1. Did you know when UCT was first formed in 1888 there were more than 400 thousand travelling sales people in North America?
2. Did you know the Sudbury, Ontario council charter was granted in August 1943?
3. Did you know, it was a UCT member in California that first proposed the idea of a white line (to divide two way traffic) on the highway? This went on to be adopted by the California state division of highways in 1913?
4. Did you know a UCT traveler was on the titanic and UCT paid a claim as a result of this famous voyage?
5. Did you know it was the travellers in Calgary that sponsored the first “stampede queen” contest at the infamous Calgary stampede?
6. Did you know that John E. Sater, an attorney, worked with the first three founding fathers of UCT? John Sater went on to become a federal judge appointed by President Teddy Roosevelt.
7. Did you know that in the 1880’s travellers lobbied for legislation that controlled hotel sanitary conditions? (Daily changing of bed sheets!)
8. Did you know that UCT is an acronym for unity, charity and temperance?
9. Did you know……..we all remember how to “paint the town red” from our 2013 convention directed by chairperson Doug Honeyford and in the year 2000 we hosted our Canadian members with “a new beginning” convention with chairs Joe Wilcox and Jim Carrey……….many will remember the “Sudbury is Heaven in 1987” A.C.T. / UCT Sudbury Council 1051 People Helping People Since 1943 Where Community and Compassion Unite directed by chair Mike Furlong……..but did you know that Sudbury hosted its first biannual convention in 1963? There were 6 past Dominion Presidents in attendance at this meeting.
10. Did you know that A.C.T. was one of the first community groups in Sudbury to host a $100 per person fundraiser almost 40 years ago? This was millionaire’s night and operated successfully for many years until OLG and Wintario took over that market!
11. Did you know that A.C.T./UCT Sudbury was the driving force behind Oktoberfest in Sudbury, for 29 years, in partnership with the City of Sudbury and arena manager Bob King? Octoberfest was a tremendous success since the first beer stein was filled in 1972. All great events run their course and this event ceased primarily due to new regulations that eliminated smoking in all city buildings.
12. Did you know western days, and battle of the bands, were other great events that A.C.T. partnered with the City of Sudbury.
13. Did you know that the first Dominion President of A.C.T. from Sudbury was H.F. Shaw in 1953-55. Next on that most prestigious list of Dominion Presidents is Louis Narbonne in 1973-75. Several members in the A.C.T. era also acted as Dominion Vice President, some of them being Glen Fowke, Jim Carrey and others.
14. Did you know that at the 1981 biennial conference, at the international hotel in Winnipeg, there were three fire alarms in one night? After the 2nd one, the A.C.T. delegates ended up in the parking lot for a pyjama party with their favorite breakfast libation in hand!
15. Did you know that A.C.T. and UCT merged operations in Canada at the Ottawa biennial conference in Ottawa in 1993?
A.C.T. / UCT Sudbury Council 1051 People Helping People Since 1943 Where Community and Compassion Unite.
16. Did you know that following that historic merger in 1993 the convention went from biennial (every 2nd year) to an annual event?
17. Did you know since the 1993 merger we have graduated several Past Regional Presidents from Sudbury, (previously, Dominion President), the late Dave Horton, Rick Carrey, Gil Hartley, Wayne McCuaig, and Jerry Giff? This group is soon to be enlarged with the addition of our current Regional President, Doug Honeyford.
18. Did you know that at the 1975 biennial in North Bay discussions commenced on allowing females to join A.C.T.? Late in the 1970’s we welcomed many new female members into A.C.T.?
19. Did you know that on Monday, June 28, 1993 the 75 year history of the Associated Canadian Travellers came to an end? In 2018 we celebrate 75 years in Sudbury; UCT celebrates 120 years in Canada and 130 years internationally.
20. Did you know that in the 1980’s, the Ontario councils had a tendency to “borrow” other council’s flags and banners? The council with the missing banner usually received photos in the mail from around the world showing the banner hanging on well-known historical sights. The last mystery was in 1995 when the Sudbury council flag appeared on national television, as a cape for a masked crusader at the brier in Halifax! There were also photos of an Ottawa banner in Tombstone, Arizona and a Sault Ste. Marie flag at the Tim Horton’s camp for children in the rocky mountains of B.C.
21. Did you know we have two Past International Presidents of UCT, in the act region, Larry Pilon from Calgary and Jerry Giff from Sudbury?
22. Did you know that we were the “Associated Commercial Travellers”
when first formed in 1918. When an application was made to the
secretary of state for Canada for a charter, it was refused, as there A.C.T. / UCT Sudbury Council 1051 People Helping People Since 1943 Where Community and Compassion Unite were other associations with the word “Commercial” in their name. A new application was prepared in 1921 under the name “Associated Canadian Travelers” and on October 20th of 1921, the charter was granted.
23. Did you know the annual meeting of UCT was in December originally but was changed to July in 1934 and remains a summer ritual?
24. Did you know that the decision for A.C.T. to begin offering its own insurance instead of reinsurance with other carriers occurred at the 1937 annual meeting in North Bay?
25. Did you know that the late W. D. Harris the author of our code of ethics died in Vancouver in 1958?
26. Did you know that Prime Minister John Diefenbaker addressed the biennial meeting in Ottawa in 1959?
27. Did you know Angus Mulligan joined A.C.T. in Yorkton Saskatchewan in 1951? In 1971, in Nanaimo the “Angus Mulligan” award was first presented at a biennial meeting to the delegate that contributed the most to the meeting. Angus was a worker and a fighter and these characteristics were what he thought the award recipient should possess. In May of 1997 in Saskatoon, Angus personally presented this award for the last time as he died just a few months later. Sudbury Council members Gil Hartley, David Carnes and Jerry Giff have each been honoured with this award?
28. Did you know, Sudbury Council founding father Samuel Rothschild sat as a member of Sudbury city council?
29. Did you know that an A.C.T. sponsored midget hockey team won the Ontario championship in 1959-1960, under the management of Leo “Aces” Michelutti? Did you know our member Wayne McCuaig, Past A.C.T. / UCT Sudbury Council 1051
People Helping People Since 1943 Where Community and Compassion Unite Regional President, now residing in Sault Ste. Marie was a player on that team?
30. Did you know that the A.C.T./UCT operated the “Wolves Den” for many years at all Sudbury Wolves hockey games? The opportunity no longer exists as refreshments are now sold throughout the arena by their staff.
31. Did you know that as soon as an A.C.T. club received their charter, a ladies auxiliary was often formed as well? All their husbands were travellers; therefore there was a good reason to get together while the husbands were on the road all week. While some of the ladies groups originally started as an excuse to have a coffee together, they were usually the instigators of the dances, auctions, and social events of the entire club. Some auxiliaries ran bingos, sold handicrafts, sold tickets on draws and even went so far as to sponsor a foreign foster child. While many were content to be called the ladies club or ladies auxiliary, some went on to give themselves names such as Travelettes or ACTettes. The ladies groups elected their own slate of officers and wore pins similar to the men’s. Former Travelettes in Sudbury were Lucy Nadeau, Rose Gravelle, Lois Giff, Linda Bilodeau, Linda Carrey, Eileen Fowke, Louise Despres, Lila Pope, Heather Wilcox and many others.
Thanks to Wayne McCuaig , Shirley and Jerry Giff for compiling this for us. 2017