1954 was the first full year of production for CFPL. While all Ontarians were reeling from the effects of Hurricane Hazel, and celebrating Marilyn’s Bell’s successful swim across Lake Ontario, there were many more localized stories that were also on the minds of London area residents.

• Canadian Long distance swimmer Marilyn Bell becomes the first person to swim across Lake Ontario, a distance of 51 km.

• Hurricane Hazel, the strongest hurricane ever recorded so far north, hits Toronto and kills 81. Damage is widespread and severe. Before reaching Toronto, Hazel had killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti and 19 in North Carolina.

• The “Snowman Expedition,” sponsored by English newspaper The Daily Mail, searches Tibet for the Yeti or Abominable Snowman. It is the largest search of its kind, but comes up empty.

• The U.S.S. Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine is launched in Connecticut. Sharing a name with the famous submarine in Jules Verne’s book “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,” the Nautilus would become the first vessel to make a submerged trip under the North Pole.

• The American Cancer Society's Hammond-Horn study, demonstrates the effect of cigarette smoking on death rates from cancer and other diseases.

• During a meet between the British Amateur Athletic Association and Oxford University English runner Roger Bannister becomes the first human to run a mile in less than 4 minutes, completing the race in 3 min 59 seconds.