Russel Brothers Limited OWEN SOUND, ONTARIO Steelcraft Boat Builders
Marathon ON Logging using Russel Tugs
Photos from Rob Marchand from c. 1979 at Marathon/Heron Bay and the Pic River. See also his flickr photo album.
The Marathon Corporation of Canada seems to have owned eleven Russel Brothers boats, including
Allagash (Le Sapin Comeau),
Cancel,
Kagiano (barge),
Mark Whitman,
Martin E. Johnson,
Obabika,
Orville,
Pagwachuan (scow),
Pijitic,
Polygon,
Waboose Kon.
Pukaskwa almost made it, but burned before seeing service. RBL also undoubtedly made several "punts" or smaller open top pointer style boats for the corporation as well.
Alan Johnson comments (April 13, 2020): "IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT ALL OF THE TUGS OWNED AND OPERATED BY MARATHON PULP & PAPER, INCLUDING THE PENINSULA AND THE D.C. EVEREST, WERE REGISTERED WITH MARATHON'S WOODLANDS DIVISION OPERATING FROM PORT ARTHUR / THUNDER BAY. AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH IN 1955, MY FATHER MARTIN E. JOHNSON WAS THE MARINE SUPERINTENDENT FOR MARATHON PULP & PAPER." |
In 1944, Marathon Paper Mills of Canada Limited, a subsidiary of Marathon Corporation of Wisconsin, selected this site for the construction of a new pulp mill. The mill itself is 3.3 kilometres from the current Trans-Canada Highway and is serviced by the Canadian Pacific Railway system and its own deep-water port on Lake Superior. Construction spanned a 16 month period from 1945 to October 1946, when upon completion, the Kraft pulp mill established a daily production capacity of 275 tonnes. The town of Marathon was born and for the first 40 years was known as a single industry community, a town built on paper.
1944 - Marathon Paper Mills begins construction of facility
1946 (October) - Construction completely and mill establishes daily production of 275 tonnes
1957 - American Can Company purchases mill and initiates modernization program
1983 (April) - Fort James & Buchanan Forest Products acquires the mill
2000 (January) - Partnership of Tembec & Kruger acquires the operation
Source: https://www.pulpandpapercanada.com/news/mill-profile-marathon-pulp-1000159515
Gord Campbell comments (Dec. 2018): "I believe the entire Marathon fleet with the exceptions of the D.C. Everest, and the tug Peninsula, were made by Russel Brothers.
I actually drove those boats, during the last gasps of the dewatering woodyard on the shores of Jellicoe Cove. We had a very lazy boat operator, he didn't help.
In a matter of days, we lost Orville for a month, Cancel for almost as long. That left Obabika, since the Martin E. Johnson, Polygon, and Mark Whitman were needed on the River. The River Drive seconded these.
We called the pointer boats punts. It needed two boat operators in the raft working in tandem to keep the wood flowing. We did that for a week while the garage rebuilt Orville's seized motor.
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Marathon Pulp Mill
Rob Marchand comments: Here is a shot that captures one of the situations where Orville was out of action. Late 1983 or 1984, near the end of summer, but before Labour Day as #4 button shack had been replaced. Cancel and Obabika are tied up (it was lunchtime). This is in Marathon, overlooking Jellicoe Cove and Skin Island. Taken from the top of #4 stacker.
Gord Campbell comments: Looks more like 1984. Or maybe first week of October 1983. It can't be lunch because if you look at the pond, and the sorting table, the guys and girls would leave their poles and picaroons by their work stations. Also the Hog is empty and the work trucks are parked. That does look like Obabika. The orange dozer boat is Cancel. See the Boom pattern its catching a south wind. Number 4 button Shack is still there. In fact the picture taker is on a full number four softwood pile.
There is a Saturday crew. Probably putting up a stacker section. They did that on Saturdays at this time of year. This has to be the end of the season because the outer booms have been pulled between Skin Island and Cummings Beach off to the far right.
That isn't much wood. Maybe two three days tops.
Rob Marchand comments: I found the Orville in this photo (middle, taken the same day), up on the shore near #2. Bottom photo is a crop from the middle photo.
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Rob Marchand: I've been taking a closer look at the other pictures taken from this perch, and I'm wondering if this was maybe during a hardwood run on a Saturday. There's a crane by #5, and a hose on the spot where they dumped the wood when reclaiming. I have a panorama that I'm working on.
Gord Campbell:This is the end of season. Look beside the jackladder and there are short logs piled up. There is wood in the side ponds.
There weren't many hardwood runs after 1982, I don't remember any during the last year of the wood yard. The only buyer for hardwood was Kimberly Clark TBay and they had something wrong with their mill.
You know I think I worked the Monday shift on this. Like you think it was close to Labour Day but it was into the second week of September. The students had vamoosed for education. I was demoted to Raftsman/Longpole.
I think there may have even been one more raft after. It was full of roots, stumps and scrap wood. From the looks of it there is only about three days production at full shift in the holding booms. I think the company had cut the night shift at this point.
Yes I am pretty sure that was the last year for the company Woodyard, one more year and that crooked lumber company took over. There was only one shift. I didn't sign on for that season, glad I didn't.
Rob Marchand's high res slide scans from 1979. Marathon/Heron Bay - Russel Boats.
Gord Campbell continues: Briefly, The Marathon Pulp Mill was supposed to be the first North American Pulp Mill to employ the Kraft process. The President and CEO of the Marathon Pulp and Paper company was David Clark Everest (DC). DC Everest was known as an early conservationist. One of the giants. A watershed conservancy and high school has his name.
The original name of the new town on Jellicoe Cove was Everest but at the time the Canadian Post Office nixed the town name because it was too similar to Everett, Ontario. So Marathon was applied from the existing company name, not the other way around. Marathon had three or four place names. Marathon, Everest, Peninsula and Goodchild's Bay previous to the coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Peninsula was the name of the main CPR railway camp, on the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Jellicoe Cove is unlike other harbours on the North shore. Sailing ships had full room to manoeuvre inside the harbour. It has a kilometer long sheltered sandy beach, skiffs would work as cargo lighters near the beach and it was shallow with little mud, so it supported horse drawn wagons to be pulled up alongside. Cargo was transferred to the horse wagons and up to the station or to the merchant warehouses on the shore. There was no need for docks, which get damaged every winter.
The CPR mainline passed close to the cove. To the east rail was being laid towards White River. To the west the steel rails were being laid twisting towards the difficult granitic cliffs from Red Sucker Cove to Port Coldwell. It was this last section along the cliffs that took the longest time and was the last gap of the CPR to be closed.
In the centre of Jellicoe Cove/ Peninsula Harbour, are three islands. The harbour light is on the outside head of Hawkin's Island. The second mid-sized Blondin Island (shaped like a cheese wedge) is so steep it prevents easy human use. The small dish shaped island that anchored the outer raft booms of the new woodyard was called "Skin Island".
During the construction period of the CPR this island was the actual redlight district for the construction camp. On the island the madam and her boyfriend Charlie Savage provided the entertainment for some ten to twenty thousand workers. The Toronto Police Constabulary showed up one year but were gone by fall. A brief interruption in business.
Marathon Woodyard and Pulp Mill c. 1983. Photo collage by Rob Marchand.
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuss/46974893241/in/album-72157704868439235/
Frank Moses in the sweeper, on the river drive on the Pic river. Marathon, ON. A similar (now red) Russel sweeper can be found outside Marathon Motor Sports. Address: 65 Peninsula Rd., Marathon, ON P0T 2E0. Mark Irwin hauled the red one out of the bush many years ago.
For more Russel exhibits visit Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum 1165 1st Ave West, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K8
(519) 371-3333  http://marinerail.com |
