I'm sure there are many questions from the past 6 posts . I will try to answer all questions if there is an answer.
I like questions as it gives me a good idea of my writing. Am I making things clear? Do I miss things? So no matter if it's just curiosity, fire away and ask questions.
I enjoyed writing the posts and I will like your questions.
I will come back with a few Red.
ReplyDeleteDuring your time in the North, did you stay there year-round or did you take an annual holiday "away"?
ReplyDeleteDid you eat any of the local foods?
Was there a dentist available to the community?
How were deaths and burials handled in very cold weather?
Good questions. I could do another post.
DeleteWe stayed the year and came out in the summer . sometimes it was for two months as the usual school break.
We certainly did eat local foods. The kids would come to the door with a pail of mussles. They were tough but change. Seal liver was awesome. Same thing, the kids brought it to the door. We had arctic char, caribou and seal.
No dentist.
Now it's more complex than your question. We did not have a death except for the murder. By the time we got down to pick up the body for the police they had washed the body and dressed her. There was a cemetery but I never thought about how the grave was dug. In the western arctic it was permafrost. a boiler was used and steam melted the permafrost and we scoped out the muck . It was a dirty job. I don't remember an undertaker so I think the people looked after bodies. I know the govt. had a supply of coffins. Traditionally graved were not dug. Logs and stones were piled on top the body. Most of those old graves have been desecrated as people opened them up and took bones. Belongings were also piled on the grave like sleds.
Wow - got more than I expected with that one! But now I have one more question - why did people take the bones from the graves?
DeleteVery interesting - thanks for the detailed answers.
What I would like to know is when and how you met Nurse Jean (The Micro Manager)? Did you encounter her in the far north or did you hook up beforehand? If so, how did you persuade her to join you on such a testing adventure?
ReplyDeleteI met the Micro manager in the north. he had come to work in the hospital and I was looking for somebody to take to the New Year's eve party. the rest is history. The second adventure was probably more her idea than mine. She really wanted to go to an isolated settlement where she was in the minority. She was much more focused than I was.
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ReplyDeleteWas it the availability of jobs or the challenge that drew you up there?
In the sixties jobs were a dime a dozen. I chose to go north. I didn't get the exact place I wanted but as it turned out this was the better experience.
DeleteWere bugs a problem in warmer weather?
ReplyDeleteIn the western Arctic bugs were vicious at times. In northern Quebec there was lots of wind so the bugs weren't as bad. There weren't any black flies.
DeleteDo you have any idea how climate change is affecting the people you taught? I imagine their lives are starting to change because of warmer weather.
ReplyDeleteSince most Inuit are not on the land and work , climate change effects are similar to us. The sea has much less ice cover so they can travel much more on the sea. The older people are very concerned about what will happen to their way of life.
DeleteWhat do you miss most about that period in your life? What do you miss least? Would you do it all over again if you could? Have you kept in touch with the people you worked with/taught?
ReplyDeleteI would do the North all over in a heart at. I have lost contact with all people except for a few coworkers in the south. I did meet a woman last summer who is now retired in Edmonton. She was born and lived part of her life at Sachs Harbor. She and her husband were very successful in business. At this age what I miss is not an issue. For years I did miss the close community relationship. We didn't have TV and constantly visited in each other's houses. We are more socially isolated here.
DeleteHi Red, Sure enjoyed all the stories about your time in Kang. I took a little break from the blogosphere for a few days and, wow, you got all 6 posts about Kang in there during that time … You have been busy! :-) Well, I went back and started with the first post I missed, “We Come Ashore”, on Jan. 13th. It is fascinating all that you went through. At first I wasn’t sure if you were there just as a Principal, aka Administrator, or if you were teaching. I see where you said you were teaching and being the Principal as well. I guess you used one of the 2 classrooms? So did you have just one other teacher than yourself? I liked the story about the birth of the child and the nearest Doctor was 300 miles away. How did you keep in touch with the rest of the world? Telephone? Radio? I also liked the part where you were in charge of the diesel generators when that other French guy was not available. You would probably know your way around a diesel engine in a train! Overall, this has just been a great story. Thanks for sharing, Red. Well, this is the big Super Bowl weekend. Will you watch up there in Canada? I can’t recall you ever mentioning if you are a football fan. I really don’t care who wins this one since the Seahawks are not in it. I will probably watch for the commercials though. :-) Have a great weekend, Red!
ReplyDeleteThere was just one other teacher, and the guy who was there the first year had to be fired. It was not a pleasant experience. He cried when I told him he was fired. That shook me up. I was ready for anger but not tears.
DeleteWe had terrible radio that was used very little and only for business,. Snail mail was the communication. there was no phone or TV or even regular radio . There was a little bit of short wave radio but it was not consistent.
There are many football fans here but I'm not one of them. The superbowl is certainly shown here in living color.
All these questions and your replies make a neat addition to the story. If you're still taking questions, here is one more: What did the government do with the soapstones you purchased? By the way, I've always been fascinated with short wave radio, and you are so right ... it is not consistent!
DeleteWoops ... Sorry about the last comment ... The Super Bowl is NEXT weekend, Feb. 5!
ReplyDeleteDid you get to go back home to visit your parents? Did any of your family visit you there? How many years did you work up there? What made you give it up?
ReplyDeleteGreat bunch of stories Red. I really like the soapstone carvings:)
Yes we went south every summer. I took summer school classes but I did visit family.
DeleteNone of the family visited. It was very expensive to fly in just for a visit.
I spent 5 years in the north and the reason I left is that I didn't get a transfer. I came south intending to stay one year but never went back as kids arrived and we became settled.
There was not phone or TV. Snail mail was the way communication took place and mail going in and out was sporadic. There were 6 weeks each fall and spring when the airplanes couldn't fly so we didn't get mail for 6 weeks.
I enjoyed peoples questions and your replies back.
ReplyDeleteYou sure had an interesting life in your younger mans life.
I met when I was 50 a Missionary Lady ad Husband. I should post about them.
The husband dies early and the wife lived and still may be alive. I learned so much from her. She was or still is. The most pleasant lady I met.