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Escarpment Magaz ine Summer 2012
Tom and his brother, George did play in the Leith Orchestra as children. His family helped finance the
group and according to the Leith Cookbook, Tom played the banjo. As an adult he was known to be a
pretty good fiddle and mandolin player.
Thomson’s interest in the outdoors started at an early age. Being a country boy, he would have had to
walk into Owen Sound to buy supplies or do other business. He would have most likely taken the route
that is now the Tom Thomson Trail along the 24th Sideroad and 28th Street, since the shore road was not
completed at that time. He had an uncle that was a biologist and Tom would often accompany him on
field trips to gather specimens. Perhaps it was then that he gained his great appreciation for the outdoors
and sensitivity for all living things.
There are no records to indicate that Tom ever used a canoe as a boy, but during his years in the Algonquin
wilderness he earned money as a guide and forest ranger. Friends and acquaintances labeled him as ei-
ther an excellent paddler or a bit of a klutz in a boat. Thomson’s life seems to be filled with contradiction
and mystery.
In 1899 Tom tried his hand as an apprentice machinist at Kennedy’s Foundry in Owen Sound. Unfortu-
nately, he was fired because of tardiness after only eight months on the job. Thomson did continue his ed-
ucation after he left Owen Sound when he was 21. First he went to Chatham Business College, but then
moved to Seattle, Washington where his older brother George had started his own business college.
Throughout his brief life, Tom seemed to have a special connection with George. George was a success
from an early age and continued to try to encourage and protect his younger sibling. Most stories show
Tom as being the opposite of George… a carefree spirit without much direction or work ethic. Of course
we really don’t know how true this is. We can only come to these conclusions by hearsay. It is said that
he tried to enlist to fight in the Boer War but was rejected because of having flat feet. (So maybe it was a
foot problem that kept him out of school as a boy!)
There is some indication that while in Seattle, Tommet and fell head over heels in love with a young woman
who was staying at the same boarding house as him. After a short but intense relationship, Tom proposed
marriage, only to be rebuffed by the fair maiden. Heartbroken and dejected, Tom returned to Toronto to
start a new life. This again is an unsubstantiated tale… though it sounds pretty convincing. We do know
that he did return to Canada in 1905.
While living in Seattle, Tom studied and became an accomplished graphic designer, so when he moved
to Toronto he was able to land a design job at Legg Brothers. As in the past, he did seem to change jobs
frequently. Some say he was restless, and always looking for the right fit, while others saw him as a slacker.
In1908 Thomson was hired as a graphic designer for Grip Limited. This seems to be a turning point in his
creative life. Grip was an unusual employer in that they attracted and encouraged artists with imagination
and skills far greater then would have been required to create advertising for women’s corsets or tires.
The driving force behind the creative department was Albert Henry Robson. Under his tutelage were the
likes of J.E.H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael, Frederick Varney, Arthur Lismer, and Frank Johnson to
name a few. In a few years these artists and others would form the Group of Seven. Robson encouraged
his artists to expand their artistic knowledge by taking courses and just getting out and painting in the coun-
tryside. This period is also fairly well documented and is less controversial then Tom’s early youth.
CANADA STAMPS - CIRCA 1977
PHOTO LEFT - A REPLICA OF THE CAIRN THAT STANDS NEAR CANOE LAKE
FEATURE
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looking for tom thomson
Photo above left - An early pen and ink drawing by Tom Thomson of the William McKeen home.
Bequest of Thomas James Gibson Henry, nephew of Tom Thomson 1994. On loan from the Ontario
Heritage Foundation to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound. Photo right - the home today.