A Review of Kinross Pond

  Things have been changing and happening around Kirkland Lake this year and things are really looking up.
  As a daily ritual, I usually take my regular walk from our house at Comfort St, and King St and end up at Kinross pond, entering the walkway at Poplar Ave so I get to see any changes on the Pond walkway.

 This is the announcement sign to let you know who has been involved in this  project.
                                                                                                                                                                       Someone has a really green thumb and also a good eye for landscaping.                                                                                  

                      

                                                                                     This is the new pavilion where the music is found on Friday afternoons in the good weather.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                        There is also a nice park and playground for the kids and a place for the dogs and cats to enjoy the outdoors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

There is also a nice water spout/fountain coming up  out of the pond, I imagine that it does help to aerate the water for whatever life is in the water.

First display is a map of the town and area showing the hiking trails, etc.






 First of all, I see the town has installed some exercise machines for our  citizens to use to build up their muscles in various parts of our bodies. I believe that these machines were put in last year as well as a water spout (fountain) near the centre of the pond so this is a beautiful attraction to the pond.
 This year I noticed that the town has poured a series of bases around the walkway and I couldn't figure out what they would be for until about three weeks ago when the workers installed many reader boards (I am not sure of the proper name for these but I am going to call them history lessons).
 I took a walk around the pond one evening this week and snapped pictures of all of them. I am including   pictures of most of them for you to see and a little explanation for you so you can understand what they        are all about. Hope you enjoy them. 
                                                                                                                
                   
 The first picture shows six actors/ actresses from the Kirkland Lake area who have made it big in television.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                     

    This picture is Rosa Brown, who immigrated from Europe and was quite an entrepreneur. She does have a very colourful history.

   Here is a story about Wally Flood. He was a miner from the Kirkland

Lake area who enlisted in the war and was responsible for making
 tunnels underground and was the figure in the movie with Charles
 Bronson called "The Great Escape"





This plaque is about the Canadian Army Tunnelling Company including
about 20 men who were trained and employed in hard rock mining at home. These men did a lot of tunnelling in Europe, Africa, British Isles and other areas.

 This picture is the story of Charlie Chow, who ran a Chines restaurant
and hotel on the main street of Kirkland Lake. He was very smart in finances when he dealt with his mining customers who on occasion didn't have money to pay their bills so he took stocks in trade for payment. One time there was a problem when the mine couldn't get their payroll so Charlie brought out some paper bags full of money, enough to cover the payroll of the mine.

 This is the story of Kirkland Lake as a gold mining community
This story includes many details of gold mining in and around the town as well as the background behind the Mile Of Gold (Main Street).

 
 Mario Bernardi was born in Kirkland Lake and got his education in music in Toronto and performed as a concert pianist and then a well known classical conductor.



                                                                       

                                                              This plaque tells all about Champions from Kirkland Lake and gone elsewhere to make their fortune.
                                          

 

 Jack Kent Cooke came to Kirkland Lake and joined up with Roy
 Thompson and got involved running his radio station in Stratford.
 Mr Cooke and Roy Thompson joined forces in buying more radio
 stations and operating them as well as buying some baseball clubs

Lord Thompson of Fleet was known for selling radios and operating radio stations in Northern Ontario.

William Wright joined with his brother in law Ed Hargreaves in the Wright Hargreaves mine as well as financing the merger of the Globe and
 Mail newspaper.




 
.Harry Oakes was a man who was rather well off and used to be the owner of a few mines around Kirkland Lake area. He also used to be the owner of the house that is now the local museum.

This plaque commemorates the bad forest fire that almost claimed a large part of the Kirkland Lake town and surrounding area in 2012. I personally remember that time and the stress that it caused, not only by the news and radio announcements but the weird skies and smoke coverage in out area plus the smoke smell. One day, the wind changed direction and carried smoke from another fire located in the Timmins area as well as creating an orange sky. Boy was that strange.

This plate lists three of the local women who were involved in politics in our area. I am not familiar with any of them but they must have done a good job or they wouldn't have been elected to the position that they filled.

As you likely know, Kirkland Lake is well famous for the hockey players that came from our area. Many of them, not only played well but came up through the ranks to make themselves famous and was responsible for helping to organize a hockey association.







When you are in the area on a visit or if you live around here, then I invite you to come on over and see what the Town Of Kirkland Lake has been doing.