Sometimes you hear about a life that is so grand and full of adventure almost seems impossible. Affectionally known as the Lady Lumberjack, Dorothea Mitchell settled in the Thunder Bay District and led a life full of adventure. Dorothea was a force of nature up until her death in 1976. She never let age nor circumstance deter her from going after what she wanted. She lived a multitude of lives and became a jack of all trades. Dorothea was a successful entrepreneur, author, filmmaker, and much more.
Dorothea was born to a middle-class family in Lancaster, England. The Mitchell family would eventually move to India, where they would experience a change in their financial position. This change brought about luxuries and freedoms that would otherwise not have experience back in England. Dorothea and her sister’s educational career did not center around the typical activities of learning to be proper and ladylike. Rather, they were encouraged to develop different skills and to pursue learning experiences.
Years later their time in India would come to an end, with the women of the family moving back to England, and their father traveling back and forth from India for work. Sadly, in 1897 her father passed away, and with this the family dynamics changed. With the death of her father, Dorothea took up the mantle of family provider, assuming financial responsibility for the family. The chance of steady employment would lead her to migrate to North America in 1904.
Five years into being in Canada, Dorothea found herself at Silver Mountain, Ontario. While the job offer that initially led her to the Thunder Bay District fell through, she saw opportunities in the area and set her sights on success. In short order she became the station master for the Port Arthur-Duluth Railway, a part-time postmaster and managed her own general store. In her line of business, lumber, saw a potentially lucrative venture and ran with it by purchasing a sawmill. This is when the moniker Lady Lumberjack began to take shape.
Approximately twelve years later, when Dorothea received the news that her mother and sister would be joining her in Canada, she started the process of acquiring land. However, this was a lengthy and difficult process for an unwed woman during this time, where a woman’s financial situation was solely dependent upon a man. Yet, despite the many obstacles that she faced in gaining land, she was able to find legal loopholes that eventually allowed for transfer of land. This made her the first woman in Ontario to receive a homestead.
In 1921 at 44 years of age, she retired from the lumber industry and moved to Port Arthur to join the rest of her family. The next chapter in her life was about to begin. She went to the Business College of Port Arthur, where in a year’s time of taking courses, she was trusted to instruct classes when the main instructor was unable to. During this time, she had a variety of jobs, including bookkeeping.
One of her bookkeeping jobs put her into contact with Fred Cooper, an owner of a bakery. Together they created the Port Arthur Amateur Cinema Society (the first amateur film group in Canada). Fred brought the filming equipment – in the form of a 16mm movie camera – the desire to help the community by wanting to make film for charitable organizations. Dorothea brought the creativity and determination to make it all happen. In a search to find material to film, Dorothea found that available scripts were lackluster and short. This led her to writing an original script. She wrote “A Race for Ties”, a story based upon her experiences in Silver Mountain as a sawmill owner. Once the script was done, family and neighbours came together to be involved in the production of the film. “A Race for Ties” was the first amateur feature film made and shown in Canada. Upon their success the Port Arthur Amateur Cinema Society finished another project called “Sleeping Inn Beauty”. Sadly, the Port Arthur Amateur Cinema Society’s last project never came into fruition, “The Fatal Flower” suffered from the changes in the filming industry with talking movies being introduced. In addition to this, the onset of the Great Depression would cause economic downfall, and led to bankruptcy for the Society.
At the age of 53, after her mother and sister’s death, Dorothea was ready to try something new. She contemplated moving to California but found that she was not a fan of the United States. Upon returning to Port Arthur, after her exploratory adventure to the States, she was asked to take on the role of Secretary-Treasurer at the General Hospital in Port Arthur. Disappointingly, she was let go, due to creating an effective accounting system for the hospital. This did not deter her.
In the early 1930s she owned several successful companies, from general insurance to real estate agencies. At this time, she also volunteered for organizations such as St. Johns Anglican Church and Daughters of the Empire. At the end of the 1930s at the onset of the Second World War Dorothea went to enlist in the Red Cross Society’s transport corps to serve King and country. However, she was denied to serve overseas due to her age (63). This did not preclude her from serving, instead she was in charge of training young recruits.
Dorothea was put in charge of the office of Voluntary Registration of Canadian women during the 1940s. This role led her to be in charge of overseeing the registration and the investigation of preferred homes in Port Arthur and Fort William for the British Child Guests section of the Children’s Aid Society of Port Arthur and Fort William. In 1941 she became secretary to the Dependent’s Advisory Board for the Thunder Bay Region, where she stayed in the position until retirement - that her doctor advised her to take. Retirement did not prevent her from starting new adventures. She moved to Victoria, BC, and began her next adventure as literary author. Dorothea's first manuscript was published at the age of 92. It was an autobiography titled “Lady Lumberjack” that centered on her time at Silver Mountain in the Thunder Bay District.
Dorothea lived a life filled with adventure. She was a resilient, forward-thinking individual that was a pioneer of her times. Her life brought about a spotlight to her community. She was involved in many firsts, whether that be for women or our community.
If you’d like to learn more about Dorothea Mitchell or anything else about the history of our region, email research@tbpl.ca
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