DAVID KYLE
Of those servants of the Corporation who have attained positions of responsibility and who have passed to the Great Beyond
it will perhaps be recognized that an outstanding personality was that of David Kyle.
Mr. Kyle came to the Sault in 1909 in charge of the creation of the gas engine plant in connection with the No. 3 Blast
Furnace and during that period his ability was recognized by all who came in contact with him. On the completion of his work
for the contractors he was engaged by the Management and was made Mechanical Superintendent in 1912 and subsequently was appointed
Assistant General Superintendent.
Mr. Kyle left in the early days of World War I to join the overseas forces and served in France with distinction, attaining
the rank of Captain and receiving the decoration of the Military Cross. In 1917 at the urgent request of the Management, Captain
Kyle was released from Military service and came back in June of that year as Assistant to the President. On January 1st.
1918, he was made General Manager and Vice President. Apart from his abilities as an engineer, it is not too much to say that
he effected a revolution in the spirit of the plant forces in those difficult days between 1918 and 1920.
During the fall and early winter of 1919-20 he was working at very high pressure in connection with a proposed new structural
mill. But even his splendid physique had become temporarily less resistant under the exceptional strain, for a chill which
became evident on January 31st, 1920, developed in spite of every care into pneumonia which in the course of a
very few days, terminated fatally.
So deep and so lasting was the impression he made on those who were working under him at the plant that spontaneously
a movement developed among the employees for the erection of a permanent memorial to him on the site of his labours. The memorial
is in the form of a steel ingot and the plaque attached thereto carries the following inscription:
TO THE MEMORYOF
DAVID KYLE
ENGINEER EXECUTIVE
HUMANIST
1910 – 1920
“A MAN AMONG MEN”
ERECTED BY EMPLOYEES
ALGOMA STEEL CORPORATION
A.D 1929
The memorial stands today, and those who pass into the steel plant by its main entrance are daily reminded
of the great soul who worked among them.
A second memorial to Captain Kyle is the David Kyle Public School on Douglas Street. The existence of this school assures
that his name shall come to the attention of several hundred school children each day for years to come, as well as being
kept in the minds of all the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie.