Arthur Albert Schmon (10 May 1895 – 18 March 1964) was an American-born executive who became a leading figure in the paper industry of Ontario and Quebec. He oversaw construction of the first power plant and paper mill in

Baie-Comeau Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River nea ...

, Quebec. He also played a central role in founding

Brock University Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bears t ...

in St. Catharines, Ontario, where he made his home.

Early years

Arthur Albert Schmon was born on 10 May 1895 in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Barringer High School in Newark, where he became class president, and where he met Eleanore Celeste Reynolds, whom he would marry in August 1919. He went on to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, New Jersey, where he studied English Literature. He graduated from Princeton in 1917 with a B.A. degree. Upon graduation, Schmon moved to artillery-training in France in July 1917, where, as a second lieutenant in the US Army First Infantry Division, he met Major (later Colonel)

Robert R. McCormick Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick (July 30, 1880 – April 1, 1955) was an American lawyer, businessman and anti-war activist. A member of the McCormick family of Chicago, McCormick became a lawyer, Republican Chicago alderman, distinguish ...

(1880–1955), owner of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''. McCormick was struck by his initiative and promoted him to regimental adjutant. Schmon came to McCormick's attention in January 1918, when McCormick needed a person to lead a patrol along the road ahead: "Some fellows were making bread pills, some were looking at their plates and some were just looking around. I just saw one pair of dark eyes looking at me and said ‘What is your name?’ ‘Second Lieutenant Schmon, sir.’ ‘You take the patrol.’ That marked him out for me.” The young second lieutenant must have impressed McCormick with his coolness under stress. This cool, almost laconic attitude is illustrated in Schmon's war-time diary, and is quoted in Wiegman's book. “The major and I made a reconnaissance of the front lines. The Germans saw us walking along the road and landed a few shells near us. ..... the way back the Germans shelled Rocquencourt. A fragment of shell landed about a foot away from us.” McCormick was promoted to lieutenant colonel and moved on to other assignments, but wrote a recommendation that Schmon be promoted to first lieutenant. In his recommendation, McCormick noted that Schmon “has given great satisfaction ..... He is courageous, intelligent, and a tireless worker, and has good command over men and maintains good discipline.” At the end of World War I, Arthur Schmon was promoted to captain, and he continued to carry that title into the 1930s. While he was still in France, Schmon received a letter from Colonel McCormick, dated Chicago, December 31, 1918. The letter begins, “My dear Schmon” and continues to describe the position of manager of the Chicago Tribune property on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The manager would be expected to live at the site “from about May1 to December” and to visit once in the winter. “The work will be entirely new to you but I have no reason to doubt you can learn that as well as you learned artillery. The opportunities are very great. The difficulties also far from inconsiderable. ... If you should happen to want this, please write me at once.” Schmon spoke about this event in an address to the Newcomen Society in 1962: “Colonel McCormick offered me the job of managing the Shelter Bay plant and I accepted, pleading my inadequacies. I told him I didn't know the difference between a spruce and a balsam. McCormick agreed that this was a fundamental deficiency but allowed that I had some qualities that might offset this. .... So, after being married, I brought my bride – at her insistence – to the lonely outpost of Shelter Bay in the fall of 1919.”

Career with Tribune Company

Schmon's job was manager of forestry operations at

Shelter Bay, Quebec Shelter Bay (french: Baie de l'abri) was named by Col. Robert R. McCormick in 1919 as the name of the Quebec North Shore Paper Company's port, since the name previously used for that location was Rivière-aux-Rochers (Rocky River), and vessels would ...

(Port-Cartier). The Shelter Bay pulpwood operation was in a remote outpost near the mouth of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

. Shelter Bay was originally named Rocky River, was renamed by McCormick on his first trip there on October 16, 1925. “If we call this place Rocky River no ship captain will come in here to get our wood. Let's call it Shelter Bay.” Schmon had no engineering expertise, but had the drive to overcome any obstacles. Shelter Bay could only be reached by dogsled for six months of the year, and when Schmon and his wife arrived in August 1919 they moved into a log cabin. In 1923 Schmon was appointed director of Woodlands for Quebec and Ontario Paper. In 1933 he became president of this company. Rue Champlain à Baie-Comeau BAnQ P748S1P2919

Rue Champlain à Baie-Comeau BAnQ P748S1P2919

In 1936 Schmon oversaw construction of McCormick's

hydroelectric plant and factory. Construction of the power station, mill and town allowed year-round operation. Schmon became president and general manager of the Quebec North Shore Paper Company when it was incorporated in 1938 as the Tribune's newsprint subsidiary in Quebec. He became chief executive officer and board chairman of the Quebec and Ontario Transportation Company, and sat on the board of several related companies. Colonel McCormick died in 1955 and made Schmon a trustee of the McCormickPatterson Trust in his will. The trust controlled the

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

, publisher of five newspapers. In 1963 Schmon became chairman of the board of directors of Quebec and Ontario Paper. At the time of his death Schmon was chairman and chief executive officer of the Ontario Paper Company of

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first s ...

, Ontario, and a director of the Tribune Company.

Other activities

Schmon settled in St. Catharines, Ontario. He was a member of the Brock University Founders' Committee, and was the driving force behind establishing this university in the Niagara region. He was chairman of the St. Catharines Hospital board of governors for over 15 years, and in this role oversaw a $3 million expansion of the hospital. Schmon was also involved with

Ridley College Ridley College (also known as RC, Ridley) is a private boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 20 miles (32 km) from Niagara Falls. The school confers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma ...

and

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

, Hamilton. He was founder and past president of the Princeton Alumni Association of Canada and a member of Princeton's executive committee.

Death and legacy

Schmon died of lung cancer on 18 March 1964, in the Drake Hotel, Chicago. Arthur was succeeded by his son, Robert McCormick (Bob) Schmon, as president of Ontario Paper and Quebec North Shore Paper. The Arthur Schmon Tower, built in 1968, is the main building of Brock University. Lake Arthur, about northwest of Post-Cartier in the Port-Cartier–Sept-Îles Wildlife Reserve, is named after Arthur A. Schmon. There is a Schmon River with its source in Lac au Vent and Lake Aux Mouches which flows south for almost to

Lake Walker Lake Walker is a lake in Quebec, Canada. It is located in the Sept-Rivières Regional County Municipality in the region of Côte-Nord, about 30 km northwest of Port-Cartier. Location Lake Walker is within the Port-Cartier–Sept-Îles Wil ...

. It was called Rivière aux Rochers Nord-Ouest until 1975, when it was renamed in honor of Schmon. The river flows through Lake Schmon close to its source. Baie-Comeau has an Avenue Arthur-A.-Schmon and a Belvédère Arthur-A.-Schmon.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmon, Arthur A. 1895 births 1964 deaths Barringer High School alumni Businesspeople from Newark, New Jersey Military personnel from Newark, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Chicago Tribune people Deaths from cancer in Illinois Deaths from lung cancer American business executives 20th-century American businesspeople American military personnel of World War I American expatriates in Canada American expatriates in France