Sudbury Writers' Guild wants people's stories about the Superstack

Since the early 1970s the Superstack has been a part of Greater Sudbury's skyline.

Before the CN Tower was built in 1976, the 381-metre Superstack was the tallest freestanding structure in Canada.

Now it's slated to be dismantled, but the Sudbury Writers' Guild wants people to share their memories of the structure through short stories, poetry and non-fiction.

"I really hope we get a great variety of viewpoints on this smokestack, whether you worked on it or had a family member work on it, or lived below it," said Liisa Kovala, the president of the Sudbury Writers' Guild.

"Maybe you were a kid growing up in Copper Cliff, or maybe you're part of the re-greening of Sudbury and you want to talk about those aspects."

The Superstack has a special significance for Kovala and her family. Her father, Aarne Kovala, was a foreman who worked on smokestacks across Canada and in the U.S. He was part of the construction crew that built the Superstack from 1970 to 1972.

On Aug. 20, 1970, he was atop the Superstack when a deadly tornado struck the towns of Lively and Copper Cliff, which are now part of Greater Sudbury.

"They hung on for their lives," Kovala said about her father and his co-workers.

"There were, you know, several guys up there and he said you could see the clouds darkening and the wind picking up and you could see it coming from a distance, and it was getting closer and closer to Copper Cliff."

Before her father died in 2018, Kovala was able to share the news that Vale planned to dismantle the Superstack.

The company invested $1 billion into its Atmospheric Emissions Reduction (AER) program in Sudbury, which reduced its sulphur dioxide emissions by 90 per cent. Those improvements meant Vale no longer needed the tall Superstack, and replaced it with two smaller smokestacks instead.

The work to dismantle the Superstack was supposed to start in 2020, but has been delayed.

When Kovala shared the news with her father, she said she had an emotional reaction – since she had never known a Sudbury skyline without the Superstack – but her father was more practical.

"He said, 'No, that this is what happens when things are no longer needed. Like it had its purpose, it's no longer needed. It's time to take it down.'"

Kovala said she hopes to receive stories from people who had a strong attachment to the Superstack, like she did, but also people who don't care for it at all.

The Sudbury Writers' Guild will have an open mic event at the Sudbury Library main branch on Jan. 12, and will share more information about the project at that time.

People who wish to submit their writing samples will have until May 12 to do so. They can learn more at the Sudbury Writers' Guild website.