By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer His forte was attracting new industry. That best sums up the story of Thomas Cook, who served as Sarnia's Mayor in 1903 and 19O4 and as the City's 41st Chief Magistrate in 1923. Born in the Huron County community in Varna on March [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer William Logie's claim to fame is that he was Mayor of Sarnia when Council decided to build the Community's first Public Library. In a way it was fitting, because our 25th Chief Magistrate was something of a book worm. Born in Hensall, Ontario, [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer Fred Watson may have been too nice a man to be a great Mayor. The Community's 24th Chief Magistrate was popular with voters but, once in office, he had a difficult time dealing with an unruly group of Aldermen. In fact, according to [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer The Mayor who did so much to prepare Sarnia for a new century. T.G. Johnston, the Community’s 23rd Chief Magistrate, was in Office when Council lured Imperial Oil to the Municipality. The move would transform a sleepy little 19th century market Town of [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer Ebenezer Scrooge may not have been the only 19th century figure to be visited by the ghosts of Christmas. The faded yellow minutes of a December 15, 1896, Sarnia Council meeting suggest celebrated author Charles Dickens's apparitions may have come calling on Mayor [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He was a politician who hated politics. William J. Proctor, who served three terms as Sarnia's Mayor, was a man who never campaigned for the job. He wouldn’t give speeches, kiss babies, distribute pamphlets or do advertising of any kind. According to a [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He helped launch the local tourism industry and gave Sarnians direct control over their Police Department. Those were among the major achievements of Mayor Richard LeSueur. Born in Quebec City in 1850, LeSueur settled in Sarnia, becoming a shoe merchant and County Registrar. [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer His name was Ebenezer but he was no Scrooge. In fact, when it came to caring for the sick and the poor, Sarnia Mayor Ebenezer Pool Watson never asked, “are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?” Instead, the Community's 19th Chief Magistrate [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He's long forgotten today, but Mayor James S. Symington played an important role in the construction of the original St. Clair River Railroad Tunnel. Born in rural Lambton County in 1844, Symington moved to Sarnia as a boy, later becoming a successful local [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He was Sarnia's first 'Green' Mayor. A century before the environmental movement began, Mayor Charles Vail was taking concrete steps to battle pollution. Vail, a doctor who was elected the Municipality's Chief Magistrate in 1887, presided over the Council that passed a bylaw [...]
