Neys

History (next 9 sections)

Pre-historic History
I usually don't start the history section this far back, but you betcha Neys has got stuff to talk about here. Neys is built upon the pre-historic Coldwell Alkaline Complex. As the name suggests, it is a very "complex" and complicated subject, but there's a few things to take away from it. Firstly, the average age of rock across the Canadian Shield is an approximate 2.2 billion years old. However, Neys' is estimated to be closer to 1.1 billion years. 

The reason for this is that Neys was formerly a volcano (and technically still is). Scientists believe that around 1 billion years ago, a volcano was formed at Neys, and it erupted around 600 million years ago. And as the volcano settled, much of the land surrounding the edge of the crater fell into the hole, flattening the land. This is believed to have happened at 3 separate centres in the Coldwell Alkaline Complex, with Centre 1 fully engulfing Neys Provincial Park.

Neys Siding
After the volcano settled, the land around Neys sat unused for about 100 million years, so let's fast forward to a time a little bit more recognizable to the Average Joe. 

The Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885, and was complete with hundreds of what are known as "sidings". A siding is a spur railway track that leaves and then rejoins the main rail line. Sidings still exist today as a way for trains to pass one another, but back in the early 1900s, they were used as a way for trains to refuel. This was required to be done every 20-30 miles, and Neys happened to be the spot that was needed. Neys Siding still exists at the northern boundary of the park, yet it is rarely used.

The Need to Relocate
Fast forward a few more years and Britain is off to war, a world war - the second one, in fact. But unfortunately for Britain, they signed the 1929 Geneva Convention. "Why is this unfortunate?", you might ask. Well, a clause of the convention states that prisoners of war cannot be held in active battle. And because the Nazis had just bombed Britain weeks prior, they had to ship their prisoners of war elsewhere. And luckily for Britain, she still had the remnants of an empire in the 40s, so she could ship her prisoners of war to larger countries far away, such as Australia and Canada. And so she did.

Neys was constructed to be a POW camp in the summer of 1940, and in January 1941, Neys received its first batch of prisoners. These prisoners were 440 high-ranking German officials and air force crewman, associated with the Nazi party. But they didn't last long. This may sound bizarre, but the German prisoners believed they weren't treated well enough - despite being prisoners. Sparsely furnished quarters, small rooms, and insufficient activities lead these officials to be bored at Neys. And because the Canadian government expected the same treatment for their high-ranking officials, they shipped them to a better camp in Bowmanville before they even spent a year at Neys.

Neys Camp 100
Neys was learning from its quote-unqoute mistakes. So when the next batch of lower-ranking prisoners arrived, they were a little more easy-going. The prisoners in question were known as EMS, or "enemy merchant seamen". These men were not Nazis, but rather Germans who operated trading ships on the sea. And although they found the climate challenging, they made the most of their time on Superior's north shore. These seamen improved the camp library, built a school hut, and tried to make sporting fields. And because Neys' sandy waterfront made playing soccer impossible, the Germans turned to playing ice hockey in winter. They were supplied all equipment except skates, because you can't give knives to prisoners. And these men were treated well. So much so that they were allowed to capture and keep a pet black bear, who they named Mischka (it honestly sounds like the guards were bored too, so they joined in on the activities). 

Another reason the first batch of prisoners wanted to leave Neys so badly was the lack of work. The prisoners wanted stuff to do. So, when the Pigeon Timber Company was interested in logging the area surrounding Neys, the Canadian government saw the perfect opportunity. Small batches of EMS prisoners were used as loggers in August, and it provided them a breath of fresh air, featuring paid work. So what they did was cut down the desired trees and load them into the Little Pic River (see below).

Code Black
In late 1943, the Department of Defense believed that Neys Camp 100 was no longer needed to support the war effort, so it was temporarily closed in December. Most of the EMS prisoners were sent to Monteith, Camp 23. The civilians were sent to Camp 22, New Toronto. And the rest of the EMS prisoners were sent to the Pigeon Timber Company. 

The camp was closed until August 1944, when a new purposed dawned upon the camp. Viscous pro-Nazi prisoners were sent to the camp from Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, with a goal of re-educating them into Canadian society. The government of Canada went about doing so by classifying Germans into 3 categories via the PHERUDA system. This system assessed Germans by their political leanings. White Germans were the benign anti-Nazis, like the EMS prisoners. Grey Germans were untrustworthy ones or ones that were semi-associated with the Nazi Party. And Black Germans were the viscous Nazis.

Neys was home to the latter of the 3.

Bringing Light to Darkness
Now that there was no longer unicorns or rainbows, the Canadian government set out on the difficult task of convincing Nazis that Nazism was bad. A difficult undertaking, yet the government knew it was necessary (it was obviously necessary, the guards had to deny letters from leaving the camp because some were personal letters to Adolf Hitler himself). Anyways, the guards at Neys showed the prisoners videos and articles about what the Nazi government was doing to the Jews. Of course, many Germans denied these claims as dismissed them as propaganda, but most eventually changed their minds, and switched sides. This meant the re-education was successful, and it was just in time for the prisoners to be sent back to Germany, which began in 1946.

Soon after the Germans left, the camp was used as a Japanese re-education camp for about 6 months. This is the part of the story that the park knows least about, and they are looking into it.

Bringing Darkness Back to Light
The re-education of Germans was successful, and the POWs of Japan had to be sent back, so it was planned for Neys to be closed in 1947. But this changed when the Thunder Bay Prison was overcrowded. Neys was the perfect option, as it wasn't too far and offered everything needed to host prisoners. So this remained the case from 1947 to 1951, when the Thunder Bay Prison had enough capacity again. Which was unfortunate for the long-sentence prisoners who were formerly at scenic Neys, as they had to return to a small rundown correctional complex in northeastern Thunder Bay.

After the prisoners were returned to Thunder Bay, the camp was flattened just two years later. And thus, for 7 years, the park sat untouched and unused. That is until 1960, when the Boy Scouts of Canada came around. Camp 100 sits upon the modern day Area 1 and the modern day red pine plantation - the latter of which was planted by the Boy Scouts in this very year. And under these pines is where you'll find majority of remnants from this bygone era today. 

Neys As A Campground (Finally)
The Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1962, and it conveniently passed right by the former POW camp. So, in 1963, a private company had interest in the area and bought the unused land to build a small campground. This campground would come to be known as "Neys Campground", and comprised of a small number of sites in modern-day Area 1. The land was already flattened from 1953, so all the company had to do was build and access road and rows for trailers to park in. Although this setup sounds like a dream come true, Neys' remote location meant that seasonal camping was impractical in the area. So, they sold the land to the province in 1964. And after the province added more amenities such as the visitor centre, main comfort station, and three more campgrounds extending all the way to Little Pic River, it was ready to run as Neys Provincial Park, and so it did. And that's how we got Neys P.P. today.

We have to look at the etomology of Neys' name by taking one step back at a time. The park got its name from its predecessor private campground, which in turn got its name from the POW camp. Now here's where the story gets mucky; it is clear that the POW camp was named after the railway siding, as that's the stop they had to get off at when taking the train. But it is unknown where the siding got its name from. The most common belief is that it's named after a novice railway worker from the late 1800s, whose last name was Doheyneys, yet this is can't be confirmed.