Mary Tourtel was created in 1920, at a time when the "Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip "Teddy Tail", as well as the strip "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred" in "The Daily Mirror". The then news editor of the "Express", Herbert Tourtel, was approached with the task of producing a new comic strip to rival those of the "Mail" and "Mirror" and immediately thought of his wife Mary, already an established author and artist. Rupert Bear was the result and was first published as a nameless character in a strip titled "Little Lost Bear" on
Polar Bear Express service expansion, the "Polar Bear Express" operated six days per week during the summer months. It left Cochrane in the morning, stayed for a few hours in Moosonee, and returned to Cochrane in the evening. It was primarily used by tourists, although it was used by an increasing number of local residents. The name of the train is misleading — polar bears are rarely seen anywhere near Moosonee. The Polar Bear Express today mostly services the residents of Moosonee and Moose Factory when they travel south from their communities that lack road connections to the rest of Ontario. During the