What was Quetico Centre? Quetico Centre was an residential adult education centre in Northwestern Ontario, located approximately 26km east of Atikokan. In 1958, the Eva Lake Planning Committee purchased the Quetico Conference and Training Centre property from the Department of Lands and Forests. Shortly after, Cliff McIntosh was appointed director of the Centre. He worked with H.E. “Bud” Thomas, formerly the Regional Officer within the Community Programs Branch of the Department of Education of Thunder Bay, to bring the idea of a residential adult education centre into fruition. Quetico Centre quickly became a meeting place attracting people from the region and surrounding area to partake in art courses, outdoor programs, heavy equipment training and craft classes. The Centre's philosophy was based on the belief that learning was a life-long pursuit that informed daily life as well as fostered community development. It successfully brought many educational opportunities to individuals in Northwestern Ontario, other interested Canadians as well as some Americans. Practical Visionaries Quetico Centre Programming Life at Quetico Centre The Booklet
For the exhibit I created a ten page booklet that placed Quetico Centre into the larger adult education narrative. Rather than take a chronological approach, the booklet discussed how the Centre borrowed from the progressive and folk school traditions to create a successful teaching institution. As a parting gift, this booklet was given out to all guests who came to the opening. Additional copies are now sold at the museum's gift shop. There were several reasons why I chose to have the museum's staff mimic the 1983 photograph seen above. For one, I thought that it was be a fun addition to the gallery space, especially since Joan is holding the book in both photographs. Second, I wanted to show guests that Quetico Centre's story is constantly evolving, with this exhibit being another chapter in its history. Third, curating an exhibit involves many hours of hard, unseen work and I wanted to put faces to those involved in the creation of the displays/opening event. I was tasked with curating the exhibit, which meant I researched, wrote labels, chose photographs, and assisted with exhibit design and event planning. I was also in charge of marketing, meaning that I recorded a radio ad, wrote a newspaper article, and (with the help from our volunteer Jim Blunderfield) handed out posters to local businesses. Lois provided feedback and assistance throughout the project. She also played a large role in planning the event. Nancy aided with exhibit design, cutting labels, mounting titles and helping to set up the room for display. Joan helped me select images, read the labels to ensure the information was correct and provided insight into Quetico Centre's history. Creating the Fonds The Quetico Centre archival fonds is kept in the museum's community room, the same room the exhibit was set up in. I decided to use this as an opportunity to educate the public about basic archival principles. I took "before" pictures of the collection to juxtapose against the nicely organized final product. Reception The day was a success, with 40 people attending the opening. It is always great to watch an idea become a tangible thing- and I am glad that I was able to share Quetico Centre's story with the local community.
20 Comments
mike teeple
4/27/2018 10:33:30 pm
have fond memories of Quetico Center,as I was there in the fall of 1974,taking a heavy equipment operators course.Then I was hired by Caland Ore,and worked there till closing late in 1979,have been in Alberta ever since.I am sure that Jack Switzer was one of my instructors,forgot his name till I saw his picture
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Stephanie Bellissimo
4/29/2018 09:41:08 am
Hi Mike, thank you for your message and for sharing your story. I am glad that my post was able to bring back fond memories. Quetico Centre looked like an amazing place to learn!
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Mel
3/8/2019 10:53:18 pm
My Grandfather was William O May, I was hoping to find more pictures of the totem he built, very interesting read thank you,
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Stephanie Bellissimo
3/10/2019 10:41:11 am
Hi Mel,
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Lorelei Malone
8/22/2020 08:55:51 pm
I recently stayed up at the Center in the 4 bedroom house on site. I’d love to know what the history of the house is?
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Stephanie Bellissimo
8/24/2020 09:21:15 am
Hi Lorelei,
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Cathe McIntosh
3/24/2023 09:04:08 pm
Hi, if you are talking about a 4 bedroom house set back in the bush off the parking lot, that was built in the 1970's and various families, including mine, lived there. There is another larger home on the top of the hill with solar panels, but it has 3 bedrooms. That was my parent's home - Cliff and Joan McIntosh
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Linda Mulhall
3/30/2023 11:54:37 pm
Dear Cathe. I was so sorry to hear of Greg’s death, and Joan’s. That’s a lot to bear in two years. I have many fond memories of both of them. I so appreciated Joan’s feistiness. She was a wonderful, bright, competent woman. She was the backbone of the Centre. And I have memories of Greg taking me out onto Eva Lake in the middle of winter to see and hear the northern lights. Spectacular. He also led a group of us out to do overnight camping, in order to experience our own fight / flight response! And I remember your love of horses!
Tom McClatchie
3/11/2021 09:16:53 pm
Hi. I was there from January 4th to April 28th in 1970, enrolled in the Heavy Equipment Operators course. HEO 17, as we were known. Our instructors were Bud Swenson, and Eric Gaynor. I was a self sponsored student and choosing to go there was the best decision I ever made. I have very fond memories of my time there. Thanks for posting the memories. Tom
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Stephanie Bellissimo
5/13/2021 11:38:41 am
Hi Tom, thanks for sharing your memories. The Heavy Equipment Operators course sounds like it was a rewarding experience. I'm glad to hear this post brought a smile to your face. Thanks for reading!
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Cathe McIntosh
10/30/2021 09:50:27 am
Hey Tom! I remember you! I hope you are doing well. I was just sending this link to a friend about Quetico, and saw you comment here! :-)
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Grant McVicar
3/16/2021 12:27:12 am
I attended a Kinsmen Leadership camp at the age of 15 at the Centre in 1966. It was a tremendous session that lasted 2 weeks. I learned an awful lot in a short period of time and have fond memories of other students like Russ Shermak, Linda Anistasia-Marie Jones, Ed Kincaid.
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Stephanie Bellissimo
5/13/2021 11:41:59 am
Hi Grant, thank you for sharing your memories about the Kinsmen Leadership Camp. I can only imagine how much fun that would have been. It's been really nice to hear from people who have such fond memories of Quetico Centre. Thanks for sharing!
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Franklin Spencer Rock (Frank)
5/31/2022 07:01:03 pm
I attended Quetico Conference and Training Center for 3 summers-taking course 1A, 1B, 2, and finally 3 on the last summer-where we did our survival training-a ‘fly out’-flown out on a Cessna 150 seaplane-to live off the land for a 3 day period
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Cathe McIntosh
6/6/2022 08:28:11 am
Hi Frank: I'm Cathe, Cliff's daughter. Yes he was a very warm loving person. He passed in 1998 and I still miss him. I remember Pam Adey as well (unfortunately she passed away a few years ago), but also a great person! There have been a few owners of Quetico since dad passed away and the current owner has it set up as a lodge and conference centre and has made some nice improvements and is maintaining the property well. It's nice to see. Take care, and thank you for your comments. Oh, I lived in Oakville (Hopedale Mall area) from 1988 - 1994!). It's changed a lot! :-)
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Don Dulchinos
3/22/2023 05:50:05 pm
I am doing research on psychologist Clare Graves, who did a series of lectures at Quetico in the 1970s, now on tape and stored at Union College in Schenectady, NY. Cliff McIntosh was instrumental in bringing Graves' "Theory of Everything" to a wider audience, including helping Graves organize his book length manuscript, The Never Ending Quest. I am interested in speaking with anyone having memories of this partnership. Thanks. d dot dulchinos at comcast dot net
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Cathe McIntosh
3/24/2023 09:07:50 pm
Hi, my dad was Cliff, he passed in 1998 and I sure do miss him. Yes, he did bring Graves' information forward to many people. I can't help you myself but there is a colleague of dads, Linda Wiens (retired) who may be able to help. She is on Facebook as am I. If you wanted to send me a friend request, I could try to connect you with her.
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Don Dulchinos
3/24/2023 11:41:54 pm
Thanks very much Cathe. I will follow up on Facebook.
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Cathe McIntosh
3/25/2023 11:06:28 am
Hi again, if you sent a FB friend request, please re-send. I received a few and may have mistakenly deleted yours. I'll jot down your name so I remember it if you send it! Cathe
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Susan Davidson
4/14/2023 02:49:25 pm
hi Cathe: Sending warm regards and condolences on the passings of your mum, brother and dad!
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