Two Northern Ontario Railway workers by the names of J. H. McKinley and Ernest Darragh were looking for timber in Long Lake, an area north of North Bay, in the year of 1903. While they were searching, they came across what is called a “cobalt bloom.” Cobalt blooms are indicator minerals, noting that there is silver in the area, and so the workers claimed the find as their own. Six weeks later, another large discovery was made. A blacksmith and part time prospector named Fred LaRose claimed that he made the discovery while he was trying to scare away a fox by throwing his hammer at it. The hammer missed the fox, but it struck what turned out to be a silver vein. An Ontario surveyor by the name of Willet G. Miller, driven by these discoveries, investigated the area a little later in 1903 and found that the two workers had discovered three large veins of silver, and one large vein of cobalt. Miller renamed the area “Cobalt” in 1904, as he thought it was a more fitting name. Thus, the Cobalt silver rush began, attracting remnants from the Klondike rush, and causing the town of Cobalt grow. By 1905, men from around the world had come to Cobalt, close to six thousand prospecting licences being distributed up until then. Alongside the miners, other migrants came, offering essential services that would be required by a growing town. Cobalt became the fourth largest silver producing town in the world.

Around the time that Cobalt was growing, there was a boom of community cookbooks produced throughout Canada. The Ladies Aid of the Presbyterian Church of Cobalt was one of these groups aiding in the community cookbook boom, as it was a popular trend, and would be a good community building exercise for the new town. Thanks to the silver rush, people in the thousands were visiting the area, which presented a great opportunity for the Ladies Aid. The cookbook was marketed and sold as a souvenir during a fundraising event to raise money for the church and community. Those that were travelling to the town for just business rather than to settle became a part of the targeted audience for this book, explaining the “Souvenir” section of the title.

Unfortunately, the silver would not last long. The geological survey done in 1903 revealed that Cobalt’s silver veins were shallow and close to the surface, which would make them easy to mine. The ease of acquiring the silver seriously threatened the longevity of mining activity in Cobalt, Miller expected it to last between three and seven years. Come the end of the silver rush, the town of Cobalt would come to essentially be abandoned. The population of Cobalt would diminish drastically, with the population resting at 1,100 in 2017. Many of the businesses and services of Cobalt would close, including the Presbyterian Church that produced this cookbook. The Presbyterian Church had to fuse with the Methodist Church of Cobalt to survive, but even that did not last long. Cobalt now relies mainly on tourist business to stay afloat. However, the rich but previously ignored veins of cobalt are now attention. Cobalt is a key component in the batteries of Tesla electric cars, and the company has expressed interest in the town as of late. Surveyors, miners, and manufacturers are currently looking to move into the small town to make use of the large supplies of cobalt, potentially beginning another mineral rush for the town.