THUNDER BAY — Lorraine Reguly's passion for a former World War Two-era apartment complex on Montreal Street is driving her to write a book.
The Thunder Bay author, blogger and freelance writer is anxious to tell the story of Winston Hall not only because she has a strong personal connection to it, but because the people who lived there formed a unique community.
"It meant a lot to a lot of people. It was not just a building. It was home, it was a community, it was a community inside the building all unto itself," Reguly said.
Winston Hall was built in 1943 under the auspices of the Department of Munitions and Supply, the federal agency that principally coordinated domestic industry during the war.
It was constructed to house female aircraft assemblers at the nearby Can Car plant, many of whom came from Western Canada to support the war effort.
According to the Thunder Bay Museum, it was operated similarly to a school residence, and had facilities "to keep up morale" such as a dance hall, bowling alley and grocery store.
When the war was over, its hundreds of rooms were converted into low-rent residential apartments.
Decades later, Winston Hall had deteriorated to the point that by 1996 it was closed because of unsafe living conditions.
Squatters then took over, and two years later what was left of the building was destroyed in a massive fire.
Reguly still feels it's important to document its history and the stories of the people who lived there over the more than half a century that it existed.
"People looked out for each other. A lot of people formed lifelong friendships there. It was a family. It's difficult to explain that to others, but one of the reasons I want to write this book is because it did mean so much to so many people, and everyone that has lived there remembers."
Winston Hall was part of her own childhood and young adulthood.
Her grandparents lived there for about 40 years, her mom ran a store in the complex for around 15 years, and she herself lived there with her son until he was about 18 months old.
Both of her grandfathers, and one of her grandmothers, worked at Canada Car.
She's done extensive research about Winston Hall in the City of Thunder Bay archives, the Thunder Bay Museum, the Northwestern Ontario Aviation Heritage Centre and the public library.
Reguly has created a list of tenants using the city's old assessment roll, a project that took five months to complete.
She's had multiple conversations with many former tenants, and is gathering old photos to include in the book.
But there's a lot of work still to be done, including consulting with an architect to re-create the Winston Hall floor plans.
Reguly said she's received a lot of positive feedback about her project after posting about it on the Thunder Bay Memories Facebook group.
"Everyone has been so helpful with my research . . . from identifying people in old photos to connecting with me and contributing their photos and stories/memories. I can say with confidence that this book is going to be awesome," she wrote.
She'd like to hear from other community members who may have something to offer in the way of photos or recollections.
Reguly can be contacted through her website.
