REESOR SIDING

Monument, on the south side of Highway 11, about half way between Kapuskasing and Hearst.

This monument was erected in memory of the labour martyrs slain at Reesor Siding on 10 February 1963. The three men killed were Joseph Fortier, Irenée Fortier and Ferdinand Drouin. They were members of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, which was on strike against the Spruce Falls Power and Paper Company. When the strikers attempted to dismantle piles of scab wood in order to prevent its delivery to the mill, they were met with gunfire. Eleven men suffered gunshot wounds, three of them fatal. In the court proceedings that followed, murder charges were dismissed and three of the gunmen were fined $150 each for possession of dangerous weapons. Meanwhile, 138 strikers were fined $200 each for unlawful assembly.

Photo Credits: Alan Frank