The Lansdowne Letters: A Fine Friend

The train conductor who molested me was a bad person.
But fortunately for me, most of the people 
that I have encountered in my life have been good.
I have never forgotten the people I met in Lansdowne House, Ojibwa or white.
They were exceptionally caring and generous to my family and me.

It's not so much that they were better than other people;
there are good people everywhere all over the world.
It's more that our tiny village was located in a remote and challenging wilderness,
and everyone had to help one another in order to survive.

I didn't go around thinking that I was in danger or could easily die;
but even as a young girl, I realized that our remoteness
and the challenges of our environment made us more vulnerable,
and a situation that would be difficult on the Outside 
could quickly become life threatening in Lansdowne House.
People needed and relied on each other, and that made them closer.
They all understood the value of a good friend.

Roommates Again

Dad and Uno with Baby Duncan

Lansdowne House, Northern Ontario, Canada

Winter, 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

On Tuesday, June 20, 1961
My father wrote to our extended family:

Hi There Folks:
First of all, I want to apologize for this week's edition being late.
Our whole life was disrupted over the previous weekend,
and I am now, and have been for exactly one week, a bachelor again.

The Forestry Department needed the house,
and just gave us two days notice to vacate.
I know now what it feels like to be evicted.

I also know now why the Forestry Department was so kind
to allow us to live in the shack rent free.
Since we were not paying any rent, they didn't have to abide by the law
which requires that you give tenants one month's notice.

It was quite a job getting them out by 6 p.m. Monday, June 12.
I didn't know where they could go or anything.
Luckily Mike was going to Sioux Lookout, and he said he would line up
a place for us and wire us if he was successful in finding one.

Well, the first thing Monday morning, I received a wire from Mike
to say he had gotten accommodation for us, so I shipped the family to Sioux Lookout.

The next thing I received was a wire from Sara from Sioux Lookout
saying there was no place in Sioux Lookout and that Mike was taking her to Lac Seul.

A Sight and Sound That Will Forever Mean Lac Seul to Me

The Common Loon

pixabay ~ gholland

Where in the Hell was Lac Seul?
I finally found out that Lac Seul was an Indian Reservation
40 miles in the bush from Sioux Lookout,
but that's all I could find out till Mike came back in today.
I was nearly frantic with worry, not knowing just what Sara and the children were into.

I finally got two letters from Sara today, delivered by Mike,
and I also got the lowdown from Mike himself.
Judging from Mike and the letters, they are as happy as clams.

They are living in a nice cottage which belongs to Anne's parents.
Anne's mother is Indian, and her father is white, and they live on the reservation.
They have a lovely beach to play on,
and all Anne's brothers and sisters' children to play with.

A Picnic with Anne's Family

Lac Seul, Northern Ontario, Canada

Summer, 1961

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

All in all, they are well off, although Sara is worried
about bears which are numerous in the area.
Mike says there is nothing worry about though.
He says that the bears are more worried about Sara than she is about the bears.

Besides, I'll be out in another two weeks and will be able to find
a house in Sioux Lookout and will be able to bring them out with me.

On account of all the foregoing excitement and worry,
I didn't feel up to writing you this last weekend.
My letters are liable to be sketchy from now till I get out,
for I will be awfully busy winding up the school for the year.
As in all other schools that I have taught in,
there is a terrific amount of red tape and paperwork.
I think there is even more than usual, since it is a government school.

In case you should be interested in writing to her, here is her address:

Mrs. D. B. MacBeath
Two Point River
c/o The Hudson Bay Company
via Hudson, Ontario.


Mrs. D. B. MacBeath
with Roddy Pratt (Dad's cousin), Don MacBeath, 
and Louise MacDonald (Mom's sister)
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, September 4, 1948
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue All Rights Reserved

Sara might have already given you another address that will reach her,
but this is the address that Mike gave to me.

Incidentally, talking about Mike, he just became the proud father
of a nine pound baby boy.  He is quite pleased about the whole thing.

Mike is a fine friend.  Not many people would have gone
to the trouble he did to find us a place to live, especially
considering that Anne was due to go to the hospital at any moment.
He is really a wonderful person and so is Anne.

Well now, don't worry.  I'll have them off the reservation
and in civilization as soon as the school year is over.
There is nothing to worry about, and certainly nothing to be gained by worry.
I'll keep you all informed and let you know
all future developments as soon as they develop.
I have to sign off now and get at my school work.

Bye now,
all my love,
Don

Northern Ontario Wilderness

pixabay ~ evitaochel

We take so much for granted today, 
like safety, communication, and the expectation
that life will roll along without undue hardship.

It's hard to imagine that my mother and we five kids vanished into the bush,
and that my anxious father didn't hear anything for a week
and couldn't find out much about where we had gone.
All he could do was count on the reliability of a fine friend.

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue



Crossing Petit Passage to Tiverton
Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

For Map Lovers Like Me:

Location of Lansdowne House, Nakina, and Sioux Lookout

Northern Ontario, Canada

Wikipedia

Lac Seul

Northern Canada

Google Maps  Map Data 2018

To See a Photo of Lac Seul Click Here