—GOING OVER THE TOP“ THE NORTH BAY NUGGET‘S IMPACT ON THE NIPISSING DISTRICT VICTORY BOND CAMPAIGNS DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
RORY CURRIE
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY
NIPISSING UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES NORTH BAY, ONTARIO
© Rory Currie October 2011
I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this Major Research Paper.
I authorize Nipissing University to lend this Major Research Paper to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research.
I further authorize Nipissing University to reproduce this thesis or dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purposes of scholarly research.
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Abstract
This paper examines the role of the North Bay Nugget in the Nipissing
District Victory Bond campaigns of the Second World War. By considering the monopoly that Nugget Publishers Limited had within the district, the influence of the daily newspaper on the local home front war effort is assessed. It is argued that the Nugget performed three roles in the Victory Bond campaigns. Firstly, the
Nugget promoted the nine national Victory Bond campaigns and urged its readership to purchase generously. Secondly, the Nugget was a medium for businesses and local merchants to engage in civic advocacy, especially advertising advocacy. Consequently, while advocating the sale of bonds, these local businesses were able to further advance their own varying self interests.
Thirdly, the Nugget encouraged community solidarity amongst Nipissing District citizenry for the purposes of advancing the war effort, specifically the Victory
Bond drives. Taken together, the three roles performed by the Nugget were paramount to the success of each drive within the city of North Bay and the
Nipissing District.
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Acknowledgments
I offer my deepest sense of gratitude to my primary and secondary advisors, professors Françoise Noël and Robin Gendron. Their valuable input and patient guidance has made this Major Research Paper possible. Further thanks are extended to the entire faculty of the Nipissing University History
Department. Having been enrolled at the university in both graduate and undergraduate studies, I have had the pleasure of studying under most of the faculty members. It is to their credit that I have been moulded into the historian I am today. To my fellow masters students, many thanks. Although our journey was long and challenging, we persevered. I shall always think back to our camaraderie with great fondness and cheer. I also wish to thank my external advisor Dr. John Allison from the Schulich School of Education, Research and
Graduate Studies Coordinator Sarah Clermont, Nipissing’s ever so competent librarian staff, and the councillors of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program.
Their combined support has helped me fulfill my goal of writing a scholarly paper on the history of my beloved hometown. Lastly, my family and friends deserve recognition. They provided aid and comfort when required, but more often than not, they were simply kind enough to smile and listen to my disjointed ramblings about Victory Bonds and local history.
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Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Historiography 14
Methodology 20
Role One: Promoting the Drives 28
Role Two: A Medium For Civic Advocacy 37
Role Three: Promoting Solidarity 45
Conclusion 58
Bibliography 61
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List of Tables
Figure One: Nipissing District Victory Bond Purchases 27
Figure Two: North Bay Victory Bond Purchases 27
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With the dawning of September, 1939, the whole character of our life and living changed. No one who has not lived through that period can conceive of the tensions, emotional upheaval and surcharge of frantic energy of this period.
Taken from the official history booklet of the Dr. Herbert A. Bruce Chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, 1968, North Bay.
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Introduction
At the turn of the twentieth century, Northern Ontario was commonly referred to as New Ontario. In pursuit of “the national dream,” the Fathers of
Confederation had successfully lobbied for the construction of a vast railway network connecting the entire Dominion from sea to sea.1 Consequently, the railways opened up Northern Ontario to Canadian and European settlers, regrettably displacing the indigenous populations in the process. It was in 1882 that the Canadian Pacific Railway established a divisional point in the fledgling settlement at present day North Bay. Lying west of the CPR divisional point at
Chalk River, North Bay was the logical choice for a railroad settlement because the locomotives needed a refuel of wood every 120 miles.2 As a result, North
Bay’s population ballooned to 1,726, and the village was subsequently designated as a town in 1891. As early as 1910, North Bay was described as the
“Gateway of the North” because the community was a junction point.3 The CPR from the west, and the Grand Trunk Railway from the south both converged onto
North Bay. Additionally, after its completion in 1905, the Temiskaming and
Northern Ontario Railway stretched 110 miles north of the town to the farming and mining settlements on Lake Temiskaming.4 The region was officially and generally referred to as “New Ontario” because the land had only recently been incorporated into Ontario’s jurisdiction in 1884. The name also reflected the
1 Pierre Berton, The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1970), 2. 2 Michael Barnes, Gateway City: The North Bay Story (North Bay: North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce Publisher, 1982), 4. 3 Wilston Steer, Boosting The Bay (North Bay: North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce Publisher, 1994), 56. 4 Robert J. Surtees, The Northern Connection: Ontario Northland Since 1902 (North York: Captus Press, 1992), 9. 2 province’s economic expansion northwards, and the notion of frontiers.5 North
Bay was the gateway of New Ontario because the local region had long been the site of First Nations and European trade routes, and was geographically “the obvious means of access to the lands north of the Great Lakes.”6
In 1939, North Bay was still characteristically the “Gateway of the North.”
The town had grown into a city of nearly 16,000, but had not yet amalgamated with the surrounding communities of Widdifield or West Ferris. The economy revolved around the railways, employing many Canadians of non British decent.
When Parliament declared war against Nazi Germany, the population of Ontario was 3.8 million strong; Franco Ontarians made up 10 percent of the population, while Italians consisted of a mere 1.6 percent.7 But according to the 1941 census, North Bay had a French community numbering 3,939 (25 percent), and an Italian Canadian population of 828, or 5.6 percent.8 Not surprisingly, the comparatively large French and Italian populations, in addition to segments of the
Irish community, created a strong Roman Catholic presence within North Bay, equalling 44.4 percent of the total population (6,933).9 The economy and ethnic makeup of North Bay was of a distinctly “New Ontario” character, which is made all the more apparent in the local newspaper, the North Bay Nugget.
A.G. Davie founded the North Bay Nugget, originally titled the Cobalt
Nugget, in 1907. Mr. Davie printed the newspaper in North Bay and shipped the
5 Surtees, 1. 6 Ibid. 7 Terry Copp, “Ontario 1939: The Decision For War,” Ontario History Vol. 86, 3 (1994): 270. 8 Françoise Noël, Family and Community Life in Northeastern Ontario: The Interwar Years (Montréal: McGill Queen's University Press, 2009), 32. 9 Noël, 31. 3 weekly editions up to the mining community via the Temiskaming and Northern
Ontario Railway.10 The newspaper changed ownership a few times until finally being purchased in 1922 by William E. Mason, who transformed the struggling paper into the twice weekly North Bay Nugget. In addition to subscription dues, the venture depended on selling advertising space, and using the printing press for special freelance work, which often consisted of wedding invitations. Mason transformed the Nugget into a daily in 1941, on account of the increasing demand for wartime news. He did the same with the Sudbury Star, which he also owned. By 1945, the Nugget reached 7,400 households in North Bay and district,
six days a week.
A printer by trade, William E. Mason came to Sudbury in January 1909
and took up the position of foreman at the newly created Daily Northern Star.
Within six months, the struggling newspaper was on the brink of closure. Mason
took over the ownership and management of the daily after he secured financial
support from “ten prominent men who each contributed $3,000 to keep the paper
alive.”11 Mason reorganized the newspaper in April 1910, transforming it into the twice a week Sudbury Star, which would subsequently become a trice weekly in
1935 and a full daily in September 1939. Mason was obviously an astute and
well connected entrepreneur. Given his experience and his circle of influential
friends, he took over ownership of the Nugget and used the same formula that
was simultaneously proving successful with the Star.
10 John R. Hunt, “A Brief History – The North Bay Nugget.” Accessed April 16, 2011. http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplayGenContent.aspx?e=3616 11 “The Sudbury Star.” Accessed October 10, 2011. http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=1270827 4
It was this sense of practicality and shrewdness that persuaded Mason to force the resignation of Nugget editor Eddie Bunyan in 1940 after he had published a controversial article complementing the appearance and behaviour of German POWs. In his place, Mason replaced Bunyan with C.M. Fellman. The new young editor had been working for the Nugget since his days in high school, and he would continue to serve as editor for nearly four decades. Fellman had tried to enlist in the navy in 1939 but was rejected because of poor eyesight.12
Nevertheless, he treated his role as editor at the Nugget as an alternative avenue for him to showcase his sense of patriotism. Mason also promoted the compositor J.F. Grainger to the manager position in 1940. Grainger was a highly regarded citizen within the community, and could allegedly walk down Main
Street and greet every merchant by his first name.13 His leadership at the Nugget was said to inspire a strong sense of loyalty amongst the staff.
During the course of the war, the bonds of camaraderie at the Nugget were strengthened by the demanding workload, the charismatic leadership, and an understanding that their efforts had a direct impact on the home front and the war itself. For example, journalist Betty Lamorie often accompanied the telegraph boys who were responsible for informing the families of dead servicemen.
Because she often knew the killed servicemen personally and had attended school with them, she would comfort the grieving family, acquire a photo, and then type up a heartfelt obituary.14 Such efforts garnered the Nugget much admiration from within the community. At the end of the war, when Mason was
12 Hunt. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 5 contemplating retirement, he and Grainger devised a plan to sell the newspaper to the employees rather than have it incorporated into the growing Thompson empire. The negotiations continued with Mason’s family after he had died in June
1948. For the price of $225,000, to be paid out through garnished wages over the course of the next decade, the Nugget became Canada’s only employee owned daily.15 This accomplishment proves just how dedicated and loyal the staff were to one another, and to the community as a whole.
For the Nugget staff, wartime news did not exclusively consist of front line battle reports, for the home front was also exhaustively covered. Under the management of J.F. Grainger, editor C.M. Fellman provided the readership a variety of material derived from the Associated Press, Government of Canada, and the Nugget‘s own original content. News worthy material was abundant during the nine national Victory Bond drives, held roughly every six months between June 1941 to November 1945. During the drives, the Nugget offered its readership numerous editorials explaining the importance of Victory Bonds, day to day tabulations of city and district sales, accounts of the drives at a provincial and national level, and a barrage of advertisements often created in Ottawa and subsequently sponsored by local merchants. The focus of this Major Research
Paper (MRP) is the role that the North Bay Nugget played during these separate drives. The goal is to explore the mutual relationship between this newspaper and the drives, which in turn will reflect on how the drives were perceived and experienced by the residents of North Bay and the Nipissing District.
15 Hunt. 6
In the words of one historian, Canada’s WWII Victory Bond drives were the equivalent to a “financial miracle.”16 The Canadian government first utilized war bonds in 1915. When it became apparent that the war wasn’t going to end
“by Christmas,” the government was faced with increasing revenue shortages.
The traditional means of taxation were insufficient, including tariffs, cigarette and alcohol taxes, and increased prices for postage stamps and railway tickets.17 The war bonds sold during the Great War were reminiscent of the bonds sold to finance the construction of the railways during the nineteenth century. However, the first three drives were disappointing; where British citizens subscribed to war bonds at a ratio of 1:23, by 1917, the ratio amongst Canadians was only 1:187.18
It was not until the fourth drive, under the management of the newly created
Dominion Publicity Committee, that revenue was improved, resulting in an impressive return of $4,136,000. The fourth drive was a success because
$163,000 was spent on newspaper advertising alone, in addition to the organized parades and fanfare.19 It was this propaganda approach that was used in the
Second World War.
After two lacklustre War Loan drives in 1940, the newly created National
War Finance Committee (NWFC) revamped the bond campaigns, changing the focus from targeting banks and investor groups, to targeting individual members
16 Wendy Cuthbertson, “Pocketbooks and Patriotism: The “Financial Miracle” of Canada’s World War II Bond Program” in Canadian Military History since the 17th Century, ed. Yves Tremblay. Proceedings of the Canadian Military History Conference, Ottawa, 5 9 May 2000. 17 Jeffery Keshen, Propaganda and Censorship During Canada Great War (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1996), 53. 18 Keshen, 54. 19 Ibid. 7 of the general public.20 With the committee in Ottawa directing the provincial and local efforts, the renamed Victory Bonds drives were a success. The number of subscribers to the Victory Bonds rose steadily, from 986 million in the first drive of the summer of 1941, to over two billion by the final drive four years later.21 By
1945, Canadians had raised 11.8 billion in nine separate drives. According to the
Bank of Canada, this sum is equivalent to $153,140,659,340.66 at the present
2011 value. In North Bay, the NWFC set a quota for the Nipissing District, and the local organizing committee set quotas for each community. In the First
Victory Bond drive, North Bay citizenry and firms “went over the top” and purchased a combined total of $914,600. For the last drive in autumn 1945, the community purchased $1,782,000. Cuthbertson argues that while patriotism was the primary explanation for such a surge, she stipulates that financial incentives were also important. Such motivations were fuelled by advertisements, with 25 percent of the NWFC posters by 1944 reminding Canadians of the financial rewards of Victory Bonds.22 For subscriptions ranging from $50 to $100,000, subscribers received 1.5 percent interest for short term, and 3 percent interest for long term loans.23 At any time the subscriber wished, the bonds could be cashed in at their face value. In short, for a nation experiencing full employment, Victory
Bonds were a sound investment.
Each bond drive had a different slogan and a higher quota objective. The propaganda advertisements from Ottawa were never duplicated, and the
20 Jeffrey Keshen, Saints, Sinners, and Soldiers: Canada‘s Second World War (Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 2007), 32. 21 Cuthbertson, 178. 22 Ibid., 179. 23 Keshen, Saints and Sinners, 31. 8
“justification” for purchasing the bonds changed over the course of the war. In
1941, the drives were framed within the context of the British Empire, expressing sentiments of King and country. After the raid on Dieppe in August 1942, the bond advertisements emphasised avenging the fallen. By October 1945,
Canadians were told to buy bonds in order to “Bring the boys home now” and prevent inflation. Without fail, the Nugget echoed these sentiments in their publications, but the newspaper did more than just simply regurgitate the official policies emanating from Ottawa.
As noted by historian Jeffrey Keshen, each drive “became the focus of much local pride.”24 Competitions were encouraged amongst communities, and
there was increased planning and fanfare for each successive drive. It is this
context of “local pride” that relates to the role of the media and Victory Loan
success. In advertisements, articles, and editorials, the North Bay Nugget staff
encouraged their readership to purchase bonds.
The Nugget was the driving force of the Victory Bond drives in North Bay
and the Nipissing District. The Nugget kept the region informed of the upcoming
drives, explained why each citizen had a duty to participate, and kept track of the
progress of the campaigns. Without the newspaper, the bond drives would have
been fundamentally different. Of the $30 million spent by the federal government
during the nine drives for promotion, the majority of those funds were spent on
large advertisements in practically every single daily, weekly, labour, business,
and ethnic newspaper and magazine across the country.25 Through the Nugget,
24 Keshen, Saints and Sinners, 33. 25 Ibid. 9 government advertisements persuaded people to purchase bonds, and in a similar fashion, local business paid for ads in the newspaper that echoed the same messages. For businesses, these acts of “advocacy advertising,” had promotional benefits, and were tax deductible also. In the process of promoting the drives, and being used as a medium for business advocacy advertising, the
Nugget subsequently also encouraged community solidarity on the basis that the
Victory Bond drives were an important war effort duty that transcended ethnic divisions.
The first role of the Nugget in the Victory Bond drives is the most straightforward. On average, for each of the nine campaigns, the staff would release ten separate editorials explaining why more bonds needed to be purchased. There was a constant flow of articles reporting on the progress of each drive in the Nipissing District and across the country. In the later campaigns, the editors actually held competitions between the communities within the district, thereby inciting friendly rivalries. With individual communities racing one another, the friendly contests drove up bond purchases. As a result, on a couple of occasions, the district purchased more bonds per capita than any other region in Ontario.26 In addition to excessive reporting, preachy editorials, and promotion of a “race/competition” atmosphere, the Nugget staff created their own advertisements, especially if sales were lagging. The most stirring ads consisted of portraits of North Bay servicemen who had since been killed in
26 “Issue Final Loan Results For the District of Nipissing,” North Bay Daily Nugget, May 22, 1944. 10 action. A caption above the portraits reminded the readership that their sons and neighbours’ sons were paying a much higher price.27
The Nugget‘s second role revolved around its use as a medium by local merchants and businesses. During the nine Victory Bond drives, various local businesses paid for advertisements that encouraged bond sales, but also served as self promotion, naturally. There were three movie theatres in North Bay during the war, and each of them hosted free movie nights to subscribers of Victory
Bonds. And to launch the beginning of a new drive, these theatres usually showcased new Hollywood war films. Such activities in relations to the drives were always published in the newspaper. Other businesses, from pharmacies to hardware stores, used the bond campaigns for purposes of self promotion. In one ad sponsored by D. L. Stern Custom Tailors, capital letters instructed the
Nugget readership to “INVEST IN VICTORY BONDS,” but that was not all.
Underneath the capital letters, a reminder stated “P.S. Ladies! Order Your
Winter Coat Now!”28 The Nugget also published flattering articles highlighting local businesses whenever their staff opted to have a percentage of their salary directed towards bond purchases. If 90 percent of employees garnished their wages, the company would receive a coveted V flag as an award from the
NWFC, and favourable publicity in a Nugget editorial. Likewise, the local CNR union often wrote letters to the editor reminding the readership that buying bonds was a patriotic duty. Evidently, Victory Bond campaigns presented opportunities for business promotion.
27 “We Will Not Forget” North Bay Daily Nugget, May 10, 1944. 28 D. L. Stern, letter to the editor, North Bay Daily Nugget, May 6, 1944. 11
The final role of the Nugget is perhaps the most interesting. As clearly written in the editorials, the official line of the Nugget was very pro military and war effort. And on the home front, the best way to aid in the war effort was to purchase Victory Bonds. Given this objective, the editors of the Nugget had an agenda of promoting community solidarity. On one page, an article would praise the efforts of the Women’s Catholic League, and on the next page, a Victory
Bond advertisement was sponsored by the local Orange Lodge. It just so happened that when Italy joined the allies against Nazi Germany in October
1943, the Fifth Victory Loan drive was underway. The editors at the Nugget did not fail to highlight this turn of events, claiming that North Bay’s local Italian community could now purchase bonds with the knowledge that they were serving both Canada and her newest ally, Italy.29 As previously stated, the drives provided a context for provincial and national competitions, and a sense of community pride. Thus, when the editorials encouraged Nipissing District residents to keep buying more bonds in order to retain the region’s tentative No.
1 position within all of Ontario, the language used was inclusive – labelling all residents as equals and patriotic.
Considering the three roles that the Nugget performed in the Victory Bond drives, the issue of propaganda is at the core of the discussion. Propaganda of the Second World War has been studied thoroughly in the Canadian context, including recruitment ads, National Film Board productions, and war posters. But
29 “Italians Support War Loan” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 28, 1943. 12 often the term “propaganda” is perceived as negative.30 People decry propaganda as the tool of dictators, oppressive regimes, and the “enemy.”
Usually people understand propaganda to be negative, essentially lies and misinformation forced upon oppressed citizenry. Rejecting such connotations, I equate propaganda as “advertising,” and more specifically, as “civic advocacy,” to incorporate the terminology of Paul Rutherford. The terms “propaganda” and
“advertising” are equivalent, except “advertising” does not invoke the same negative connotations in peoples’ mind. A form of advertising, “civic advocacy” entails an authority (government, religious, corporate, celebrity) persuading the general public to either accept a “public good” (such as encouraging people to vote in elections) and/or inform people about “social risks” (unprotected sex).
From this perspective, the Nugget‘s role in the Victory Bond drives is about as sinister as MADD commercials or Farm Aid concerts.
Advocacy, just like propaganda, is all about public persuasion. This simple and straightforward statement is a guiding principle for this paper. Advocacy is public, which means that a newspaper is a logical primary source for historical analysis of the Victory Bond drives. A newspaper is a “public site,” a discourse that reflects greater society.31 Similar to city council debates or parades, newspapers are a forum for persuasion. Examining these “public sites” enables historians to uncover how peoples’ perceptions of the drives were created, and
30 Paul Rutherford, Endless Propaganda: The Advertising of Public Goods (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000), xiv. 31 Robert Rutherdale, Hometown Horizons: Local Responses to Canada‘s Great War (Vancouver Toronto: University of British Columbia Press, 2004), xiv. 13 how these perceptions manifested into behaviour – the purchasing of Victory
Bonds.
The success of the nine Victory Bond campaigns in North Bay and the
Nipissing District can be attributed to many different factors. As Figure 1 and
Figure 2 shows, subscriptions rose within the city and district over the course of the war. This steady increase in subscriptions reflects the fact that a wartime economy eliminated unemployment and increasingly gave people a disposable income. People also subscribed because of their sense of patriotism, or fear of experiencing the horrors underway in Europe and Asia. In North Bay alone, over
3,000 sons and daughters served in the armed forces, ensuring that every civilian on the home front had a personal connection with at least one soldier or auxiliary personnel.32 In the media and on the radio, there was a barrage of celebrities urging everyone to make sacrifices, work together, and fulfill their duties. The Nugget itself was a crucial component to the local drives, and considering the three roles that this newspaper performed during the Victory
Bond drives, this partially explains why the North Bay and Nipissing District drives were so successful.
The existence and subsequent success of these three roles was predetermined by one specific circumstance: the Nugget was the only meaningful newspaper in the region. This monopoly ensured that dissenting opinions were largely unheard, that businesses and politicians had to cooperate with the newspaper rather than negotiate or challenge it, and that the Nugget stood to profit even more as the war progressed. Changing from a tri weekly to a daily
32 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, October 16, 1943. 14 over the course of the war, the Nugget had to accommodate a readership as diverse as the Nipissing District citizenry. Given that the Nugget lacked competition, this position afforded the newspaper many advantages, but also responsibilities, especially with regard to the war effort. The reason why the three roles existed, and indeed why they were so effectively practiced, derives from the monopoly.
Historiography
Considering that over one million servicemen were recruited into the
Armed Forces between 1939 and 1945, it is hardly surprising that the Second
World War is exhaustively represented in the Canadian historiography. The demands of total war resulted in a reorganization of industry, agriculture, and government. All of these efforts were financed through the sale of Victory Bonds, as were soldier mobilization, armaments manufacturing, and international aid.
Given the necessity of Victory Bond contributions, a private army of bureaucrats and volunteers was required to coordinate and execute the nine national drives.
Despite the vigour and dedication of the abovementioned personnel, all efforts would have been nullified had it not been for the strategic involvement of newspapers. To assess the role of the Nugget in the Victory Bond drives, the pertinent secondary source materials consists of home front, community, and propaganda/advocacy/media scholarship.
Beginning with Canadian home front scholarship, this paper relies heavily on Serge Marc Durflinger’s 2006 monograph Fighting From Home: The Second 15
Would War in Verdun, Quebec. Durflinger wrote a case study about his bicultural hometown. He argues that the demands of total war had the effect of instilling social cohesiveness, thus breaking down ethnic boundaries.33 The French and
English communities worked together towards common goals – Victory Bond campaigns, cigarette drives, and sending care packages to the crew of HMS
Verdun. The author emphasizes that French Canadien Verdunites approved of the war effort, sharing a “united” front with their English speaking neighbours.
Dismissing previous historians who have questioned Quebec’s support of the war, Durflinger states that most residents “seemed to participate in the war effort from a sense local identity.”34 Hence, for Verdunites, their local identity (a shared acceptance of living in a bicultural community) consequently encouraged most residents to support the home front war effort. For Durflinger, approaching the topic from a local history perspective, rather than a broad national narrative, was the lens to enable such an unprecedented thesis. Given the prevalence of both
Anglophone and Francophone communities in both North Bay and Verdun,
Durflinger’s argument seems very applicable to this paper. Even his primary sources, newspapers and city council minutes, are similar to the sources utilized in this paper.
Predating Durflinger’s work, Jeffrey Keshen’s Saints, Sinners, and
Soldiers is a thorough examination of the Canadian war effort. He makes an argument that while the home front was consistently an arena for patriotism and home front dedication, there were still enclaves of resistance, notably amongst
33 Serge Marc Durflinger, Fighting From Home: The Second World War in Verdun, Quebec (Vancouver Toronto: University of British Columbia Press, 2006), 4. 34 Durflinger, 5. 16
French Canadiens, and that additionally, many people arbitrarily suffered:
Japanese Canadians, POWs, unionized labour organizers, and others. Keshen’s monograph is a contribution to an already well established historiography, which increasingly includes social history perspectives investigating aspects of gender, race, and class in connection to the Canadian home front. While historian Marlene Epp discusses the hardships of pacifist Mennonites and their struggle to contribute to the Allies cause, Ruth Roach Pierson, D.G. Forestell, and Joan Sangster have examine the involvement of women in the workplace.
These key authors provide context. Such home front literature is important because the various Victory Bond posters published in the Nugget reflect the societal changes that people perceived as attributable to the demands of total war. These societal changes were manifested in poster depictions of female employment, Christian morality, or even food rationing.
The last home front monograph referenced throughout this paper is
Robert Rutherdale’s Hometown Horizons. Taking on a comparative approach,
Rutherdale examines three Canadian home fronts during the First World War. He argues that the citizens’ did not construct their personal perception of the war on account of the battles raging in Europe, or the rhetoric and propaganda issued from Ottawa. Rather, their perceptions were created as a result of local experiences – being canvassed by Victory Bond salesmen, reading the editorials of community newspapers, or observing a military parade. Most Canadians were subject to very similar local experiences, and they formed similar perceptions of 17 the war, thus creating a national home front in Canada.35 Using the “local evidence” from “public sites” to explain the perceived national war effort is a theoretical framework that is transferable to this paper’s examination of the
Nugget and its role in the Victory Bond drives.
An analysis of any local home front will raise questions pertaining to the conception of “community.” Communities are often defined by conflicting criteria
– some careless scholars do not even consider the parameters of community; rather, they assume the meaning of “community” is self explanatory.36 The word
“community” is a loaded term because it can embody different meanings and is open to interpretations. Scholars have determined community by ethnic qualifications (people of a same faith or language), by physical boundaries
(geographic, or manmade borders), and in civic terms (people who adhere to the same societal principles on peace, law, and government). Historians John C.
Walsh and Steven High address these contradictory definitions in their collaborative article “Re thinking Community.” They define community as social interactions characterized as a process, never static, and imagined.37
The notion of an “imagined community” is attributed to Benedict Anderson, an author who dominates the scholarship on nationalism. In his Imagined
Communities, Anderson defines a “nation” as an imagined political community because although citizens feel a sense of connection with their fellow inhabitants, they nevertheless do not actually know most of the people that make up the
35 Rutherdale, xiii. 36 John C. Walsh, Steven High, “Rethinking the Concept of Community,” Histoire Sociale/Social History Vol. 32, 64 (1999): 226. 37 Walsh and High, 226. 18 nation. Also, people only understand their community by having a conception of foreign nations, the “other.”38 Anderson has been influential, but I am more inclined to use Robert Rutherdale’s definition. In his monograph on the Canadian home fronts during the Great War, Rutherdale, incorporating military historian
Jay Winter’s theory, states that while the nation may be imagined, the local is experienced.39 The reason why I adhere to Rutherdale over Anderson is because in a local context, it is possible for people to know and interact with most of their peers. Hence, the local is more experienced than imagined.
For an understanding of how the local experience is shaped, Jeffrey
Keshen’s 1996 Propaganda and Censorship is essential reading. While this particular monograph focuses on the Great War, it is nevertheless relevant because many of the propaganda techniques utilized in Canada’s first experience of total war were subsequently duplicated in the WWII context. The material Keshen covers includes governmental regulations, jingoist mentalities, the original War Loan campaigns, and the compliancy of the press. The author argues that propagandists were able to exploit the jingoist leanings of the press to an advantage, effectively presenting a highly romanticized version of the warfront to the public. As a result, the people perpetuated these romanticisms during the war, but the general public’s interpretations of the war became more rooted in rationality after the fighting stopped. In this regard, Keshen’s book is an intriguing study of Canadian war propaganda, but it also helps establish the
38 Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1983), 6. 39 Rutherdale, xxi. 19 historical context of 1939 and the lack of public enthusiasm for another European war.
Gary Evans’ political biography of John Grierson, Canada’s top propagandist artist during the war, complements Keshen’s work on propaganda.
While he was known for his work with the National Film Board, Grierson was also a prolific visual artist, including Victory Bond ads. Evans discusses a complex array of politics, censorship, numerous committees and boards. He explains the emergence of the National War Finance Committee in 1941, Prime Minister
King’s decision to replace the Bureau of Public Information with the Wartime
Information Board in 1942, and the shift from War Loan drives to Victory Bond drives. Evans proves that the bureaucracy of propaganda was never static, and he argues that Grierson’s propaganda advocated for a “better world,” sentiments that became unpopular at 24 Sussex once the war had ended.40 Much of Evans’ research relates to backroom dealings within wartime Ottawa. However, the decisions of bureaucrats and propagandists would have reverberated outward to the local home fronts.
The available scholarly material on WWII Victory Bonds (and propaganda in general) has been exclusively based within the national context. The works of
Wendy Cuthbertson and Bonita Bray provide an excellent overview of the drives, but they do not discuss in detail any one particular community. Cuthbertson attests that the drives were very successful, and that a prime motivation for the public’s involvement was financial reward. With regard to propaganda, Bray
40 Gary Evans, John Grierson and the National Film Board: Politics of Wartime Propaganda (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984), 14. 20 argues that the campaign posters were not static, thus changing in mood and presentation to reflect the happenings of the war. Both authors discuss how the government used various means to persuade Canadians into purchasing Victory
Bonds. This paper, focusing on a specific local community, will enhance the historiography and build upon Cuthbertson and Bray’s research.
Methodology
In this paper, the North Bay Nugget is used as the primary source,
although materials from City Hall, the North Bay Public Library, and the National
Archives were also considered in the preliminary stages. To reflect my use of this
particular primary source, the MRP research question has evolved from a broad
discussion of “How successful were the North Bay Victory Bond drives,” to “What
was the role of the Nugget in the North Bay Victory Bond drives.” This study
adheres to the principles of a case study.41 Hence, while my research focuses on the Nugget‘s role in the North Bay drives, it is also an investigation of the role of local newspapers in small community home front activities, and its findings would be applicable to other similar communities.
There were nine separate Victory Bond drives in Canada during the
Second World War. Rather than adhere to a sampling formula (only examine
41 Donald M. MacRaild, Avram Taylor, Social Theory and Social History (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2004), 157. Case studies can be deployed in a number of academic disciplines, including social sciences, history, economics, and business. Generally, they involve a detailed examination of a single person, community, or institution. Ideally, the findings of a case study are unique because they are specific as opposed to the more generalized conclusions that are prevalent in studies with a wider scope. Furthermore, the findings of one case study can enhance our understanding of a larger issue, such as Canada’s home front during WWII, and be representative of similar persons, communities, or institutions.
21 every other drive, or only focus on the front page headlines, or just the opening and closing weeks of each drive) I decided to examine the full coverage of these drives in the Nugget. I assessed the coverage (articles, editorials, and advertisements) for their content, but I also took into account their position in the newspaper (front page material vs. the less relevant back pages), whether or not the material was written specifically for the North Bay region or if it was merely a duplication from other outlets, and if letters to the editor were subsequently published in response to previous Nugget material.
It was also important to consider whether the Nugget adhered to the principles of a weekly or a daily. These two different types of newspapers played different roles in society and likewise were not treated similarly by the Wartime
Information Board. As described by Paul Voisey in his 2004 monograph High
River and the Times: An Alberta Community and its Weekly Newspaper, 1905-
1966, the role of the weekly was to report exclusively on local affairs. Since most recipients of a weekly also received a daily throughout the week, these customers were exposed to up to date national/international news. Another characteristic of a weekly newspaper publication was the explicit absence of controversy, including partisan favouritism or divisive issues – because of customer scarcity and the inevitably low profits, a weekly paper could not afford to offend even a marginal portion of its readership. Finally, given the abovementioned restrictions, a weekly paper never informed; rather, the weekly only confirmed what the community already knew.42
42 Paul Voisey, High River and the Times: An Alberta Community and its Weekly Newspaper, 1905-1966 (Edmonton: University of Alberta, 2004), 3. 22
It is important to consider whether or not the Nugget adhered to the daily or weekly archetype. When the Nazis crossed over into Poland in September
1939, the Nugget was a tri daily paper – Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays.
Perhaps reflecting the surge of “news” that only a world war can generate, North
Bay’s newspaper transformed into a daily (restyling the name to The North Bay
Daily Nugget). Notwithstanding the war, North Bay’s population had also steadily increased over the first half of the twentieth century, achieving city status in
1925, and boasting a population of 16,000 when Canada declared war. Also worth consideration, the Nugget was sold throughout the Nipissing District, even in smaller communities that had their own weekly newspaper. Regarding the news coverage, a 1943 letter was sent to the editor of the High River Times complimenting the newspaper’s focus on local events, claiming it was a relief to look over the front page without seeing references to the war.43 The Nugget by comparison never failed to have several war related articles on the front page, in thick headline font no less.
It is apparent that the Nugget was a daily. In each Saturday edition, the
Nugget had a section for each of the surrounding communities: Callander,
Mattawa, Kiosk, Cache Bay, and even Temiskaming. Also worth considering, the editors did not shy away from controversy – engaging in a very open battle against City Hall and the North Bay Police Department. However, the difference between the Nugget as compared to a Toronto publication, when City Hall wanted to fight back, the only medium at their disposal was the Nugget. In this
43 Voisey, 16. 23 regard, I think the Nugget displayed many characteristics of a mass media syndicate, but was rooted in a local context.
There are different theories regarding the use and interpretation of newspaper publications as primary source material for historical analysis.
Traditionally, historians have interpreted newspapers purely on the basis of content analysis (taking what is written at face value and not applying any deconstruction techniques). But as Rutherford states, strict content analysis creates historical accounts that are disjointed and muddled, or in other words,
“one damn thing after another.”44 Also, strict content analysis has the tendency to generate historical accounts that explain everything, or rather, that give off an impression that everything is explained even though such scholarship is impossible.45 For Rutherford, historians need to apply a theory in order that they have a framework which prevents the two common faults of strict content analysis.
Although there are numerous methodological theories that are used by social and cultural historians in their approach to newspaper analysis, I found two specific frameworks most relevant. Firstly, the theory of “public sites” has proven very valuable in conceptualizing the Nugget‘s function within the community, and the contributions local history can make to Canada’s home front historiography.
Secondly, Gerald Friesen theorized that there are four different eras of communication within Canadian history: the oral histories of the First Nations
44 Paul Rutherford, “Encounters With Theory,” in Communicating in Canada‘s Past: Essays in Media History, ed. Gene Allen and Daniel J. Robinson (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009), 285. 45 Ibid. 24 peoples, the textual sources of settler societies (diaries, church records), print capitalist national societies, and screen capitalist national societies. He argues that understanding the mode of communication is a window to understanding the development of our perception of Canadian society.46 However, for the purpose of this MRP, his theories on print capitalism are relevant. Friesen argues that the mode of communication changed in the late nineteenth century with the emergence of the railway and daily newspapers that were more professional in their reporting, rather than simply being mouthpieces for political parties. The theory of press capitalism is formulated on a few facts. People were required to become literate in order to experience the new forum of communication, it was profit driven, and that innovation and new technologies were encouraged.47 This one methodological approach to newspaper analysis, using the framework of capitalism, is applicable to my interests regarding the Nugget‘s monopoly within the Nipissing District.
With all of this information taken into account, the entire collection of
Nugget Victory Bond material was reassessed. In the process, I prioritized the numerous articles/editorials/advertisements as either relevant or less relevant.
The former was further categorized into three sections, one for each of the three roles that the Nugget performed during the nine Victory Bond drives. Editorials were considered the most relevant because they represent the official “line” or opinion of the newspaper, while individual articles can theoretically simply be the exclusive opinion or bias of the journalist. The less relevant material consisted of
46 Gerald Friesen, Citizens and Nation: An Essay on History, Communication, and Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000), 5. 47 Ibid., 138. 25 the day to day updates of the drives. Such articles simply presented the most recent sales tabulations and offered little insight or opinion on the actual developments of the drives, other than whether or not the city and district citizenry were on course to meet the assigned Victory Bond quotas.
The use of newspapers has limitations. There are questions of media bias and objectivity, and whether or not the newspaper actually reflects the general opinions of the community. Also, it is debated by some deconstructionist scholars that it is impossible to accurately comprehend any primary source because historians are incapable of perceiving the material as it would have been perceived by the author. Regarding the Nugget, it is an English language publication serving a multicultural district.48 There are many components of the district that are unrepresented or underrepresented within the Nugget, notably the complete lack of discussion regarding the First Nations peoples and their experiences of the Victory Bond drives. So, one needs to be wary of overzealous editors who do not represent the community as a whole, of journalists
48 Evelyne Massa, Morton Weinfeld, “‘We Needed to Prove We Were Good Canadians’: Constructing Paradigms For Suspect Minorities,” Canadian Issues / Thèmes Canadiens (Sping2009): 18. Undoubtedly, some local French Canadians subscribed to the Ottawa based francophone newspaper Le Droit. The number of subscriptions within the Nipissing District is unknown, and nevertheless, the Nugget still reached 90 percent of the households. Furthermore, I have no knowledge of any Italian language newspaper within the district at this time. However, all Italian fascist and communist publications were outlawed in 1939. Also, sociologists Massa and Weinfeld observes that upon Italy’s entry into the war in June 1940, the local Italian population experienced a sense of identity crisis regarding their Italian heritage and their desire to be loyal Canadian citizens. Consequently, “community building that had been in progress for fifty years [was derailed], and resulted in the rapid atrophy of the community’s major institutions.” Although the author was focusing on the Italian Canadian communities in Toronto and Montreal, these observations still bears weight in the Nipissing District context because many of these challenges were prevalent nationwide. Italian Canadian institutions and publications were either terminated or stunted during the war, and simultaneously, these “enemy aliens” experienced discrimination and accusations of disloyalty. In short, an Italian language equivalent to the Nugget or Le Droit did not exist during the war in the Nipissing District.
26 sensationalizing the news in effort to sell more copies, and of the inherent limitations of ‘freedom of the press’ during wartime. Nevertheless, the Nugget is a
“public site,” making it a logical primary source in an examination of persuasion at the local level. And on this point, there is finally the question of whether or not local history can contribute to the greater historiography. While such case studies can suffer from tunnel vision, so can national narratives.
27
Figure 1: Nipissing District Victory Bond Purchases
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000 Nipissing Quota 1,500,000 Nipissing Results
1,000,000
500,000
0
Source: Derived from the North Bay Daily Nugget, 1941-1945.
Figure 2: North Bay Victory Bond Purchases
2,000,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 North Bay Quota 1,000,000 800,000 North Bay Results 600,000 400,000 200,000 0
Source: Derived from the North Bay Daily Nugget, 1941-1945. 28
Role One: Promoting the Drives
The September 22 1941 edition of the North Bay Daily Nugget exhibited a self promotional ad on the third page. The caption began with a short paragraph describing an ordinary couple that live on an ordinary street. To stay informed, they trust their local daily newspaper because “the newspapers prime function is the presentation of news, quickly impartially completely.” In bold lettering, the take home message is that “the newspaper is the sentinel of democracy a free press is the voice of a free people.”49 Although the ad bears the name of the
Nugget at the bottom of the writing, the purposely non specific language used in the caption suggests that this ad was simply republished from a previous source.
Given that the ad stresses the fact that the couple live on “____ street” and rely on the “____ Daily,” the ad was probably produced by the Canadian Press, or the
Canadian Daily Newspaper Association; Nugget Publishers Limited was a member of both organizations.
The ad undoubtedly was created in retaliation against the Bureau of Public
Information – the chief censoring apparatus in the federal government. Under the direction of Walter Thompson, the bureau typically chose the available wartime information for journalists, and provided the press with government educational material. The bureau was despised by the press because it was felt that opinion shaping was the responsibility of the editor, not the civil servant, and that complete access to information was the hallmark of democracy; anything less
49 “The Newspapers Prime Function,” North Bay Daily Nugget, September 22, 1941. 29 was a slippery slope towards the tactics of Dr. Goebbels and fascism.50 As the confrontation increased, the prime minister opted to disband the bureau in 1942, filling the void with the newly created Wartime Information Board. While the bureau had been the brainchild of psychologists and other social scientists bent on “educating” the people through modern methods of science, the board was more inclined towards the traditional approach of propaganda – providing the journalists with up to date information that would be subsequently published in the press. Though continuing to embrace social science methods in recruitment ads and posters, McKenzie King rebuked the psychologists and decided to let the public receive wartime news through the newspapers rather than a government agency. The press would once again perform the function of news presentation and analysis. King feared that if a government bureau delivered the information to the public, the Official Opposition would exploit this circumstance to their advantage.51
The September 22 ad was published at a time when there was uncertainty with regard to censorship, public safety, and democracy. The advocates against the Bureau of Public Information argued that democracy was endangered, and that Canadian citizens would treat the government reports with suspicion and hostility. In the end, King agreed that excessive censorship was a political misstep, especially since people already harboured distrust against government
50 William R. Young, “Academics and Social Scientists versus the Press: the Policies of the Bureau of Public Information and the Wartime Information Board, 1939 to 1945,” Historical Papers / Communications Historiques Vol. 13, 1 (1978): 220. 51 Young, 221. 30 in a general manner ever since the Great War.52 In one report prior to the dismantling of the bureau, author Charles Vining stressed that keeping amicable terms with the press would ensure that newspapers continued to support the war effort, thus reinforcing the morale of the people.53 This was certainly the case with Nugget Publishers Limited. Vining was a former lobbyist and personal friend of the prime minister. A renowned expert on public relations, his report to Cabinet was well received and he was appointed the first chairman of the Wartime
Information Board once it was subsequently created.
With regard to the first role that the Nugget performed during the Victory
Bond drives, reporting extensively on the drives and encouraging people to subscribe, it is obvious that newspapers were essential to promoting the war effort, as the Vining report noted. But the question is whether or not the Nugget would have still fulfilled the first role even without a monopoly in the Nipissing
District. To answer this question, the issue of bias needs to be considered.
According to historian William R. Young, each newspaper harboured a unique bias or slant. Furthermore, each paper was competitive, disliking any rivalries from the “public or private” sector.54 For the Nugget, the lack of any rivals allowed for the publishers to pursue their own biases unchecked. Even when a disgruntled councillor or private citizen took issue against the Nugget‘s reporting for one reason or another, they still had to rely on the Nugget in order to denounce or rebuke it. The monopoly ensured that the Nugget staff could fully pursue their own biases, which happen to be decidedly pro Victory Bonds.
52 Keshen, Propaganda, 209. 53 Young, 227. 54 Ibid., 118. 31
Outside of merely reporting information and news associated with the drives, the Nugget actively participated in them. The September 22 ad featured a caption proclaiming that the Nugget was impartial. This is false. During the
Second Victory Bond drive in February 1942, Nugget general manager J.
Grainger served on the Nipissing District public relations committee.55 In preparation for the Sixth Victory Bond drive in May 1944, the Nugget published an article detailing a recent meeting of various local employers held at the St.
Regis Hotel. Commenting on the meeting, the article listed the donations each employer intended to subscribe in the upcoming drive. Purdy Mica Mines pledged $7,300, Silverwood Dairy pledged $3,900, and in third place amongst thirteen employers/companies, Nugget Publishers Limited pledged $3,200.56
Before the drive was over, it was reported that Nugget owner William Mason had made an additional subscription of $5,000.57 In November 1945, after surpassing all expectations and raising over $3,000,000, Al Pace, chairman of the Nipissing
District Ninth Victory Bond drive, wrote a heartfelt letter to its editor. Mr. Pace exclaimed that:
To you and the staff of the Nugget a special word of thanks for your generous co operation. The wide publicity given by you greatly assisted in securing the substantial amounts of money raised.58
Clearly this newspaper was more than just an impartial observer.
In their efforts to promote the Victory Bond drives, the staff at the Nugget
thoroughly discredited any and all opponents. In the winter of 1942, the Second
55 “Name Loan Committees: Many Prominent Citizenry Included,” North Bay Daily Nugget, January 31, 1942. 56 “Employers Set Loan Objectives,” North Bay Daily Nugget, April 13, 1944. 57 Unknown, “$10,000 Subscribed By Nugget, St. Regis,” North Bay Daily Nugget (Wednesday May 10, 1944), 20. 58 Al Pace, letter to the editor, North Bay Daily Nugget, November 20, 1945. 32
Victory Bond campaign was held at a time when the country was divided over the issue of conscription. The King government opted to hold a plebiscite on the matter because he had previously sworn against conscription in 1940.59 In response to the plebiscite, there were rumblings from Quebec that they would boycott the upcoming Victory Bond drive if conscription were enacted.60 The
Nugget took a very pro conscription stance, and even questioned the purpose of having a plebiscite, given that “clear thinking Canadians” supported conscription.61 Even though conscription gained approval in the plebiscite, it was still controversial, especially because Quebec had overwhelmingly rejected the notion. In a district where 21,467 of the 43,415 residents were French
Canadian,62 it is astounding that the Nugget could be so biased as to suggest
that “only disloyal Canadians” wanted a plebiscite. Such fiery language was also
used to report on the Second Victory Bond drive. Discussing the potential boycott
against the drive, numerous editorials, failing to concede any sympathy for those
who voted against conscription, advocated that any abstention from Victory Bond
purchasing was treason.63 Simultaneously, the Nugget staff urged people to support the drive even if they were annoyed that millions of dollars were wasted just to hold a plebiscite.
The Vining Report had highlighted the fact that newspapers could promote the war effort more effectively than the government could, but the Nugget‘s
59 Evans, 86. 60 “Ilsley Lashes Out at ‘Threatened Strike’ Against Victory Loan,” North Bay Daily Nugget, February 5, 1942. 61 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, January 24, 1942. 62 1941 Canadian Census. 63 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, February 2, 1942. 33 support of the Victory Bond drives far exceeded mere promotion. It was its monopoly that enabled the newspaper to report on and promote the drives with such bias and impunity.64 In the postwar context, studies have raised questions over editorial integrity with regard to monopolies and media empires. In the absence of rival media outlets, editorial integrity can suffer without serious fallout.
The Nugget‘s monopoly within the Nipissing District influenced its content.
Consider, researching the session minutes of the Wartime Information Board,
Bonita Bray observed that only 10 percent of workers read a daily newspaper, or at least so the board believed.65 By comparison, the North Bay Daily Nugget reached 90 percent of homes in the city and district. So, there were no newspaper rivals, and apparently the Nugget‘s readership within the district was exceptionally high in comparison to other newspapers in other regions of the country.
Aside from newspapers, the Wartime Information Board utilized posters, letters, radio broadcasts, newsreels, and guest speakers. However, New Ontario lacked the abundance of radio stations prevalent in the southern urban centres, and many Nipissing rural households still lacked electricity. North Bay had an abundance of electricity, especially after the city purchased the power grid in May
64 Walter C. Soderlund, Kai Hildebrandt, ed., Canadian Newspaper Ownership In the Era of Convergence: Rediscovering Social Respectability (Edmonton, University of Alberta Press: 2005), 123. The state of Canada’s newspaper industry in the postwar era is a highly publicized topic. Discussions on monopolies revolve around modern media barons and questions of editorial integrity within newspaper empires. In one study of the Asper Family owned CanWest newspapers, it was noted that the owners enforced official editorials across the country on a variety of different political topics. The researchers concluded that enforcing such a policy was reckless because it potentially alienated the readership, thus playing to the advantage of media rivals. Accepting this line of thought, the Nugget, owned by the same man who owned the nearest daily, the Sudbury Star, could afford to pursue its bias with impunity because there were no rivals. 65 Bonita Bray, “From Flag Waving to Pragmatism: Images of Patriotism, Heroes and War in Canadian World War II Propaganda Posters,” Material History Review 42 (1995): 76. 34
1940, but the vast majority of Nipissing citizenry resided outside of North Bay.66
Also, local radio stations in the city included CFCH CKAT, MCTV, and CHUR.
However, it is important to consider that while the NWFC pursued different mediums to promote the bond drives, of the $30 million spent, the largest expenditure was full page ads in newspapers.67 Furthermore, North Bay City
Council passed a resolution prior to each drive authorizing the city clerk to purchase an ad in the Nugget parlaying the mayor’s Victory Bond message.
There were no such resolutions even tabled by council to authorize the purchase of Victory Bond advertising on any of the local radio stations. Also, news and discussions broadcasted on the radio generally consisted of less local specific content than the daily newspaper.68 Communities in general had to rely more heavily on the daily in order to receive local oriented news. Despite all the different mediums used to promote the drives, Keshen notes that it was newspapers and magazines that “vied for supremacy.”69
Although military guest speakers often took to the stage in North Bay during the drives, real celebrities were few and far in between during the Victory
Bond drives. When Shirley Temple campaigned in Montreal and Ottawa as an official spokeswoman for the Eighth Victory Bond drive, not even a personal invitation from the Dionne Quintuplets could lure the Hollywood starlet into visiting the region.70 And with regard to other mediums for Victory Bond
66 Steer, 70. 67 Keshen, Saints and Sinners, 33. 68 The Yale Law Journal Company Inc., “Local Monopoly in the Daily Newspaper Industry,” The Yale Law Journal Vol. 61, 6 (June July 1952): 958. 69 Keshen, Saints and Sinners, 33. 70 “Shirley Unlikely to Visit Quints,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 19, 1944. 35 promotion, cinema and radio, its important to note that there were three theatres in the city, and even more radio stations. The variety ensured that no single station or theatre could dominate the market at the same degree as the Nugget.
It is clear that the Nugget experienced two monopolies: it was the only daily newspaper in the region, and was the most effective medium for Victory Bond promotion.
The monopoly afforded the Nugget a freehand to promote the war effort as passionately as possible, even at the risk of offending a percentage of the local population. The monopoly also equated to the fact that the newspaper was read by an exceptionally large percentage of the Nipissing District citizenry. Not only did the Nugget exhaustively report on the Victory Bond drives, the exposure to such reporting was also nearly universal amongst local residents too. Being the only game in town (given the lack of newspaper rivals), the Nugget could afford to slide on impartiality for the purpose of promoting the Victory Bond campaigns. For example, a front page article described in great detail the parade that was organized in North Bay to kick off the opening day of the Fifth Victory
Bond drive. The article is very pleasant in tone, and it hailed all the participants.
However, in a letter to the editor, a prickly author denounced the numerous motorists who felt entitled to cut in on the parade and drive along the curb. The impatient drivers waited until only the cadets were left to pass, at which point several cars drove up onto the parade route in a hurry. The author also notes that these disrespectful acts “created much criticism among the bystanders near 36 me.”71 It is interesting that Nugget staff opted to have a letter to the editor in the back pages of the paper report on the matter of parade cutters. It must have been a deliberate oversight on the part of the staff to write such a detailed account of the parade without mentioning the negative aspect. If many people were offended, as the author suggests, it raises questions of just how impartial the Nugget really was in their reporting on the drives.
The question of impartiality ties into the second aspect of the Nugget‘s first
role in the Victory Bond campaigns. The monopoly afforded the Nugget great
advantages, but it also burdened them with great responsibilities. Being the only
daily in the region, and indeed one of the only effective media in the region to
promote the Victory Bond drives, the Nugget had a tall order to fill. Perhaps the
oversight in the abovementioned article, regarding parade cutters, was made out
of a sense of responsibility rather than biasness. The success or failure of the
Nipissing District Victory Bond drives lay squarely with the effectiveness of the
Nugget and of the local district committee, of which Nugget personnel were
members. If there had not been a monopoly, the responsibility to promote the
drives would have been shared amongst other dailies, and consequently diluted.
Being the only game in town surely persuaded the Nugget staff to promote the
drives even harder, as noted in the numerous editorials. One such editorial
commented that if the district did not reach the assigned quota, “it would look bad
on all of us.”72 Hence, the monopoly heightened the Nugget‘s responsibility, and its share of the blame if the region or city failed.
71 C.B.D., letter to the editor, North Bay Daily Nugget, October 20, 1943. 72 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, Wednesday October 31, 1945. 37
Role Two: A Medium For Civic Advocacy
The Nugget often showcased glossy advertisements for the purpose of self promotion. Such ads served to remind readers that the Nugget was “the only
COMPLETE source of the news of the entire district.”73 Local merchants and companies were also targeted with specific ads that assured all potential clientele that no other medium was as an effective a tool for promotion as the newspaper.
A regular investment towards advertisement space would ensure a pool of regular customers for any business, or at least that is what the Nugget salesmen promised. Commonly self referenced as “Northern Ontario’s leading newspaper,” these ads became all the more prevalent after the newspaper became a daily in early 1941. More “complete” than ever before, the Nugget offered its clientele a means to promote their various products and services six days a week, to 7,400 households within the city and district.
To the credit of the staff that created all those self gratifying advertisements and self promotional editorials, the Nugget‘s flamboyant boasting was surprisingly accurate. According to media historian Paul Rutherford, advertising is most effective when it reaches the largest percentage of people, as often as possible, with simplified messages.74 The Nugget reached 90 percent of the Nipissing citizenry, had transformed into a daily, and specialized in publishing short catchphrases in bold lettering. For the local merchants and companies in the district, no other medium could possibly trump this rate of exposure.
73 “All I know is What I Read in the Papers,” North Bay Nugget, January 19, 1940. 74 Rutherford, 14. 38
Furthermore, it was during the nine national Victory Bond campaigns that the value of advertising and promotion became even more apparent.
The second role that the Nugget performed during the Victory Bond campaigns revolves around the newspaper’s ability to be used as a medium for which local businesses could capitalize on each drive for their own benefit. In numerous ways, the Nugget’s monopoly within the Nipissing District presented merchants and professionals with opportunities for publicity and promotion.
Although businesses had been purchasing ad space in newspapers long before the Second World War, the Victory Bond campaigns created a scenario where by merchants and professionals could utilize civic advocacy in the effort to promoting the advancement of a public good, all while still promoting their own various interests. In short, civic advocacy entails the deployment of propaganda to persuade people, usually through sentiments of hope or fear, to accept a public good – a commodity that is beneficial for society as a whole.75 Rutherford explains that a public good can vary, from the literal sense of paying higher taxes for universal health care, or simply car pooling more often and thus reducing fossil fuel emissions, providing cleaner air, and preventing global warming. The
Victory Bonds can also be considered a public good because they too benefited society in various capacities, such as national defence purposes, humanitarian aid, and even the prevention of currency inflation in the ensuing postwar economy. The North Bay Daily Nugget was the medium for businesses to engage in advocacy.
75 Rutherford, 5. 39
In the most basic form, many local businesses sponsored Victory Bond advertisements in the Nugget, or paid to have their own Victory Bond messages printed in the newspaper. For example, the Geo. Gordon & Co. Limited of Cache
Bay sponsored full page Victory Bond ads that were designed by the artists at the Wartime Information Board in Ottawa,76 while smaller personalized ads appeared simultaneously from fuel wood distributor C. J. Lefebvre.77 In his monograph Saints and Sinners, Keshen states that businesses accounted for half of all Victory Bond subscriptions during the nine drives. Aside from patriotism, many employers would have been persuaded to purchase bonds in an effort to avoid the Excess Profit Tax.78 Paying for Victory Bond advertisements could consequently portray any company or business in a favourable light in the eyes of the public.79 Furthermore, the money donated for such advertisements was also tax deductible.80 It was profitable for companies to portray themselves as patriotic, generous, and playing a leading role model within the community.81
The publicity, through coverage in the Nugget, afforded to these businesses was a prime factor in motivating them to engage in civic advocacy.
76 “We’ve Got to Keep Delivering the Goods,” North Bay Daily Nugget, May 4, 1944. 77 “Lets Buy More Bonds,” North Bay Daily Nugget, May 4, 1944. 78 James R. Withrow, Jr., “The Control of War Profits in the United States and Canada,” The University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register Vol. 91, 3 (November 1942): 230. A federal law that stipulated that all companies, including farmers, were restricted in their percentage of war profits. The allowed profit percentage was originally high because the government feared that steep penalties would slow down the nation’s transition to a total war effort. After production had reached optimal levels in January 1941, the Excess Profit Tax was amended. The normal corporation profit tax of 18 percent of profits was retained, and the Excess Profit Tax was altered so that an additional 22 percent of total profits was taxed if companies exceeded the average standard of profit. This meant that companies were taxed at least 40 percent of the total profits. . 79 Keshen, Saints and Sinners, 31. 80 Ibid., 33. 81 Ibid., 31. 40
The Victory Bond drives were good for business in more ways than one. In an ad during the second drive, the insurance provider Canada Life and its district manager J. A. Allen informed readers that it was possible to pay off premiums and purchase machineguns simultaneously – because the company would subscribe the premium payments to Victory Bonds.82 Evidently Canada Life banked on peoples’ sense of patriotism in order to expand their customer base.
In separate ads, the Nugget described their advertising clientele as “progressive merchants,” and assured the readers that they could purchase with confidence all products advertised within the newspaper.83 During the ninth drive, a Nugget ad portrayed a row of soldiers and promised potential clients that their advertisements would be “marched” into 7,400 Nipissing homes.84 The relationship between the newspaper and local merchants was mutually beneficial. The Nugget was dependent on revenue raised through advertising, while advertising in a reputable newspaper legitimized the various businesses, or so the Nugget promotional ads advocated to potential clients. Given the Nugget‘s large readership and its standing within the Nipissing community, companies like
Canada Life could expect that their ads would be as affective as any newspaper ad could possibly be. The Nugget‘s monopoly made the newspaper all the more attractive to businesses, and all the more important for each business to gain the trust and legitimacy achieved upon having their ads published.
82 “He Paid His Premium But He Bought a Machinegun Too,” North Bay Daily Nugget, February 9, 1942. 83 “Buy With Confidence Products Advertised In You Daily Newspaper,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 29, 1941. 84 “What About Your Advertising Ambassadors?” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 11, 1945. 41
According the Rutherford, the effectiveness of a particular advertisement can be limited by the presence of a conflicting advertisement.85 One advocacy counters the other. In this regard, the Nugget‘s monopoly was most favourable because it ensured a consistent message, and prevented the publication of other views. During the Second Victory Loan drive, the local branch of Sun Life
Canada Insurance had an ad in the Nugget informing the readership that their company ensured each policy holder a prosperous future, and immediate action through the purchase of Victory Bonds.86 The branch manager was H. P.
Charlton, who also happened to be the chairman and vice chairman of several
Nipissing District Victory Bond Committees. In preparation for the Second Victory
Bond campaign, the Nugget published an article entitled “Name Loan
Committees: Many Prominent Citizenry Included.” In his capacity as the vice chairman of the Public Relations Committee, Charlton is described as a “well known North Bay insurance man.”87 While the articles and ads that reinforced one another were not a function of monopoly, this reinforcement was as effective as possible, following Rutherford’s premise, because the audience (Nipissing citizenry) are not exposed to any counter advertisements. In effect, the Nugget monopoly ensured that Mr. Charlton’s reputation was consistently portrayed positively.
During the nine national Victory Bond campaigns, civic advocacy was a form of public discourse that allowed for local merchants and professionals to
85 Rutherford, 14. 86 “Confidence and Victory,” North Bay Daily Nugget, February 11, 1942. 87 “Name Loan Committees: Many Prominent Citizenry Included,” North Bay Daily Nugget, January 31, 1942. 42 promote their own economic interests all while promoting a public good. There was also another form of public discourse that enabled businesses to self promote during the Victory Bond campaigns. The news carried a similar weight as civic advocacy in the public sphere, and was also the exclusive domain of the
North Bay Nugget. Just like advocacy, the news reported in the media shaped society, contextualized advocacy messages, and was public.88 Through news reporting on the drives, the Nugget once again served as a medium for businesses to garner publicity and promote themselves. In this regard, the
Nugget was undeniably the greatest source of news in the district, and this reality reverberated into the formation of the Nugget‘s second role during the Victory
Bond drives. As has been previously argued, the newspaper’s monopoly ensured that Victory Bond news coverage was substantial. In turn, all the reporting on the drives ensured that the Victory Bond related activities of local businesses were also covered. Hence, the monopoly predetermined the Nugget‘s second role.
The Nugget‘s coverage of the drives presented an opportunity for the local businesses to promote their own interests all while promoting the drives. For example, common news items included descriptions of Victory Bond committee members. As reported in the Nugget, men like Jack Nelson, Walter Little, and J.
A. Walker were all important figures on the Nipissing District National War
Finance Committee. In the same Nugget edition that described the good work these men were performing, (on the next page), Nelson’s name also appeared in a discussion of the movies playing at his Capital Theatre, and there was an ad
88 Rutherford, 16. 43 for Little’s law firm.89 As Keshen observes, the successful completion of a district drive was a prestigious achievement, thus prominent citizens opted to organize them.90 But the prestige would be worth nothing without the glory and fanfare of
enthusiastic journalism.
The Nugget‘s extensive coverage of the drives could inadvertently serve
as free publicity for any local merchant or professional. One such case of free
publicity occurred whenever a set number of employees subscribed a
predetermined percentage of their wages to the Victory Bonds. In the later drives,
coveted V flags were given to any company to achieve such a feat. The Craig Bit
Company often was the recipient of such a flag, resulting in flattering editorial
remarks about the accomplishment.91 Even Nugget Publishers Limited boasted about its Victory Loan accomplishments. In a newly created section entitled “The
Spirit of North Bay,” the Nugget staff collected a few short stories about the involvement of ordinary citizens with the drives. The very first story of this newly created section detailed the endeavours of a young Murray Cribb of Princess
Street. This 12 year old lad purchased his second $50 bond after saving up his wage earnings as a Nugget paperboy.92 Similar stories appeared in the
November 3 1943 and the April 23 1945 editions.
While the drives presented an opportunity for businesses to benefit from the Victory Bond coverage in the Nugget, there was also the possibility of a backlash against merchants and professionals who were seen as uncooperative
89 “McGaughey & Little: Barristers Solicitors,” North Bay Daily Nugget, February 11, 1942. 90 Keshen, Saints and Sinners, 34. 91 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, November 3, 1943. 92 “12 Year Old Buyer,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 25, 1943. 44 or uninvolved. As published in the newspaper, North Bay City Hall always urged citizens to decorate their dwellings prior to the drives, and for all churches, mills, and factories to ring their bells or whistles in unison at the starting time of each campaign.93 This presented residents and companies with a real sense of civic obligation. On one occasion, an alderman publicly criticized the efforts of civic employees because they failed to reach their bond quota by $100. Mr. Shaw was subsequently rebuked ferociously in two letters received and published by the
Nugget. The letters emphasized that the alderman should have donated his own money to make up the difference because the drive was far too important to be trivialized for childish games.94 This outrage over the alderman’s remarks suggests just how important the Victory Bond campaigns could be for one’s reputation.
In an opposite series of events, the Nugget came under fire from numerous councilmen because the newspaper had published several editorials discussing the alleged incompetence of the North Bay police service. A police inquiry was underway because an escaped German P.O.W. managed to travel unhindered in the city, despite the fact that residents had reported his whereabouts. The editors, viewing the incident as a grave mishap, were pushing for a full inquiry. When annoyed members of the police commission accused the editors of being unpatriotic, given their persistent negative reporting on the matter, the editors shot back by claiming their record in the previous Victory Bond
93 Mayor D. Geo. Stevens, ‘Proclamation: Fifth Victory Loan Campaign,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 16, 1943. 94 Observer, letter to the editor, North Bay Daily Nugget, May 18, 1944. 45 campaigns proved their patriotism.95 This scenario, much like the controversy over alderman Shaw’s questionable comments, reveals how a good participation record during the various Victory Bond drives could strengthen a persons’ reputation, or diminish it. To this end, it is clear that the Nugget held sway over public opinion – especially since anyone wishing to refute the editors still had to use the Nugget as the only avenue to do so. The monopoly that the Nugget held determined that businesses, private interests, and local merchants would want to utilize the newspaper’s coveted position during the Victory Bond campaigns.
Role Three: Promoting Solidarity
The late John W. Dafoe often described the job of the newspaper editor as a higher calling, full of privileges and responsibilities.96 In his biography of the former Winnipeg Free Press editor, Ramsay Cook explained that Dafoe upheld strict standards that all journalists should strive for. For Dafoe, each editor was in a position of potential leadership, but it was not assured. To earn the leadership position within a community, the newspaper editor, through the editorials, had to maintain a consistent set of values, engage in politics, and never shy away from controversial topics. This enabled the newspaper to have a recognizable voice, a trusted readership, and an ability to gauge and direct public opinion.97 In times of war, this position was even more apparent. In his leadership capacity as an editor and renowned journalist, Dafoe’s primary goal during the Second World
95 C. M. Fellman, “The Nugget Refuses To Be Muzzled,” North Bay Daily Nugget, September 19, 1942. 96 Ramsay Cook, The Politics of John W. Dafoe and the Free Press (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1963), 284. 97 Cook, 285. 46
War was to encourage national unity so that all resources could be allocated to the war effort.98
The staff at Nugget Publishers Limited took upon themselves an outlook similar to the famed Winnipeg editor. The Nugget earned and safeguarded its leadership position within the Nipissing community. During the war, it fulfilled all the responsibilities that Dafoe advocated. The Victory Bond drives presented the greatest opportunity for civilians to contribute to the war effort, a fact that was emphasized by advertisements and articles alike. Taking this stance to heart, the
Nugget directed their own abundant resources towards promoting the drives. To
this end, just like Dafoe’s own primary goal, the Nugget sought to solidify the
Nipissing community. Unity within the district equated to a common home front,
likeminded and engaged citizenry, and successful Victory Bond campaigns. For
the sake of the war, the people needed to buy Victory Bonds. In this regard, the
Nugget‘s efforts to encourage community solidarity likely improved Victory Bond
sales.
Over the course of the war, the Nugget remained the only constant source
of leadership in the Nipissing District. Four different North Bay mayors were
elected and subsequently shelved during the war, and many more councilmen
experienced a similar fate. Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir died in February
1940, and McKenzie King’s Quebec Lieutenant Ernest Lapointe, the federal
figurehead for all French Canadians, died in November 1941. In 1942, the city’s
chief constable William Clark died, as did Senator George Gordon, and premier
Mitchell Hepburn was ousted. Even the leadership of the Nipissing District War
98 Cook, 261. 47
Finance Committee changed with each drive, with the chairmanship switching from H. Charlton to Al Pace, and the public relations chairmanship switching from
Walter Little to Jack Nelson. Although the Nipissing District citizenry undoubtedly received leadership through their churches, nevertheless, this leadership would have been fragmented and less inclusive in comparison to the Nugget‘s leadership. Considering the differences in dogma and language between the variance congregations, faith based leadership was limited and not one religious leader could encompass the entire district. In contrast to all the other sources of leadership within the district, editor C.M. Fellman and his fellow coworkers at the
Nugget remained in place for the duration of the war and provided consistent leadership to the vast majority of citizenry.99
If the Nugget was not meeting the leadership criteria that John Dafoe admirably championed in 1939, it certainly was by the end of the war. After it changed into a daily, the Nugget doubled its output. City minutes reveal that the municipal government was often in conflict with the Nugget staff. Regarding its reports on the Police Commission that was created in response to the German escapee incident, the Nugget made a foe of Judge J. A. S. Plouffe and the other officials of the inquiry.100 After leaving office, former Ontario premier Mitchell
Hepburn came to North Bay as a spokesman for the Seventh Victory Bond campaign. The day after Mr. Hepburn’s rally, the Nugget published two letters to the editor that criticized the former premier, noting that rather than promote unity
99 Working for the Nugget for over 41 years, Fellman was a well known and respected man of the community. He was subsequently awarded a national editors award in 1956, and was made the first chairman of the newly created North Bay Sports Hall of Fame in 1977.
100 J. A. S. Plouffe, letter to the editor, North Bay Daily Nugget, September 19, 1942. 48 while in office, he “blazed a trail of racial hatred across Ontario by the most iniquitous school bill ever heard of.”101 The comment was made in retaliation to
Hepburn’s own assertion at the rally that he had tried, while in office, to maintain fair treatment of Catholic school supporters. Clearly ethnic and religious lines divided the community. It was the newspaper that was used as the arena for public discussion of controversial topics such as police incompetency, and separate schools. So, this shows how the Nugget directly, or indirectly through other peoples’ letters, commanded leadership through consistent messages and expressed values.
The Nugget was well poised to assume a leadership position within the
Nipissing District as the war progressed. This leadership was coupled with the ability to shape public opinion, as Dafoe noted. For Dafoe, shaping public opinion was synonymous to informing the public, a requirement for any democratic state.102 In the words of historian Robert Rutherdale, the Nugget also constituted as a “public site” – a public discourse that reflects peoples’ perceptions on the local level.103 In a sense, the Nugget was a natural source of leadership because the newspaper reflected the opinions of the majority of citizens. When the Nugget came under fire from the Police Commission in September 1942, in a front page editorial, editor C.M. Fellman rebutted Judge Plouffe’s assertion that the newspaper was disgusting the public. He furthermore added that
101 Another Patriot, letter to the editor, North Bay Daily Nugget, October 27, 1944. 102 Cook, 285, 103 Rutherdale, xiii. 49
The Nugget, as a newsgathering agency sending its representatives into all parts of the city, it has its finger much closer to the pulse of public opinion than the Police Commission.104
For the segment of society whose views differed from public opinion, their views were in conflict with the Nugget. On this note, it is important that the Nugget had a monopoly within the district, because it aided in their efforts to promote community solidarity.
There were many different ways for people to voice their discontent, but aside from the ballot box, no form of protest was as subtle as the letter to the editor. However, people who may have disagreed with the Victory Bond drives, as a means to protest against the plebiscite and conscription, were deterred from mailing in dissenting letters to the Nugget because anonymity was not guaranteed. Any letter sent to the Nugget had to be accompanied by a genuine name. In a short comment posted on May 4 1944, the editor explained that while the Nugget would be happy to publish a recent letter from “Klock Rate Payer,” the letter itself needed to be signed by the author’s real name.105 While the
Nugget staff agreed to withhold real names in their publications, if an author asked to remain anonymous, nevertheless, nobody’s letter got published unless at least the editor knew who wrote it.
During the war, what people said publicly had very real consequences.
People and governments alike feared fifth column activities, spies, and potentially disloyal citizens. This fear created a heightened sense of paranoia, all while people were expected to showcase their patriotism to the fullest. Even the
104 Fellman, 16. 105 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, May 4, 1944. 50
Nugget was not free of disloyalty accusations. As recorded in the North Bay city council minutes, council carried a resolution in July 1940 that expressed their disappointment over an article recently featured in the Nugget. The article, “Nazi
Prisoners Are Amazed by Size of Canada,” was deemed by the council to be casting a favourable light on the enemy prisoners.106 Specifically, the journalist described the POWs as being polite and impressed by the size and beauty of
Canada, thus arguably humanizing the enemy soldiers. The next resolution,
Resolution 25, was also carried. It detailed that the council agreed to order the city clerk to contact the R.C.M.P. and thus make the Nugget‘s questionable article known to the authorities.107 As this incident reveals, it was dangerous for people to make dissenting comments publicly. Given that the Nugget did not allow for anonymity, and there was no other newspaper read by nearly the entire district, dissenters were unable to voice their opinions. Thus, the Nugget could ensure that a consistent pro Victory Bond message was exposed to the readership at all times. The lack of public dissenting, because of the monopoly, essentially promoted unity amongst the residents.108
With their position of leadership affirmed, and no creditable competition, the staff at the Nugget were free to promote community solidarity for the purpose
106 North Bay City Council Minutes, Resolution 24 (Tuesday July 16, 1940), 68. 107 North Bay City Council Minutes, Resolution 25 (Tuesday July 16, 1940), 68. 108 “City Free of Serious Disloyalty,” North Bay Nugget, January 17, 1940. This article quotes Chief Constable William Clark and his assertions that North Bay was free of any citizens harbouring sincere communist sympathies. Furthermore, he stated that there was no cause to fear the “other groups” within the city (insinuating that local Italians and French Canadians were not fascists or spies). While this article does not prove that the city was free of dissenters, it does however prove that there were no public dissenters. There were no public dissenters partially because the Nugget would not publish anything that would hinder the war effort. So, the Chief Constable could claim there were no dissenters because such people never got to voice their opinions in the mainstream. Also, this article was meant to be reassuring. It promoted community solidarity by eradicating any beliefs that “other groups” within the city were disloyal. 51 of aiding in the war effort, specifically the nine national Victory Bond drives. And just as Dafoe knew that a country as diverse as Canada needed unity during war, the personnel of Nugget Publishers Limited also knew that unity was important in such a district as diverse as their own. In just one edition of the Spirit of North
Bay, the Nugget published a selection of positive short anecdotes in which children bought bonds, Mattawa residents bought bonds, and a female boiler stoker at an unnamed North Bay plant also bought bonds.109 Such anecdotes, appearing in many similar Spirit of North Bay editions, aimed to encourage patriotism, and simultaneously, cooperation amongst each citizen.
During the Fifth Victory Bond drive in October 1943, Fascist Italy was on the verge of imploding. Recognizing the sizable Italian Canadian population within North Bay, the Nugget published a boasting article entitled “Italians
Support War Loan.” The unnamed journalist outlined a recent Victory Bond rally conducted almost entirely in the Italian language.110 Quoted heavily in the article is guest speaker Rev. Father R.F. Venti, who stressed the importance of loyalty to Canada, and of purchasing bonds. By publishing this article, the Nugget was further encouraging Italians to participate in the Fifth Victory Bond drive, but was also diffusing any lingering suspicions against the local Italian Canadian community that were held by the general public. In a similarly argued editorial, the Nugget urged the readership to reflect upon past Nazi atrocities, and to buy
Victory Bonds in retaliation. Listing some of the atrocities, the editorial discussed the “latest” Nazi crime in a separate paragraph. This crime consisted of acts of
109 “The Spirit of North Bay,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 27, 1943. 110 “Italians Support War Loan,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 28, 1943. 52 looting and murder within Naples.111 The editorial was structured in such a manner that the readers are left with a sense that Italy was a victim of German aggression, and that Victory Bonds were the cure. Unquestionably, this editorial has the effect of encouraging unity amongst Italian Canadians and the rest of the
North Bay citizenry.
As with the local Italians, the Nugget tried to mobilize Nipissing’s large
French Canadian population. While the newspaper’s firm stance on conscription may have unnerved many French Canadians, promotion of the Victory Bonds never seemed to have let up. By the end of the Eighth Victory Bond drive in May
1945, Sturgeon Falls, a predominately French community, had purchased
$341,500 worth of bonds, exceeding its assigned quota of $100,000 by 341.5 percent.112 Such an impressive return proves that there were many different motivating factors that pushed French Canadians, like all Canadians, to subscribe wholeheartedly during the campaigns. That said, the Nugget never failed to remind, and even explain, all those different factors.
Prior to Sturgeon Falls’ impressive performance in the Eighth Victory Bond drive, an editorial was released entitled “Let’s Not Falter on the Home Front.” The editorial is clearly directed towards French Canadians. Commenting on the upcoming drive, the editorial emphasized that politics should not play a role in
Victory Bond subscriptions. A federal election, the editorial concludes, was on the horizon, and on that date, antipathy towards the government could be expressed.
However, antipathy towards the government should not be prematurely
111 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, October 20, 1943. 112 “Wind Up Nipissing Dist. Victory Loan Returns,” North Bay Daily Nugget, May 21, 1944. 53 showcased, and especially in response to the government’s call for Victory Bond purchases.113 Given that the McKenzie King government had won a resounding victory in the last election on account of the prime minister’s promise to Quebec over conscription in 1940, the Nugget editorial seems to be suggesting that the federal government may have since fallen into a bout of unpopularity. In an attempt to unify the district, this particular editorial separates politics from the
Victory Bond drives.
Throughout the coverage of each drive, the Nugget tried to highlight and
compliment French Canadian achievements. During the Second Victory Bond
campaign, the newspaper published an article detailing a loan rally held at the
Capital Theatre in which a military guest speaker, Lt. Col. Fraser Hunter, spoke
French to the audience. Quoting the officer, the article states that Franco/Anglo
unity is important, and that “children should learn Canada’s two national
languages.”114 This article shows that the Nugget‘s promotion of community solidarity was absolute, a commitment that was deeper than just mere attempts at trying to hideaway disagreements. Reiterating Hunter’s message, an editorial praised his involvement at the loan rally, and urged the readership to buy more bonds.115 In The Spirit of the Eighth Victory Loan, the Nugget published an anecdote commenting approvingly on Alderman Shaw, who, in his capacity as a member of the public relations committee, played French language movies at the
Nipissing District War Finance Committee headquarters on Main Street.116 In
113 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, April 26, 1945. 114 “Many See Colorful Loan Show,” North Bay Daily Nugget, February 24, 1942. 115 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, February 24, 1942.
54 each drive, a Nugget editorial noted the connection between Victory Bond purchases and the safeguarding of democracy. Specifically, democracy was often defined as freedom of religion, speech, and even education.117
Notwithstanding the other segments of Nipissng’s citizenry, these pillars of democracy were particularly important to French Canadians in particular.
In their efforts to promote the Victory Bond drives, and to solidify the
Nipissing District citizens, the Nugget also relied on the unifying themes of
Christianity. Religion was a shared attribute of the people, even if there was variance amongst specific faiths. One editorial noted that the Second Great War was a battle between the godly and the ungodly.118 The editors also recommended that every resident should attend their chosen church on the upcoming Sunday, and pray for a successful drive. The language itself was very inclusive. No distinctions were made between Catholicism and Protestantism, rather, the editorial emphasized that Canadians were Christian, and the enemy was not. In other words, an “us” versus “them” imagery insinuated that the
Christian “us” was a unified front. Additionally, the Nugget published posters from
Ottawa depicting Christian images, such as an ad for the Ninth Victory Bond drive that quoted exerts from the book of Exodus.119 A message from Mayor
Harrison was published in which people were instructed to pray for Victory.120
116 “The Spirit of the Eighth Victory Loan,” North Bay Daily Nugget, April 26, 1945. The heading The Spirit of the Eighth Victory Loan was previously titled The Spirit of North Bay. Perhaps the name was changed in an effort to reflect the entire district.
117 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, February 20, 1942. 118 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, February 3, 1942. 119 Wartime Information Board, “Vade in Pace,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 22, 1945. 120 Mayor Chris R. Harrison, “Week of National Reconsecration,” North Bay Daily Nugget, September 9, 1941. 55
Finally, editorials reminded the readership that each drive would be kicked off with the ringing of church bells in unison. While often rallying the readership to buy bonds in defence of democracy, specifically, freedom of religion, it is important to note that the Nugget also urged people to buy bonds in defence of
Christianity itself.121
Lastly, the Nugget was able to drum up solidarity amongst Nipissing residents by encouraging community pride. The Victory Bond drives were treated as a competition throughout the country, with glory and publicity at stake. Serge
Marc Durflinger’s 2006 monograph Fighting From Home explored the relationship
between community pride and the home front. He argued that the English and
French speaking residents of Verdun Quebec eagerly contributed to the war
effort out of a sense of local identity. The sense of identity of a Verdunite,
Durflinger argues, incorporated an understanding of mutual respect amongst
Anglophones and Francophones. As a result, Verdunites maintained a shared interest in the city’s war effort, which inadvertently further strengthened the sense of a common local identity.122 These observations regarding Verdun’s war record challenge the traditional historiography that depicts French Canada as largely unreceptive towards the war effort. In a similar vein, the Nugget tried to strengthen a shared Nipissing identity amongst all citizenry of the district. By inciting a sense of local identity, the Nugget encouraged solidarity. This in turn
121 “Religious Tolerance,” North Bay Daily Nugget, September 18, 1945. While the Nugget promoted themes of Christianity, in an editorial released in September 1945, the readership was informed of the persecutions of Jehovah Witnesses within Quebec. The editorial stressed that freedom of religion was not exclusive to Christians, and that religious tolerance was to be safeguarded.
122 Durflinger, 5. 56 created a scenario where a sense of local pride could be used to promote Victory
Bond purchases.
The Nugget had an aptitude for rousing a sense of local pride. In preparation for the Second Victory Bond campaign, the Nugget published an editorial stressing, “North Bay and Nipissing District have a record which must be upheld.”123 This editorial referred to the fact that Nipissing was the first district in
Canada to have surpassed its assigned quota during First Victory Bond drive, an act affectionately known as “Going over the top.” Returning to this theme of past accomplishments, an editorial was published in preparation for the Fifth Victory
Bond drive entitled “North Bay’s War Record.”124 After praising the 3,000 local servicemen and women, and the mica processing plant, the author contended that, “we have made an enviable reputation, and must uphold that reputation
Let us make sure that we meet the challenges in a manner that will be a credit to the entire city.”125 In a congratulatory editorial after the Seventh Victory Bond drive, the Nugget praised the district for surpassing an assigned quota that was higher than ever before. The accomplishment affirmed the district’s reputation as
“one of the country’s leading areas in the war effort.”126 All this talk of
“reputations” had the effect of inciting a shared local identity, which boded well for promoting bond purchases in subsequent drives.
During the actual drives, the Nugget kept the entire district well informed of the progress being made in each community. The progress of the district as a
123 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, February 2, 1942. 124 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, October 16, 1943. 125 Ibid. 126 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, November 13, 1944. 57 whole was compared to other districts within the province. This “race” atmosphere fuelled local pride, and the Nugget enforced these sentiments with bold front page articles such as “Nipissing Tops War Loan Race” – stating that in
Ontario, the district had purchased the greater percentage of its assigned quota on the opening day of the Fifth Victory Bond campaign.127
The Nugget‘s monopoly within the region made possible the third role, or at least enhanced it. As a public site, the views expressed in the Nugget were destined to resonate with the majority of the residents. The extent of the readership, encompassing 90 percent of the district, ensured that any competitors were left stranded by comparison. The near universality of the
Nugget gave the newspaper added creditability, but also afford it a leadership role more extensive and constant than most facets of authority within the city and district. As such, the Nugget had a vested interest in promoting community solidarity because it advanced Victory Bond purchases, but also because it affirmed the newspaper’s leadership role. For a newspaper describing itself as
“Nipissing’s leading source of information,”128 the Nugget was able to encourage district solidarity on account of its diverse readership. Furthermore, with so many people looking to the Nugget for information, this position of leadership created a cycle of power begetting power. Given its large following, the Nugget was able to set the tone of the Victory Bond drives. It was able to define what exactly the
“spirit of North Bay” entailed. There is power in the ability to define. In a sense, the monopoly the newspaper held at the start of the war ensured that the Nugget
127 “Nipissing Tops War Loan Race,” North Bay Daily Nugget, October 19, 1943. 128 “Nipissing’s Leading Source For Information,” North Bay Nugget, January 19, 1940. 58 would set the pace, and the tone of the Victory Bond campaigns within the city and district.
Conclusion
By all accounts the nine national Victory Bond drives were very successful in North Bay and the surrounding Nipissing District. Never failing to surpass the assigned quota, the district often subscribed to the largest percentage of bonds in the entire province, and the city achieved a similar record once within all of
Canada during the sixth drive. The North Bay Daily Nugget was very instrumental in all of these accomplishments. Changing from a tri weekly to a daily in 1941, the Nugget‘s sphere of influence continued to grow as the war progressed, especially as it remained the only daily within the district.
An examination of the Nugget throughout the war period shows that the newspaper promoted the Victory Bond campaigns to the fullest of capacities. The
Nugget‘s monopoly provided many advantages over weaker media within the
Nipissing District, but it also saddled the newspaper with responsibilities and obligations. While the Nugget was free to pursue its own biases with little fallout, poor performance on the part of the city or district during the drives would reflect poorly on the newspaper. The Nugget was also the medium used by businesses,
private interests, and local merchants to engage in civic advocacy, especially
advertising advocacy. During the Victory Bond drives, the Nugget‘s monopoly
presented an opportunity for the abovementioned to promote the drives, all while
promoting their own interests. Finally, the Nugget encouraged solidarity amongst 59
Nipissing District citizenry for the purposes of advancing the war effort, specifically the Victory Bond drives. The Nugget‘s monopoly in the district ensured that the newspaper was in a leadership role. As a public site, it could both shape and affirm the general public opinion. In short, the Nugget, given its supremacy, had the ability and the vested interest to create a shared community identity, thus further advancing the Victory Bond drives, and the newspaper’s own position within the city and district.
The Nugget was the essential driving force behind the nine successful
Victory Bond drives in North Bay and the Nipissing District. Although there were many factors that contributed to the success of these drives, all would have been profoundly altered in the absence of the local daily. In one philosophical editorial discussing the upcoming Third Victory Bond campaign, the editor, stated that while fear had moved the country forward so that it would not lose the war, something new would have to arise for Canada to win the war.129 Although the question was rhetorical, I propose an answer to what that “something” entailed.
In Hometown Horizons, Robert Rutherdale argues that the imagined national war experience of the Great War was formed by the combined sentiments of local war related experiences in each community.130 In much the same way, the
“something” needed to win the war was a sense of duty, honour, solidarity, and community pride, experienced at a local level. This in turn motivated the home front, and allowed for a total war effort. In North Bay and the Nipissing District, it
129 Editorial, North Bay Daily Nugget, October 15, 1942. 130 Rutherdale, xxiv. 60 was the Nugget that forged and nurtured these essential sentiments. The end result, to the Nugget‘s credit, was nine successful Victory Bond drives.
61
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