The Lansdowne Letters ~ Freeze-up Approaches

Fifty years ago two events loomed large
in isolated, fly-in communities 
throughout northern Ontario,
throughout all of the Canadian north 
for that matter:
the annual freeze-up and break-up

During these times bush planes
could not fly in or out of places 
like Lansdowne House, 
and shortwave radio provided 
the only contact with The Outside.

Bush Plane with Pontoons or Floats

flickr ~ Kevin Harber   license

To land, a bush plane required
a stretch of open water or thick ice.
While the ice was freezing or melting,
people were essentially cut-off from The Outside.

If a person needed to get in or out
during freeze-up or break-up,
he faced a long, hard, wilderness journey
with a dog team, a canoe, or both.
For most people this was not possible.

Lake and Forest, James Bay Area

wikimedia

As long as a person didn't have a medical emergency,
these freezing and melting periods were inconvenient:
no supplies, no mail, no visitors.
You had what you had, and you made do.

As either period approached,
the big questions were when and how long.
Everyone was guessing, speculating,
especially those for whom it was the first time.

My father looked at the worsening weather
and approaching freeze-up with a mixture
of fascination and trepidation.

Snow on Lake Attawapiskat

Painting by Donald B. MacBeath, Fall 1960
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved 

On Monday, October 17, 1960 
My father wrote:
How’s everyone tonight?
I had a new experience today, 
and let me tell you something.  
You just haven’t lived till you have tried 
paddling a canoe in a snowstorm.  

It snowed on and off all day today, 
but it always seemed to be snowing 
whenever I had to cross the water in the canoe.  

When I got to school though, 
it always cleared and stayed pretty well clear 
till it was time for another canoe trip. 


  

flickr ~ Lyndsay Esson    license

It was on 
but good 
when I started 
going home at noon.
  
It was snowing
and blowing 
so hard when 
I started across 
that I couldn’t 
see the island; 
and when I got
about the middle, 
I couldn’t see either shore.












I was scared for a while that I might be 
blown out on the lake or something, 
so I just prayed and paddled like hell.  

I was even tempted to say a couple of ‘Hail Marys,’ 
seeing as my roommate and landlord have such faith in them.  

However, as you can see, I arrived safe and sound; 
and by the time I had to go back, it had cleared 
to the extent that I could see the mainland from the island.

It won’t be too long before it freezes 
from the look of things.  
Any water that splashes into the canoe 
the last couple of days has frozen in the bottom.
The top edge and the sides of the canoe 
above the waterline are quite heavily encrusted with ice.  
I’ll have to get a de-icer like an airplane if I am not careful.

The water fascinates me these days.  
It is so cold that the water is sort of viscous 
like maple syrup or thin molasses.  
It doesn’t run off the paddle like it normally does, 
but sort of oozes off like maple syrup would ooze off a knife.  

flickr ~ Don Ayer    license   

The paddle even seems to move through the water 
less freely than normally.  
The Father tells me that this is a sure sign 
that freeze-up is not too far off.

I see that I have made a few mistakes in spelling.  
Some of them, like ‘watter,’ are typographical errors; 
but others I must take full credit for.  
Oh but I wish that Sara was here 
to tell me how to spell certain words. 

pixabay

Uno is making 
like Rembrandt 
tonight 
and is trying 
to paint a picture. 









This wouldn’t be so bad, except he has been trying 
to paint the same damned picture ever since I arrived.  
I am getting sick of the sight of it 
and would like to see him start something else for a change.

Today was the first day back at school after the flu, 
and my goodness, but you’d think it was the first day again.  

Three days away from those Indian children, 
and I have lost all the ground that I had gained 
in overcoming their shyness.  
I sometimes wonder if I will overcome it.

We lit the big stove last night for the first time 
in an effort to keep the cottage warm all night.  
It isn’t very nice getting up in a house that is as cold as charity.  

I think, though, that we have a lot to learn about regulating it, 
for we nearly roasted for the first part of the night, 
and by morning the fire was burned out, 
and it was as cold as ever here this morning.  
Oh well, we have the whole winter to learn, haven’t we?

Well, I guess that winds it up for tonight.

Bye now,
Love, 
Don.


I'm laughing as I think of all the years
I shared a small bedroom and/or a bed
with my sister Donnie ~ 
We had our testy moments too! 

Well, I guess that winds it up for me tonight also! 

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue