Recognizing Local Legend, Leonard Williams

Leonard "Len" Williams
Photo Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta

“He (Len) didn’t harp on his hardships or on the discrimination, he just wanted to protect his family…” - Son, Gilbert Williams 

In 1995, the House of Commons officially dedicated the month of February to honouring the legacy of Black Canadians. This month, you are encouraged learn more about the substantial influence that Black Canadians have made to the history of Canada, and more specifically, to our region. To learn more and to participate in Black History Month, visit canada.ca/black-history-month

This article recognizes one remarkable Black Canadian: Leonard Williams, who not only made a significant contribution to our region, but is an inspiration to Black Canadians as he circumvented racial discrimination and grew to become a highly respected Canadian citizen. 

Leonard, more commonly known as Len, was born on April 19th, 1885 in Upora, Mississippi.  In the wake of the Civil War, the southern United States harnessed much hatred and racial violence towards African Americans. After seeing his best friend lynched by the Ku Klux Klan, Len fled the United States and sought refuge in Canada. In 1910, Len secured a job as a caretaker with the Northern Alberta Railway where he worked on one of the most popular passenger services running from Edmonton to Waterways, known as the Muskeg Special. Len grew to be one of the most notable persons on Muskeg Special which, in 1925, he secured his status as a rail conductor.

Photo Source: Maisonneuve, M. (2011, October, 6). 

The N-Scale N.A.R. (Blogspot). 

Retrieved February 6, 2017

 from http://nscalenar.blogspot.ca/2011/10/prototype.html

Len was known to be a loyal and trusted employee.  Dignitaries, small children and important cargo were placed in his care during the 28 hour trip between Edmonton and Waterways. So much was Len respected, he was chosen to assist in shipping the original Bison that would stock the Wood Buffalo National Park. Len remained a conductor for 35 years, and later retired in 1960 only to begin working for the next seven years as a jail watchman for the RCMP detachment in Fort McMurray. Len later began work as a night watchman from 1967 to 1969 at the Sawmill in Waterways and for the then Mildred Lake site (now operated by Syncrude). In recognition of his dedication, Len was appointed the honorary mayor of the Mildred Lake site in 1970. He passed away in December 27, 1977 leaving his legacy to his six children. 

Photo Source: Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, 

Heritage Plaque Program, 2013

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is proud to recognize Leonard Williams as part of the Heritage Plaque program. A plaque has been placed in his honour within Wood Buffalo Park bordered by Wilson Drive and Williams Drive, Fort McMurray. 

Community Photo Archive

The Wood Buffalo Regional Library is currently showcasing a collection of McMurray Metis photos and videos as part of a Community Photo Archive. The photos are on display on the 2^nd floor of the Library until January 5, 2016.

The Library interviewed 14 residents, including honoured Elders, and gathered hundreds of photos and many hours of video footage for the project.

Everyone is encouraged to take a look, explore our Region’s history and learn more about the Metis!

Photo courtesy of the Wood Buffalo Regional Library

Alberta Energy History

Last month, the Alberta Government and Fort McMurray Tourism announced a new partnership to offer tourism information at the Oil Sands Discovery Centre. Under the agreement, Fort McMurray Tourism will provide tourism information services as well as oversee and manage operations and programming at the Centre.

In celebration of this new partnership, the Alberta Culture launched the new website: Alberta's Energy Resources Heritage 

This website features tons of information about the history of the oil sands in the region. It's a great way to learn more about the region's history! Check it out!

HIStory & HERitage: Tom Morimoto

                              HIStory & HERitage

Did you know that May is Asian Heritage Month? To celebrate the history and the contributions of Asian Canadians,  I want to highlight Tom Morimoto, a second generation Japanese Canadian who grew up in Fort McMurray during the Great Depression.

Tom's father, Tommy Morimoto, arrived in Canada in 1906. He was originally from Japan but had been working in Hawaii as a labourer.  As with the majority of Japanese immigrants to Canada at the time, he was a single, young man. Fortunately for Tommy, he just made the cut as the following year a limit was put on the number of Japanese men that could enter the country. Afterwards, most Japanese immigration  consisted of wives joining their husbands or young unmarried women betrothed to men in Canada. 

Tom’s mother, Mitome, belonged to this second category of women. She arrived in Canada in 1917 as a "picture bride". This practice was common among Japanese and Korean immigrants living in Canada or the U.S at the time, and it consisted of a man selecting a bride from their native countries through a matchmaker, who paired the bride and groom based on photographs of the two and their families' recommendations.

Following their marriage, Tommy and Mitome settled in Edmonton, where they operated a rooming house and a barbershop beside the Royal George Hotel. While their business was successful, the cost of rent was too expensive. Persuaded by the promise of Fort McMurray as the new, booming City of the North, they relocated to Fort McMurray and leased 10 acres of land near the current Grant McEwan bridge from the Hudson's Bay Company. They used this land to garden and plant vegetables, which they shipped further north on a steamboat. Near the end of the farming season, the Morimoto's would host a corn roast for the entire community. 

The Morimoto’s had 7 sons. Sadly, in 1938, Mitome and an infant son both passed away, leaving Tommy the sole caretaker and provider for his young family. 

Tom Morimoto was the oldest son in the family. As a teenager during the Depression, Tom worked odd jobs around town- farming, trapping and trading goods for fur. He also worked at the Canadian Airways Radio Station and learned Morse code. 

When the Second World War began in 1939, Tom applied to enlist in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. Despite Tom’s short stature and light weight, which were below the official standard, Tom was accepted because of his extensive skills and experience working with radios.  

As part of the Corps of Signals, Tom has the distinction of being the only Japanese Canadian on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. 

Following the war, Tom attended the University of Alberta and graduated as a chemical engineer. He spent many years travelling the world and working in the oil industry, both in Alberta and Dubai. Now retired, Tom spends his time between living in Kelowna and Arizona. If you are interested in learning more about Tom’s amazing life, you can read his memoir “Breaking Trail”, which is available for purchase at Heritage Park. 

So the next time you're by the Snye, and your walking or driving along "Morimoto Drive", take a moment to recognize Tom's personal achievements as well as his family's place in our local and national history. 

If you want to learn more about Asian Heritage Month, click here 

HIStory & HERitage: Angus Sutherland

                               HIStory & HERitage

Unlike Thickwood or Timberlea, where many of the streets are named according to a specific theme, most of the streets in the downtown area of Fort McMurray are named after people who are significant to the history of the region. 

Have you ever wondered who was the inspiration for Manning Ave or Morimoto Drive? What about Sutherland Street, the side street off of Franklin Ave where the Podollan Inn & Rez is located? Have you ever wondered who Sutherland was?

Angus Sutherland was the first druggist in Fort McMurray. He was born in Ontario in the 1890s, but attained his education in Manitoba. Following graduation, Angus worked for the Northern Transportation Company’s water transportation division in Athabasca Landing. You can see Angus Sutherland in the 1916 Census of Alberta here where he is listed as working as a purser, or the person responsible for handling money, on a steam boat.

In the winter of 1918, Angus was sent to Fort McMurray for business. At this time, soldiers were beginning to return home from the battlefields of the First World War.  These men unknowingly brought with them the Spanish Flu, a deadly virus that became a global pandemic.  When this flu made its way to Fort McMurray, Angus immediately began to stockpile medical supplies, even treating people at no cost if they could not afford to pay his fees.  

Realizing that the growing community needed a pharmacy, Angus opened a small drug store inside the Franklin Hotel. This business venture was so successful that it needed a larger space. In 1922, Angus opened a new pharmacy, Sutherland Drugs, in a two storey frame building. The pharmacy served as both a drug store as well as a library, the first in Fort McMurray.  Membership to the library cost one dollar and the borrowing fee for each book was twenty-five cents.

Suffering from ill health, Angus asked Walter Hill, a recent graduate, to help with the pharmacy business. In 1922 Walter arrived in Fort McMurray and became Angus’ partner. However, in 1934 a major fire destroyed most of the businesses along the west side of Franklin Avenue, including Sutherland Drugs. Amazingly, the store was rebuilt within 30 days and even refitted with wiring for electricity. 

In this photo, Angus Sutherland is sitting on the left and Walter Hill is seated on the right. Photo courtesy of the Fort McMurray Historical Society.

Four years later, in 1938, Angus opened two Sutherland Drugs: one in Waterways along Railway Avenue and another in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. This expansion earned Angus the title the "Pharmacist of the North”. 

After serving the community for over 20 years, Angus died in Fort McMurray on May 31, 1951. With his death, Walter Hill became the sole owner of the business and he renamed the Fort McMurray store Hill Drugs.  Walter Hill died in 1986 and his pharmacy continued to operate until 1988. The Hill family tradition of pharmacy service continues to this day with Dave Hill Pharmacy in Thickwood (Dave is Walter’s grandson).  

Following its closure, the Sutherland Drugs/Hill Drugs building was donated to Heritage Park. It currently houses the museum’s main displays about the fur trade, river transportation, the railway and of course, the pharmacy itself.