Page 120 “The Porcupine Camp” A New Golden Era Page 1 18 By Gregory Reynolds It was in its day the T aj Mahal of community centre and even now is among the best in Ontario. T o call the McIntyre Community Building the heart and soul of the townsite of Schumacher is fair as the centre is where children skated, girls worked in the cof fee shop, held their wedding receptions there, were the guests at award and retirement banquets, bowled, play badminton, curled, fgure skated and roller skat - ed. The Mac, as it is af fectionately known, was more than a building. It was for several decades the cen - trepiece of a recreational and park complex that was used by people of every ethnic group, every age group and every personal interest. The complex was built over several years, with the standard hockey rink built in 1937-38 and the curling rink wing added in 1939. Across the street from the complex was the McIntyre Park with fow - ers and trees, walkways and Japa - nese-style bridges over a man-made stream, soccer felds, tennis courts and a baseball (hardball) feld and grandstand. The man behind this expensive and grand project was J.P . Bickell, the T oronto fnancier who built the McIn - tyre Gold Mine into one of the giants of Canadian mining. As president of the company , Bickell was on hand for the Dec. 8, 1938 of - fcial opening of the building and on Jan. 2, 1940 for the opening of the new curling rink in a new wing added to the original structure. “The pick and shovel man must know that he is every bit as welcome to make the fullest use of this building as the highest mine executive. This structure has been erecte d so that all classes of the McIntyre family may have the facilities for increased sport and amusement. Soon after the main building was com - pleted we saw that added facilities for such sports as basketball, curling and bowling would be necessary . Accord - ingly , we began immediately to plan for the addition,” said Bickell. He added that the cof fee shop and res - taurant had been deemed necessary to take care of the welfare of the “in - ner man.” Directly addressing a number of mine employe es present, Bickell said: “Let us have here all the facili - ties for a happy , contented commu - nity . I think that I may say that you men and your families have more fa - cilities under one roof than any other community in Canada.” His wish certainly came true as not only the arena, curling rink, ball - room, auditorium, bowling alley , cof fee shop and meeting rooms were used by McIntyre miners and their families but by every man, woman and child in Mountjoy , T immins, Schumacher , South Porcupine and Porcupine, as well as the residents of the townsites at producing mines. Schumacher is a small community of several thousand people and every home is within walking distance of the Mac. If you were born and raised in Schumacher , the Mac has a spe - cial place in your life and its memo - ries are an integral part of you. Y ou consider the Mac yours and any other T immins resident using it is a tourist. No one who grew up in what is to - day the City of T immins lacks a warm memory of an event at the Mac or in the park. He or she could have been courted in the park, at - tended a church picnic there, got married or had their wedding photos taken there, played or watche d fam - ily members play soccer , baseball or tennis there or just lay on the grass during a warm summer day . Hockey teams from every level played at the Mac and the fans crowded the stands and then fought to get a cof fee and hot potato chips at the jammed cof fee shop between periods. Old hockey players became curl - ers and the lounge was the centre of winter ’ s social life. There were basketball games and badminton tournaments and boys McIntyr e Community Building gift fr om mining company to r esidents of The Por cupine