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John
Waldron
Surveying mineral
claims in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba must have been second nature to
John Waldron. He performed hundreds of these surveys during his remarkable
life as a land surveyor. Imagine how proficient he must have become in
locating staked claims, both the good ones and the many that were poorly
located on the ground.
His mineral claim
surveys commenced in
1922
for Manitoba Metals Company in Group 421 in Manitoba. His surveys came to an
end in 1956
when he passed away in his sleep at his survey camp on Anderson Lake near
Snow Lake, Manitoba. That's right, he was still surveying at the age of 84!
It is amazing how
many of the older surveyors, in bygone days, practiced their profession
right up to the end. Men such as John Waldron, K.N. Crowther,
O. Inkster, W.T.
Thompson, C.D. Brown, J.B. Tyrrell, and many others. The word
"retirement" had not been placed in the dictionary for these hardy pioneers.
Between
1910
and 1922
Mr. Waldron practiced his profession out of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (Hammond
Bldg.), performing municipal and private surveys and engineering contracts.
Moving to Flin Flon, Manitoba in
1922,
he continued his practice there.
At one time, he had
a branch office in The Pas, Manitoba due to the large volume of mineral
claim surveys in that area. In the days when Flin Flon was being organized
as a town, Mr. Waldron was the town engineer for five years.
John Waldron
performed hundreds of mineral claim surveys in Manitoba and Saskatchewan
along with a multitude of other types of surveys and engineering projects
throughout his career.
At one time, in
1944,
he also worked out of Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba performing mineral claim
surveys in that area, returning again to Flin Flon in
1946.
To my knowledge he always maintained his permanent home in Flin Flon, after
leaving Moose Jaw in
1922.
I have outlined
below some of the areas in which Mr. Waldron has left his mark, even though
very few of the actual monuments are still visible on the ground. They are,
however, perpetuated on plans that have been filed in various government
offices.
1922
& 1925
Group 421 (Saskatchewan)
Manitoba Metals Co.
1923
Group 421 (Saskatchewan)
Cal McKay Exploration
1924
Group 421 (Saskatchewan) Flin Flon Mines & Dion Mines. His work in Manitoba, Group 271, was near the
Mafeking-Mossy River area, in Group 371 south of The Pas.
1926
Group 421, for
Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting Co. Ltd., in Manitoba. Claims for R.H. Chaning
Jr. on Schist Lake the Music Maker, Lot 690 Group 421
1933
A.G. Sleight Co.
in
Saskatchewan H.B.M.&S. Co. in Group 371
1934
Henning-Maloney
Gold Mines (Saskatchewan)
1935
Group 124, near Lac
du Bonnet area.
1936
In Saskatchewan for
Callinon-Flin Flon Mines. He did hundreds of claims in Group 421 (Manitoba)
1937
In Manitoba for
Mammoth Mining Co. plus many others
1938-1939
Many in Manitoba,
Groups 421 and 422
1939-1944
Many in Groups 421,
422, and 124
1941-1955
Hundreds for H.B.M.&S. in Groups 421 and 422. Some for Gunnar Gold Mines
1946
In Group 124 for
Petro Chromite Ltd. in Manitoba
1950
Group 73 P in
Saskatchewan for P.A. Prospector's Company in the La Ronge area.
1950-1953
Again hundreds of
claims including the Mystery Lake Mine for Canadian Nickel Co. in Groups 473
and 472
1956
Claim surveys for H.B.M.&S. in various areas
Intriguing to note
that in 1927,
Mr. Waldron surveyed a group of mineral claims into a single parcel,
covering 494 acres. (The survey of group claims did not come into
prominence, in Saskatchewan, until
1950.)
This plan was filed in the Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Land Titles Office
under plan number BQ 53. Many of the older mineral claim surveys were filed
in the various Land Titles Offices and are now on file in the Chief
Surveyor's Office in Regina. Another example of his early plans in Flin Flon
was his survey which surrounded the Tailings Disposal area for the mine. The
parcel was in Township 66 and 67 in Range 30 West Principle Meridian. The
plan covered parts of Ross Lake, Flin Flon Lake and the Flin Flon Creek, all
in Saskatchewan.
Mr. John Waldron was
born in Pine Grove, Ontario in 1872. His early education was in Toronto and
he taught school before attending the School of Practical Science in Toronto
where he graduated as a civil engineer. Upon graduation he was employed by
the H.&S.W. Railway Company in Nova Scotia. His next venture saw him as
the resident engineer with the Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto Railway on
the construction of electric railways in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario.
The West must have
beckoned John because he went to work for the Dominion Government on
township subdivision surveys in Western Canada, after receiving his
commission as a Dominion Land Surveyor in 1907. This lasted three years and
he decided to try his hand at private practice in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
It must have been rewarding since he stayed in this capacity for the rest of
his life. However, to be on your own you must obtain a provincial commission, which he did in
1910
and secured his Saskatchewan commission. Some of his work was in Alberta,
thus he wrote his Alberta examinations.
Many of the
surveyors who performed mineral claim surveys in the North prior to
1930
signed their plans as Dominion Land Surveyors. This came to a halt when the
federal government turned over their natural resources to the western
provinces.
It then became
necessary to secure your provincial commission if you expected to perform
mineral claim surveys. Mr. Waldron obtained his Manitoba right to practice
mineral claim surveys and other subdivisions within Manitoba in
1931.
The practical
attitude of old time surveyors is portrayed in one example towards
officialdom:
Mr. Waldron sent in
his 1939
Saskatchewan Land Surveyors' annual fee of $7.50 on a cheque that was filled
out in pencil. The Secretary-Treasurer refused to cash the cheque and
requested Mr. Waldron to send a new one made out in ink. The correspondence
indicated that Mr. Waldron eventually got around to sending a new cheque
when he got back to town, with the explanation that he had sent the first
cheque made out in pencil from his bush camp since ink was not available in
his camp at 30 below.
Mr. Waldron was a
member of the 27 Club in Flin Flon. This was an organization whose members
came to Flin Flon in
1927
or earlier. The members were all highly respected and widely known men. This
group would meet once a year to tell tall tales and renew friendships. They
would also lift their glasses in a toast to those members who had passed
away. As you can guess, the toasts grew in numbers as members went to the
great beyond. I understand that there were only two members left, as of
1993,
both living in Cranberry Portage. They were Mr. Sid Hudson and Mr. Algot
Mosell.
Source: Jack Webb in "Muskeg, Outcrops And 40
Below"
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Notable
- Also commissioned as a
Saskatchewan Land Surveyor
- Photo is an artist's rendition of Mr. Waldron
prepared from a poor photograph according to
Jack Webb in Muskeg, Outcrops and
40 Below
Places Named by/for
John Waldron
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