Thomas Ahearn... From Cigar Boxes to Streetcars

Back in the latter 1970s I worked with a CAD/CAM/GIS company. We used to sell, as part of our systems, specialized plotters supplied by a company called Ahearn & Soper. Little did I know that one of the founders of A&S had such a glorious history and that he and his company had played a pivotal role not only in the daily lives of the residents of Ottawa but also in the lives of all Canadians.
June 24, 1855 was just another day for most people in the Labreton Flats area of Ottawa. People generally went about their business. The Flats were a vibrant part of the growing town.
From within the household of John and Honora Power Ahearn, of Labreton Flats, the day was anything from routine. The cry of a newborn child was heard. The world welcomed Thomas Ahearn. Within not too many years the world was thanking John and Honora for their wonderful gift.
At the age of 15, Ahearn joined the JR Booth company to learn about the field of telegraphy. His starting wage was zero, as Ahearn had volunteered to work for free, just so he could learn.
He learned his lesson very well. By 1877, after reading an article in Scientific American concerning Alexander Graham Bell's pioneering effort to develop a telephone system, Ahearn slapped together two cigar boxes, a series of magnets and wire and, using existing telegraph lines, built the first long distance telephone routing from Ottawa to Pembroke. In order to settle a $16 hotel bill in Ottawa, Ahearn traded his cigar box phone.
Ahearn's foray into the telephony business did not go unnoticed by Bell which offered Ahearn the role of manager of the Ottawa office of Bell Telegraphone Company.
He bounced around the telegraphic industry for a number of years picking up more experience and contacts. One of his new friends was Warren Soper who was the manager of Dominion Telegraph in Ottawa. In 1881, Ahearn and Soper both resigned their respective positions to form a new electrical contracting company called Ahearn & Soper.
Ahearn's firsts where many and varied:

In 1882 Ahearn installed 65 arc street lamps, thus introducing electric light to Ottawa. His Ottawa Electric Light Company built a small waterwheel at Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River to supply power for the street lighting. This is possibly the first hydraulic generator in Canada.
In 1887, for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, Ahearn and Soper were contracted to illuminate the Parliament Buildings with thousands of electric lights. This practice continues to this date around Christmas.
In 1891, he introduced the first electric streetcar into Canada at Ottawa. He built the first electric powered hot-water heating for the cars in the winter. He also invented a rotating brush sweeper to clear the track of snow and argued to get Sunday service for the streetcars. (image below from Ottawa Archives)