Back in the Bay Magazine

11/24/2025

Did you miss the Century of Sounds event on Sunday? Among the many performers, Bill Vrebosch sang his 'Duke the Toque' song written in 1972 for the North Bay Winter Fur Carnival

North Bay's oldest musical icons joined forces with youthful talent to mark the city's 100th birthday at the Capitol Centre, Sunday.A full slate of performer...

11/18/2025

Anybody remember the Shadfly-N-Bluegrass festival? Jana Brogan dug up an old hat from back in the day and sent a pic for the next magazine. She remembers going to an event at Lee Park and thinks it was 1980-81-ish.

11/15/2025

In honour of we are sharing a photo taken on the streets of North Bay with the North Bay CPR station in the background. This photo was taken on January 29, 1946 when soldiers from the Algonquin Regiment returned home in North Bay. Large crowds lined the street to mark the occassion.

11/07/2025

11/05/2025

Flashback to the 1970s: This photo was published in the Fall 2021 edition of Back in the Bay Magazine (No. 3 of 19 so far), part of Butch Blair's feature on the Hockey for Beginners roots nourished by his parents, John and Rose. The article attracted several new paid supporters, including Rex Hunter, one of the young players below. This is the email he sent the magazine to subscribe after receiving one of the free samples in West Ferris that year:
"Thanks for the great magazine! So many memories pop up when you see those old pictures and hear those stories about North Bay. The Tim Hortons that I believe became Woodies and so on and so on… So much great content. Thanks! I also got a bit of a kick while reading the story on Page 9 of Issue 3. I now fully remember Rose Blair stepping out from behind the canteen and grabbing a whistle like a Drill Sargent, confident and in control of 30 or 40 little kids trying to skate and turn and heaven forbid learn how to stop before crashing into the boards. Imagine all the time that she and her family put into giving all those young people a healthy, life molding activity week after week year after year. The young faces of the teen coaches who were up early on their Saturday mornings, guiding young people to take part in a spirit building team sport. (This should be a guide map for some young people today!) But hey, why do I remember all this so well… if I squint my aging eyes just enough I can make out a young version of myself In the first hockey jersey I ever owned. It was a hideous green and gold uniform with equally hideous purple and orange hockey socks. And if I look closely at the young faces of my teammates, the names start to come back to me. I can remember all the future teams we played on, the memories of growing up together at Marshall Park School, Silver Birches, and West Ferris. All those long lost memories of biking over to their houses, cruising around their neighborhoods, and finding cool places to explore. In seeing these pictures we make those connections to our pasts. A past we can thank many people for. I think they would be happy that all their hard work and effort made a future we can all feel proud about."
Rex Hunter

10/26/2025

This is the Nugget’s editorial department in 1981. At the time, the Nugget produced an average of 112 columns everyday. From left to right: Gary Ball, news editor; Randy Lucenti, district editor; Kurt Johnson, city editor; D. W. Robertson, wire news editor; Rosalie Little, family editor; Dave McLellan, assistant city editor; Betty Lamorie, swing editor; Gerry Desormeau, sports editor. Colin Vezina is at the desk!

10/26/2025

This North Bay Nugget article from 1939 provides a fascinating glimpse at life in North Bay in the 1880s with quotes from early settlers John Deegan and C.P.R. Engineer Thomas Turner. Bath water was purchased for fifteen cents a barrel!

10/07/2025

Only one day left until the free NORTH BAY 2 Northern Troubadours in Concert w/ special guest Rose Erin Stokes - North Bay Museum TOMORROW, October 7th, at the North Bay Museum! No tickets required.

Where better to hear songs and stories about the Algoma Rail Line and the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway than at a museum which was once a historic railway station itself?

Folk/Roots Singer-Songwriters Will Gillespie and Brian Tremblay are teaming up and hitting the road on tour across Northern Ontario during Ontario Culture Days in October 2025 to perform new, original songs in old, familiar styles, telling stories from different unsung chapters in the history of Northern Ontario, from their respective concept Folk albums:

"MINE! True Stories and Legends of the Porcupine Gold Rush"
(Will Gillespie) & "In the Tracks of the Black Bear" (Brian Tremblay).

Special guest, local North Bay Singer-Songwriter Rose Erin Stokes, will play a local opener / "tweener" mini-set between Brian Tremblay's Algoma Central Railway / Sault Ste Marie Train songs and Will Gillespie's storytelling song cycle about the local Folk heroes behind the legends of the Porcupine Gold Rush. She has graciously agreed to fill-in for Lynn Eckroth at the performances in North Bay and Kirkland Lake.

This tour is made possible thanks to the support of the Ontario Arts Council. No registration or tickets are required, simply arrive by/before 7pm on October 7th.

10/01/2025

If you want a lineup of North Bay Capitol Centre events, check out the inside back cover ad in the Fall and Summer editions!

09/28/2025

The North Bay Museum’s Haunted Hikes are filling up quickly, visit our website to reserve your spot (spaces still available October 3, 17, 24, and 31)!

This 60-minute downtown walking tour has been revamped to include true crime stories on top of our well-loved ghost tales, and will ensure visitors see North Bay in a whole new light. We start in our very own museum, the old Canadian Pacific Railway Station, where we chill you with stories that include sightings in our building! Then we venture into downtown towards the old Arcadian Grill, travel all the way down Main Street to the North Bay Court House, then make our way back to the museum. We’ll include haunting historic stories all along the way!

Reserve your spooky spot now for only $8 per person at https://www.northbaymuseum.com/shop/p/haunted-hike-ticket

09/26/2025

Proud to have Pellerin Painting as our 'Family Business with Roots" feature in the Fall Edition ... as part of the advertising collaboration, they have copies of our 19th edition to offer their customers. Congrats! Publisher Dave Dale has known the family through East Nipissing Vipers hockey for almost two decades and it is great to see the boys providing third generation energy to the business as it grows beyond its 68th year.