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Northern Memories
by Marjorie Aimé
$23.58
Chapter One - My adventure begins
I left my home in Selkirk, Manitoba on June 6th, 1941. It was a beautiful sunny day. We travelled to Winnipeg by car and my parents came to the train with me. They couldn’t understand why I wanted to go so far away for so long. My sister Evelyn was married and in England. My brother Doug was in the Air Force but still in Canada, and my Mother and Dad had hoped I would stay nearer to my hometown. However, the thought of the far north really intrigued me and I was happy about the opportunity for adventure. I was anxious to be on my way.
This was my first trip west. Winnipeg to Edmonton. I was fascinated by the flatness of the prairie in Saskatchewan and I could imagine the pioneers arriving there to see nothing but tall prairie grass waving in the wind, and not a tree in sight. I wondered how they could find the survey markers that indicated the land they had bought to homestead, build a sod house, and raise their families and crops.
On arrival in Edmonton I had several hours to wait until the Northern Alberta Railway train was to leave, so I went for a short walk. I was not a city girl and was afraid of getting lost. Back at the railway station, I was sitting on the baggage cart when another girl came up and introduced herself. Her name was Jessie Allen and she was also on her way to the Aklavik Residential School. It was so good to meet her and we travelled together from then on.
At last the train was ready to leave. There were trappers, traders, prospectors, Natives, and a few other people besides Jessie and me. Several of the men were playing cards and drinking beer and everyone was friendly, especially the porter. Jessie had not thought to make a reservation for a berth so I invited her to share mine. We were very glad we didn’t have to sit up all night. The passenger service on the NAR (Northern Alberta Railway) has been discontinued for some years now.
The trip to Fort McMurray seemed to take a long time. It was said that you could get off the train and pick berries along the way. A tall tale. We stopped at Lac La Biche, some of us to have lunch, others to visit friends and relatives, and some of us just to walk around. It had been raining and there was mud everywhere.