I’m in a cafe in Kenora, home of the 1907 Stanley Cup champions, the Kenora Thistles. Turns out this is the smallest community to have ever won a major sports title.
Wikipedia also tells me that Kenora had an outrageous bank robbery in 1973 when some dude walked in wearing a bunch of explosives wired to a clothespin that he held open with his mouth. When he exited the bank a police sniper shot him, the clothespin closed, and the man blew up!
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenora,_Ontario
Kenora’s a beautiful place. It’s nice having trees again after being in the prairies. The scenery in Ontario so far is pretty amazing. To get into Kenora I had to cross a bridge over Lake of the Woods and I got to look out over this huge lake dotted with small islands that had cottages nestled in the trees.
I’m having a bite at the HoJoe Coffee and Books place before I head on to Thunder Bay. I expect I’ll hit there tomorrow sometime. I’m planning to check out Fort William and, on Shanman’s recommendation, the Terry Fox Memorial.
re: clothspin = brilliant!
I’m thoroughly enjoying your play by play of the trip – keep it coming! It’s neat to hear some of the random history of the various communities you’re heading through
Wow, I had totally forgotton about the great Kenora bank robbery of ’73. I remember visting Kenora with the ‘rents in 1974, and a restaurant had a wall of photos from the event. And I don’t think I’ve thought about that since, 34 years later. God bless the internet.(Finch, American Pie)
and Huskie the Muskie! A great (north) American tradition of building giant… things. The Sudbury Nickle, the Vulcan Alberta Enterprise, Vegrevill’s giant Easter Egg, Duncan’s hockey stick….
Don’t forget the worlds largest tepee in Medicine Hat!
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/