Sudbury ON

The Queen Visits Sudbury, 1959

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I initially set out to write a longer and more informative post about the Kelm family in Sudbury and Hanmer, Ontario, but wondered if a shorter post stemming from a phone conversation I had with my dad earlier this year might spark some reminiscing (which would then provide more motivation to continue working on the longer article). If you have anything to add from your knowledge or memories of this time, please leave a comment or email me at sarika.rainey@gmail.com. Thank you.

The Queen Visits Sudbury, 1959

My grandfather, Robert Kelm, worked as a nickel miner in Sudbury from around 1937 to his retirement in 1972. I know that his brother, Daniel Kelm (see reference in his 2004 obituary), also worked in the nickel mines, but I otherwise have no information or stories about how they were recruited from Winnipeg to work there.

My grandparents moved the family to an 80-acre farm in Hanmer, Ontario, in 1955. My dad, John Kelm, doesn’t remember the exact location of the family farm, but recalls that you could see the “Falcon Radar Station buildings.”[1] According to RCAF.info, the former RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) Falconbridge Radar Station, which opened in 1952, was located between Hanmer and the Greater Sudbury Airport (see map below).[2]

Falconbridge Radar Station operations building looking south, date unknown; photograph shared by RCAF.info (original possibly from the Department of National Defence photographs sub-sub-series, which is part of the Library and Archives Canada’s Department of National Defence fonds)
Google Map showing locations of Sudbury, Hanmer, Greater Sudbury Airport, and possible location of the former Falconbridge Radar Station; coordinates courtesy of RCAF.info
Queen Elizabeth II and Frood Mine manager, E.N. Gaetz, leaving mine; courtesy of The Canadian Press and CBC News

On July 25, 1959, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip, visited the Frood Mine [Frood-Stobie Mine] in Sudbury as part of their 45-day tour of Canada: “A mining demonstration was staged for their viewing […] Several hundred people reportedly lined the thoroughfare and song “God Save the Queen” as the Royal couple passed through the mine gates following their visit.”[3] My dad, who was sixteen at the time, remembers that his parents took the family to see the queen (possibly at the airport) and my grandmother took a photo of the children waving.[4]

The INCO [International Nickel Company] Triangle Digital Archives by Greater Sudbury Museums, which digitized INCO’s monthly publications from 1936 and 1998, has a more detailed account feature of the late Queen’s visit in their July 1959 issue.

[1] John Kelm, phone conversation, 16 Sep 2025

[2] “RCAF Station Falconbridge Pinetree Line Radar Station,” RCAF.info, 2024 [copyright], accessed 16 Sep 2025 through https://rcaf.info/rcaf-stations/ontario-rcaf-stations/rcaf-station-falconbridge/

[3] Mia Jensen, “Queen left a lasting impression during her visits to Sudbury,” The Sudbury Star, 09 Sep 2022 [published], accessed 07 Jan 2025 through https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/queen-left-a-lasting-impression-during-her-visits-to-sudbury; Note: The queen’s visit is given as June 25, 1959, in this article. In a CBC News article [Sam Juric, “A rare kiss, a visit underground: Sudbury’s memories of Queen Elizabeth II,” CBC News, 11 Sep 2022 [published], accessed 07 Jan 2025 through https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/sudbury-queen-elizabeth-remembered-1.6577789%5D, the date is July 26, 1959. The date in the blog post is from the INCO Triangle’s published account of the visit.

[4] John Kelm, phone conversation, 07 Jan 2025