By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer
He was an environmentalist half a century before anyone even heard of that term.
George Crawford, who served as Sarnia’s 40th Mayor in 1921 and 1922, was the Chief Magistrate who helped preserve the City’s most treasured wilderness area.
Born in Kingston on May 28, 1862, he moved to Point Edward as a boy.
After serving on the old Village School Board, Crawford moved to Sarnia in 1900.
He worked for the Grand Trunk Railroad for 43 years, serving most of that time as an engineer. Popular with co-workers, he was named Chief of Local Railroad Engineers.
Elected to City Council in 1920, Crawford served one term as an Alderman before moving up to the Mayor’s chair. Once in office he strove to prevent over-development in an area that would later become Canatara Park. In fact, The Observer reported Mayor Crawford “devoted a great deal of effort to have Lake Chipican set aside as a bird and game sanctuary”.
Today, the lake remains in a pristine state. Through the years City Council has followed Mayor Crawford’s example, steadfastly resisting any efforts to change its character. In fact, in 1996 Council approved a master plan for Canatara that called for protection of Lake Chipican’s special plants and animals. And in 1994 Council refused to allow an entrepreneur to operate paddle boats in Lake Chipican because it feared such a business could disturb wildlife.
Mayor Crawford also took action to honour Sarnia’s war dead, presiding over the Council that erected a soldiers’ memorial in Victoria Park. The monument, The Observer reported, was “brought about largely by the earnest efforts” of the Mayor.