Catherine Seppala (1907 – July 4, 1975) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. She served as mayor of Fort William from 1959 to 1960, the first and only female mayor of the city before it became part of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

. She was born in Fort William. She served on Fort William city council from 1953 to 1958.During her time as mayor, the

Neebing River The Neebing River is a freshwater river in Canada. It extends along the western portions of Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontari ...

Conservation project was initiated and the Westmount Hospital was built. Also during Seppala's term as mayor, she pressured a local bookseller to remove ''

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, w ...

'' from his shelves (and more than 700 copies of the books were burned). In January 1956, as chairman of the city carnival committee, Seppala banned bathing suits from the Fort William carnival queen contest in favour of skating skirts and sweaters. Seppala was involved in a number of local volunteer organizations, including the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. She resigned due to illness in September 1961. She died in Thunder Bay in 1975.

References

1907 births 1975 deaths Mayors of Fort William, Ontario Women mayors of places in Ontario 20th-century Canadian women politicians {{Ontario-mayor-stub