Oscar Styffe; Timber Baron
In previous columns were have dealt with some of the main characters to be found in the woodland operations of the area. But while many lumber barons of the North became tagged with the moniker “racketeer.” or buccaneer” for their exploitation of labourers and “shady dealings” in industry, one such baron earned a complete opposite reputation.
Oscar Styffe (1885-1943)
He was Oscar Styffe. Born in Norway in 1885, he graduated from a military academy in 1903, where he specialized in forest surveying, cartography and accounting. and came to Calumet, Mich., to join his childhood sweetheart. Ragna Iverson, in 1907. They married and he found work in copper mines, but left when the industry slumped, to find work at the Lakehead. Here he found timber operations thriving and from 1911 to 1922, he worked as an accountant for various firms including the Canadian National Railways.
He finally found a niche in the industry with Charles W. Cox where he became an office manager and accountant for the firm. During that period he moved his family of four sons and two daughters and his wife to various locations from Westfort to Gresley Park (off Hodder Avenue). He finally settled them into a more comfortable home at 78 Ruttan St.
In 1927 Styffe left Cox and set up business as a timber contractor in the Walsh Block on Red River Road (then Arthur Street). His son John, who had graduated from King’s Business College, being left in charge of the office. The company began to thrive and became incorporated as Oscar Styffe Ltd. in June of 1931.
Loading operations at Oscar Styffe Ltd., ca 1948
Since a great deal of the business was in pulp logs for the pulp and paper mills, much of Styffe’s operation had to be located close to Lake Superior. He acquired a tug The Thos. A. Tees, a barge and No.5 dock. The purchases made in 1933 meant the company could expand into picking up booms of logs from along the lakeshore and at railway points with its tug and bring washed sand and gravel from along the shore, by barge for construction projects. One of the first jobs was supplying gravel for the concrete used in construction of the Algoma Street Bridge over McVicar Creek.
During the next 10 years. Styffe expanded his lumber camps to Lac Seul (in the Sioux Lookout area), Longlac, Kama (east of Nipigon), the Jackpine River, East Arrow River and Pigeon River.
He employed as many as 50 permanent staff and 550 seasonal workers. His operations were not without problems, however. During the period from 1933-35, there was a series of strikes. It was the belief of timber contractors that the strikes were orchestrated from Moscow to disrupt the Canadian economy.
It is said that while Styffe was gravely leery of labour unions, (in most cases he gave in to their demands) he continued to treat his employees with respect and in fairness, on an individual and personal basis, retaining good relations.
Trained in forestry in Norway, Styffe was one of the first to appeal publicly for change at the local level, warning that indiscriminate harvesting of timber would lead to a depletion of supply, forcing companies to go farther afield for wood sources.
As a prime example, he cited the Norwegian operations, which required selective cutting under government approval and reforestation. He was convinced good forestry management would save the economy of the Lakehead. The timber baron also championed the cause of the Pass Lake homesteaders, who sought more land for timber harvesting. Records, however, seem to indicate that while he opposed clear cutting outwardly, his own operations were contrary to the practice he preached.
Styffe was elected to city council in 1935, serving only one term under Mayor Charles W Cox. Although Styffe preferred to keep out of the political limelight from that point on, he was not averse to pressuring behind the scenes when his scruples were offended or his business threatened. He had many a feisty battle with government officials over the years.
The Depression saw relief camps set up by the Department of National Defense in the English River area and Hudson, where the men cut timber in exchange for free clothing, tobacco, and 20 cents a day, plus room and board.
While Styffe was a staunch Liberal supporter, little evidence exists to suggest ho took of his association, or even carried much influence with party power brokers.
Charlie Cox’s use of political power to obtain timber rights was downright irksome to Styffe. His constant battle with Cox, the mayor and MPP, through the years, was what Styffe contributed as being cause of most of his business failures. A great deal of his time was spent trying to scuttle Cox.
The Axis-controlled territory in Europe at the time of its maximal expansion (1941–42)
“While the political arena was a distressing experience for Styffe, his participation in the community and pride in his family were very satisfying,” says Beth Boegh in her article on Styffe, written for Papers and Records of The Thunder Bay Museum, which was used for most of the background of this column.
At the community level, Styffe served as an active member of Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce, was as honorary president of the Scouting Association and a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church on Second Street.
In 1941, Styffe was appointed Norwegian Vice Consul (11th of August 1941 signed in London by the Minister of Foreign Affairs E. Krogh-Hansen) and spent much of the latter part of his life promoting the Norwegian war effort following the Nazi invasion of Norway. Benefits were held throughout the city. His patriotism, however, was not confined to his country. He took great pride in the military careers of sons Roy, Bert and Edward, who distinguished themselves during the Second World War.
Oscar Styffe died January 6, 1943. at 58, after a battle with cancer. But his memory lives on through his devotion to democratic principles and ideals.
Unfortunately, he never lived to realize his dream of turning Northwestern Ontario’s unregulated, untidy forests into the ones that resembled the neat, well controlled timberlands of his native Norway.
By Gerry Poling is a former editor with The Chronicle-Journal. His column appears Sundays.
View Larger Map of Bossekop, Alta, Norway (Oscar’s hometown)