Curiosity Roving : V.15 : The Great North

gush · palette

                July 21, 2020

            Curiosity Roving : V.15 : The Great North

Curiosity Roving
The Grand Adventures of L Rose Goossen

V.15 : The Great North
in which we discuss the weather
___________________________

Greetings and Salutations! 

And welcome to the fifteenth volume of Curiosity Roving. I thank you kindly for your attention. For new subscribers, a special hey-hey and howdy y'all. You join this odyssey already in progress. If you would like to get caught up on the various nefarious hijinks that have brought us to the here and now, my last fourteen letters are documented in the archive: http://tinyletter.com/curiosity_roving/archive

gush

Today is a very special day in the world of Curiosity Roving, because for the first time since March, I am able to offer you a little slice of something geographical. I'm writing today from a grove of pine and poplar at the end of Sunset Drive in the 21st Unorganized Division on the eastern shore of Wekusko Lake, which can also be called South End or Herb Lake Landing. We're sitting pretty on the 55th parallel and I just might be as far north as I've ever been. Around here, a person can watch the sunset until well after midnight, and we do. The space is shared with geese, loons, eagles, pelicans, chipmunks, squirrels, dragonflies, a great many mosquitoes, the rumour of bears, and one old crow named George. I have spent the last week dressed in plaid flannel, sampling the thrills of various watercraft, sipping on sweet rhubarb juice, and cooperatively conferring about the weather at least six times per day.
one way or another

In my country, going north is a classic rite of passage, so I've been looking forward to this for a lifetime or so. The north has been romanticized for its hardships since the pioneer days, and there is a spirit of rough, enduring grit that still distinguishes the people of the north from those of the south. It is understood that to live in the north is to volunteer for risk, adventure, wide open spaces, greater self-reliance, long dark winters, and good cheap thrills. The north is a mood as much as it is a place.
palette

Canada's economy still rests on the foundation of our natural resources, and the northern towns are mostly built for work - in mining, in construction, in oil, in conservation, and in education and other services to support the families who choose to make their homes here. Work in the north is generally well-paid, so many young Canadians will eventually find themselves strapped into a tin can aircraft, or perhaps driving over the winter road of a frozen lake, all a-rattling toward a good opportunity. They return to the south at sporadic intervals, lusting after the creature comforts of midnight food deliveries, preferred brand names, and everything else that isn't available "up there". It's a living, and it's a lifestyle. My parents both worked in the north in earlier years, and many of my friends do so to this day. 
outlook

I have the great joy and privilege to be here with one such friend, whose family is of Metis heritage. The Metis people are a multiancestral indigenous group, descended from the mixed lineage of First Nations people and European settlers. This unique cultural group came into existence in the mid-17th century, at the peak of the Canadian fur trade. Many intrepid trappers emigrated to North America from France and Britain, and it was the custom for them to marry women from the local bands. A good woman was a crucial component for a trapper's overall success; she would provide survival skills, linguistic and cultural translations, social integration, and the maintenance of sanity that comes with steady companionship. Canadian Metis were officially recognized as a distinct Indigenous people in 1982, and their population currently numbers about six hundred thousand people nationally.
trusty float

This area became populous in the early 20th century, when gold was discovered in Wekusko Lake. Manitoba was hard-hit during the First World War and the Great Depression that followed, so when the reports of 'free gold' in the north started to circulate, many people were willing to try their luck in the remote and uncivilized territory. Many new towns that came into existence during that time, most of them formed by a company to serve the production of a particular resource. The town of Herb Lake was a bit of an anomaly, in that it was settled by independent prospectors and grew organically into a very complete, albeit isolated, town. The gold rush built and sustained the community from 1914 until 1958, and at its zenith, the town had a population of about 450 people to patronize the barber shop, churches, pool hall, hospital, restaurants, and school that were established by the new residents.

purple sandy

Herb Lake has long been abandoned. The ghost town is still accessible by boat and bush, but all you'll find there are some sagging boards and a mighty cloud of insects. The area's people now make their homes at Herb Lake Landing, which was once the last rail stop on the way to the old mining town. The business of ore still sustains the area, with the production of copper, nickel, and gold that is now based in the neighbouring town of Snow Lake, and many local families have stayed in the industry. Smaller contributions to the local economy come from fishing, trapping, wild rice harvesting, and a smattering of tourism.

tiger lily

My own heritage hails from the Mennonite community of southern Manitoba, about 800 kilometres distant, so I am as much a foreigner here as I am abroad. I'm too skinny. I wear the wrong clothes, I use the wrong slang, and I don't know how to fish. Where we've got cattle, they've got moose. Where we've got dust, they've got moss. Where we've got wheat fields, they've got bush and stone and quarry.

Still, there is more the same than different. We all drink wine from boxes. We want coffee in the morning and alcohol at night. We paint on rocks with cheap acrylics. Everyone wants to hear 'Hotel California'. When people come to visit, we call them 'company', and when we eat in the evening, we call that 'supper'. We laugh at the dogs when they chase the squirrels, we scream when the swimming's too cold, and we smile when the rainbow cuts through the storm. It's home, and it isn't. It's another variation on the endless theme of living.

my kind of treasure

Reader, go on and get your gold wherever you can find it. If you don't take any risks, it's all too easy to overlook the rewards. If you are the king of today's one-horse town, then carry your crown up high and give away your Budweiser; a few good friends can keep the ghosts at bay. The clouds could roll in any day now, so if someone offers you a Sea-doo ride, just take it. Chase the damn ducks. A little wind in your hair won't scramble your brains, and a little rain is a fine occasion to start a conversation. Whatever you're doing, try to want it. Try to do it deliberately. Me, I reckon I'll be over here with my feet in the grass and my WiFi shut off for just a little while longer.

Until next time, stay curious. -- Rose

Appendix

My singer/songwriter alter-ego has been hard at play. 
- I have a new music video here:

https://vimeo.com/437718845

- and a reasonably scathing open letter that pairs with it here:

https://www.curiosityroving.com/storytime

- The new EP, 'Young Wolf' is live on every platform: 

Bandcamp: https://radiorose.bandcamp.com/album/young-wolf

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/radio-rose-143433790/albums

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4AXfTo2iBGew14H8a2XNpZ

Youtube: https://youtu.be/8wimrp-RHNQ

- My old friends at the Music Nest also released this new compilation album that documents a year of rooftop performances, mine among them: https://musicnest.bandcamp.com/releases

- And here's a great little article on the settling of Herb Lake: 

http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/68/herblake.shtml#:~:text=In%201914%2C%20Richard%20Woosey%20and,for%20some%20distance%20in%20was

                Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Curiosity Roving: