tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post6581305025718859601..comments2024-03-27T10:30:15.253-06:00Comments on Standing Into Danger: The Lansdowne Letters: GroundedFundy Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-49072564320237378772014-12-08T18:39:50.050-07:002014-12-08T18:39:50.050-07:00:):)Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-21927546327558956822014-12-08T16:07:32.532-07:002014-12-08T16:07:32.532-07:00Sophie says 'thanks' as does Ronnie!! lolSophie says 'thanks' as does Ronnie!! lolJimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11199777195853274898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-39031956344499470162014-12-08T09:27:52.890-07:002014-12-08T09:27:52.890-07:00My head is like a squash ball court with all the p...My head is like a squash ball court with all the possibilities ricocheting around! I'm already really excited! XOX!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-48978162158974295912014-12-07T22:09:11.016-07:002014-12-07T22:09:11.016-07:00Hey Jim!!!! It's quite late on a Sunday night...Hey Jim!!!! It's quite late on a Sunday night, so if I;m missing keys in my typing, I apologize! I've been into the eggnog! Terry is sensibly in bed.<br /><br />The North could be very lonely, but people banded together. I've been far lonelier in big cities than ever I was in the North! <br /><br />Yup, my Dad was quite a talented painter. Our cousin Kelsey Raymond ( who was a fairly well known Canadian artist) used to say that he was glad my father never set up shop near him. I wish we had more of his paintings, but he gave many away to his friends in the North. I learned a lot from my father and mother (who was also a painter) about composition which comes out in my photographs. Maybe, if I can ever get more time, I will paint. I'm supposed to have artistic talent, but I lack time. I really do hope that reincarnation happens, because I think I may not accomplish all that I'd like to in this lifetime. Or maybe there are art studios and libraries in heaven! <br /><br />You have a wonderful week too, my friend, and give SD a scratch and Ronnie a hug for me ~ hug to you too! Take care!<br /> Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-37824642861214272432014-12-07T21:58:04.616-07:002014-12-07T21:58:04.616-07:00Thank you for your wonderful and encouraging comme...Thank you for your wonderful and encouraging comment, Carol! I had just written you a long reply to your comment, and Google ate it! Rats.! Let's see what I can recover ~ I've been decorating our Christmas tree and into the Evan Williams southern eggnog! Terry and I returned not too long ago from our favorite bar and restaurant and watching football, so I am NOT at the top of my game. LOL!<br /> <br />The Brownie Hawkeye became my camera, and I used it for more than a decade ~ saving my allowance to pay to develop pictures. I used to send my photos from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick to develop ~ after I had saved money from babysitting and my allowance. Isn't digital photography wonderful!!! You can shoot and shoot and experiment, and not worry about the cost!<br /><br />Powdered potatoes were wretched, but when you earned $300/month, and it cost 10 cents/pound to fly in groceries, for a family of seven, you ate powered potatoes. <br /><br />And I would have eaten Father Ouimet's fruitcake in a heartbeat ~ a good fruitcake needs to be aged! My grandmother MacBeath and her sister Maude were always competing over fruitcakes; Nana's was light and Great Aunt Maude's was dark. Sister squabbles ~ do they ever end???? Personally I liked Aunt Maude's. But they were Baptist cakes ~ I think they both would have been improved with wine or rum!<br /><br />Have a happy week, Carol. Please give sweet Black Jack her favorite scratch or pat, and "Hi" to Bill. He is a great sport!!! Take care!<br /><br />Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-78007977296402106962014-12-07T20:43:34.576-07:002014-12-07T20:43:34.576-07:00Thanks for the encouragement, Ian! I so hope you ...Thanks for the encouragement, Ian! I so hope you write about your first solo flight. Based on your comment, I'm guessing that you are a bush pilot! I would love to hear about your flights! Have a great week!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-56424960223776154782014-12-07T15:50:38.599-07:002014-12-07T15:50:38.599-07:00Hi Louise. As I was reading I was wondering how yo...Hi Louise. As I was reading I was wondering how your Dad got his pictures developed......and there it was!!<br />I was reading a book today at the shop about the northern wilderness and the hospitality of the folks that live there. They also mentioned how lonely it can get there. No wonder your father so looked forward to letters from home.<br />Another great installment Louise. Oh yes your Dad was also an artist I see. What a treasure to have. Have a wonderful evening and week!!<br /><br />Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11199777195853274898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-29834026549248179372014-12-06T19:09:24.273-07:002014-12-06T19:09:24.273-07:00It seems my pattern with these posts is to read th...It seems my pattern with these posts is to read them, think about them, and then go back to read them again. They have worked their way into my heart. I am deeply grateful to you for taking time to document the feelings and energy and wit of a man whose mark on the world (and I believe it was a significant and indelible one) may have rested only with those he met, rather than on so many of us who are now reading about him. The Brownie camera was my mother's favourite, though she often cut the tops off people's heads in her photos :) Spam and powdered potatoes! We ate both in our time. I especially hated potatoes out of a box, but also remember that the most unappreciated foods sometimes became golden in certain company. As for the fruit cake, I would have eaten and appreciated it for sure. My mother made one every year and it lasted almost until the following Christmas. A few slices were put on the cookie plate whenever company came. Mr. Baker, Father Ouimet, Chicago Bill, Uno, Brother Bernier, your father (love his painting, by the way).. "salt of the earth" people, brave, honest and hardworking. An honour to get to meetthem! Black Jack's Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18436115876996209227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-37266119476110822152014-12-06T14:29:10.057-07:002014-12-06T14:29:10.057-07:00I'm in! and so is Terry - lol Let's start...I'm in! and so is Terry - lol Let's start planning :) Hugs BarbAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-55723451566708912732014-12-06T12:03:52.890-07:002014-12-06T12:03:52.890-07:00Thanks for the comments on my post. I appreciate t...Thanks for the comments on my post. I appreciate them! Maybe next week I will do an article on my first solo flight (to Moosonee and Attiwapiscat). In the meantime, keep on writing. You have fabulous history to tell! :-}IanHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15874490886311041312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-72476023108655136642014-12-06T10:20:16.693-07:002014-12-06T10:20:16.693-07:00Hi Janie! I'm betting that they do have inter...Hi Janie! I'm betting that they do have internet. Things have changed so much in the North. Have a great weekend!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-26812670843643959842014-12-06T10:19:15.388-07:002014-12-06T10:19:15.388-07:00Hi Martha! That camera became mine just a few yea...Hi Martha! That camera became mine just a few years later ~ when I was in grade eight with Ronnie! I have a number of fun photos of him from that time. I've teased Jim about hugging Ron before he did! <br />I used that Hawkeye for a long, long time, right through university (just like the blue transistor radio)! <br /> <br />When we got to Lansdowne, we regularly went outside to play when it was forty and fifty below zero Fº ~ I think -40 is the same temp on both scales, Fº and Cº. It's my understanding that if you put lots of alcohol in a fruit cake, it would last a long time. I'm sure it was delicious! <br /><br />Recently there has been a huge cromite discovery about halfway between Lansdowne and Attawapiskat on James Bay. I wonder what Mr. Baker would think of that. I wrote a paper once for my petrology professor at Acadia. I took a rather unorthodox approach for a geologist, and pretended I went with an old prospector in Lansdowne House and an Indian guide looking for copper and zinc in the area. Eerily prescient. The guys in the class thought I wrote a nutty paper, but fortunately Dr. Nathan "got" me!<br /><br />Have a happy weekend!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-78148286544058618202014-12-06T10:05:19.798-07:002014-12-06T10:05:19.798-07:00Thank you, Peggy! You and others have left such u...Thank you, Peggy! You and others have left such uplifting comments. I am working on a manuscript with the goal of publishing a memoir, but I'm a slow writer, and it's been difficult to figure out how to tackle things. I have to do some historical research in Canada's parliamentary records and old Canadian newspapers, and so far I've hit a brick wall there. I may have to hire a researcher. The OMI order in the Roman Catholic church is helping me in my research into Father Ouimet and his work in the North. At times I feel overwhelmed. But then a comment like yours lifts me up to keep going. I hope you are having a blast with your sisters today! Take care! Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-585944349304079152014-12-06T09:59:27.921-07:002014-12-06T09:59:27.921-07:00Hey Barb! What would you think about a trip to Mo...Hey Barb! What would you think about a trip to Moosenee, Attawapiskat, Lansdowne House, Sioux Lookout, and Lac Seul? You should have seen the look on Terry's face when I threw that one out. His response: "Call Barb."" LOL! I'm seriously thinking about it. I just finished "Through Black Spruce," and I'm longing to go North again! I need photos, pictures, letters. Surely there are more things somewhere! Happy weekend!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-48309605594091225562014-12-06T09:54:01.568-07:002014-12-06T09:54:01.568-07:00Hi, David Thank you for your kind and encouraging...Hi, David Thank you for your kind and encouraging comment. I do have a sense of sharing a slice of Canadian history ~ especially with Father Ouimet. My family joins my father in Lansdowne some months in the future from where I am in the letters right now. I have always had a longing to return there, but it just hasn't happened yet. That said, I'm seriously thinking about a trip to the North. I have such a longing to see it again, even though the people I knew are gone. Have a great weekend! Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-30745107184824696202014-12-06T09:43:53.012-07:002014-12-06T09:43:53.012-07:00You encourage me to keep plugging away, even thoug...You encourage me to keep plugging away, even though these posts take a lot of time to put together! But then all bloggers spend a lot of time and effort on their posts. I'm so happy that I was encouraged to blog by my friend Ron (from Sophie's View). It's been such a pleasure to meet all the great people I've found in the blogging world, like you Linda. You know I bet you'd like Ron's heartwarming blog. It lifts me up like yours does. Here's the address: http://fromsophiesview.blogspot.com Have a happy day!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-48110918046176853502014-12-06T09:30:41.216-07:002014-12-06T09:30:41.216-07:00I'd take a fraction of it at today's value...I'd take a fraction of it at today's values, Pat! The area is hot for mining now, since they found large deposits of chromite, a very valuable and rare mineral. Of course the government is going to develop the area as quickly as possible with due regard for the impact on the environment and the Aboriginals! Have a great day! Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-84933221095872505672014-12-05T20:19:01.788-07:002014-12-05T20:19:01.788-07:00Wow! That was a long time to wait for mail. I wond...Wow! That was a long time to wait for mail. I wonder if the people in that area have internet access now.<br /><br />Love,<br />JanieJanie Junebughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10573607241326291404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-81791212511019982632014-12-05T19:55:00.880-07:002014-12-05T19:55:00.880-07:00I took my first photo when I was around four ~ of ...I took my first photo when I was around four ~ of some hens on my Great Uncle Chester's farm. It was with a Brownie Hawkeye too, Debra. It was hard to focus, but it was what it was! Hope all is well with you and your Rare One! Have a happy weekend!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-14840409131571172752014-12-05T19:52:09.158-07:002014-12-05T19:52:09.158-07:00Hey, Alex! That was a good RC cake soaked in wine...Hey, Alex! That was a good RC cake soaked in wine! I'd eat it!!!! Even a Baptist fruit cake has to age a minimum of six weeks before you cut it! I know I've made tons of fruitcakes! The area in Northern Ontario where we lived is HOT, HOT right now for mineral riches ~ It's called the Ring of Fire. Happy weekend to you and your wife!Fundy Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02132147630106183853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-10603449970294699342014-12-05T19:15:23.764-07:002014-12-05T19:15:23.764-07:00That camera! Wow, that is a long time ago. So much...That camera! Wow, that is a long time ago. So much fun! And I can imagine how cold it got where your dad was. Brrrrr.... Whoa...that cake? Did it actually keep from spoiling that long? And striking it rich with $2,500,000??? That was even more money back then!Plowing Through Life (Martha)https://www.blogger.com/profile/06547318824997712369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-20241282402077793022014-12-05T19:08:06.747-07:002014-12-05T19:08:06.747-07:00Your letters make Fridays so interesting as I look...Your letters make Fridays so interesting as I look forward to every episode. The characters are real and each one has their own story. You must put these in a book...even if it is just for you and your family. Peggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610347687911147219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-89205165325441401102014-12-05T14:50:58.350-07:002014-12-05T14:50:58.350-07:00Hey Fundy - As usual I enjoyed this Friday blast f...Hey Fundy - As usual I enjoyed this Friday blast from the past! Happy Friday - hugs Barb - even I remember the mail plane :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-46505210830926809852014-12-05T14:45:58.545-07:002014-12-05T14:45:58.545-07:00This whole series about your father's life in ...This whole series about your father's life in the North has been very interesting to say the least . It's not really so very long ago since it all took place. It leaves me wondering whether you have ever visited the areas in which he taught. I am sure there would be a great degree of poignancy attached to such a pilgrimage. Thanks for sharing this slice of Canadian history with us. In have to confess to a certain sense of sadness and regret that you have left our country.David M. Gascoigne,https://www.blogger.com/profile/17229638811027153569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349947899983990762.post-4823383509527794312014-12-05T09:32:09.049-07:002014-12-05T09:32:09.049-07:00I do remember having a Polaroid Land camera and my...I do remember having a Polaroid Land camera and my father had an older camera, but I forget the type it was. It had no flashes, though. Thanks so much for this thoroughly enjoyable journey back in time! I so enjoy them!Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12692170857496442623noreply@blogger.com