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Records of Margaret Phillips' education, training,and early teaching career, in Renfrew County, and at the University of Western Ontario. Includes transcripts, course materials, certificates of employment, and correspondence.

Collection is organized into the following series:
I. Hoito Restaurant
II. Port Arthur Workingmen’s Association: Imatra no. 9
III. C.T.K.L. (Canadian Industrial Unions: Port Arthur’s Finnish Association)
IV. C.U.T. (Canadian News Service) and C.T.K.L.
V. Finlandia Club
VI. Finnish Socialist Local no. 6: Port Arthur
VII. Lumber Workers’ Industrial Union of the One Big Union
VIII. New Attempt Temperance Society
IX. Finnish Athletic Club: Nahjus
X. Finnish Building Company
XI. Miscellaneous

The fonds consists primarily of images created, collected, and used by the North of Superior Tourism Association in promoting tourism and supporting local businesses from approximately the 1970s to late 1990s.

The records also include Executive, Board, and AGM minutes, agendas, and notices, and two 16mm promotional films.

Records of the Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö [Finnish Organization of Canada], Vapaus Publishing Company (responsible for publishing Vapaus and Liekki and other publications), Suomalais-Canadalaisen Amatoori Urheiluliiton [Finnish-Canadian Amateur Sports Federation], co-operatives, and more.

Includes meeting minutes, reports, financial statements, and correspondence related to the operations and administration of these organizations. Also includes a variety of document and pamphlets related to socialism, communism, and the peace movement in Canada and worldwide.

The Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö (CSJ; Finnish Organization of Canada) is the oldest nationwide Finnish cultural organization in Canada. For over a century the CSJ has been one of the main organizations for Finnish immigrants in Canada with left-wing sympathies and, in particular, those with close ties to the Communist Party of Canada. Through the early to mid 1920s, Finnish-Canadians furnished over half the membership of the Communist Party and some, like A.T. Hill (born Armas Topias Mäkinen), became leading figures in the Party. Beyond support for leftist political causes, the cooperative and labour union movements, many local CSJ branches in both rural and urban centres established halls – some 70 of which were built over the years in communities across Canada – that hosted a range of social and cultural activities including dances, theatre, athletics, music, and lectures. The CSJ is also known for its publishing activities, notably the Vapaus (Liberty) newspaper.

The CSJ underwent several changes in its formative years related to both national and international developments. Founded in October 1911 as the Canadan Suomalainen Sosialisti Järjestö (CSSJ; Finnish Socialist Organization of Canada), the organization served as the Finnish-language affiliate of the Canadian Socialist Federation which soon after transformed into the Social Democratic Party of Canada (SDP). By 1914, the CSSJ had grown to 64 local branches and boasted a majority of the SDP membership with over 3,000 members. One year later the organization added two more local branches but membership had dropped to 1,867 members thanks, in part, to a more restrictive atmosphere due to Canada’s involvement in the First World War and an organizational split that saw the expulsion or resignation of supporters of the Industrial Workers of the World from the CSSJ.

In September 1918, the Canadian federal government passed Order-in-Council PC 2381 and PC 2384 which listed Finnish, along with Russian and Ukrainian, as ”enemy languages” and outlawed the CSSJ along with thirteen other organizations. The CSSJ successfully appealed the ban in December 1918 but dropped ”Socialist” from its name. The organization operated under the name Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö until December 1919. The SDP, however, did not recover from the outlawing of its foreign-language sections, leaving the CSJ without a political home. Stepping into this organizational vacuum was the One Big Union of Canada (OBU), founded in June 1919. The CSJ briefly threw its support behind this new labour union initiative, functioning as an independent ”propaganda organization of the OBU” until internal debates surrounding the structure of the Lumber Workers Industrial Union affiliate and the OBU decision not to join to the Moscow-headquartered Comintern led to its withdrawal shortly thereafter. In 1924, CSSJ activists including A.T. Hill helped to found the Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada (LWIUC).

Inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution that toppled the Tsarist Russian Empire in November 1917, and following the founding of the Communist Party of Canada (CPC) as an underground organization in May 1921, the CSSJ rapidly became an integral part of the nascent Communist movement in Canada. Reflecting this change, in 1922 the organization was renamed the Canadan Työläispuolueen Suomalainen Sosialistilärjestö (FS/WPC; Finnish Socialist Section of the Workers’ Party of Canada) – the Workers’ Party of Canada being the legal front organization of the CPC. In 1923, Finnish-Canadian Communists formed a separate cultural organization, the Canadan Suomalainen Järjestö (CSJ; Finnish Organization of Canada Inc.), to serve as a kind of ”holding company” ensuring that the organization’s considerable properties and assets would be safe from confiscation by the government or capture from rival left-wing groups. With the legalization of the CPC in 1924, the FS/WPC became the Canadan Kommunistipuolueen Suomalainen Järjestö (FS/CP; Finnish section of the Communist Party of Canada). Between 1922 and 1925, membership in the CSJ through its various transitions also doubled as membership in the Communist Party. This arrangement ended in 1925 when the FS/CP was disbanded following the ”bolshevization” directives of the Comintern. These directives demanded that separate ethnic organizations in North America be dissolved in favour of more disciplined and centralized party cells. It was hoped that this reorganization would help attract new members outside of the various Finnish, Ukrainian, and Jewish ethnic enclaves that had furnished the bulk of the CPC dues paying membership in Canada. From this point onwards, the CSJ officially functioned as a cultural organization but maintained a close, albeit sometimes strained, association with the CPC. The 1930s represent the peak of the CSJ size and influence, occuring during the Third Period and Popular Front eras of the international Communist movement. During this period CSJ union organizers assisted in the creation of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union – a unit of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of the American Federation of Labor, successor to the LWIUC – and the reemergence of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in Sudbury and Kirkland Lake. CSJ activists also helped to recruit volunteers for the International Brigades that fought against nationalist and fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Finally, in the 1930s some 3,000 CSJ members or sympathizers embarked on the journey from Canada to the Soviet Union to help in the efforts to industrialize the Karelian Autonomous Soviet. Hundreds of Finns in Karelia would later perish in Stalin’s purges.

Despite the CSJ’s active support for the Canadian war effort, the organization was still deemed to be a threat to national security by the federal government and again outlawed in 1940. All FOC properties were seized and closed. The Suomalais Canadalaisten Demokraattien Liitto (SCDL; Finnish-Canadian Democratic League) served as the FOC’s main legal surrogate until the organization was legalized in 1943. The rapid decline of the FOC following this period is apparent from the fact that of the 75 locals in operation in 1936, only 36 remained active in 1950.

Further reading:
Edward W. Laine (edited by Auvo Kostianen), A Century of Strife: The Finnish Organization of Canada, 1901-2001 (Turku: Migration Institute of Finland), 2016.
Arja Pilli, The Finnish-Language Press in Canada, 1901-1939: A Study of Ethnic Journalism (Turku: Institute of Migration), 1982.
William Eklund, Builders of Canada: History of the Finnish Organization of Canada, 1911-1971 (Toronto: Finnish Organization of Canada), 1987.

Photographs are divided into seven subseries:
A - Architecture
B - Arts (Theatre, music, dance, arts, crafts)
C - Business & industry
D - Churches
E - Communities in Northwestern Ontario
F - People, families, & genealogy
G - Organizations

The collection consists of photo albums, photographs, newspaper clippings, assets, agreements, stocks, bonds, certificates, correspondence, miscellaneous items, and two videos with the same recording. The collection is composed of three sous-fonds:
James Whalen
Laurel Conmee and James Conmee
Thunder Bay Hydro

Frederick O. Robinson was born in Port Arthur, Ontario on Aug. 2, 1903. He attended public and high school in Port Arthur and then served his apprenticeship to the machinist trade in the C.N.R. shops. He worked for 25 years as a skilled machinist in the Port Arthur shops of the C.N.R. until his election to the Ontario legislature in 1943. He continued to work as a C.N.R. machinist between sessions of the legislature, and after his election to the office of mayor, he worked in the C.N.R. shops on weekends.

He entered public life in January 1943 when he was elected to the Port Arthur Board of Education. In August of the same year he was elected to the Ontario legislature as C.C.F. member for Port Arthur. He was M.L.A. for Port Arthur until his defeat in 1951. In civic affairs, he remained on the Board of Education until 1946 when he was elected as alderman. In 1949, he became Mayor of Port Arthur; he remained in this post except for 1952 when he was defeated until 1955 when he resigned to become personnel manager for the Public Utilities Commission. He left active political life at this time. He resigned from the Public Utilities Commission in 1966 because of ill health. In July, 1969, he died.

The Frederick O. Robinson fonds comprises 7 feet of correspondence, clippings, pamphlets, articles and other material and is contained in seventeen transfer cases. The folder titles in the main are those designated by Mr. Robinson. Some re-arrangement of the material has been effected in order to comply with the folder titles. Since the folders themselves were in no apparent order when .they were donated to the university, the following arrangement was thought to be most suitable for research purposes:
I. Pre-1943 Period
II. Political Affairs (relating to the C.C.F.)
III. The Ontario Legislature and Provincial Affairs, 1943-51
IV. Provincial and Local Affairs.
V. Local and Municipal Affairs.
VI. General
VII. Miscellaneous

These papers consist of photographs, certificates, pamphlets, programmes, correspondence, notebooks, memos, balance sheets, and newspaper clippings all relating to Coghlan's insurance business, his numerous careers, political and social involvement, and personal life.

The fonds consists of correspondence, minutes, membership lists, newsletters, photographs and slides, and other various records associated with the activities of the club. Arranged into the following series:

1. Constitution and Policies
2. Minutes and Agendas
3. Reports and Notes
4. Background Information
5. Newsletters
6. Cash Books and Membership Lists
7. Study Groups
8. Correspondence
9. Conferences
10. Special Projects and Events
11. Founders Memorial Trust Bursary
12. Enrichment Nursery School Project
13. CFUW – National Chapter
14. CFUW – Ontario Council
15. Ephemera
16. Images

1993 to the Thunder Bay Finnish Canadian Historical Society by the Finlandia Club and the Finnish Building Company. The Canadian News Service materials were donated by the CTKL.

Photographs and documents, generally collected because they would be of interest regarding the history of Port Arthur and Fort William. Includes rail and CPR, ships, fishing, and social and sporting groups.

Series consists of the formation of the Faculty of Education records made and received by the Dean of the Faculty of Education in the course of administering its programs and operations. Activities documented include legal agreements, revised constitutions, bylaws and memorandum of understanding. Records also include policy, administrative and teaching decisions, degree and staffing structure, curriculum and programmes, budgets and correspondence with various universities. Also included are articles and papers on graduate studies in education in the province of Ontario; Teachers’ College and universities assuming responsibility for teacher education and Teachers’ College affiliation with universities; the MacLeod Report is frequently mentioned. Proposals include: reorganization of the student teaching programmes in elementary education; proposed organization of the Faculty of Education. Policy statements include: OCUFA (Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations) statement on amalgamation of Elementary Teachers’ College with the universities.

Includes:
Transcribed conversation between Dean Angus and President of Lakehead University, December 29, 1969.
An address to the A.P.E.N.W.O conference, Thunder Bay, Ontario, February 21. 1974 entitled Achievements and aspiration: teacher education at Lakehead University

The correspondence, receipts, newspaper clippings, and several articles of the Canadan Uutiset, a Finnish-language newspaper based in Thunder Bay.

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.

Documents, correspondence, and collective agreements from Union Miniere Explorations and Mining Corporation Limited (UMEX) near Pickle Lake, Ontario.

Correspondence and papers of the Pigeon River Lumber Company, primarily in the 1930s and 1940s. Includes the original Letters Patent. Many of the records relate to lands in the Township of Pardee.

Correspondence, business documentation, staff resources, photographs, and Literacy Group documents, kept by Margaret Phillips of the Northern Woman's Bookstore, of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The store opened in 1984 and had locations on Bay St. and Court Street, before having to close its physical location in 2016.

Records of the Thunder Bay Co-Operative Dairy, Ltd, which operated from 1928 to 1969.

The records include: the Board of Directors' meeting minutes, which provide detailed accounts of the Dairy's management and operation from its founding in 1928 through its eventual liquidation in 1972; a time book listing employee wages and deductions; a financial journal outlining the Co-Op's final years in production; and a folder containing various news clippings and written notes.

Records consist of interviews between Peter Fergus-Moore and various individuals, recorded as part of his work as a freelance journalist. Interviewees include:

Biljana Baker, artist (1 tape)
Confederation College film students, multiple interviews (1 tape)
Roy Coran, musician (1 tape)
Gloria Dowton, Magnus Theatre (1 tape)
GAMI, youth arts collective associated with Definitely Superior Art Gallery (1 tape)
Jorma Halonen, history of socialist bookstore in Port Arthur (2 tapes)
Dusty Miller, former mayor (1 tape)
Diane Potts, Magnus Theatre (1 tape)
Sleeping Giant Folk Society (1 tape)
Norman Sponchia, artist (1 tape)
Brad Stephenson, filmmaker (1 tape)
Charles Wilkins, author (1 tape)

Northwestern Ontario Prospectors’ Association Interviews:
Moe Lavigne, geologist (2 tapes)
Northwestern Ontario Prospectors’ Association Symposium (1 tape)
Ruth Petrunka, widow of prospector Dave Petrunka (2 tapes)
Stares brothers (3 tapes)
Mel Stewart, prospector (2 tapes)

Dr. James T. Angus was the first Dean of Education for Lakehead University.

The fonds consist of Dr Angus's copies of correspondence, reports, memos, agenda and minutes, and printed material related to the integration of Lakehead Teachers' College into Lakehead University; establishment of the Faculty of Education; graduate programs in education; program for training Indigenous teachers for First Nations schools in Northwestern Ontario. Activities documented include policy, procedures and programme development, budget planning, proposals, appraisals and surveys; evolution of the faculty's administrative structure; development of curriculum and delivery of courses.