New documentary tells the story of 'lost legend' Jack Munroe

He made millions in mining at the turn of the 20th century, lasted four rounds in the ring with the heavyweight champion of the world, and wrote a bestseller about his experiences during the First World War.

Now the many accomplishments of Jack Munroe are being recognized in a documentary called Lost Legend: The Story Of Jack Munroe.

Terry Fiset helped get the documentary off the ground, so more Canadians would learn about a man he considers a hero.

Fiset is from a town in northern Ontario Munroe founded, called Elk Lake.

"In Elk Lake everybody knows him," he said. "We have a Jack Munroe Park downtown," Fiset said.

But while most people in the small town are aware of Munroe, Fiset said they might not know his full story.

Munroe was born in 1877 on Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia.

As a teenager he moved to Butte, Mont., with his brothers, which was a major mining camp at the time.

In 1902, James J. Jeffries, who was then the reigning boxing world heavyweight champion, travelled to Butte looking for a scrap with the locals.

Jeffries would travel to different towns in the U.S. and would challenge local men to a fight in the ring. If they could last four rounds without getting knocked out they would get $250 – a large sum of money at the time.

Morning North7:59New documentary tells the story of Jack Munroe, the founder of Elk Lake

The documentary Lost Legend: The Story of Jack Munroe will premiere in the Temiskaming area. Jack Munroe was the founder of the community of Elk Lake. He was also a championship boxer, a war hero, a novelist and a millionaire. Terry Fiset is a former reeve of Elk Lake. He spoke to us about the documentary and the man who inspired it.

Before Munroe took up his challenge, no one had ever managed to cash in.

"They threw Jack in the ring and Jack Munroe lasted the four rounds and knocked the champ down a couple of times," Fiset said.

"So the champ was definitely embarrassed by that."

Munroe never took up boxing professionally and was always a miner at heart.

He later moved to Cobalt, to chase the silver boom in the northern Ontario town. It was there where Fiset says he became a millionaire.

While in northern Ontario, he incorporated Elk Lake, north of Cobalt. 

When the First World War started Munroe enlisted. He was in his late 30s at that time.

"He was shot through the right shoulder and lost use of his right arm," Fiset said.

When he returned to Cobalt, he wrote a bestseller on the Allies' advance in Europe called Mopping Up.

The new documentary builds on a biography of Munroe by Dorothy Farmiloe called Legend of Jack Munroe: A Portrait of a Canadian Hero.

Fiset hopes it gives people in northern Ontario a little bit more pride in their history.

"He was larger than life," he said about Munroe.