Neighbour Day

Celebrate Your Neighbours - share your stories!

For the month of June, celebrate your neighbours and neighbourhood. We invite you to share your stories and photos of kind and generous neighbours who demonstrate the true heart and spirit of your neighbourhood. Post your stories or email them to ally.drombolis@thunderbay.ca 

Neighbour Day Card

Use the printable card to create a thank you message to leave on a neighbour's doorstep.

Add your message to the postcard to email to your neighbour. 

Show Some Love to your Neighbourhood

Upload the graphic and share your responses on social media. Submit your answers using #thanksneighbour and tag us to share what makes the neighbourhoods of Thunder Bay outstanding.

Thanks Neighbour

Upload the graphic and thank your neighbour on social media. Be sure to use #thankneighbour and tag "Neighbour Day Thunder Bay" on Facebook for your chance to win a prize. 

Neighbour Day Activities 

View the Neighbour Day Calendar to see the activities that have been planned for your neighbourhood. 

Add your neighbourhood activity to the Neighbour Day Calendar. 

1. Log in or Create your own account.

2. Select Submit an Event and add your information.

Kid Zone Activities

Children can print one or all of the colouring pages below.

Random prizes will be drawn for online submissions of artwork.

There are 2 ways to submit your entry:

1) On Facebook: Upload a picture of your work using #thanksneighbour and tagging NeighbourDayThunderBay 

2) Email ally.drombolis@thunderbay.ca 

Colouring Option #1: This Is Me Being A Good Neighbour!

Colouring Option #2: Kindness is my SUPERPOWER. Character 1 or Character 2

Colouring Option #3: 3 Ways To Be a Good Neighbour

Does the Tourism Thunder Bay have the perfect Neighbour Day activity for you! Their brand new Tour App has a number of neighbourhood walking tours! Download and discover the most incredible things to see and experience in Thunder Bay through detailed tours with turn-by-turn directions, local attractions, and event information all from your hand held device.

The Thunder Bay Tour app is available in the Apple iTunes App Store and Google Play Store: Thunder Bay Tours

• Neighbourhood Clean Ups
• Neighbourhood BBQs or picnics
• Neighbourhood Window Walks - Be creative and brightly dress up your windows for a neighbourhood walking tour. 
• Light up your neighbourhood - Bring out your lights and let your block shine brightly.
• Show random acts of neighbouring. Celebrate your neighbours or do something kind to show you care. Share your ideas using #thanksneighbour.
• Neighbourhood Art Gallery - Families can use their imaginations to create their own works of art, chalk drawings or yard sculptures in their yards, sidewalks and driveways for the neighbourhood to enjoy.
• Driveway Concerts
• Neighbourhood Yard Sale
• Neighbourhood Gardens and beautification projects

One street name in particular that held great prominence in both Fort William and Port Arthur was Arthur Street.

As with many street names in Fort William, Arthur Street was associated with the Vickers family, named after son Arthur Algoma Vickers. Residents of Toronto, John Joseph (J. J.) Vickers, and his wife Catherine, were frequent visitors to Fort William and held close friendships with prominent Fort William families. Recognizing the region’s great opportunity after his first visit in 1859, Vickers began investing locally both in mining and real estate. The Vickers Park property, bordered by Arthur Street to the north, was gifted to the Town of Fort William in 1902 by Catherine Vickers in memory of her husband. Arthur Vickers himself did become a resident of Fort William, arriving in 1903, he handled the sales of family lands.

In contrast, Arthur Street in Port Arthur was named in 1871 when the community was first surveyed as Prince Arthur’s Landing. Both the community and the street were named in honour of H.R.H. Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. In 1977 the street was re-named Red River Road, commemorating the route to the Red River Settlement.

Another set of streets sharing the same name was McIntyre Street. The Port Arthur street, named after railway executive Duncan McIntyre, retained its name after amalgamation.  

The Fort William streets’ namesake was John McIntyre, Clerk in Charge, and later Factor, of Hudson Bay Company’s Fort William Fur Trade Post.  Upon his retirement in 1877, McIntyre remained a prominent member of the growing community along the Kaministiquia River.

In 1971, McIntyre Street in Fort William’s East End, was renamed McNaughton Street after long-time city clerk Alexander McNaughton.  McNaughton began his role in 1900 prior to Fort William’s incorporation as a city.  He remained city clerk until 1945.

Certain duplicated street names had straightforward solutions. John Street in Fort William, named after Fort William’s first Mayor, John McKellar, was simply renamed McKellar Street.

These are just a few examples of Thunder Bay street name changes post-amalgamation, there are certainly many others! If you would like to learn more, contact the City of Thunder Bay Archives, archives@thunderbay.ca.

Source: The Street Names of Thunder Bay by Diane Grant