June 4: Port Arthur
As battalions stationed for training in the Lakehead went overseas, they could not bring everything with them. Here the Port Arthur City Council receives a letter from Lieut. D. C. McKenzie, O. C. 141st Battalion, The “Bull Moose” Battalion, asking Council to accept their moose head mascot for the Council Chambers, as they could not bring it with them overseas and they wanted to thank the City for their help.
June 4: Port Arthur
Both City Councils continue to be asked for assistance from the military battalions stationed in the Lakehead, but here, Port Arthur City Council received a letter from Lieut. Col. W. B. Evans, of the 52nd Battalion requesting a further grant, which Council referred to the Financial department. The 52nd Battalion was already overseas in France.
June 4: Port Arthur
As we saw in May 1917, Port Arthur ordered many seed potatoes for the Garden Club to distribute to gardeners across the city as part of the war effort. Here the City is paying the invoices for the potatoes and their transportation, as most of them were purchased from the Dorion area and were sent to Port Arthur by train.
June 12: Fort William
The Prisoner’s Aid Society was planned a fundraising carnival to celebrate Dominion Day, and requested use of the Market Building.
June 12: Fort William
As seen on June 4th (see above), battalions stationed and formerly stationed locally regularly asked for grants of money. Fort William City Council received a letter from Lieutenant Bennett asking for a grant for recruiting for the Divisional Signalling Company. They also receive a Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Evans of the 52nd Battalion, asking for a grant, even though that Battalion was already overseas in France.
June 12: Fort William
Lieut. Col. Francis owned piano stores in Port Arthur and Fort William with his brother. He started in the war as a Captain in the 96th Lake Superior Regiment, and was promoted in France until he was a Lieutenant Colonel and the commander of the 47th Battalion. Here he is writing to the Fort William City Council to send them a souvenir from the front, a trench mortar captured from the Germans. He suggests they put it on display in front of City Hall. Fort William City Council writes back to convey their “hearty appreciation for the continued interest he bears for this city, which is marked by his securing a trench mortar for display as a mark of remembrance of the great part this community has taken in the world wide conflict now raging in Europe, and trust that he and those engaged with him may be spared to again be in our midst.”
June 18: Fort William
The Secretary of the Great War Veterans Association (G.W.V.A) asks the Fort William City Council to pass a resolution prohibiting anti-conscription meetings in Fort William. Many people were against conscription, especially some belonging to ethnic and religious minority groups, but this was a not a sentiment that those returning from the Front would have supported.
June 26: Fort William
The City of Fort William had promised some money to go towards the local Great War Veterans Association to pay the salary of a secretary. Here the G.W.V.A. recommends the appointment of William Petrie as secretary, and asks for the promised funds. City Council approves and instructs the City Treasurer to issue them the promised $1000 in twelve equal monthly payments.
World War One Thunder Bay Centennial Project 