The tower, the tug — now open

Fort Frances celebrations next Friday, Saturday and Sunday as part of Tourism Week and the city’s heritage tourism strategy, will include the opening of the revitalized historical Lookout Tower, and the “Hallett” — the 1940 premiere towing vessel from log-boom days on local waters.

A series of interpretive panels which celebrate the border community, the forest industry and roots in the fur trade will welcome people to a grand celebration in Fort Frances on Friday. Banners depicting the area’s historical experiences highlight the route from the border crossing through downtown Fort Frances and onto the La Verendrye Parkway waterfront.

While an International Tug of War event helps kick off the celebration, the tower and the Hallett, now designated at Sorting Gap Marina as Ontario Heritage Sites, share roots in Fort and Falls history.

“We invite people to come over,” said Pam Cain, curator of the Fort Frances Museum, adding that several events celebrate the sister cities’ common fur and forest industries.

Scheer’s Lumberjack Show from Wisconsin is scheduled at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday at the northeast corner of Minnie Avenue and Front Street. It includes both skill and comedy with log rolling, crosscut sawing, chainsaw carving, chopping, axe throwing and more, Cain said. In addition, downtown art displays will be exhibited.

A “Fly In Drive In” barbecue event, including an antique car show and aircraft displays at the Fort Frances Airport is scheduled for 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.

At 1 p.m. Sunday is an afternoon river paddle with canoes or kayaks (and life jackets) on the Rainy River.

The Hallett

In the early days of local paper manufacturing, the first step of the process was floating logged trees into “booms” on Rainy Lake where they merged with thousands of others for the journey west.

The boom was towed with the help of tug boats and strong men, who, after reaching the Ranier bridge, would sluice the pulpwood through the treacherous rapids overnight. The final leg of the journey was down the Rainy River to the “sorting gap” at the mouth of the paper mills to await their destination.

The logging boom boat, the Hallett was the largest and most powerful boat on Rainy Lake. The 60-foot, 57-ton vessel was built in 1940 by the Russel Bros., a marine business which once stood on the north bank of Rainy River in Fort Frances — on Front Street between Armit and Crowe Avenue in the area where the Fort Frances hospital stands today.

Along with the mighty Hallett, the Russel company also built the smaller flat-bottomed steel winch-tugs that groomed Rainy Lake log booms up until 1973. The boats could also self-pull over land. Russel rose to fame and remained leaders in that industry.

The Hallett, the primary towing vessel on Rainy, was originally captained by legendary Canadian log-boom man, William Martin.

Boom savvy included manipulating the narrowed passages and submerged rocks, and the final obstacle — the Ranier bridge. Martin likened that formidable task to “pulling a bag of sand through a knothole” where forcing it would cause a choke — but with patient ushering, it could slowly be done.

By 1973, local paper companies started by industrialist E.W. Backus had changed hands several times and were then owned by Boise Cascade. Responding to the times, the company abandoned logging in much of the Rainy Lake tributary region which brought an end to the log booms. Eventually, wood could be more efficiently transported by truck. There would be less loss from runaway and sinking logs. And the increasing number of pleasure boats on Rainy Lake made the booms a hazard.

It meant retirement for the Hallett.

Dry-docked as a tourist attraction at Pithers Point in Fort Frances in 1986, the Hallett was moved in 2009 and ensconced in a water berth near the Sorting Gap Marina, a fitting location for the vessel which played a paramount role in local livelihood.

Today, interpretive panels near the site convey the history of the log drive and the role of the tugs, and how the crews lived during the days of the log drives.

The Lookout Tower

Housing the Hallett and the Lookout Tower along the La Verendrye Parkway at Sorting Gap Marina is a natural fit, Cain said last fall. A ribbon cutting at the tower is scheduled for noon, Friday.

At 100 feet, the view from the Lookout Tower is reportedly spectacular — Rainy Lake and the vast Canadian Shield to the east, the United States to the south, the forest bogs to the north and the Rainy River Valley to the west. It’s a climb of 155 steps to the top of the tower, but only 31 steps to an observation platform.

The 100-foot-high tower was originally constructed as part of the early radar detection system of defense during the Cold War. A collaboration of the U.S. with Canada for American protection, its intended usage was scrapped in the 1960s before it was put into use, Cain said.

It was used as a lookout for a short time near Atikokan, outside Fort Frances. In 1972, it was brought to Pithers Point Park as a tourist attraction, open until 2002. Because of safety codes on railings, the tower “was moth-balled” until it was refurbished and anchored in its current home along the banks of the Rainy River at Sorting Gap Marina.

Information on the history of the tower, the Pine Tree Line and the Rainy Lake watershed is available at the tower. There are also depictions of the history of wood workers, logging and paper making, in this area.

Admission:

Admission to the Fort Frances Heritage Sites will be available at the Sorting Gap Marina or the Fort Frances Museum at $3.50 for adults; $2.50 for seniors and children 12 and under; or $10.50 maximum family fee. Admission fees allow inclusive access to the logging tug Hallett, Lookout Tower and the Fort Frances Museum. Visitors are given a time-sensitive tag with an access code that is changed daily.

The Sorting Gap Heritage Sites will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily depending on weather. Children under 14 must be accompanied by a care giver age 16 or over.

Care and caution is advised on surfaces which are uneven and platforms which are steep and high. Appropriate footwear is required.

Fort Frances Museum hours, subject to change, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Oct. 10. More information is available by calling 807-274-7891 or emailing ffmuseum@fortfrances.com.