J.B. Lake, son Frank and brother-in-law Edgar Abraham
POWASSAN – Newspaper ink was in the blood of JB Lake from the time he was a young teenager, and his talent as a wordsmith would be his trademark throughout his life.
The founder of the Powassan News, Lake, age 14, started working as an apprentice at the Georgetown Herald in 1899. A short three years later he would leave his home to work for the North Bay Times, staying there until an offer came from the Acton Free Press. He became foreman of the Acton Free Press in 1906.
That same year, on Feb. 1, he and Mary Abraham, of Esquesing Township, married in Acton and their first child, Franklin, was born a year later on March 9, 1907.
Following Franklin’s birth, Lake made a life-changing decision; one that left a legacy in his wake that still remains today. He left his newborn son and young wife in Acton and moved to Powassan. Here, he used his training as a printer and his talent — still virtually unexplored — as a writer to start his own newspaper, the Powassan News.
Joseph Baker Lake, always referred to as JB, was only 22 years old when he founded his legacy and began making a name for himself as a stalwart of the community.
Joined in Powassan in May of 1907 by his wife and son, Lake’s brother-in-law Edgar Abraham also made the transition from Acton. Abraham accompanied his sister north and took over responsibilities for the paper’s production, working as a pressman. It was a position he would hold until his death 48 years later.
While Lake, clearly a man of vision, made Powassan his home with an eye to his family’s future accomplishments, little did the community, then in its first year of incorporation as a town, realize how much the Lake family would impact on its development.
In his first editorial, run in the inaugural edition of the Powassan News on May 1, 1907, JB Lake wrote “that great things from small beginnings grow.” While at the time he was encouraging residents and businesses to support the new publication in order to increase its size and circulation, (with subscriptions selling at $1 a year), those words proved prophetic for more than his own business interests.
Lake embraced his new community with fervor and a deduction to its growth, and he was never shy in expressing his opinions and rallying local residents to a cause.
On April 7, 1909 under the headline A Disgrace he wrote in the News: “Supt. Tiffin of the G.T.R. (Grand Truck Railroad) was here last week and we understood that he stated that they would not build a new station for Powassan this year and would give no definite information regarding same. Now the new station was promised for this spring and relying on this promise the people have put up with the present disgraceful state of affairs for nearly two years, but they will keep mum no longer. A monster petition should be circulated at once all through Powassan and vicinity and presented to the Railway Commission. . . It is up to Council to take the initial steps and we believe the Commission will soon bring the company to time. The Grand Trunk has acted anything but fairly with Powassan considering the great volume of business done here. Let us act at once.”
Just one year after Lake called the residents to arms, he was able to announce on May 12, 1909: “about five carloads of material are here for the new station and we understand building operations are to commence very shortly.”
With the new station underway, he turned his attention to another need in the town, a fire bell.
“A bell to serve as a fire alarm and for general purposes should be put on the town hall,” wrote Lake on June 16, 1909. “We understand a suitable bell could be purchased for about $25. Why not raise this amount by public subscriptions and have the Council erect the bell?”
The new fire bell was purchased and placed in a new belfry in September of 1910.
Lake also put forward the original concept of property standards, expressing his opinion in that same News edition that “the appearances of our streets would be greatly improved if the numerous broken-down fences were repaired or taken away altogether and the roads cleared of the various kinds of obstruction. Let us cultivate the habit of keeping our surroundings tidy. It’s the outward and visible sign of a tidy people.”
In 1910, having seen the firebell in place, he turned his attention to the need for a library.
“We notice that a petition for signatures is being circulated asking the council to grant $100 towards establishing a Public Library in our town,” Lake said in March of that year. “Needless to say this petition should be signed by everyone. Dancing, skating, pool etc. are provided for our young men and maidens a galore, but not a book to read! We venture to say that Powassan is the only town in Canada without a library. Villages, townships and even lumber camps are considered lacking in their responsibilities if they fail to make some provision, however modest, in the way of pro
Editorial
