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Barren Churchill, MB.A popular, laid backtourist destination in
Northern Manitoba. A littletown that made a name foritself, despite its size, as“Polar Bear Capital of theWorld”. From belugawhales in the summer topolar bears in the early partof winter.
We made the long, 12hour plus train ride fromThompson in July. Sospeaking from experience,if you’re planning on goingby train, bring a book andsome food. No supper isserved, although there arechips and pop in the can-teen. Breakfast is served thenext morning, in the diningcar, but at a price. Only 16people can eat at a time,and others wait until theseating space becomesavailable. No blankets orpillows on this train either,so bring your own. I had tobuy a blanket for the tripback, as the train was coldgoing there. It’s a long ridetoo, but most of the timewas spent sleeping. Wewent for the day. Left in theevening, arrived the nextmorning, and stayed for 12hours, until the train left inthe evening again.
It was actually enoughtime to take in the town,buy some souvenirs, seethe Eskimo Museum, andenjoy a tour. Be sure totake in Sea North Tours Ltd.We saw beluga whales a
few feet from our boatwhile listening to theirvocals on stereohydrophones. Sea NorthTours also takes a ride outto the Prince Whales FortNational Historic Site, guid-ed by Parks Canada. Theyprovided us with theirknowledge and excellentservice.
We stayed for a half dayat Churchill’s finest in hos-pitality, The Bear CountryInn. Michelle Beaton does afine job at running the inn,and managing a family life.We were provided withtransportation service toand from the train station, aride to the museum, and awinter jacket that I reallyneeded for the tour out onthe water. Being a north-erner, I should have beenprepared for the cold - butit was summer. It’s not sup-posed to get that cold! Itwas six degrees, though,on July 19. Rain and windy- and I wore sandals! Goodthing I brought socks! Butlike I said, it was supposedto be summer!
Despite the cold, andthe long train ride, a friendasked me, “Would you do itagain?” Yes, I would. So, ifyou haven’t been toChurchill, try to get there.It’s a wonderful place tovisit.
On a final note, pleasecheck out my friends atwww.generousadven-tures.com They offer travelauctions for you that bene-fit non-profit organizations.
’Til next time - happytravels.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 2
Well, it’s the songon everyone’slips these days,
and it sounds somethinglike those old countrytunes that always had asad story to sing -‘Summer’s Gone’. Nowupon us, Septembermarks the official arrivalof fall, the return of thefamiliar back-to-schoolritual, and - whether weanticipate the loomingcooler days or not - thereturn of one of nature’smost wondrous specta-cles, autumn’s richcolours dressing up thelands around us.
Not ready to relinquishthe warm, sunny seasonquite yet, this Septemberissue of Cottage Northhangs on a little longer toa couple of things thatare distinctly summer. Asometimes large part ofliving surrounded byboreal forest is interactingand living beside thewildlife that inhabit it,and in particular, with thebear. Both loved andfeared alike, the very-common bruin has foundits way into an entertain-ing story written by RayGarvey. His account ofone particular - and veryinteresting - seasonprospecting byWabowden is not only agreat tale, but also a goodwarning for those of usliving around these most-ly-mischievous beasts.
The summer seasonalso features highly inthe article, “A Yurt. AWhat?”, as we highlighthow these newfangled(but traditional)dwellings are makingtheir way into provincialparks throughoutManitoba, includingClearwater and BakersNarrows. For the manypeople who love a littletime with nature, a yurtmay just turn out to betheir accommodation ofchoice.
Now, whether sum-mer is winding down ornot, Cottage North stillpromises to bring youthe always-interestingstories about the peopleyou thought you knewnext door. We go back intime to the Bingo Minefiasco by Snow Lake,look at some Flin Flonhistory with Art McKeen,and continue our tale ofthe HBM&S beginningswith the Flin Flon StationMuseum. And with asmuch happening nowa-days as yesteryear, weget an in-depth look atone of the well-knownnorthern planes, theDHC3 Otter, take a lookinside the Copper CityCanines Dog Club, exam-ine the coincidences ofour increasingly smallerworld with Jim Parres,and meet a lady fromSnow Lake who’s learn-ing how to follow herdreams as a songwriter.
And although notspecifically any SnowLake songwriter’s song,the ‘Summer’s Gone’tune carries on. But notquite in the pages ofCottage North, as weinvite you to join us forone last hurrah for theseason!
– Jillian Betke
NoteNoteEditor’s
Purchase your copy of Cottage North™ atany retail outlet. Send in the barcode withyour name, address & phone to:
Cottage North10 North Ave.Flin Flon, MB R8A 0T2 Draw date: December 1, 2005
No Cash Value.
Wina LadiesDiamond
Dinner Ring!(From Nasselquist Jewellers)
TPI-Moniques Travel TPI-Moniques TravelMonique RoweTravel ConsultantBox 633, Creighton, SKPhone: 306-688-3555Toll free: 1-866-264-3555Fax: 306-688-6300Email: mtravel@sasktel.netWebsite: moniquestravel.ca
“Experience the Diff“Experience the Differerence”ence”
Travel TalkSubmitted byMonique Rowe
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 3
September/05Volume 3Issue 9
publisher: Randy Daneliuk
editor: Jillian Betke
layout editor: Carl Hill
production team:Tim BabcockGail BakerWyonne BaribeauRich BillyMarc JacksonArt JonesRick HubbsDanielle LabineDawne LabineJonathon NaylorMorley G. NaylorJim ParresMonique RowePatricia VickeryAmy WhiteheadShannon Thompson
advertising sales:Sandra HooverDawne Labine(204) 687-4303
how to reach us: 204-687-4303general fax: 204-687-4473web address: www.r-online.caemail address:cottagenorth@ffdailyreminder.com
postal address:Cottage North™10 North AvenueFlin Flon, ManitobaR8A 0T2
Printed in Canada 2005Cottage North magazine.All rights reserved. Reproduction ofphotos, illustrations or text in anyform without written permissionfrom the publisher is prohibited.
4 Mom, Dad! Can We Get a Puppy?Wyonne Baribeau
8 Under the “G”, Gold!Marc Jackson
12 A Yurt. A What?Jillian Betke
19 Workhorse Bushplane of the North – DHC3 OtterMorley G. Naylor
25 Sometimes a Small World!Jim Parres
28 Belonging to BombertownJillian Betke
30 Snow Lake Stylist Fine-TunesHer DreamMarc Jackson
34 Wabowden SpringRay Garvey
in every issue…2 Travel Talk
6 Calendar of Events
7 BBQ Season
11 Dandee’s Kids Page
17 RNMP Post Museum
39 Cottage ListingsPhoto by Marc Jackson
Mom, Dad!
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 4
“Jimmy’s dog had puppies! Hesays we can have one. We’ll takegood care of it, walk it twice a dayand feed it and you won’t have todo anything! We could teach it tofetch your slippers! Please? Can wepulleezz?”
“Well, I guess it can’t hurt to golook… Oh, they are soooo cute!”
And that is how most puppiesjoin the family circle. And they are
cute puppies. And the kids are faith-ful about feeding and brushing andwalking the new pet. For a fewweeks. And then puppies do whatpuppies do best…they grow. Andthe kids can’t walk the dog anymorebecause he is pulling them off theirfeet while trying to chase the neigh-bour’s cat down the street. As forfetching your slippers…he’s chewedhis way through three of your shoesthis week, and now you should givehim your slippers? So does Fido endup in a kennel in the back yard, or
in the local animal shelter? Did youjust get unlucky and end up with astupid dog? Where do all the gooddogs come from and how do youget one?
The answer lies in the training.Puppies need to be trained, patient-ly and consistently, to become val-ued members of the family and not,“That darned dog!” So where doyou begin? With your local dogclub.
The Copper City Canine DogClub of Flin Flon began with the
Wyonne BaribeauCOTTAGE NORTH
Lisa’s dog ‘Purdy’ flyingover a jump.
Can WeGet aPuppy?
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 5
lucky collaboration of Lynn VanWelter and Lisa Bullee. When Lynnfirst moved to town from Winnipega couple of years ago, she heardfrom a few folks that they would beinterested in a dog obedience class.Since she had experience as anobedience instructor, and a newdog, Jasmine, that needed training,she found a space (the Sportex),put an ad in The Reminder, andawaited developments. Over adozen people and their dogsshowed up to take advantage ofthat first class, one of them beingLisa and her dog Pirdy. Lisa wasalso an instructor and was soon co-teaching with Lynn.Pirdy, being an oldhand at obedience,soon became thedemo dog! Lynn andLisa put their headstogether and begancomparing wish listsof dog sports andactivities they want-ed to try and theidea for an agilityclass was born.They drew up theplans for the equip-ment they neededand set to work. Lisaspent the summer of2003 building thevarious jumps,helped out by Lynnand Jim Munro, whohad graduated fromobedience classwith his Boxer,Dozer. Soon theyhad hurdles, broadjumps, a hoop jump,teeter totter, A-frame and a tunnelto work with. A few of the othergraduates of obedience came alongto try the fun, and soon an agilityclass was being offered as well. InJanuary of 2004 everything cametogether, and the “Copper CityCanines” dog club was born.
Agility offers the obedience classgraduate the opportunity to honetheir skills while having fun,because let’s face it, obedience iswork and somewhat boring. So,after you’ve sent Fido to class hecan graduate and then move on toagility? Well, no. You have to go tothe once-a-week class with yourfurry pal and then spend the rest ofthe week doing your homework. AsLynn says, “The instructors don’t
train your dog; we teach you howto train your dog.” The results youget depend on the time you put in.It’s definitely a time commitment,but one which pays off in a wellbehaved dog and it doesn’t takehours a day. Lynn adds, “You cantrain your dog to do a sit/stay dur-ing a TV commercial! You’re train-ing your dog all the time. Forinstance, you can teach your dog tosit at the doorway and not go outthe door until you go out.” Thisworks in the vehicle as well, “If youcan’t open the car door without thedog leaping out and possibly get-ting hurt, it becomes a safety issue.
And it’s enjoyment, you want toenjoy your pet; it’s one of your fam-ily members. You teach your dogwhere it fits in the family from thetime you get it and because dogsare pack animals, they need toknow where they fit in the pack.” Ifyou won’t be the pack leader, somedogs will try to take over that roleand many dogs think they rankhigher than the children in the fam-ily. So if you want your dog to lis-ten to everyone in the family,everyone needs to learn how totrain the dog. The club is planning ayouth handler class in the future,but for now the youngsters who areinterested in taking obedience class-es with their dogs should be accom-panied by a parent.
The Copper City Canines is opento new club members. There is aone time membership fee of $20.This gets you a club t-shirt in eye-catching red with its distinctivelogo, and discounts on future class-es as an added perk.
This fall the club will be offeringbasic obedience, agility and apuppy class if enough interest isshown. Puppy classes are shorter inlength than basic and very impor-tant for socializing a new puppy. Assoon as puppy has had its first inoc-ulations they are ready for puppyclass. Agility dogs need to attendbasic obedience first, should be
physically fit,and at least oneyear old due tothe stress thatjumping the hur-dles puts on thejoints. The costof the classeswill be the sameas last year andreturning agilitydogs will beginwork on scentarticle retrievingand directionaltraining. Feesare kept low tocover the cost ofrenting the facil-ity and equip-ment upkeeponly; the instruc-tors are volun-teers. The dogclub has no per-manent spaceand as all thatequipment needs
to be set up and taken down everyweek, good manners dictate thatthose taking agility class arrive earlyand stay late to do this.
Lisa is not taking an active role inthe Dog Club this session but isavailable for private lessons. Lynnwill be aided in instructing byCandace Draper this fall. Class size islimited, but you can call Lynn toreserve your spot. New classes beginin the Sportex on Tuesday,September 27.
Could ten weeks really make adifference to your shoe-chewing,leash-pulling doggy delinquent? Isthere hope of parole for the prisonerof your back yard kennel?
Lynn invites you to attend anddiscover the answer for yourself!
Lynn and Jasmine through the hoop.PHOTOS BY WYONNE BARIBEAU
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 6
COTTAGEnorth™
Calendarof Events
September 1through winter - IncoMine Tours, Thompson
Inco offers a 90minute tour of the head-frame, mill, smelter andrefinery on Thursdays at10:00 a.m. For moreinformation call 204-677-2216.
September 1-28 -The Creative Journey,The Pas
The Sam WallerMuseum presents “TheCreative Journey”, anorthern art show, sevendays a week from 1:00p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
September 3-4 -Saskatchewan’s 100thBirthday Party, La Ronge
As one of the 15 hostcommunities chosen, LaRonge’s celebrationbegins Saturday eveningas they host a hockeygame with the La RongeIce Wolves and MelfortMustangs. Eagle PointResort will be having acabaret featuring theband Butterfinger on thatsame evening.
Sunday festivities getunder way with a pan-cake breakfast followedby an interdenomination-al church service whichwill feature an illusionist.
At 12:00 noon therewill be performances onthe main stage by D.C. &The Boys andButterfinger.
All afternoon localsand visitors will be treat-ed to local entertainers, aclown, games, a carica-ture artist, petting zooand pony rides.
At 5:00 p.m. the beergarden opens and theday will be topped off bya spectacular fireworksdisplay which starts at9:39 p.m. This is timed soevery host communitywill start the display atthe same time.
For more informationcall 306-425-2066.
September 3-5 - AllBreed DogShow/Obedience Trials,Saskatoon
Open to purebreddogs that are registeredand recognized by CKC.For more information call306-374-6611.
September 7-10 -Saskatchewan’s Wine,Spirits and SpecialtyFood Show, Saskatoon
Premiere presentationof this event. Samplehigh-end wines, spirits,liqueurs, sherries, portsas well as various fooditems. Call 306-975-7797for more info.
September 8 - Paradeof Programs, The Pas
UCN building from6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.Various businesses, recgroups and organizationswill be represented. Forinformation and registra-tion call 204-627-1131.
September 9-10 -Health & Leisure Mart,Thompson
13th annual mart heldin the arena Friday andSaturday. On hand willbe fundraising groups,upcoming programs, recand sport group registra-
tion, health, crafters andhome businesses, UCNand KCC. 204-677-7952
September 9-11 -Canada’s Largest YardSale, Southern Manitoba
Throughout southeastManitoba, this 250 kmroute has multiple yardsales, eight antiqueshops, six museums andvarious market gardens.Sample Ukrainian,Mennonite and Frenchfare along the way andtop it off with a $40gourmet dinner of bison,emu, pickerel and Frenchtourtiére at La Table desBonnes Soeurs in St.Pierre-Jolys. 204-268-2884
September 10-11 -Sunflower Art & CraftShow, Yorkton
Now in its 27th year,this is the largest unjuriedart and craft show andsale in the province. Thisevent attracts over 175exhibitors from acrossCanada. Call 306-783-8722 for more info.
September 16-18 -Metis Fall Festival, PrinceAlbert
11th annual - jigging,fiddling, square dancing,king/queen trapper com-petitions, art/craftbooths, talent contest,variety show. Dry danceFriday and Saturdaynights. 306-763-7936
September 18 - 25thAnnual Terry Fox Run,Canada-wide
Run, walk, bike,rollerblade for cancer
research. Contact yourlocal recreation depart-ment for details concern-ing your area.
September 24-25 -Tapestrama 2005, PrinceAlbert
Displays of cultures inart, music and dance.Twenty ethnic foodbooths, demonstrations,workshops and historicaldisplays. 306-922-0405
September 30 -October 1 - P.A.Exhibition AnnualPolkafest, Prince Albert
Dine and dance fortwo days - featuring threebands, 15 hours of danc-ing and continuousmusic. Full canteen onsite.
October 1 - The PasTentative date for the
opening of the new ThePas Multiplex, formerlythe Roy H. JohnsonArena. This is the com-pletion of Phase 1.Contact Kelsey Rec.Department for moredetails at 204-627-1131.
October 1 - Seniorsand Elders Day,Manitoba-wide
For more informationphone 1-800-665-6565.
October 1-2 - VanityC u p / W a l l e y eTournament, Nipawin
12th annual walleyetournament with 160teams competing from allover Canada and U.S.Over $175,000 in prizes.Call 306-862-9801 to con-firm dates.
Sticky Ribs4 lbs. pork baby back
ribs 3/4 cup sweet barbe-
cue sauce1/2 cup applesauce 1/2 tsp. each: dry mus-
tard and crushed red pep-per
1/4 tsp. each: groundginger and ground cinna-mon
Cut ribs into 2-rib sec-tions. Mix remaining ingre-dients; set aside.
Place ribs in largesaucepan or Dutch oven.Add enough cold water tocompletely cover ribs;cover pan with lid. Bringto boil on medium-highheat. Reduce heat to medi-um-low; simmer 20 min-utes. Drain.
Preheat grill to mediumheat. Grill ribs 10 minutesor until cooked through,turning occasionally andb r u s h i n ggenerouslywith theba rbe cuesauce mix-ture.
StuffedPeppers on
the Grill1 - 3 / 4
cups water,divided
1-1/2 cups minute rice2 cups cooked burger 1 small zucchini,
chopped 1 tsp. Italian seasoning 1-1/2 cups low fat
spaghetti sauce, divided 1-1/2 cups mozzarella
cheese, divided 1 large each: red, yel-
low and green peppers,halved lengthwise, seeded
Preheat grill to medi-um-high heat. Bring 1-1/2cups water to boil inmedium saucepan. Add
rice; cover. Simmer 5 min-utes. Remove from heat;let stand 5 minutes. Stir inground burger, zucchini,Italian seasoning and 1cup each of the spaghettisauce and cheese. Spooninto peppers; top evenlywith the remaining 1/2cup spaghetti sauce andremaining 1/2 cupcheese.
Place each filled pepperhalf on center of sheet offoil. Bring up foil sides.Pour 1 Tbsp. of the remain-ing water onto bottom ofeach foil packet. Doublefold top and ends to sealpacket, leaving room forheat circulation inside (6packets.) Place on grate ofgrill; cover grill with lid.
Grill 20 to 25 minutes oruntil filling is heatedthrough and peppers arecrisp-tender.
Juicy, Grilled Peaches1/4 cup
b a l s a m i cvinaigrettedressing
2 Tbsp.honey
4 ripep e a c h e s ,halved andpitted
1/2 cupt h a w e dw h i p p e d
topping
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Mix dressing andhoney in medium bowl.Add peaches; toss to coat.
Grill peaches 6 to 8 min-utes or until softened, turn-ing occasionally and brush-ing with the dressing mix-ture.
Place 2 peach halves ineach of four dessert dishes;top each with 2 Tbsp. ofthe whipped topping.Garnish with fresh mintleaves, if desired.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 7
Grilling tipOn slabs of ribs, remove themembrane on the bone sideto allow marinades to pene-trate.
Look for peaches that areslightly soft with skin that ispartially red with some tintsof yellow.
BBQ Season
UUnnddeerr tthhee ““GG””,, GGoolldd!!
Long before the Enrondisgrace, and morefittingly, the Bre-X
scandal hit the front pagesof the papers, the saltingof the Bingo Mine was thetalk of Northern Manitobaand points south. For itsera, it was a ruse of majorproportions, and involvedsalting a minor goldoccurrence in a mine nearthe once bustling frontiercommunity of Herb Town,on the shores of WekuskoLake. In the process ofsalting the Bingo, itbecame obvious that theonly mining the perpetra-tor of the crime intendedto take place was withinthe depths of the public’spurse.
The salting of a gold
mine is the practice ofpresenting it to a potentialbuyer or stockholder as aproperty that, for allintents and purposes,looks much better than itactually is. This is normal-ly achieved by enhancingthe grade of the mine byintroducing outside ore orgold.
The salting of theBingo Mine was not thework of a mere amateur.No, there was somethought and planning putinto this con. Most goldsalting takes place at theworking face and can becarried out in an assort-ment of ways. However,the most common of theseis to blast particles of goldinto quartz stringers orveins with a shotgun.Thus the gold is embed-ded in the host rock and
appears, even to a trainedeye, to be indigenous. Butupon further inspection, itoften turns out to besomeone’s wedding ringor their Aunt Orpha’s 24kgold earrings.
One of the first exploit-ed gold occurrences inNorthern Manitoba wasthe one the Rex Mine wasbased upon. The Rex wasa legitimate mine and dur-ing its life span, and as alater incarnation as theLaguna Mine, it producedclose to 60,000 ounces ofgold.
It was staked in 1914and a year later, the Bingo
was staked. In 1919,Joseph Myers, a NewZealander and self-styledpromoter of sorts, pur-chased the Bingo claimand went about marketingthe property. He managedto garner some interest inWinnipeg and proceededto work the claim. Thisresulted in some shaftdevelopment and drifting,and from this work it wasdeduced that the Bingowas a high-grade mine.Surely, money was justwaiting to be made.
Travelling overseas, Mr.Myers no doubt found itrelatively easy to interest
The boiler from the Bingo, circa 1960.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 8
Marc JacksonCOTTAGE NORTH
British investors in his new venture.His deals assumedly concluded inrecord time by pointing to the suc-cess of the nearby Rex Mine andtouting some amazing grades fromthe development work done thusfar at the Bingo. As a result, BingoGold Mines Ltd. was created andcharged with putting the mine intoproduction.
A firm of U.S. metallurgists washired to recommend a mill designand method of gold recovery.During the process, several of thecompany’s engi-neers inspected themine and notedirregularities in theore.
Samples from theorebody demonstrat-ed an unbalanceddistribution of gold.Much of it resembledfilings, rather thanthe type of gold thatwould naturallyoccur in ore.
When investorswere apprised ofthis, an independentinspection of the ore-body was ordered. Inthe ensuing analysis,Mr. Myers’ veryunique and utterlycompelling methodof operation was exposed.
It appeared that rather than salt themine like any other self-respectingcharlatan would have done, Myerssalted the sample bags. He sprinkledthem with gold filings before theywere used to collect ore samples fromthe Bingo. Samples using Myers’ doc-tored bags showed extremely highgrades, averaging over one ounce ofgold per ton of ore, while the cleanbags used in the investigation showed
a true grade of approximately one –two grams per ton. With a gold pricehovering around the twenty dollarmark, recovery of a mere gram or soper ton would hardly pay the bills atthe Bingo.
Myers’ salted sacks showed up insome very surprising places. In the1920’s, a yard of cloth was almost asdear in the far north as the ore theminers toiled for, and people tendedto make things out of almost anythingthat they could. After the Bingo scan-dal broke, it was found that a pocket
sewn on to a local prospector’s over-alls and a chair cushion in a mineoffice both assayed and showed highgold values. They had both beenmade from the Bingo’s sample bags.
As the story goes, in order tosomewhat cover his tracks before theinquiry took place, Myers either tookor had most of the sample bagsturned inside out and beaten over theside of a potato bin at the mine. Atsome later point, the dirt at the bot-
tom of the bin was assayed andturned up extremely high gold values.
Later evidence revealed that Myershad retained the services of aWinnipeg plumber, who he paid tofile some brass (or so this plumberwas told) into small vials for him. Anexamination of particles found after-wards, in the area that the plumber’swork was done, proved the filingswere in fact gold. Myers was alsofound to be in possession of a suit-case that held several Bingo samplebags, all salted with gold.
He was ulti-mately chargedand appearedbefore a judge ina Winnipegcourtroom; how-ever, the judgerejected someevidence as beingunrelated to thecase and Myerswas eventuallyacquitted.
After clearingup his troubleswith the Bingoproperty, Myerschanged hisvocation (eventhough manymay disagree)and ran in theN e l s o n
Constituency (which changed to theChurchill riding in 1933) in the 1925and ’26 Parliamentary elections.Running as a Conservative nominee,he lost both times to Progressive can-didate, Thomas William Bird. Withhis name still mottled in controversy,and stricken with Influenza, Myerspassed away late in 1926.
Information used in putting thisarticle together was referenced fromThe Manitoba Historical Society.
Remains of the old Bingo Mine, circa 1960.SUBMITTED PHOTOS
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 9
We have a variety of deboned:
Pickerel, Pike, Whitefishfillets packaged individually in:
10 lb. Boxes Fresh or Frozen
100 Spruce St.Denare Beach, SK
362-2388 or 362-2555
Fish makes a great Year Round Gift!Whether you’re in town for business or pleasure,
stay where you’re treated like “Royal-ty”
• Commercial and Corporate pkgs.• Beverage room • VLT’s• Royal Ribs & Steakhouse• Air-conditioned rooms with computer access
Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Flin Flon.
93 Main St.687-3437Royal HotelRoyal Hotel
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 11
Ican hardly believethat summer isover, but I am
excited to go back toschool and see myfriends.
We had a great sum-
mer swimming, boating,camping and spendingtime at the cabin (therewas lots to do every-where we went.) Welearned lots of newgames like Bocce Balland some card games.Grandma taught mybrothers how to playcribbage so they canplay with Mom. Maybenext year I’ll be oldenough to learn too!
Our last day of holi-days at the cabin wasvery interesting. A smallbear decided to comefor a visit and check outour shed. Dad scaredhim away, but he onlywent into the bush. He
came back three moretimes before we decid-ed to leave! Hopefully,he won’t be there nexttime we go out.
Since school is start-ing, I thought I’d getsome neat questions andanswers to help get ourbrains in gear for thework. Give them a try!If you have any ques-tions that you wantanswered, send them tome and Mom will help mefind the answers foryou.
Don’t forget to wishyour grandmas andgrandpas “HappyGrandparents Day” onSeptember 11!
Danielle LabineCottage North
KIDS PAGEDandee’sSummer is over Quiz
1) What animal has thebiggest eyes in the world?
2) How many stars arethere in the Milky Way?
3) Do other planetshave sunrises and sun-sets?
4) How often do wedream?
5) Why do we havetoes?
6) When we are born,is it already decided if wewill be right-handed orleft-handed?
7) Are fireflies actuallyflies or are they beetles?
8) Is it true that insectswere the first creatures onearth that learned how tofly?
9) How much paperdoes one tree make?
10) Which is colder,the North Pole or theSouth Pole?
We went to wish Flinty aHappy Birthday at his party!
Answers 1) Giant squid haveeyes the size of extralarge pizzas.
2) 200 billion.3) Yes.4) Four or five times a
night.5) Toes help us to keep
our balance and they sup-port about half ourweight.
6) Yes.7) Beetles.8) Yes.9) One average sized
tree can make a four foottall stack of news papers.
10) The South Pole iscolder because it is higherin the mountains and notsurrounded by water likethe North Pole is.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 12
Paskwayak BusinessDevelopmentCorporation Ltd.
P.O. Box 10100Opaskwayak, MB, R0B 2J0Phone: 627-7200Fax: 623-6830
The Pas IGALocated in the Otineka Mall.The first Tuesday of theMonth is Family DiscountDay, Save 10% off all yourpurchases! The LargestGrocery Store & selectionIn The Pas, MB 623-6187
Kikiwak InnYour Home Away from Home.Stay at the Kikiwak Inn & Playat the Aseneskak Casino.Call for more details. Toll Free1-888-545-4925/623-1800
OCN ShellOn the Otineka Mall ParkingLot. Open 24 hours per day,365 days per year! We’re neverclosed. We sell Fishing &Hunting licenses/tackle, Lototkts & propane. We acceptAirmiles. 623-4995.
The Otineka MallThe largest Shopping Mall in theNorth. Shop for all your needs underone roof. From groceries toelectronics, clothing, health &beauty needs, giftware & so muchmore. 627-7230
The Pas Food Town“Your friendly neighbourhoodgrocery store!”Located on Hogan Ave. in The Pas.The 20th of every month save 10%Off your grocery purchases.623-3033
Your Dollar StoreWith MoreNew to the Otineka Mall. This store haseverything that you could imagine atlow, low prices.623-5099.
Northland Redi-MixConcrete & GravelFor all your YEAR ROUND concrete andgravel requirements call 627-7200Certified Plant
The Pas IGA and Otineka Mall*Celebrating 30 Years!*
Nov. 1 - 4, 2005Gift Certificate Give-away
Plus Draws every Friday until Oct. 28.
Anniversary Week Celebration!
A Yurt. A What?
Yurt. The word itselfjust sounds kind offunny, even to the
multicultural ears of apeople who regularly usesuch oddities as toque,timbits, and skin-a-ma-rinky-dinky-dink. But yurtis definitely a real word,and it definitely has realmeaning - it is a Russianword referring to the tradi-tional dwelling - or home- of Central Asian nomads.With a design dating backto the time of GenghisKhan in the 13th century,today’s yurt (also knownas a ger) is a variation onthese round, once-portable, tent-like struc-tures. Comprised of fiveelements - lattice walls,roof beams, a roof ring, a One of the yurts in Whiteshell Provincial Park.
Jillian BetkeCOTTAGE NORTH
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 13
Jeremy Harrison, MPDesnethé - Missinippi - Churchill River
“Fighting for NorthernSaskatchewan”
Please contact me at:(p) 1-866-815-2334(f) 306-234-2339
Box 144Meadow Lake, SK
S9X 1Y1website: www.jeremyharrison.ca 687-4830
We Brush Vacuum the inside of all yourducts and use Colour Video Cameras to
ensure a complete job, we clean the furnace,check blowers and will clean if necessary.
door and a hide or fabric covering - theseconvenient, intriguing little dwellings will becoming to a Manitoba park near you!
With the hope of expanding their ever-popular family vacation programs, the folks atManitoba Parks began looking at alternativeaccommodation options for their broad anddiverse customer base. In touch with otherpark jurisdictions across the continent, theywere instantly intrigued by the idea of thiscost-effective, convenient, and unique ideathat had proven itself successful time andagain.
With a pilot project of ten yurts, located inNutimik campground in Whiteshell ProvincialPark, already opened in mid-July, they havenow had some time to evaluate and gauge thepublic’s response. And according to TracyElbourne, Head of Outdoor RecreationPrograms, “We’ve had a really positiveresponse, through reservations, customer feed-back, and also by those simply attracted bycuriosity.”
As a result of such strong support, ManitobaParks has decided to go ahead with placingyurts in four additional areas of the province.By the end of the summer, 2006, a total of 24yurts will be spread out (exactly how will bebased on a number of factors) amongstAsessippi, Spruce Woods at Kiche Manitou,Clearwater at Campers Cove, and BakersNarrows Provincial Parks.
The cost to rent a yurt - in 2005 - is $30 plustaxes, with a minimum two night stay. In con-sideration of all guests, they are non-smoking,non-pet, non-cooking facilities (cooking maybe done outside at the firepit or with a propanestove or barbecue brought from home).
For those discerning of a vintage, outdoorcamping experience, these little structures willnot disappoint. They are convenient, tradition-al and non-evasive by nature, and may justbeat a wet tent in the comfort and cozinessdepartments.
Yurt. All of a sudden the word doesn’tsound so funny; all of a sudden, it sounds likehome.
For more information, go towww.manitobaparks.com
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY MANITOBA PARKS
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 14
R. M. of KelseyA True Northern Experience
Rural Municipality of Kelsey264 Fischer Ave., P.O. Box 578The Pas, MB, R9A 1K6E-mail: rmkelsey@mts.netWebsite: www.thepasarea.com
LUD of Cranberry PortageOffice105 Portage Road, P.O. Box 209Cranberry Portage, MB, R0B 0H0E-mail: ludcran@mts.net
$1.00Commercial/ResidentialLots for Sale
Wanless Jamboree - Third Weekend in JulyTrout Challenge - August Long WeekendRalls Island Annual Ski-doo Poker Derby
Fishing Derbies, Camping Facilities, SnowmobileTrails and so much more!
visit us at www.cookandcooke.com
• Commercial and Residential Insurance• “The Standard” Lodge & Outfitters Insurance program• Stand Alone seasonal homeowner policies• Auto Insurance• Commercial Truckers Insurance• Liability Insurance• Logging Contractors Insurance
Box 600, 314 Edwards AvenueThe Pas, MB R9A 1K6Phone: 623-5411 • Fax: 623-3845
Following is the second install-ment in a series of three arti-cles, which offer an interesting
and historical perspective on thebirth of Flin Flon and its mine. Thefirst piece ended with TomCreighton’s discovery of what was toeventually build an industry andcommunity here in this barrennorthern land, and now the sagacontinues with the story of themine’s tests, investments and finallystart up.
One fact after another discour-aged the early promoters. FlinFlon’s remoteness was as disheart-ening as any. The nearest railheadwest was at The Pas, only 75 milesaway in an airline but about 150miles as the trail went, following thelakes and portage. Under good con-ditions you might make the trip infour days or less; under bad condi-tions you might take ten days ormore; and there would be periods,during the breakup and freeze-upseasons, when you couldn’t travel atall. But more discouraging than thegeography was the metallurgy.
Some 25,000 feet of drilling hadbeen done, two shafts had beensunk, and various crosscutting anddrifting had been carried on. Theyrevealed an ore body at least 2,600feet long, 900 feet deep, and (count-ing ‘waste horses’ or unmineralized
rock) 450 feet wide at the center - atremendous body. The assaysshowed, besides gold and silver,traces of a wide variety of minerals- selenium, tellurium, cadmium,lead, arsenic, cobalt, antimony. Inshort, a little bit of everything, but
in little bits. That was the trouble.The solid sulfide defied econom-
ical treatment, for the reason thatthe existing techniques could notmake a clean separation of suchfractional quantities of zinc andcopper. Nobody knew what to do
FFlliinnttaabbbbaatteeyy FFlloonnaattiinn,,EEssqq.. IIII
Island Falls power station, circa 1947.
Submitted byFlin Flon Station Museum
about the zinc. Indeed,the first exploiters pro-posed to throw it away. Asfor the pyritic smelting ofthe copper concentrates,which this kind of orewould normally call for,the cost of freighting coaland coke to Flin Flon,together with the scarcityof local fluxing materials,precluded any chance ofeconomical treatment.
Enter Roscoe HenryChanning who has lived amore exciting life thanmost professional explor-ers.
When the Flin Flon orebody was first brought tohis attention Channinghad charge of all of HarryPayne Whitney’s miningproperties, including aresearch company calledComplex Ore Reserves,formed to study process-es for treating complexsulfide ores, and so the
Flin Flon ores seemedappropriate. Moreover,scattered among theWhitney mines were menwho had dealt with allmanner of problems.Hard, resolute men likeChanning’s chief engi-neer, Robert E. Phelan,who had been with himfor 15 years. And WaldronA. (Baldy) Green, whohad mined tin at 17,000feet in the BolivianAndes. And MauriceRoche, superintendent atIdaho Maryland. Therewere these, and others;and for each of themChanning has an affectionand trust that leaven thestern realities of mining.
In 1925 Phelan andBaldy Green were sent toFlin Flon to make certainno mistake had beenmade in the tonnage andassays, and to locate asource of hydroelectric
power. Phelan’s investiga-tion confirmed the ton-nage estimates, and thevalues promised to runeven higher than indicat-ed. In the search for apower site he was suc-cessful beyond expecta-tion. Pushing toward theChurchill River, he heardone day the pounding ofwhite water. At the placenow called Island Falls,about 500 miles abovethe river’s mouth atHudson Bay, he cameupon the rapids thatpromised what he need-ed.
The next job was tofind out whether the lab-oratory men could workout an economical treat-ment for the ore. Phelanbelieved that satisfactoryconcentrates of copperand zinc could beobtained by flotation, thetailings could be cyanid-ed for gold and silver,and the rest of the opera-tion would conform to
standard practice. That is,the copper concentratescould be smelted, and thezinc concentrates treatedby roasting and electroly-sis. Generally speaking,the theory was proved,but it took thousands oftests, 300 tons more ofFlin Flon ore, two years’work, and $175,000 of Mr.Whitney’s money.
Most people think ofmining as reckless, blind-folded speculation; butthe care and preparationbrought to bear on theproblem were in accor-dance with the best prac-tices of U.S. capital. FirstPhelan’s men tested therecovery process on alaboratory scale. Thenthey went a little bit fur-ther, built a two-ton mill(daily capacity) in theback of the laboratory,and struggled with thatfor four months. Thenthey went further still,putting up a 30-ton pilotmill at Flin Flon. That way
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 15
Going outfor Business
Clearance Sale
Viking LodgeCranberry Portage 204-472-3337
Instock Items Only30% - 50% off
Fish tackle/supplies, Shotgun reloading supplies,Clothing, Rain gear, Stihl & Husquavarna saws/parts,
ATV accessories, OB/boat accessories
Suzuki Quad RunnersOnly 1 Left - 400 Auto new
1 used in stock
Going at
Dealer Cost
plus Freight
Sept. 1 to 15 only8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. DailyClosed 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Suzuki Four StrokeOutboards
4 hp, 6 hp, 9.9 hp,15 hp, 30 hp
Also “used” motors available
This is a Hudson Bay stope at the 1,690 foot level, circa1947.
IMAGES COURESY OF THE FLIN FLON STATION MUSEUM
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 16
they were able to work with fresh-ly broken ore, test the local wateravailable for flotation, and proveup on a semicommercial basis themost uncertain stage of the treat-ment.
By November 1927, just beforethe option was due to expire,Channing knew that the ore couldbe mined and treated at a profit.
On the basis of 50-year priceaverages (fifteen-cent copper, six-cent zinc, gold at $20.67 anounce, and silver at 50 cents)Channing reckoned he couldmake a profit, before depreciationand depletion, of $3.50 a ton. At aproduction of 3,000 tons a day,this meant that the 18,000,000tons of ore would last about 17years and yield a total profit of$63,000,000, which would payback the original $27,500,000 cap-ital plus about 130 per cent. Sothe Flin Flon ore body looked likea safe bet, but was anything but abonanza as mining potentialitiesare calculated. But Channing wascounting also that more ore wouldbe found below the 900-footlevel. And that if new strikes weremade in the neighbourhood, as
seemed likely, he could expect todo custom smelting on the sideand pay off some of the smelterinvestment. Which was what hap-pened. The indicated ore reservesdoubled.
“I’m willing to go along,” Mr.Whitney said - that simply.Hudson Bay was incorporated inDecember. The Manitoba andSaskatchewan governments, anx-ious to encourage new capital,discharged the company from lia-bility for smelter-smoke damageover a 40-mile radius. Manitobaguaranteed up to $3,000,000 inbonds to finance a railroad exten-sion from The Pas.
In the cold and gales of January1928, the railroad gangs, assem-bled at The Pas, started pushingsteel toward Flin Flon, laying therails across the frozen muskeg andthen, before the surface thawed,returning to drop ballast under-neath lest the track sink out ofsight. A horrible uncertainty cen-tered around the power plant atIsland Falls, 59 miles past FlinFlon. The only feasible route then,as now, was over the frozen lakesand portages in the wintertime.
Nothing went wrong. The rail-road pushed into Flin Flon thatfall. All that winter and the next,and into the second fall, some1,700 men worked as under alash. The first winter a fleet of100-horsepower tractors hauled23,000 tons to Island Falls. Atransmission line was strung over356 double-circuit steel towers.Cold did queer things to machin-ery, causing gears and pinionsand bolts to snap off. One sum-mer a forest fire swerved betweenIsland Falls and Flin Flon, missingthe power plant by a few yards.
“But everything climaxed at theright time,” Green remembers. InJune 1930 the last rivet went intothe headframe. That same monththe switches were thrown atIsland Falls. The smelter wasn’tready, but the first trial batch ofore soon tumbled into the gyrato-ry crusher. By October the coppersmelter and the zinc plant weregoing, and yellow smoke wasfuming over the lip of the stack.“When I looked up and saw that,”Roche recalls, “it seemed as ifwe’d all been working a hundredyears.”
Congratulationson becoming the
2nd Princess at theMiss Manitoba Pageant.Way to go Brit, we are very proud of you!
148 Green St.Flin Flon
(204) 687-3940
1-866-687-3673www.northlandford.mb.ca
1-888-623-4350
Hwy 10The Pas
(204) 623-4350Brittany Slugoski
We are thrilled to befeaturing the RoyalN o r t h w e s t
Mounted Police PostMuseum, and the manyinteresting articles either onloan or donated. This is thefirst submission from themuseum, and you can lookforward to future articleseach month.
Whale Harpoon GunA harpoon gun, discov-
ered in 1965 by Creightonresident Doug Lamb whileflying on Baffin Island, wasoriginally part of thePolynia, a 19th centurywhaling ship, which carriedsix boats, each with har-poon guns. The Polynia, a582 ton, square-rigged,steam-driven whaler andsealer vessel, was built atDundee, Scotland in 1861.
Under the command ofCaptain William Guy in thefall of 1862, the Polynia wason a trip from Dundee toSt. John’s, Newfoundland.Just two days after leavingthe port, the Polynia struck
a heavy southwest gale thattook the life of one of thecrew and injured ten oth-ers. The heavy gale carriedaway the ship and dam-aged her structure.
After weathering thestorm, the Polynia went tothe seal fishery with Guy incommand. On July 11, 1892the Polynia became caughtin the ice and Guy and hiscrew of thirty-seven aban-doned ship. The next dayshe went to the bottom.
Doug Lamb recalls, “Itwas during the years thatthe Arctic surveys were infull swing, we providedfixed wing support, haulinggroceries, fuel and justabout everything else thatwas in demand through the’50s to early ’70s.”
The whale harpoon gun,that is marked with the #1representing the #1 har-poon boat, can be seen atthe Royal NorthwestMounted Police PostMuseum at 216 CreightonAvenue in Creighton.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 17
Book your winter holiday now!
Call the Specialistswho can put you here
314 Edwards Ave., The Pas, MB(204) 623-3414202 - 55 Selkirk Ave., Thompson, MB(204) 677-7800
Huskie THuskie Travelravel
1-800-268-9664
Royal Northwest Mounted PolicePost Museum
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Whale harpoon gun
The times, they are a’changin’, or at thevery least they’re
speeding up. People arebusy juggling jobs, kids, ahome, relationships andmore, and expect conven-ience and efficiency frommany of the services intheir lives; and the onearea that’s most obvious isin the restaurant business.Enter Speedy Treats, abrand-new eatery found onMain Street in Flin Flon.
Offering a new optionfor uptown Flin Flon cus-tomers, Speedy Treats wasconceived on the basis ofthree simple ideas: variety,affordability, and conven-ience.
Speedy Treats, an ideasprung from Main Streetconsumers Jamie and CoryGrant, prides itself on thevariety of lunch, afternoon,and light supper fares ontheir menu. On offer areperennial favourites suchas french fries, chicken fin-gers, nachos, pizza by theslice, and other tasty indul-
gences, as well as somehealthy options such asfresh sandwiches, salads,and muffins. They’reheralding the arrival of theever-popular Starbucks cof-fee to Flin Flon, as well asa selection of iced and hotcappuccinos and treatssuch as slush puppies andcotton candy.
Now, a treat just isn’t atreat unless it’s affordable,and that’s another ofSpeedy Treats’ dining prin-ciples - all of the items ontheir menu ring in at under$5. Feeling that affordabili-ty is paramount to thosewho eat out regularly, theymaintain that a quick bite isbest only when it’s accom-panied by a good price.
Finally, according to thefolks down at 120 MainStreet, the perfect accom-paniment to variety andaffordability is conven-ience, and they’ve madesure that’s foremost in theiroperation. With all menuitems prepared, packaged,and ready for pickup, theyensure that they live up tothe ‘speedy’ end of theirname.
With a full, willing staffready to meet their cus-tomers’ needs in excellentstyle and efficient time,
Speedy Treats hopes to fitright into everyone’s sched-ule, whether the times area’ changin’ or not.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 18
Now
Open
120 Main St. • 687-3179
Quick and affordablefor under $5
• Starbucks Coffee• Iced & Hot Cappuccinos• Slush Puppies• Fresh Sandwiches & Salads• Fresh Muffins• Fries • Chicken Fingers• Pizza by the Slice & more!
Mon - Fri - 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.Sat - 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Open
PHOTO BY JILLIAN BETKE
SSpeedy EEatery
Jillian BetkeCOTTAGE NORTH
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 19
FFirst Nations Drum Songsirst Nations Drum SongsIrIrvin Headvin Head
Carving SessionLisa HeadLisa Head
Lecture on Native Medicinal HerbsTTherheresa esa WrideWride
Caribou Hair Tufting WorkshopRegistration: 5:00 p.m. FridayWind-up: Traditional Native Feast
Sunday 2:00 p.m.Cost:$450 per person - includes all
workshops, meals and accommodation$300 per person - if not staying at the lodge
Featuring a “Made in Manitoba” menu all weekend.
Call 681-3250for itinerary
& details.
“Exploring FExploring First Nationsirst NationsTTrraditionsaditions” WWeekendeekendSept. 30, Oct. 1 & 2
• Full Lotto Service
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• Thur - Fri 10-9www.superthrifty.com
623-5150
Pharmacist - Warren HicksPrescription Orders - 623-2381Prescription Delivery available.
• Friendly personal service.• If we don’t have it, we’ll try and get it for you.
After hours EMERGENCY NO. 623-6588Otineka Mall, Serving Opaskwayak andThe Pas and area for over 20 years.
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• Carry out and daily delivery service available• Personal, friendly service from a store that has
been around almost 40 years• Enthusiastic supporter of youth groups and charities
It can be safely statedthat the single enginepiston driven DHC3
Otter aircraft is one of thebig reasons that Canada’snorth became a place forpeople to live and work.The aircraft built byDeHavilland in Canada inthe 1950s is considered bymany as the work horsebush plane of the north(with no disrespect forother great aircraft work-ing in the north such asthe Norseman andBeaver). Across the northin Canada this great air-craft changed the way thatpeople lived. Before it,prospectors in pursuit ofprecious metals, oil, andother commodities had to
live in tents. Wood andother building materialswere too large to be trans-ported into very remoteareas where landing anaircraft was difficult, if notimpossible. The singleengine Otter’s big doorsand large payload spacechanged that, and livingconditions improved con-siderably. This wonderfulplane also had the abilityto take off and land insmall northern lakes sur-rounded by bush. It is alsoa multi-purpose aircraftutilizing floats, wheels, orwheel/skis depending onthe season.
Closer to home, theimportance of this aircraftin the operations of theHudson Bay Mining andSmelting Company Ltd. ishistoric. In the 1960s and
’70s the local mining firm(through its air fleet -Hudson Bay AirTransport) operated threestate of the art Otter air-craft to support its miningand smelting objectives.By call sign, the last unitsin use were PEM, PEN andMIQ. These machineswere truly the work hors-es of the company airline.This versatile aircraftresponded to a plethora oftasks such as flying intoremote areas to supportexploration and drillcamps, patrolling anddeploying personnel onthe main electrical hightension line from theIsland Falls generating sta-tion to the metallurgicalplant in Flin Flon, as wellas supporting the devel-opment of the Snow Lake,
Manitoba ore bodies andsubsequent mines. Thefleet provided invaluableservice in the expansionof the Island Falls generat-ing station and performedfocused duties in supportof the company’s remotearea mines such asDickstone, with no roadconnection.
Long time bush pilotBob Ferguson flew for theHBM&S airline from 1951-65, before moving over toParson’s Airways as a part-ner, and recalls whenHBM&S purchased theirOtters to replace theNorseman aircraft of theirfleet. “The first was callsign GBX, then KTI. Welost GBX due to fire whilein the bush and KTI in ahangar fire in the 1960s.The Otter MIQ was spared
Workhorse Bushplane of the NorthDHC3 OtterMorley G. NaylorCOTTAGE NORTH
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 20
from the hangar fire as I was out fly-ing it at the time.”
Bob still considers the Norsemanone of the best bush planes, but hashigh praise for the DHC3 Otter. “It isa lot warmer to fly and has a largerpayload. It was in demand by cus-tomers - a good solid airplane.”
For a seasoned pilot who spent 40years around the DHC3 Otter, Bob isnot without opinion. “The first Otterswere excellent - better than today -before a host of modifications. AtParson’s Airways, we operated fiveOtters at one point in time. A realimprovement was a Polish manufac-tured engine which increased thehorsepower from the standard Prattand Whitney engine of 600 horse-power to 1000 horsepower.”
Ferguson summed up our conver-sation by stating there is “still ademand and niche for the pistonengine Otter, especially in remoteoperations.”
It is noteworthy to this article, thatMax Ward (WARDAIR), a northernbush pilot, utilized the single engineOtter to originally build his business
- a significant testament to the DHC3Otter, and then went on to own (atthe time) Canada’s third largest air-line.
So let’s take the time to check outthe history of the DHC3 Otter. TheDeHavilland single engine Otter wascreated after the success of theDeHavilland Beaver. It becameknown as the “King Beaver” or larg-er sister/brother of the smallerBeaver. (Like the Otter, the Beaver isstill in service today.) The originaldemand for the single engine Ottercame from the Ontario ProvincialAircraft Service (OPAS). That organi-zation saw a need for an aircraft withincreased capacity and similar per-formance and reliability as theBeaver. Canadian manufacturer Prattand Whitney agreed to produce aversion of their WASP radial engineto meet the need, and the Otter (orKing Beaver) was born. On the 12thof December, 1951, Mr. George Nealflew the first prototype out ofToronto’s Downsview airport.
The magic of this aircraft lay inthe STOL (short take off and land-
ing), a design that would make thisaircraft locally famous for its abilityto take off and land on small lakessurrounded by trees, and interna-tionally on small jungle landingstrips. The DHC3 Otter has the abili-ty to lift off on airstrips of 300 metresand carry a large payload. On designthe manufacturer’s plan saw a needfor high payload for freight, and apassenger load of nine passengersand a crew of two. For freight tasksthe passenger seats could be foldedagainst the wall to provide cargospace. Many pilots found the welldesigned Otter more maneuverablethan the smaller Beaver aircraft, andit earned itself the name “kiddiecar”.
Perhaps the most colourfulaccount of the aircraft lies in the1955 promotional material by theRoyal Canadian Air Force whichboasts “the Otter was chosen by theAir Force for the exacting duties ofsearch and rescue, paratrooper oper-ations, aerial evacuation, and fordropping supplies in to otherwiseinaccessible areas.” The high posi-tion of the tail of the plane and the
Flying into the future. DHC3 Otter with turbine engine – airborne over Flin Flon; faster and better than ever.PHOTO COURTESY OF JACKSON AIR SERVICES LTD.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 21
excellent control qualities of theOtter at slow flying speeds com-bined to make it ideally suited forparachute dropping requirements.By 1953 the U.S. Army got wind ofthe Otter’s performance and ulti-mately ended up purchasing onethird of the total DeHavilland Otterproduction which numbered 466.The U.S. Army popularly referred tothe Otter as the “airborne one tontruck.” (2100 lbs. payload with arange of 875 miles with reserve).
The Otters in service with theOntario Provincial Air Service(OPAS) were instrumental in devel-oping the water bomber as weknow it today. At first, twin tanksthat could each contain some 365litres of water were mounted aboveeach float, to be filled automaticallyduring touch and go alighting onnorthern lakes, and released byrotating the tanks over forest fires.Later, a tank nearly three times larg-er was centrally mounted betweenthe floats, and filled and dumped inthe same fashion.
As mentioned, DeHavilland man-ufactured 466 DHC3 Otters. The lastone rolled out of the plant in 1967.Replaced by the Twin Otter, theSingle Otter continues to fill a nichein the north where conditionsrequire a short take off and landing(STOL) performance and the rela-tively straight forward maintenanceof a radial piston engine.
Fortunately for users and admir-ers of the single engine Otter, the
story doesn’t end here with thisgreat aircraft flying off into history.In recent years, the nine pistonengine of the aircraft has beenreplaced with a turbine engine,extending the life of the plane indef-initely. The turbine engine offersadvantages such as higher power toweight ratio than the reciprocatingengines. The turbine has fewer mov-ing parts resulting in less mainte-nance per flying hour. Because ofthe design, the turbine has a smallerfrontal area resulting in less dragand higher speeds. Most important-ly, for cold weather northern opera-tions, the upgrade provides a dis-
tinct advantage in cold weather start-ing. The engine does not requireany oil dilution or preheating priorto starting. The piston engine, oncestarted, takes considerable time toreach operating temperature, where-as the turbine engine starts readilyand is up to operating temperatureimmediately.
So that’s our look at one great air-plane that has played, and continuesto play, a vital role in the develop-ment of the north. It proudly takesits place alongside similar great per-formers such as the Norseman andBeaver, among others. But those arestories for another day.
Frontal view of turbine engine Otter. Note the difference creating less dragand faster speeds.
PHOTOS BY MORLEY G. NAYLOR COURTESY OF JACKSON AIR SERVICES LTD.
Frontal view of piston engine Otter. Engine covers are removed to show detail.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 22
FFuunn iinn tthhee SSuummmmeerr SSuunn
Summer in the Parkshas ended for anotherseason, and it was a
great success. We wouldlike to thank the ArtsCouncil and Flin FlonParks and Recreation forsponsoring Summer in theParks. Without the help ofour sponsors we couldn’thave done it. Besides oursponsors, there weremany other local business-es that made donationsand helped make our pro-gram exciting and appeal-ing to the children.
Flinty’s Day Camp outat Phantom Lake wasreformatted in 1995 andbecame Summer in theParks. It is primarilylocated at WillowvaleWading Pool but we dospend much of our time atdifferent areas aroundtown. The camp goesfrom 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. andthe afternoon is filled withfun and excitement.
This summer’s counsel-lors were spectacular, andthe kids really seemed tohave a great time witheach and every one ofthem. The counselorswere Nicole Leifso,Michelle Pettersen, ColetteDubie, Chase Scott, SaraLawrence and myself,Paige McBratney. Thecounsellors were trainedbefore the camp beganand were well preparedfor a summer of fun.
The weather cooperat-ed for the first two weeksof camp, and boy was ithot outside! The kidsenjoyed being outside inthe wading pools andplayed hard all day long.It was so hot and the daysjust flew by being outsideand having so much fun.Many days even the coun-sellors ended up in thewading pool, as it was too
hot to not get wet! Onvery hot days the childrenenjoyed playing games inthe pool, such as RedLight, Green Light andWhat Time is it Mr. Shark?The kids really enjoyedthe palm tree at
Willowvale wading pooland the waterspout up atRotary wading pool. Somekids enjoyed the water somuch it was really hard toget them out to do any-thing different.
Some children really
enjoyed doing crafts andlooked forward to iteveryday. Some daysthere just wasn’t enoughtime to fit it into ourschedule, but the days wedid make crafts the kidsloved it. We made things
Submitted byPaige McBratney
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 23
Gateway Drive-InHwy.#10Hours:
Store - 687-43187:00 am - 11:00 pm
7 Days a weekRestaurant - 687-4338
Monday - Saturday9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Closed Sundays
like beaded necklaces,rock animals, paper platefish, egg carton caterpil-lars and much more.
Some weeks through-out the summer weretheme weeks and we hadthe kids dress according-ly, and the counsellorsdid too. This summer wehad a great time withSpirit Week and HolidayWeek. The kids got tocome in their pyjamaswith messy hair, dress inHawaiian clothes andwear their clothes back-wards for Spirit Week.For Holiday Week theygot to celebrate the dif-ferent holidays such asHalloween, St. Patrick’sDay, Valentine’s Day,Easter, and Christmas inJuly. That week was ablast because we gearedall of our crafts and activ-ities to whatever holidayit was. The kids and thecounsellors all enjoyedthese days.
We went on somegreat tours this summer,but the biggest successwas our trip to ChickenChef, where the kidswent on a treasure hunt,created their own littlemini pizzas and had icecream sundaes. Theyloved every second of it.We also toured Wal-Mart,Canadian Tire, McKeen’sTrucking, Co-op, theRCMP station and thePost Office. The kids real-ly enjoy going behind thescenes of places they visitall year long and getting a
feel for what it might belike to work in a busi-ness.
The summer was agreat success, when theweather cooperated, andI think all of the kids arelooking forward to joiningus again next summer.Play is important and thatis just what we bring tothe children’s summer.They play hard all daylong and stay active,instead of sitting in frontof the television and play-ing video games.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY FLIN FLON’S SUMMER IN THE PARKS
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 25
Sometimes a
We’ve all heardthat old saying,“What a small
world!”, and I am sureeach and every one of ushas muttered those exactwords at a moment of sur-prise, when we have runinto someone we haven’tseen for years, some-where, quite unexpected-ly. Yes, life can often bestrange. Quite often. Verystrange.
My editor at CottageNorth ‘confessed’ that thetwo themes our readersenjoy most are NorthernManitoba history stories(people and places) andoutdoor adventures.Imagine that! I thought,let’s try to combine boththese elements with theidea that, yes, it is a smallworld at times.
Just recently, I waspleasantly surprised to runinto Dr. Glen Willson, anold friend of my parents,and his son Rick ofCalgary. Rick had workedfor my dad one summerup on the Churchill Riverin the first Knife Lakeexploration campaign of1969-72. I remember Rickcatching this 20ish poundpike at the rapids on PitaLake (on the Churchill)one night after supper. Wecouldn’t get the monsterin the canoe, so to landhim we brought him intoa little groove in a tinyisland of rock at the bot-tom of the rapids. I wentto bop the pike on thehead with my axe handle
and the pike grabbed theend of the axe handle inhis teeth and wouldn’t letgo! What do you do witha big pike that has youraxe? We eventually wonthe day.
Dr. Willson had flownout to Iskwasum Lake in1953 with my dad, myselfand a crew of men, to GusLindgren’s camp where atame cow moose by thename of Patsy resided.The objective was to bringPatsy back into town in aParsons AirwaysNorseman to the RotaryFair to show the ‘townkids’ a real live, wildmoose. The Doc lookedhale and hearty in his sen-ior years and had a vividrecollection of administer-ing the hypodermic toPatsy. As an 11-year-old
kid, this adventure wassuper-exciting.
How’s this next storyfor a small world?
Not so long ago, I wasat a Sunday morningbreakfast buffet in the RioGrande Valley in Texas.During casual conversa-tion in the line-up, my“eh” gave me away. Theattractive woman ahead ofme said, “I’ve been toCanada fishing lots oftimes.”
Of course, the naturalquery back was, “Sowhere are you from?”
Turns out she waspresently living in Austin,Texas, but had grown upin Wisconsin.
“Oh, I’ve got fishingfriends from Wisconsin,” Ireplied, as if Wisconsin
was the size of CranberryPortage.
“What’s their names?”,she queried. I justlaughed, considering theodds but said, “John andIone Barney from ClearLake” (44 inch – 18 lb.pike was their best nearFlin Flon).
She looked a bitshocked. “I was raised onthe farm next to them,”she stated, “and knowthem very well!”
I couldn’t believe it. Wewent back to our housetogether and phonedWisconsin and talked toIone and surprised her allto heck. The next time wewere all together was atIone’s funeral.
Another time, in 1973, Iwas staying in
Bill (left) and Bob Leech.
Jim ParresCOTTAGE NORTH
SmallW rld!
Whitehorse, in a smallcabin looking out on theYukon River. Most of thecanoes had passed by inearly July on their voy-ages to the Arctic Ocean.It was mid-July and therewas a distinct chill in theair at nights. I was up inthe 88/98 Hotel, when Iran into a fellow with dis-tinctly tailored cuffs onhis trousers, like an ad I’dseen in Playboy maga-zine. “Aye laddie,” hesaid in a heavy Scottishbrogue, “those are cus-tom made by my own tai-lor.”
I looked into the twin-kling eyes, past the heav-ily bearded foliage on hisface and recognizedsomething in there. Icouldn’t put a name tothe face right away.
“Laddie, what do yousee in there?”
Suddenly, it hit me. Iblurted it out, “StanHighmoor!”
“Who in tarnation are
you?”, he said with a star-tled look. No morebrogue. Small world.
Just recently, I got ashock when I picked upa book by the Reverend
Ray Price, a formerBaptist Minister and FlinFlonner, entitled“Yellowknife”. Theauthor mentions theexploits of a certain char-acter by the name ofChummy Plummer. Nowthis name is very ‘individ-ualistic’, but surely thiscouldn’t be the sameChummy (Chalmers)Plummer that used to liveon Church Street, andspent his summers guid-ing and fishing for tro-phies at Plummer’s Lodgeon Great Bear Lake andGreat Slave Lake. As Iread further, I instantlyrealized this was thegrandfather, and he hadbuilt a gambling house inYellowknife, but hadn’tfigured on the policeenforcing the law sostringently.
While on a relaxingday cruise on LittleAthapap with MarshallSchieder (another oldChurch Street resident)on his 1964 Owenslaunch called As Good AsIt Gets, he spun us an oldtime Flon story ofChummy. SeemsChummy Senior and acertain cigar smokinggruffian were the two
main kingpins vying forcontrol of Flin Flon’safter-hours nightlife. Oneday the two kingpinscame face to face on therough hewn woodenboardwalk on MainStreet. Muskeg on bothsides. Neither wouldyield. They snorted andgrowled at each otherand stomped their feetlike two bull moosepreparing to do battle. Itwas reminiscent of ascene in an old wild westmovie, each trying tostare the other down. Inthis case the setting wasthe old wild North!Eventually one kingpinprevailed and in a finalact of disdain kicked thecigar of his opponent offinto the muskeg besidethe prone body of thetoppled kingpin!
To absolutely prove toyou it’s a small world, wewere on our way up tothe Flon in July ’05, andwe had occasion to stopin Rosenort, MB, to dis-cuss book printing with acompany there. TheCredit Union there is abeautiful new, veryimpressive building. Theyhave deposits of over
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 26
The ‘Vanguards’.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 27
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$100 million. The manager treatedus to a wonderful lunch at aMennonite Tea House in town andlater on I met his assistant, TrevorFriesen. When I happened to men-tion in conversation that I was onmy way to Snow Lake to do a bitof fishing and research for a bookI was writing, he interjected, “Well,I’m married to a girl from SnowLake!” (Rebecca Foord!)
I said, “Wow. Small world. TheFoord family just sang at my dad’sfuneral last December!”
While we were at the cabin inJuly, a 67-year-old former FlinFlonner visited my mother at theNorthern Lights Manor. Her maid-en name was Anita Uhrich. Herfamily used to live on ChurchStreet. She is a sister to Wilma andPhilip Uhrich (who is a doctor)and they all live in Vancouver.Anita had been back to visit herdad’s grave (Bill Uhrich) and whileat the cemetery had noticed mydad’s headstone. This promptedher to check on my mother andhence the visit. So many wonderfulold times relived. Small world.
Some of you may rememberDave Lessy who taught music atHapnot High back around 1996.Dave moved on and this year willbe teaching at a brand new schoolin the Toronto area. He is reallyhyped, as the budget allows forhim to do the purchasing of theinstruments for the music program.On a recent visit to Thunder Bay,Dave brought his new bride(Patricia Gabryl) by to meet us.She is a naturopathic doctor inToronto. During the parting con-versation she said, “Yeah, my dad’sbest friend is from Flin Flon.”
I casually asked, “Who’s that?”
“Sid Smoliga,” she said.I almost fell over. Sid and I
played in a band (see picture)called the Vanguards, back in theearly sixties in the Flon, along withMaurice Oakes on trumpet, BillStewart on drums and FrankDietrich on bass guitar. Sid marriedDonna Walton (see picture) andthey have two daughters.
I had just been perusing Sid’snovel “The Time Explorers” at theFlin Flon Library a few days earlierand was ecstatic to see he was apublished author. The address wasOregon, so I wondered if it wasthe SAME Sid Smoliga??
I still see a few of the old FlinFlon Crew (my age group) but I
wonder whatever happened toNeddie Kurbatoff and WayneGurba, who I heard both went toNew Zealand, but returned toCanada? Or how about JohnnieBarnowich, is he still picking gui-tar? Or his brother, Bill (Beech)with the 1959 Chevy convertible.What about Eldon Hillier whohad a beautiful 1956 Crown Vicwith three carbs. They’re proba-bly all rich or famous now, orboth, and wouldn’t talk to meanyways! I wonder if they missfishing in the plentiful lakesaround Flin Flon. Manitobawalleyes are the best!
All together now: YES - It’s aSmall World! (Made a lot smallerby modern technology.)
Gus Lindgren with tame orphan moose, Patsy.SUBMITTED PHOTOS
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 28
KendallWallPandya
AccountingProfessionalsfor NorthernManitoba
118 Cree Rd., Thompson778-731276 Main Street, Flin Flon687-8211
Message fromBev Desjarlais, MPChurchill Riding
Spend timeenjoying what
the great Northhas to offer inevery season.
Constituency OfficesThompsonPh: 677-1333Fax: 677-1339
Toll Free: 1-888-260-2231
The PasPh: 627-1440Fax: 627-1449
“Working for You”
Flin Flon, as a community, is avery welcoming place. Asinstantly as they arrive, new-
comers and visitors alike feel imme-diately at home, as though theysomehow belong here. But thereare some people, it could be said,that truly do belong here - they areas much the community’s as thecommunity is theirs. Art McKeen isone such man, and comes from one
such family. Everything that makesup Flin Flon, makes up Art. Arrivingin Flin Flon in the ’30s, he spent hisworking life in the north’s primaryindustry of mining, he wears withpride the badge of a pioneer in bothbusiness and life, and....perhapsmost importantly for Flin Flonners,he was a long-time, dedicated play-er for the Flin Flon Bombers.
The McKeen legacy in Flin Flonbegan when Bob (Art’s father)arrived with family in tow, in about1935. And, like virtually everyone
else at that time, he eventually hiredon at HBM&S (as a watchman) in1939, at the start of the war.Supplementing his ‘company’ jobwith some freighting and loggingwork on the side, Bob worked “...ashard as any guy needed to in thosedays.” He was a classic example ofthe hard working pioneers whohelped to build this frontier, and hiswork ethic was undoubtedly hand-ed down to his sons, as all three ofthem - Art, Chip and Charlie - ulti-mately also grew into HBM&S
Jillian BetkeCOTTAGE NORTH
BBeelloonnggiinngg ttooBBoommbbeerrttoowwnn
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 29
employees.Well, soon enough that
old family work ethickicked in, and one jobwasn’t enough for theboys anymore, either. Bobhad been working for anold timer by the name ofJack Rosin, who not onlyran the Northern GroceryStore on Main Street, butalso ran a logging busi-ness (there’s that Flin Flonwork ethic again!). It gotto the point where therewere problems anddelays, so in 1950, thethree brothers and theirfather began a businesscalled - appropriately -McKeen’s Trucking.Unfortunately, after a fewyears of juggling, the twoolder brothers decided toleave town, so that leftonly Art and his dad torun the operation (still, ofcourse, on the side of full-time employment atHBM&S). And not longafter their departure, Artwas faced with a big deci-sion - to go full time withthe family business andhelp his aging father, ortry to get rid of it and stayon at the company. Andwith the death of one ofthe local contractors and asubsequent surplus ofwork, Art decided to com-mit to what eventuallybecame one of Flin Flon’smost successful business-es.
Investing in variousequipment over the years(such as loaders, cats andmore trucks), McKeen’sTrucking was actuallykept busy not only withindividual jobs in a num-ber of different sectors,but also contracting forHBM&S. They learned tomeet the company’s var-ied needs very successful-ly over the years, fromdamning and maintainingtailing ponds to helpingcement the new 777 mainshaft. “Even though I was-n’t always their employee,they still got the better ofme; I worked as a labour-
er for 26 years and spent24 years as a contractorfor them - 50 years!”
Now, company manthat he was, there was oneother thing that absolutelycemented Art (and hisbrothers) as a true blueFlin Flonner. Joking thathe got it a little back-wards, Art actually startedby playing for the SeniorBombers (in one of theirlast years), and followingthat was given the oppor-tunity to play junior hock-ey with the BrandonWheat Kings of the thenWCHL (now WHL). Hewas even offered a chanceto play in England the fol-lowing season, but heturned it down in favourof the friends, work andclose-knit community feelof good ol’ Bombertown.With all three boys play-ing for the notoriousmaroon and white, thisfamily was guaranteedimmediate infamy andlong-lasting recognition.So much so, that a few
years later (in about theearly ’50s) the City of FlinFlon even decided toname a street after them.McKeen Avenue, locatedat the south end of thecommunity, was wherethe family once lived andthe business actually
began (and where it islocated to this day).
But the business as it istoday, although found inthe same place, would notbe recognizable to oldBob McKeen as he onceknew it. Now owned byArt’s son Dennis, hisdaughter Sandra, and theirpartner Ray Daneliuk,McKeen’s Trucking nowoffers much more thanjust ‘trucking’. What beganas a humble, supplemen-tary income over 50 yearsago, has grown into a full-blown contracting force,counting not only loadingand hauling as their main-stays, but also rock crush-ing, landscaping, excavat-ing, snow removal andmore.
Now enjoying hisretirement in theOkanagan, Art still likes tocome home and ‘talkshop’, “I guess it’s in myblood.”
But it’s not only hislife’s work that’s coursingthrough his veins; so toois the perseverance of apioneer, a Bomber-liketenacity in business, andthat good old Flin Flonwork ethic. Art McKeen,and everything he’s everbeen a part of, do mostcertainly belong here.
Art McKeen, a true Flin Flonner.
Bob McKeen hauling water for delivery.SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Snow Lake hairstylistAnnette Lamontange-Dawson has spent
years chasing a dream.However, with severalrecent honours, it seemsthat she is getting close tocatching that dream andperhaps even somedaysoon, living it.
Lamontange-Dawson isnot only a hairstylist; she’sa song stylist and lyricistas well. And even thoughit is the beauty parlour
that pays the bills, it’ssongwriting that rules herheart. After years ofsteadily pursuing a careeras a songwriter, she hasscored some success oflate with several songs inher ever-increasing reper-toire of tunes.
Several months back,she won the 2005Manitoba Country MusicAssociation (MCMA) song-writing contest, and alongwith it a $500 prize, for asong called ‘You Can’. Shewas also the runner-up inthat same contest with her
tune ‘I Wish I’d SavedMyself for You’. Part ofher win was an invitationto Winnipeg on theSeptember long weekendto perform her winningsongs at the MCMAConcert in the Park.
In addition to acco-lades at home,Lamontange-Dawson wasa finalist earlier this year,along with her Nashvilleco-writer Hal Stephens, inthe Great AmericanSongwriting Contest. Itwas ‘You Can’, the samesong that won the MCMAcontest, which placedthem in the running in thiscompetition. Also, last fallshe received a bit of indi-vidual praise south of theborder, with an hon-ourable mention inAmerican SongwriterMagazine for one of hersongs called ‘Who’s toSay’.
Moreover she foundout at the beginning ofAugust that she was asemi-finalist with her song‘Alter Me’ in a UK song-writing contest.“Unfortunately, that was
as far as it got, but still it’sa pretty prestigious con-test so it’s all good,” saidLamontange-Dawson.“When I can afford it, Iplan to do a full banddemo on it with a biggerchorus, so it’s good toknow I’m on the righttrack.”
Lamontange-Dawsonstates that her song ‘YouCan’ was actually on holdwith a publisher for awhile, which she says isthe first step to having a‘cut’. “A cut,” she explains,“is when an artist decidesto record your song.That’s where the moneycomes in. When an artistperforms your song,you’re paid royalties eachtime it’s played.”
“Recently I met thewriters of Rascal Flatts’number one hit song ‘I’mMovin’ On’. They weregetting their first royaltycheques that week andthe cheques were forclose to $90,000 (U.S.),each,” said the songwriter.“And that was just theirfirst payment,” she addedexcitedly.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 30
Bringing the North to youIn English, Cree & Dene
MBC Network Radio
91.9 FM in Flin Flon
“Real People Radio”
Snow LakeStylistFine-TunesHer Dream
Annette Lamontagne-Dawson in her Snow Lake shop.PHOTO BY MARC JACKSON
Marc JacksonCOTTAGE NORTH
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 31
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A short time ago, BroadcastMusic Inc. (BMI) gave Lamontange-Dawson pitch sheets to get ‘YouCan’ in front of supergroupDiamond Rio, but unfortunatelythey had already finished recordingtheir album. Pitch sheets are gearedtoward industry insiders whoalready have established connec-tions; they list the artist, type ofmaterial sought, and names of con-tact people to pitch your song to.
Lamontagne-Dawson says thatshe has always had a gift for poet-ry and has been songwriting for aslong as she can remember. “I’vealways written songs, but I think itwas in ‘95 that the inspirationbecame stronger,” said the singlemother of three. “In 1998, aftersome upheaval in my life, I real-ized I didn’t have anything left tolose, so I figured, hey, I might aswell become a songwriter,” sheadded with a loud and very distinctlaugh.
Over the years, she has made anumber of trips to songwriting con-ventions, both in Canada and theStates, but the ultimate goal is toone day settle and practice thetrade in the home of the Grand Ole
Opry, Nashville, Tennessee. “I amhoping to eventually incorporatemy hairdressing and designing tal-ent into becoming a stylist inNashville,” said the genialsongstress. “I love to make peoplebeautiful, it is such a big part ofwho I am. I also love music, so Ican’t think of a better way to usemy talents together. It would be mydream job!”
By her own admission,Lamontagne-Dawson has somelofty goals and she makes noapologies for harbouring them. “Ioften hear that people think I’mcrazy to have such big dreams andthat I’ll never make it,” states thesongstress. “I say, ‘the journey is somuch fun, who cares?’ My favouritequote is ‘Reality is for those whonever dare to dream.’ This adven-ture I’m on is the greatest I couldever hope for and I can’t evendescribe how I feel being a part ofthis world… meeting the people Imeet, having my talent validatedby people I admire and aspire to.”
More important to her thanthose who don’t believe in her, arethose who do. She counts amongthem a number of close friends,
traveling partners, family, her loyalSnow Lake hairdressing clients,and most of all her kids. “I can’tbelieve how lucky I am to havekids who believe in me,” she said.“My son Jordie and daughters Jadeand Joellee make sacrifices willing-ly so that I can do this. They makeme so proud and I love them somuch.”
The songwriter’s recent accom-plishments should go a long wayin opening some doors for her onher next trip to Nashville, and willmost certainly help out when sheattends the Canadian CountryMusic Awards in Calgary duringthe week of September 8-13.
With her award and accomplish-ments thus far, recognition is com-ing. The lyricist is now featured onseveral industry websites. Shenotes that this may prove to be thebest part of her win, as exposureand getting her name out there issuch a big part of making it.
“Now people are beginning torecognize my name and luckilyAnnette Lamontagne-Dawson is solong they usually remember me.Plus there’s the laugh, I guess,” sheadds jokingly.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 32
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Creighton to serve their Co-opmembers (and Co-op membersfrom right across Canada), and tostrengthen their petroleum opera-tion in Flin Flon and surroundingarea. The second cardlock opera-tion also has a cardlock operatedwashroom that is available to allCo-op cardlock card holders free ofcharge. This service is intended forthe convenience of long distancetravellers visiting our community,and for local Co-op members whenneeded.
What is a cardlock?A cardlock is a self-serve petro-
leum vendor that is available to acard holder 24 hours a day, sevendays a week. When you need gaso-line or diesel fuel, no matter whattime the day or night, the cardlockfacility is available. The way a card-lock works is: you must be a mem-ber of your local Co-op, and comeinto the administration and applyfor cardlock cards. You can apply
for both local and system-widecard(s). The cardlock accountapproval application usually onlytakes about one week. The localcards are the cards that you uselocally at either of the cardlocklocations in Flin Flon or Creighton.The system-wide card(s) is one youwould use when travelling any-where else in Western Canada. Thedifference between the two is thatthe local card collects equity withyour Co-op number, whereas thesystem-wide card doesn’t collectequity but is very convenientbecause of the 24/7 aspect of avail-ability. Co-ops in Western Canadaown and operate over 200 petrole-um cardlock operations.Commercial diesel cardlocksextend into Quebec and NewBrunswick. Every approved card-lock account holder receives ahandy Co-op cardlock locationguide to keep in your vehicle, inwhich there is a map showing loca-tions of all cardlock sites inWestern Canada.
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sowhat, then, is the value of a book absolutely filledto the brim - all 208 pages of it - with countless
photographs and memories recounting the past fiftyyears? Most people in Flin Flon would say priceless.
Flin Flon, a Visual History, 1933 - 1983 (the idea forwhich was spear-headed by then-Mayor Nazir Ahmad)was tirelessly planned, compiled, and published in1983 to celebrate the Jubilee Year of the community. Asonly one of the many projects conceived to celebratethis momentous occasion (along with calendars,notepads, placematsand more), the bookwas hugely popular,and sold out of its2000 copies inshort order.
The first publi-cation of its kindfor Flin Flon, thebook remindedold-timers of thegood times theyonce knew,opened up arich past to theyounger gen-erations, anda l t o g e t h e rreflected the spiritand drive of thisunique frontier town.
Now, over 20 yearslater, with the special placethis book has always held inevery Flin Flonner’s heart, people began to feel the gapthat only an updated book would fill. Coincidentally,the Chamber of Commerce was looking for a commu-nity project, and before anyone knew it, such an addi-tion was on its way.
In the original edition, individual residents donatedtheir valued photographs and memories to the storyof Flin Flon. Now, the people behind this new editionare hoping for the same enthusiasm and dedication.With a community story best told by and about its cit-izens, the committee putting it all together finds mostvalue in pictures which include and celebrate Flin
Flon’s clubs, activities, events, and especially its peo-ple.
Focusing solely on the years since 1983 (with onlya reprint of the original pages), the book will carry ontelling the tale of Flin Flon up until the present time.(To submit photographs, call Phyllis at 687-3397 orBunny at 687-6967. All pictures will be catalogued andthen returned upon publication.)
The small, dedicated board responsible for siftingthrough, identifying and choosing the pics for publi-cation - who are always looking for more volunteersto join them - are looking forward to the new talesthat will be told upon this new edition’s completion.And with so many more memories and events to cel-ebrate over the past 22 years, this book promises to beas priceless as the first.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 33
“Wanted”Your people pictures
of Flin Flon,1983 - present
We are compiling anextension to the popularVisual History Book, and
want your photos!
ContactPhyllis at 687-3397
or Bunny at 687-6967.Photos will be handled with careand returned upon publication.
Photo credit will be given.
Flin Flon’sPriceless PastJillian BetkeCOTTAGE NORTH
Whenever springrolls around, ittakes me back to
a time when warmingweather and melting snowsignaled the beginning ofanother exploration sea-son somewhere in north-ern Canada. The excite-ment and anticipation ofanother trip to unknownnorthern lakes with
Precambrian shores andboreal forest. The attrac-tion of once more livingand working in endlesscountry without a trace ofhuman habitation.Preparing for the day ofdeparture by packing andrepacking field gear todeal with every eventuali-ty. Session after session ofreviewing maps to coverall the areas to be exam-ined if all went well. Howsoon would the lakes be
free of ice to allow land-ing with a float plane atyour remote location, andknowing everything couldchange with the report, orsuspicion, of a new dis-covery in another area. Tothe old boys it was like an‘addiction’.
So many things wereidentical year after year.The only thing thatchanged was the object ofthe exercise. For my firstseason it was lithium in thepegmatites of the FortHope region north of theAlbany River, followed bygold in quartz veins at toomany locations to list, thenbase metals in volcanics,gold again, then uranium.Once again gold feverexploded with the adventof the ‘flow through’ taxincentive for junior explo-ration companies, andfinally diamonds in kim-berlites. Forty-five years inall.
Several of these adven-tures took place in north-ern Manitoba, includingthe Lynn Lake area,Bigstone Lake, and ofcourse that spring explo-ration project west ofWabowden.
The Wabowden trip ismemorable for reasonsother than geology.Everyone who has donetheir share of time in thebush of northern Canadahas a catalogue of bear sto-ries with moments of greatexcitement, and pumpingadrenaline, which are
often followed by greatlaughter because of theunpredictable and comicalthings a bear will do. Butthe Wabowden trip hadanother element which hasforever raised my sense ofawareness for these crea-tures in the bush.
Bears have alwaysamazed me with theirincredible resourcefulness,curiosity and ability to sur-vive in almost any environ-ment. Their flexibility inadapting to circumstancesis legendary. If no meat orcarion is available they cangraze like the other largeplant-eaters and remainhealthy and strong. Thinkof the great herbivores inCanada such as buffaloand moose, etc., or theAfrican herbivores that areall large, powerful anddangerous. The bear cantake his place among themhappily living and prosper-ing as a grazer. But thebear can do something hisgrazing comrades cannot.He has the teeth, claws,speed, stealth and cunningthat places him among thegreat predators of theworld as well. And, ofcourse, with his legendarysense of smell he’s one ofthe world’s greatest scav-engers!The Ulitmate Opportunist
And if this weren’tenough, the bear can dosomething none of hispeer groups can do; andthat’s simply curl up andgo to sleep for severalmonths when neither prey
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nor grazing is available.Biologists will offer expla-nations of how this adap-tation came about, but inmy heart I know thisincredible ability is notwell understood and sci-entists will always inventtheories, regardless howshaky, to explain theirobservations. And changethem quickly.
But on the Wabowdentrip my interest in bearsbecame more than theo-retical.
We were interested indiamonds on this particu-lar venture and had sever-al small targets west oftown. Like modernprospectors we wereusing a helicopter fordaily commuting from ourhouse trailer (camp) inWabowden to our targetareas approximately 80km to the west.
It was the early springand our pilot lived inThompson, as I recall. Hisname was Reg Fast; hewas a terrific pilot andpossessed the old worldgentlemanly values thatseemed almost out ofplace in modern society.He would leaveThompson each morning,zip down to Wabowdenand ferry our crews to thefield in two or three trips,where we would carry outour work and be ferriedback to Wabowden eachevening. It was a sizablefield crew because we hadsix targets (that we hopedwould turn out to be kim-
berlites that hosted dia-monds) and they were allseparated from each otherby several miles. As aresult we would drop aline-cutting crew on eachtarget to prepare a grid formy work. My job was tocarry out a magnetometersurvey on each target, andalthough the line-cuttershad some lead time onme, I was rapidly catchingup to them.
Looking back, I sup-pose the signs were allthere that would indicatea difficult time for bearsjust coming out of hiber-nation, and that couldresult in problems for us.
The winter had been verymild with little snow,which likely resulted in farless winter kill than mostyears, leaving little forbears to scavenge on inearly spring. The snowmelted rapidly duringwarm, breezy sunny daysand the ground driedquickly, hence the earlyrash of green vegetationwas slow in arriving. Theonly vegetation visiblewas last year’s browndried-up grassy materialthat I’m certain offered lit-tle nutrition for bears. Butwe weren’t thinking ofthese matters as we racedalong to finish the project.
About halfway throughthe project, Reg and Idropped off a line-cuttingcrew, Dennis Nachbar andhis assistant, on one of thegrids that was almost com-pleted, and we agreed ona meeting place thatevening based on our esti-mation of their progressduring the day. That wasfine. Then Reg droppedme on a different targetwhere he agreed to pickme up first at the end ofthe day. I finished my gridand, as agreed, waspicked up by Reg and weheaded for our pre-arranged pick-up point forthe line-cutters. They
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weren’t there. These things happen.So we backtracked, heading fortheir starting point, flying low andfully expecting to meet them some-where along the way, because per-haps their progress had been some-what slower than estimated.
This I thought was unusualbecause this particular crew alwaysperformed above average. Well, itsoon became apparent that we werealmost back to their starting point,had not seen them, and began towonder what the problem waswhen Reg said, “There they are!” Atfirst I didn’t see them because I wassearching on the ground, but thennoticed them high up in two side-by-side spruce trees. The two tallspruce trees were a very fortunatehappenstance because the bush wasgenerally sparse, short, scrubbyspruce and jackpine in hummockyLabrador tea bushes, and providedno escape whatsoever. We immedi-ately knew there was a problem andas we drew closer to the line-cut-ters, virtually at eye level, we sawthe worried expression on theirfaces as they excitedly pointeddown toward the ground. We cir-cled the trees repeatedly but failed
to see the bear, or anything, butknew something large and danger-ous was required to tree these expe-rienced bushmen. Next was to finda landing spot as near the trees aspossible to pick up Dennis and hispartner.
We no sooner landed than they‘flew’ down the trees and ran likeOlympic sprinters to the chopper.Reg and I knew then they were veryafraid something would catch them.I held the back door open and theypiled in at full speed. Dennis’ partner
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 37
had ripped his hand coming downthe tree and was now bleedingbadly, but neither cared the slightestabout that. Once the chopper doorwas closed and they were no longerin danger, they both burst into hys-terical laughter as we lifted off andheaded home. The story came outgradually between bouts of screech-ing laughter and hoots as we flewhome. They were two very happymen and the town of Wabowdenwould hear the entire story thatnight, and it was certainly cause forcelebration.
It turned out that moments afterwe dropped them off in the morn-ing, they heard a noise behindthem, and had turned and saw alarge black bear coming after them.They were carrying axes and smallpacks contain-ing theirlunch, raingear, andother suppliesfor their job,including cansof brightorange spraypaint to markthe picketsthey would bemaking for thegrid. Theyd r o p p e de v e r y t h i n gand ran at fullspeed for thetrees. Theywere bothyoung andfast, andbecause thebear hesitatedat the packs they made it to thetrees - the only trees in the area thatcould save them. The bear veryshortly resumed his pursuit but bythen they were as high as theravens.
Well, I had worked in the bushfor many years and always assumedthat all bears could quickly climb atree. But this is not the case. Whena bear becomes quite large it losesthe ability to climb. Just a matter oftoo much weight. Dennis and hispartner weren’t aware of this either,and expected the worst when thebear continued his chase, but weregreatly relieved when they realizedhe was having difficulty. The bearspent the entire day, between chew-ing and eating their pack-sacs
(including the paint), charging andattempting to climb the trees; firstDennis’, then his partner’s tree.Each time they felt this time he’sgoing to make it! He resorted tobacking up, keeping his eyes on thebase of the tree, then charging, hop-ing his inertia would carry him fur-ther up, but each time he slid downwith his claws tearing the bark fromthe trees. And this is the way theyspent their entire day until thereturning chopper scared him off.This was a bear on the verge of star-vation, and due to his size andhunger was fearless.
As we flew along Reg and I lis-tened to Dennis and his partnerrelive their experience about howthey ‘looked into the devil’s face allday’, and it gradually dawned on
me as we flew along that I neededto return to this area to carry out amagnetometer survey on the por-tion of the grid they had completedduring the previous few days. Thisconcerned me. The reason for thisis, when conducting such a survey,the instrument operator must notcarry any magnetic, metallic materi-al. This includes watches, large beltbuckles, etc., because of the inter-ference this would create with thesensitive instrument, hence render-ing the survey useless. So armingmyself was out of the question.
In Wabowden we sat around dis-cussing the problem. Calling theclient in Toronto to advise that I wasafraid to complete the survey didn’tseem like an option. One of the
line-cutters mentioned we now hada large black bear that had becomeemboldened with the day’s experi-ence, and if he encountered a bushworker in the future who wasunarmed the outcome was fairlypredictable. So a decision wasmade. It was determined that Iwould return to the area but wouldhire someone to carry a rifle andhave him walk far enough ahead ofme that the rifle would not affectthe magnetometer, and hope for thebest.
Dennis’ partner was taken toThompson to have his hand sewnup and he found another fellow tohelp him complete the work he wasforced to abandon. This time theyalso carried a .30-.30 rifle. I hiredClifford Ducharme of Wabowden to
accompanyme andcarry his oldLee Enfield.303 rifle,k e e p i n gabout 50m e t r e sahead of mealong thegrid lines soas not toaffect mymagnetome-ter. In retro-spect thiswasn’t avery clevers t r a t e g y ,because ifthe beartracked ushe wouldobv i ou s l y
be coming from behind. And this isexactly what happened.
It was the next day and the bearobviously heard the chopper landto drop Clifford and I off. The chop-per left immediately to deliver otherpeople to other places. Shortlythereafter the bear found our trackand about 15 minutes later I heardsomething behind me. I lookedaround, saw nothing and assumed Iwas just a little skittish. A few sec-onds later I looked again and therehe was - and I yelled for Clifford. Iwasn’t as young or as fit or as fast asthe line-cutters, so running wouldbe pointless. Also, with the gear Iwas wearing to carry out the survey,a quick walk was my top speed.
PHOTOS BY JIM PARRES
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 38
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Clifford raced back, and when hearrived at my side he raised therifle to his shoulder, aimed at theoncoming bear, pulled the trigger,and we heard a loud ‘click’. Therewas no round of ammunition inthe chamber of the rifle. Cliffordhad done what a lot of old LeeEnfield users do. He carried therifle without a round in the cham-ber for safety sake and simply for-got when he pushed the bolt for-ward into the cocked position. Sohe quickly pulled the bolt all theway back in order to push a roundinto the chamber, but he pushedtoo quickly and with too muchforce and jammed the round a lit-tle sideways (immediately behindthe chamber), and now had to pryit out with his fingers. You oftenhear stories about how some sillylittle mistake leads to a disaster,and I was then beginning to feel itmight be happening. Everythingseemed so ordinary, but at thesame time I knew we were help-
less without a functioning rifle,and the bear was coming. He wasmoving his head from side to sideand up and down at once, and ashe approached he didn’t seem theslightest bit excited but kept hiseyes on us and seemed so deter-mined.
Clifford didn’t see this as he wasbusily trying to get the jammedround out. I stuck my hands intothe rifle as well, as I felt a kind ofhelpless panic rise, but Cliffordshoved my hands aside; we had notime to look for a tool of any kindor have discussions. The ‘now ornever’ moment was approaching.With a heave, Clifford used histhumb to lever the round out andpulled the bolt back again and thistime nudged a round into the cham-ber gently and pushed the boltdown into the cocked position. Hetook aim with the bear only a fewfeet away, fired and dispatched theanimal; I never felt such a sense ofrelief in my life. He was a beautifulspecimen, and it’s unfortunate it
turned out the way it did. Perfectteeth and claws, no visible injuriesof any kind, but absolutely no fatbeneath his beautiful hide. Weknew, of course, it was the samebear because of the orange paintaround his mouth from the line-cut-ters’ packs.
This is a cautionary tale, I sup-pose. I used to think, when I heardof someone having a bad experi-ence with a bear, that it was some-how the human’s fault. They musthave done something to provokethe attack, I felt, because I had seenso many bears and the encounters,although sometimes tense andexciting, always turned out well.But I now realize that a large pow-erful predator fears nothing and willgo to any length to survive when it’son the brink of starvation. Onemore of the bear’s assets in its bidfor survival.
In seasons when the wild berrycrop is poor, and when bears startforaging in towns, or otherwise act inan unusual fashion, ‘take care’.
CCOOTTTTAAGGEE NNOORRTTHH SEPTEMBER, 2005 PAGE 39
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