December 3, 1917 – Port Arthur
On November 19th Port Arthur read the letter from the City of Brantford regarding a Victory Loan, and decided to pass the resolution from Brantford on to the Finance Committee for consideration. The Finance Committee had decided that they were unable to provide support for this loan and were going to send a letter on to the Brantford City Council regarding their decision.
December 3, 1917 – Port Arthur
On October 29th the Port Arthur City Council began discussing the idea of establishing a 5% War Bonus for employees of the city. This Bonus would give employees an incentive to keep working for the City rather than enlisting. In the report from the Finance committee, they considered how the War Bonus would be readjusted into the employees’ salaries. The first War Bonus was created for a Superintendent of the Cleansing Department on August 14th which was a greater increase of 10%.
December 4, 1917 – Fort William
Both the Fort William and Port Arthur City Councils donated money to Canadian and British funds for War Relief. In this particular case they gave $200 to the Daughters of the Empire for the British Sailors Relief Fund.
December 4, 1917 – Fort William
The Fort William City Treasurer issued a cheque from the sinking funds of $15,000 towards the purchase of more Victory Bonds.
December 10, 1917 – Port Arthur
On December 6th 1917, two ships collided in the Halifax Harbour, causing a massive explosion which killed nearly 2,000 people and injured up to 10,000 others. The north end of the city was mostly destroyed by the explosion. Many Canadian cities sent aid and sympathy to the City of Halifax. The City of Port Arthur sent $1,000, which is equivalent to $16,350 in today’s Canadian dollars, to help in the relief effort for the tragic event. They made sure that the funds were sent immediately to Halifax.
To learn more about the Halifax Explosion of 1917, we recommend the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, the CBC, and the Canadian War Museum.
December 11, 1917 – Fort William
A telegram was sent from the Relief Committee of Halifax to Fort William City Council to thank them for their sympathy. They also stated a need for financial assistance, as Halifax suffered a great loss in terms of both loss of life and injury, and devastation to the infrastructure of the city.
December 11, 1917 – Fort William
The Fort William City Council agreed to send $1,500, or $24,525 in 2017 dollars, to the Halifax Relief Society.
December 18, 1917 – Fort William
The week after the donation decision was made, Fort William City Council received a delegation from the Rotary Club urging the City Council to increase their grant from $1,500 to $3,500 to the Halifax Relief Fund. The City Council decided instead to add an additional $3,500 towards the Halifax Relief Fund to make the total $5,000, or $81,750 in 2017 dollars.
December 19, 1917 – Port Arthur
The Port Arthur City Council received a letter from the Patriotic Find regarding the balance of their allowance be sent to them for 1917. The Patriotic Fund was eligible for a certain amount of the Patriotic tax levy which had been collected. The treasurer is authorized to send them a cheque with their balance which was $8,500, or $135,689 in today’s dollars.
December 19, 1917 – Port Arthur
On August 24th 1917 the Port Arthur City Council wrote to the “proper authorities” to request that the band instruments for the 94th Battalion be returned for the use of the Port Arthur City Band, as the 94th had been absorbed into other units when they arrived at the front. The instruments had been purchased with contributions from both the Port Arthur and Fort William City Councils. Unfortunately, we do not know what was discussed in Machin’s letter, or the one written back by the City Clerk.
December 19, 1917 – Port Arthur
The Port Arthur City Council had donated $1,000 to the Relief Committee of Halifax on December 11. The Committee sent a telegram to thank the City Council the following day, December 12.
December 19, 1917 – Port Arthur
The Port Arthur and Fort William City Council often received requests regarding items that the military needed at home or abroad. In this case, Lieutenant Wickson requested a telephone for the Armoury. However, the resolution lost when voted on by Council, and so the Armoury would not get their telephone.
December 19, 1917 – Port Arthur
The Port Arthur City Council received a letter from the Over-Seas Club regarding the gifts that had been sent to the men at the front.
December 28, 1917 – Port Arthur
On December 26th 1917, the Port Arthur City Council received a letter from the president of the Women’s Auxiliary War Veterans Association requesting $100 for a Christmas Festival, to entertain the families of soldiers. The request was granted.
December 28, 1917 – Port Arthur
The Port Arthur City Council sent funds to aid in the recovery of Halifax after the explosion that took place on December 6th. The City Council granted them $1000 on December 10th. The Finance Committee of the Halifax Relief Fund and the Chairman of the Relief Committee, Halifax, both sent a letter of thanks.
December 28, 1917 – Fort William
The Fort William City Council appreciated the work that was being done by the Fort William Patriotic Society and recommended that the new Council for the year 1918 make the funds available to the Society to continue with their successful work.
Note: Some photographs and scans of original documents have been retouched for clarity of viewing only.
World War One Thunder Bay Centennial Project 