We continue our look at colourful people from Timmins’ past this week with George Jamieson, for whom Mount Jamieson is named.
Local historian Karen Bachmann tells us Jamieson came to the Porcupine Mining Camp in 1907, staked the Kamiskotia claim and sold it to the Hollinger Mine in 1926.
“He went into the office there and asked for one million dollars,” she says. “The Hollinger men were not amused, and they did come up with a settlement which was considerably less, but George was still quite happy with that.”
Bachmann says Jamieson he was best known for his car – a 1932 Chrysler Imperial he called the Backswell.
Rumour has it he visited a Southern Ontario showroom and decided he wanted that car. The salesman told him to leave, calling him a scraggly character who obviously didn’t have the money for it.
“George said fine. He left, called his lawyer, who then contacted the dealership and made the suggest that yes, Mr. Jamieson could not only afford to buy the car with cash, he could afford to buy the entire lot and the dealership.”
Bachmann adds that Jamieson loved showing off the car and even chauffeured the Duke of Kent around town on a 1941 visit to Timmins.
