failed, but he
continued to advertise. the attractions of Si. Joseph's- in
major daily newspapers.,Building the town took 'much of
his personal fortune; and soon rumours were flying .gthat he
was using funds from the Lake Huron Ship Canal.:Company
in his campaign to make St. Joseph a .City.,,
In 1902, Cantin introudced• a. bill in the Canadian
parliament by which the government would pay part of the
►anaeonstru:ctoncosts. Like So many other government
bills, this One was shelved,, never . re-surfacin in
parliament again. .:
U d..
n tsmavrd by the criticism:beingh leat' 'm
• r4sd ht>
Cantin even enlarged his vision further to create a se way.
from the mouth of the Vit, Larence River to the head cif the
Great Lakes. This scheme was evencloser to the tirial
creation of the ST. Lawrence Seaway and includedmaking.
the St, Lawrence navigable to Lake Ontario. deepening the
Welland Canadaandbuilding more Pocks. The part: of the
aInvol
pl n•Involving the Great -Lakes was carried'outong before
.the rest of the St. Lawrence Seawayprojecr was'approved
'by the; American and Canadian• governments.
1.1.' 0
v I
CHARTgR GRA ITER.
;in 1911, NarcisS,e :Cantin's scheme seethed to> move a
little closer to reality with the formation of the Great Lakes
and Atlantic Canal and Power Company which cools boast
• a eapitalization of one-quarter of a million. dollars. Most of
the funds came from Anercian. capitalists with interests in
grain, iron and coal. The company. received their charter in
1914 and. might have actually started constructing- the
canal if world ec ents hadn's intervened. The Great War
broke out in Europe. Which meant costly construetien
schemes had to be atleast temporarily postponed
' At the war's end: Cantin's Company ran into, further
trouble when they came in conflict with the Beauharnois,
Corporation which had also begun developing power sites;
in the province of Quebec. Narcisse Cantin asked Robert
Gardiner, leader of the United Farmers in, the .House Of
Commons, to demand an investigation into tide
Beauharnois set-up. Gardiner, after proving that Cantin,
wasn't motivated solely by his own intersts. Made,a� public
demand for an inquiry charging that the Beauharnois
company was making; plans for expansion far beyond the
rights given to themin their charter and that large sums of
money had passed from the corporation to members of
both the majora parties sitting infederal parliament,
UIOIS SC
,The ,BeauharncaisBEAscandal1ARNin 1929ANDAL contributed. directly to
the defeat of Prime Minister MacKenzie King and the
Liberal party in the ,next year's election. But inthe
meantime. the delay meant the collapse of Narcisse
Cantin's own Great Lakes and Atlantic Canal and Power
Company, -
in theend, no private corporation Was .able to finance
the St. Lawrence Seaway .ve eme, and it took the
co-operation of both the Canadian and American
governments to make Cantin`s'dream a reality.
1 94
0 diedinwas ,Narcisse Cantin St. Joseph, He still
a giant at the time of his death. both physically, standing,
well over 6 feet in his stockinged feet, and mentally, in his.
dreams for the great shipping route that would bring the
world to the doorstep of Huron County
The man tvho had once sparred with. the .celebrated
fighter John L: Sullivan, who had. raised a family of ten
children and who on ce turned down a job offer from.
Bethlehem Steel which would, have paid him 'S100,000
annually, rdalized at las t that he was ahead of his tithes
with his_,sclieme:
Today,his body s in village h s body. rest. , St, the ytiagc he had'
hoped to make.a great 'part..'B.utas:long as thereis a Great
Lakes and, the. St. Lawrence Seaway,; Narcisse Cantin can't
be forgotten.
As a newspaper article said; when he. died; "To the end
of his days the veteran shipbuilder, the man who dreamed
a great. Beam;- saw himself thwarted in his attempts to
`stake it a reality, Yet he lived, to see thc project again take
'ilfe in the :politieal arena. He had the satisfaction of
knowing that his ,was the mind which first conceived the
Grat Lakes to the ocean waterway plan, -and that he had
been. an active fighter on behalf of his plan for more than
50 ;years.,,
'Better to dream and'fail, ;halt to dream' at all1,
SL• BTOWN SABRES
BROOMBALL TEAM
presents
with the,
ED SELL' REVUE
9:00
r ,
9:00to1'pail.
SEAFORTH 8 DISTRICT COMMUNITY CENTRE`.
•- (on Main Floor) •
For ticket,
s call: 348-8447 • ,345-2787.887-6796;
'4.00 per person
Held under the authority of Special Occasions Permit
fMPORT/1NT PUBLIC MEETING:
O-:MORROVW. NIGHT
8 o'clock sharp
at !he
LISTOWEL ARENA
•Federal. Liberal candidate David
Iradshavi .will speak on the`Issues in
the forthcoming election. After
David •rei'dshow's, address, any per-
son wishing t� speak upon an issue
or question the candidate, will be
heard.
This promises to be one of the best
pollticol meetings ever held inPerth
County. •
EVERYBODY. IS WELCOM
A largo crowd is expected 'so come early
fora good seat.
SEE YOU1N. L"
L/ST E
OaMdJ3ad
SPONSORED RY TffE
POllitTH COUNTY FEDERAL 11010111. !SWOON*
rl'
Graeme
Cram.
Libero,
Headquaers
Are Open To Assist You In Walton.,Ot7tario.
If you would Iike•to work bn the campaign
Or require information please
Phone 887-16886
Published by the Official Agent for
Gramm Craig, Walton, Ontario:
Seafort
Mardigras
Sat., May 26
featuring
"Linda Lee Brown;" and the
Golden -Aires,
'From Fran Inmuth"
"Lincoln. Green" your old favorite
oft
Campbell Cardiff .
Pork Beef Sauerkraut etc.
Tickets at
The Forge,
Seaforth Insurance
or members
ti
�fl
JY.
,
r,y�l
RUMMAGE
Sat.:
April 28
1:30 p,m.
St. Thomas Anglican
Churih'Parish Hall
Lion:. and their wavy es a,t
Lions at convention
BYWILMAOKE -
Qver 450 persons attended
the annual mini -convention
ri ' Interna-
tional District at Port Elgin Saturday
and Sunday,
District A9 stretches- from
Lions Head to Mono Mills in
the north, down to Goderich
over to Mitchell in the south,
' There are 41 Lions, clubs in
the district, nine Lioness.
Clubs and 11 Leo Clubs.
During the Fear the 41'.
Lions clubs donated , to. many
projects including 9:,6,000 to
h'Camp Joseph's C, mp ' for the
Btind near Parry Sound and
to the Leader Dog School in
Michigan; over 53,000 to the
Hard 'of Baring Society and
$1,200 to C,A.R.E,
Best, scrapbook award
was won by Seaforth Lions
Club; best' bulletin, Orange-
ville
ville Lions; and; best- new
Lions pin, Mitchell Lions.
For outstanding service in
the Community,`tr4i? hies •
presented to. the Fprmossa
Lions Club and to the Auburn
'Lions.
'A draw on a trip to Mexico
for which tickets were sold
during the Convention din-
ner dance. was won by Mrs.
Eddie: S.arg ent:, wife of Lib
'dral MPP. Mrs. Sargent gave
back to, the Lions two.' dona-
tions --$100 to LionsSight
Conservation committee and ,.
$100 to the Arthritis Associa-
tion.
D•r. Bud Danylchuck of
Fort Francis, a Director of
'Lions -International, was the
dinner speaker.
in the election of the
1979=80 district executive
Paddy Rundle of Palmer-
, stonwas elected Governor of
District A9 succeeding. Dr:'
Ronald Finley of Orangeville.
He defeated. Ted Heimpel of
Mitchell. -
Donald. Coghlin of Ford-
wich and Alfred ,Schultz. of
Warton were clectedl deputy
governors for the district..
Zone Chairmen r elected
were Keith iehitiorin-1Blyth;
Paul Schultz, Goderich; Wal-
ter, Arnold, Lucknow, ()thinFickmeier, Mildmay; Bill
Hanna, Shelbourne and Gar-
net Jackson, Meaford., •
Multiple District A conven-
,tion will be held .in 'Niagara ,.
Falls June 1-5 and .Interna-
tional' Convention in. Mon-
treal in Ju1Y. The next,
District Convention will be
hosted by Goderich Lions,
Club in April 1980.
Attending the Convention
in Port Elgin from. Seaforth
were Zone Chairman Marten.
, Vincent and wife Jane; Sea -
forth Lions president Gordon.
Rimmer and wife Jane; Bill;
°and Lois 'Hodgert; George.
and Dorothy Hays ; Stewart
and ,payee Coupland; Bill.
McLaughlin; Jack and. Ruth.
Pickard; Harold and Nancy
Turnball; Diane VanderVel'•
den; Orville and Wilma
Attention
veterans
Ex -Service Men
and Women
The Royal Canadian Legion Service Bureau Officer
WALL
. ' 'CLAREL
Provincial Service Officer of London
• will he visiting in the area
Anyone wishing ;information, 'advice or .assistance,.
rc ardin e
g t; •.;: .
(at War Disability Pension;
(bl Treatment for entitled Veterans;
Ica Application- for Benevolent Funds;,
(dl Appeals agai st•adwerseori original application' lication for
g
`War Veterans and Widows Allowance
is requested to contact the Service Officer of Seaforth
Branch
156 Royal Canadian Legion whose name
•'•
appears
below., prior. to•.
To Arrange' an Interview Contact CLEAVE COOMBS
Service Officer, Seaforth Branch 156,
Royal Canadian Legion .-- ---
• Phone 527-11.55 : . -
LAST NIGHT THUR'. APRIL ,26
$HOMITIME' $:00 P.M.
ADMITTANCE..
RESTRICTED
ro PUICW
n rlAiSTO AGE ioi ova
Starts FRIDAY!
FRI.=SAT. 7:00 & 9:00 SAT.d, SUN.
SUN.-THURS. $:00 p.m MATINEE i.'J0'p.m,
FROM WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS
P
A
mid., 11.111
R
K
THEATRE
0ttiQUARE GODERiCH 524.i.Sit
" ..iiregirami subject to thing*
. without notice. _,,.,...„,..:,...
What we have here is a:
total lack of respect for
the law!„
ADULT Vit: ' nit Rey
ENTERTAINMENT
i' °Ba1Nli!'! -
PnyaNO TlIE'
Sally Field; ,Jewry Reed's
Jackie' Gleason
Some language may be offensive •
Theatres ar, Ont.
PLUS
Richard
Dreyfus
Moses Wine
Private
Detectives
...so go figure
AYl Ut YAW A, 'YL'lfk,
ADM T !MIMI
NWT A GODERICH AT
CONCESSION ID 4 •
PHONE 524 9911
tifi sum
- ,'v .,
Ott RIC4,ii
4