Spring in the Factory

With Spring here in Moose Factory, the snow is beginning to melt, and everything is being covered in mud. The 7 ft. piles of snow are down to 5 ft, and the dirt roads are covered in water. There is now a lake on Hospital drive. As I walked by on the snow bank, I witnessed a van attempting to get to the hospital, determined to get through the water up to its bumper. Better hope you don't try to to get to the ER in a sedan.

Now that it is warming up it is also helicopter season. Meaning that the ice road is no longer passable, though even it's officially closed people will continue to use it by snow mobile, right until the ice breaks up. The closure of the road makes getting on and off the island expensive, as a helicopter trip to Moosonee is around $40 one way.

This also creates issues for getting supplies, food or whatever else. Most places stock up before the road closes, but in the case of food you can only do this for non-perishables. For the Northern grocery store, and the hospital food service, they rely on helicopters to deliver fresh food. The food is put into a sling, which dangles precariously under the chopper.

While using a helicopter is a much more exciting way to deliver goods, it's not without its problems. I've been told there have been times when the sling has snapped, leaving mail or whatever else, raining down onto Moose Factory. However, I've been reassured this has only happened a couple of times. To be honest I wouldn't mind the scavenger hunt, to find my missing mail.

I also had a chance encounter with Margeurite Wabano, known as Granny Wabano in Moosonee, she is the oldest survivor of Canada's residential schools. She is nearly 110 years old now, and I briefly introduced myself while we were on a home visit at a seniors' complex.

Margeurite Wabano was invited to Ottawa when Prime minister Harper issued the apology, on behalf of the federal government, on its residential school system. Apparently Harper offered his hand to Margeurite, as she walked up a set of stairs, and she promptly knocked his hand aside. Hand holding is not a part of First Nation culture, even between husband and wife. So it was more of a cultural misunderstanding then a slight, but entertaining nonetheless.