This Public Relations series offers insight into Colonel McCormick and Schmon's view of their Canadian endeavors. The company was concerned about its image both with its own employees and the outside world. The series includes copies of its internal newsletter, The Observation Post, in both English and French versions (vols. 25800 to 25807), the Colonel's speeches (vol. 25798), and films. It also includes the usual scrapbooks and files on anniversary celebrations that are common to the archives of established firms. Note the publicity given to the construction and opening the mill at Baie Comeau, vol. 25788, file 9 to vol. 25789 files 3 and 11. Also note the Baie Comeau scrapbooks, vol. 25788 file 1 and vol. 25810 file 1 and the news clippings, vol. 25785 files 2-8. Of particular interest are records relating to Quebec mill's 10th anniversary in 1948, see vol. 25787 file 6, vol. 25788 file 7, and vol. 25828 file 2. Included in this series are documents, 1912-1916, relating to the construction of the mill at Thorold. These files are the only textual records dealing with early development of the Thorold mill (see vol. 25793 files 1-2).
This series contains a large amount of photographs. The black and white negatives were taken for The Observation Post, the company magazine. The negatives show the whole process of exploring new timber limits, camp life before amenities are installed, daily activities such as shaving without a mirror, building of a mill or wood station, daily work in the woods with the simple non-powered tools, and the development and expansion of the mills and towns. Negatives are organized by date and location. Most were taken by St. Catharine's photographer W. E. Shore from 1942 to 1970. A few Baie Comeau negatives were taken by Harry Christie c. 1920-1940. Many of the negatives in this sub-series are on nitrate film. The Observation Post was the company's primary internal means of disseminating its official corporate culture. These negatives when combined with the copies of the newsletter in textual vols. 25799 to 25807 provide a detailed view of the semi-public image it wanted to project to its employees.
The negatives are described in the finding aid. They document the whole of the company's activities from 1912 to 1984. Particular attention is paid to the construction of Baie Comeau mill and logging both on the Lower North Shore and in northern Ontario. Also included are images of every day life at Shelter Bay, Baie Comeau and Heron Bay. The negatives taken at the Thorold mill emphasize scenes of employees carrying out there normal production activities.
The company paid special attention to its history commissioning films and two books to tell its story. The first by Tribune editorial writer Carl Wiegman, Trees to News: A Chronicle of the Ontario Paper Company's Origin and Development was published by McClelland & Stewart in 1953. Trees to News is a mixture of business history and frontier folklore with the author portraying the Colonel, Schmon and the company as selfless pioneers bringing civilization to the wilds of the Lower North Shore. The book was meticulously planned and marketed in Canada (vol. 25353 files 2-8, and vol. 25793 files 4-12). Harvey H. Smith's Shelter Bay is an historical novel (or more correctly a series of short stories strung together), was also published by McClelland & Stewart in 1964. Through fictional characters, it recounted Schmon's early days on the Lower North Shore. It can be considered a tribute to his career as McCormick's proconsul in Canada. The planning and marketing of Smith's work can be followed in vol. 25353 file 9 to vol. 25354 file 4, and vol. 25793 file 13 to vol. 25794.
The audiovisual material consists of documentary films chronicling the history and development of the Quebec and Ontario Paper Company. Titles include: "The House the Wasp Built", featuring the history of paper and wood pulp; "Forest Heritage", a film that looks at the history of logging in Canada; "Forest Forever", a film that looks at the forest as an ever changing entity able to continually regenerate itself; "Building the Manicouagan Power Company", a film about the construction of the McCormick Dam; and "A New Community", featuring the design and construction of Baie Comeau. Also included is a film entitled "Newsprint" which follows the production of newsprint from the felling of trees to the creation of pulp and paper at the Ontario Paper Company Mill; "Big City Newspaper", a film featuring the work that goes into creating The Chicago Tribune, from the production of newsprint to the story; "Manitoulin", featuring a year-round visit to the world's largest fresh water island; and "Buried Treasure", a film that focusses on the depletion of Canadian forestry resources.
Also included are several short instructional films and videos highlighting machinery used by the Ontario Paper Company for logging; several Logging Research Associates processor prototype trials; newsprint operations at Thorold, Ontario; and the creation of newsprint at Quono Corporation. The series also consists of a short radio segment from the John Fisher, CBC's "Wandering Reporter", who speaks of the wonders of Baie Comeau
