This week’s article looks back on a publication that advertised Timmins as “…A Good Town for Men to Work In and Live In.” When the mining boom began, Timmins was a transient town. Men were filtering through for work but didn’t stick around long enough to plant roots here.
By the early 1920s, this was changing and men were staying not just for work but to live as well. Many families and women were moving into town so Timmins began to flourish. In the Porcupine Advance on Aug. 16, 1922, they published an article describing the stability of industry, the permanence of employment, good wages and pleasing conditions for living. An up-to-date town all around.
Gold was considered a stable industry so Timmins was appealing to many looking for somewhere to settle. The gold mines here had some of the best conditions in comparison to other mining operations — good wages and permanent work positions. Wages, in general, were higher here than anywhere else in the country.
Education was top-notch as well! There were many schools, English and separate. We had movie theatres, billiards and pool parlours, arenas, athletic grounds, dance halls, over 75 clubs, sports fields of all kinds and a wide array of churches. The town was equipped with electric lighting, a telephone system, a telegraph, direct private wire and bulletin service, four chartered banks, a weekly newspaper, various hotels and cafes, business blocks and much more. We were growing town so with much to offer!
The Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre regularly provides TimminsToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Timmins museum has to offer here and read more Remember This columns here.
