
Cover image from the 1926 Canadian Pacific Route to Europe dining car
Use with permission from the Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection held in the Rare Books and Special Collections, University of British Columbia Library, catalog number: CC-TX-282-022
Join The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society for our annual fundraiser and themed dinner at the Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel. This year's theme is the Railroads. Our speaker is Dr. Thomas Blampied.
Tickets:
$125 for 1 seat
$230 for 2 seats
$920 for a whole table (8 seats)
- Each ticket will include a tax receipt as a donation to the Society that helps fund this event and Museum operations. Single seats will get a tax receipt of $80.75 and for each multiple-seat ticket purchase $70.75 per seat.
Menu:
Based on an archival menu from a 1926 Canadian Pacific Route to Europe dining car menu.
**APPETIZER**
Fresh Sea Scallops With Gruyere
Cheese And Grilled Flatbread
**SOUP**
Cream of Lentil & Asparagus Topped With Creme Fraiche
**SALAD**
Waldorf Salad-Apple, Grapes, Celery, Raisins And Diced Chicken Tossed In Greek Yogurt Dressing On Bed Of Field Greens
**ENTREE**
Cambridge Sausage Bangers
Yukon Gold Mashed Potato Served With Burgundy Wine Glaze
Slivered Beef Sauteed With Carrot, Parsnip, Turnip, and Squash
Side - Baked Bean With Diced Pork Belly
**DESSERT**
English Plum Pudding With Hard Sauce
Coffee/Tea
Ice Water
Vegan Menu:
**APPETIZER**
Veggie Plate with Vegan Friendly Dip
**SOUP**
Broth Base Soup
**SALAD**
Waldorf Salad - Apple, Grapes, Celery, Raisins Tossed In Greek Yogurt Dressing On Bed Of Field Greens
**ENTREE**
Vegetarian Sausage
Yukon Gold Mashed Potato Served With Burgundy Wine Glaze with Carrot, Parsnip, Turnip, and Squash
Side - Baked Beans
**DESSERT**
Ice Cream & Berries
Gluten Free Menu:
**APPETIZER**
Fresh Sea Scallops With Gruyere
Cheese & Grilled Flatbread (Gluten Free)
**SOUP**
Broth Base Soup
**SALAD**
Waldorf Salad-Apple, Grapes, Celery, Raisins And Diced Chicken Tossed In Greek Yogurt Dressing On Bed Of Field Greens
**ENTREE**
Quarter Roasted Chicken
Yukon Gold Mashed Potato Served With Burgundy Wine Glaze
Slivered Beef Sauteed With Carrot, Parsnip, Turnip, and Squash
Side - Baked Bean With Diced Pork Belly
**DESSERT**
Ice Cream & Berries
_______________
There will be a
cash bar available during the event.
Please contact reception@thunderbaymuseum.com with any dietary restrictions not found on the registration form.
Speakers:
Dr. Thomas Blampied

Presentation Description:
150 Years of Rail in Northern Ontario: What Railway Development Meant to Canada
In 1875, construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway began near Fort William. The transcontinental railway united the nascent Dominion of Canada, shoring up political unity, promoting trade, and fostering settlement. It’s difficult to overestimate the impact of the railway on Canada, but the popular understanding of Canadian railway history only scratches the surface. In this talk, Thomas Blampied takes a big-picture look at railway development in Northern Ontario and beyond. This is a story of environmental change, treaties, cultural encounters, and challenges that Canada still faces today. This talk will set the stage for a deep dive into what railways meant for the Lakehead region.
Bio:
Dr. Thomas Blampied’s life has revolved around railways. Born and raised in Toronto, he completed his BA in history at the University of York in the United Kingdom to be near the National Railway Museum and its railway studies program. He returned to Canada, completing his MA in history at the University of Toronto, where he focused on model trains. After a hiatus working for Canada’s largest model train manufacturer, he returned to the University of Toronto to complete his PhD in history. He ultimately studied the impact of railway development on Indigenous communities, focusing on the Ontario Northland Railway around Moosonee and Moose Factory. He is the author of four books on Ontario railway history, and his photography has been published on three continents.
W.P. Skrepichuk
Presentation Description:
Coming of Railways to Northwestern Ontario from 1875
This image-rich presentation is a chronological record of railway construction and the early operations, focusing primarily on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
Topics covered will use rare local images along the Lake Superior north shore, highlighting construction of bridges, rock cuts and tunnels using the skills and willpower of surveyors, navvies, quarrymen, and dynamite.
Maps of routes and chronology of all railways running west and east through our area will be shown.
The Canadian Lakehead played a vital geographic role, where “Wheels and Keels” met to move and transfer commodities like grain from the west, often as a backhaul for coal and other goods from the east. Like many Canadian immigrant families, this author’s ancestors were brought here by the CPR from eastern Europe as prairie homesteaders and railway labourers to build this nation.
This presentation will focus on information from contemporary construction reports, journals, maps, and recent rare recorded interviews with local steam engine “hoggers” all knit together using rare rich images.
Bio:
W.P. Skrepichuk is an award-winning published author willing to share his passion and excitement for local and regional resource history in the Thunder Bay area. He is a retired professional engineer after thirty years working in the Nipigon Bay area of Lake Superior and is now doing research on the history of early industries at the Lakehead and along the north shore of Lake Superior. Most of his recent research work has been published in local newspapers and in Papers & Records, the journal of The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society.
Fundraising Activities:
Bring your cash.
This year, there will be an exciting 50/50 draw and opportunities to buy tickets for other games.
Sponsorship Opportunities:
If you would like to make an additional donation to the Society to sponsor this event and offset expenses such as the guest speaker(s) travel costs, the raffle, or other overhead costs, please visit the link below and select A Taste of History or by calling 807-623-0801. Please put in the comments what you would like to sponsor, and the person or organization should be listed as a sponsor in the official program and communications about the event.
https://thunderbaymuseum1.wildapricot.org/Donate-Now