Growing up in the Canadian arctic
- Thread starter Griggs
- Start date
So I have come across my fathers journal from the first years in the north. I will be painstakingly scanning all the pages for myself, etc. Here is a snippet of it, some is handwritten, others typed on a typewriter and glued into the book (it was the late 70's early 80's after all). There are pages and pages and pages. What was crazy to my wife was the entry on November 28th. Obviously there were no cellphones, so no way of calling home. That wasn't the first, nor the last time he got stuck and had to "weather over". Also Fred disappearing wasn't the last time, or the first people went missing or died while out there.
ETA: "Entire white population" was not meant as a segregation statement, merely noting that they entire accounting of whites in town (16 people at the time) were in attendance. Especially given the current situation, I felt I had to point that out.
This was a flyer my Dad made for an event they had, trying to eliminate the pest rabbits.
ETA: "Entire white population" was not meant as a segregation statement, merely noting that they entire accounting of whites in town (16 people at the time) were in attendance. Especially given the current situation, I felt I had to point that out.
This was a flyer my Dad made for an event they had, trying to eliminate the pest rabbits.
BrentD
Well-known member
What happened to Fred!?!
I blacked out one section, because not everything From his journal is an open online book....
I can verify with my mom sometime, but as I recall he was never found. That may have been someone else though, but I’m 90% certain it was Fred that was never found.
MarvB
Well-known member
Griggs, just spend the last 20+ minutes catching up on this thread...Amazing! Thanks for letting us all in on a lifestyle the most of us had only imagined or read about. Truly priceless things you have there!
As I mentioned in a previous thread, which got me thinking and reading the good old days posts, about posting some of the pics from back then. My Dad passed away a few years ago, but he ended up spending over two decades living in the arctic, primarily with subsistence hunting. Our supplies came annually, on a barge that followed an icebreaker, which is such a change now, as I see there is now a cruise stop planned there.
As a kid I got to tag along with my Dad on his hunts, and experience a lot that I wish my kids could experience. The difference is they live in Arizona with me, and not a settlement of 120 people in the Canadian arctic. My parents uprooted from Ontario to the NWT, and later also Nunavut on a whim. With some rural hunting, fishing and trapping experience, but no northern living experience. With no one to ask about it, nor anything like the internet obviously.
My father would fondly remember “slabs of fish or caribou or musk ox” for dinner. I must say, after about a decade of musk ox and caribou, I am not a fan. I know some people love it, but I was never a fan, although I like deer and much more so elk. He would spend free time hunting caribou, musk ox, ice fishing, setting nets, etc. It was a good way to live, in my opinion, but experiences that are very hard to give my kids living in the southwest.
So, basically, you grew up living the life that others just dream of.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
Not being well versed in the extreme cold what would have caused Fred to start walking when he had everything he needed to survive there with the two sleds? And no mittens?
BrentD
Well-known member
I could guess hypothermia.
6mm Remington
Well-known member
Here Griggs are a couple pictures of the fantastic grizzly bear I took on my hunt. Thanks for sharing all that you did! David
Many millions of people, from Siberia, through Alaska, Canada, etc. have grown up in such a fashion, I would presume. I just felt my father’s hunting stories and way of life in his 30s-50s might be of interest to this forum. For me I thought nothing of it as that’s all I knew at the time, so there is no real interest there, but he moved there to experience it, so that to me is far more interesting. So I am in no way trying to be braggadocios or anything of that nature, as I personally have nothing to feel that way about as these are his stories, and not so much mine. I dream of living the life he had, not so much being a kid and witnessing it, but I still wouldn't change it for the world.
I found a couple journal entries that piqued my interest given your post. Albeit a different hunt (Polar vs. Brown) it was interesting to me that it was noted throughout that people had arrived for a specific guided hunt. Jealous of your hunt, and that is an awesome bear! Congrats! When was that?
As for Fred, I have no clue what could have caused him to do such a thing. No one ever knew, and no one ever found him for certain. Perhaps hypothermia as @BrentD suggested? As my mom said yesterday “they found his sled with the mittens tucked in the top as if he was getting ready to make tea. Many years later they thought they found him, but the person that had found the remains couldn’t remember exactly where they were. Fred apparently had NO sense of direction and he was hunting caribou to take out to Yellowknife within two days as he was getting married.”
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
This is the last post in regards to the journal, I have found it fascinating to read, and have spent much of my last two days reading it. Unfortunately it only covers the first few years or so, and since he was there for decades, much is not written. Although I do like that it gives a certain day to day depiction of life there, at least at that time. That settlement was started around 1960 by Father Tardy, so it had only been around for about 15 or so years by the time my Dad moved there. I find it disheartening to see pictures of how it is now, as you see people wearing Beats headphones on new snowmobiles, no fur parkas, etc. You cannot stop progress, and as they say you can never go home again, so I suppose all this is a snapshot into a former way of living. I will get back to more pictures and uploading the other pics in time.
This entry was of interest to me for a few reasons. First off, I want to know what camping gear they were testing, and from what company. Also amusing to read about the influenza epidemic, given that schools in our district were just delayed yet again for COVID. And I don’t ever remember a “Dog Day”, but I do remember a ton of stray dogs, which were a real nuisance. I also remember kids being attacked (nothing major) a couple of times for getting too close to the chained up teams.
This next entry amused my wife due to the casual mention of -55F, which is ludicrous to her, being born and raised in Phoenix. Also, I can't imagine walking 30 miles for no real reason (he did 38 on another day) just because.
“Dog Pot” was a mixture of just about everything, as I mentioned before, but also tended to include seal, whale, etc. But think of it like an unprocessed stewed hot dog, with other stuff thrown in for good measure. But the dogs loved it.
And I do remember having Polar Bear on occasion, which I remember as being horrible. But I was also a picky kid. Although that being said, my mother used to overcook the musk ox to the point we had to cut it up with scissors at times to eat it.
This last entry is of note because I posted previously including some pictures of the double wedding. So this gives a little bit more insight into that event.
6mm Remington
Well-known member
Griggs the bear was August 2019 with Ovis Outfitters. Emily & Matt Thoft. About 80-100 miles south of Prudhoe Bay on the North side of the Brooks Range.
muskeg
Active member
Maybe the Ircinrraaq, Enukins or Ignaugalurauks .... talked Fred into walking or he went to live with them.
Griggs did your father ever speak of the little supernatural people that live in the caves ?
Griggs did your father ever speak of the little supernatural people that live in the caves ?
Tanning a polar bear hide. Clearly many moons ago.
So it was tradition in the settlement on Easter to have new embroidered jackets. At least that's what we were told as our parents forced upon us embroidered jackets that we hated wearing. Still have some of them, and a few of them fit my son pretty well.
JEL
Well-known member
Thanks for posting these Griggs. I enjoyed the journal entries especially. My granddad kept a journal of life on a homestead in MT. I have read through it and it is interesting.......very different but very similar in ways to your fathers. Weather, visitors, comings and goings, what they did that day etc....
There were quite a few occurrences of musk ox running through town. This is not one of those instances, but there was also a time when a musk ox jumped over the snowmobiles. For such an inflexible and sluggish looking animal (To me) they sure can move.
ETA: I stand corrected. This apparently was an occurrence of the musk ox being chased out of town. My Dad was the one on he snowmobile apparently and my mom took the pictures.
ETA: I stand corrected. This apparently was an occurrence of the musk ox being chased out of town. My Dad was the one on he snowmobile apparently and my mom took the pictures.
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