Alex Ross

Alex Ross. . , Born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Alex Ross was attracted to the Michipicoten area with hundreds of other fortune seekers after the cry of gold echoed through the hills in 1897. Alex first worked as a cook at the Minto Mine in 1898. Never one to shy away from hard work, Alex also found employment at the Ganley and Loyda Mines in the Wawa Gold Fields south of Wawa Lake. , Even after the gold fever died down, Alex was one of the few hardy pioneers who decided to call the remote townsite of Wawa City his permanent home. Alex helped build the town's first Protestant Church, Catholic Church and little one-room public school house on Broadway Avenue where the current Post Office now sits. , Alex built a log home near the current location of the Pentecostal Church at the corner of Station Road, Broadway and Algoma Avenue. Over the years he raised chickens and pigs for the locals, and also provided contractors and labourers with teams of work horses for all of their hauling needs throughout the area. Alex's winter horse freight teams hauled food, machinery and necessary supplies from Grassett and Missinabi on the main CPR Line, to the Helen and Magpie Mines, power plants, logging camps and gold mines scattered throughout the rugged landscape. One particular horse named Dick was known for having a soft spot for the local ladies and apparently had his share of berries, cake and cookies whenever he followed the women folk during their chores. , During a devastating forest fire in 1921, Alex and a small group of neighbors in the Wawa townsite fought back the flames which ravaged the countryside. They managed to save only a few log homes, the Balmoral Hotel and the public school. In an article to the Sault Star, Alex recalled that the forest fire was so fierce that when it swept across the top of the Helen Mine hill, it resembled an erupting volcano while incinerating every building at the abandoned Mine. , In the same article, Alex also recounts his battle with the local wolf population who were regular visitors to his pig pen. Local tales tell about Alex's prize wolf skin, and his favourite hog with one ear chewed off during a particularly unpleasant stand-off between Alex and a pack of hungry canines. , The first Wawa Post Office was set up in Alex's home, along with the chickens and pigs that were regularly brought inside during inclement weather. Alex Ross was an imposing figure. He stood over 6 feet tall and had a zest for life. At the age of 70 he took his first plane ride. He died in 1938 at the age of 98 and is buried in the St. Margaret Mary Cemetery across from the Wawa Motor Inn. As late as 1945, one of Alex's work horses continued to roam the countryside and regularly raided local gardens looking for treats. Ross Street, behind the Valu-Mart grocery store was named after Alex as a tribute to one of Wawa's legendary pioneers. , Story written by Johanna Rowe www.wawahistory.com