In 1955 I was hired by the Canadian Marconi Company of Montreal to work in communications on the DEW line in the high Arctic. I am sure you know about the Dew line (Distant Early Warning System). It was a line of approximately 23 Radar stations in the high Arctic., financed by the American government and built as an early warning system in case of a Russian attack during the Cold War.
I worked as a radio-teletype operator who handled the communications to the radar sites under construction and to the head office in Montreal. Previous to that I worked for the CN telegraph in Toronto and Halifax as a teletype operator. This job no longer exists due to the advances in communications.
A co-worker and I decided to explore a bit of Frobisher Bay. We met an Eskimo family – now called Inuit – who just returned from a hunt on the bay and had our picture taken with them.
After a brief stay in Frobisher Bay I was posted to another site higher up in the Arctic called FOX. We flew at night on an old DC4 aircraft. It was very cold and the temperature outside the aircraft was minus 60F. Due to the extreme cold weather the landing gear on the plane froze in place and could not be extended and we were asked to prepare for a crash landing. There was a Catholic missionary on board on his way to a mission. He started to pray using his Rosary beads which made the passengers all the more nervous.
When we looked out of the aircraft window we could see the fire trucks and the ambulance parked by the runway for our arrival. The pilot made a pass and touched down briefly on the runway to see if he could get the landing gear in place for our landing, To every one’s relief it worked and we circled around and made a safe landing.
After a two month’s stay at Fox I was again posted to my last posting at Coral Harbour – a large island at the top of Hudson’s Bay. The campsite where we lived was near the airstrip and the radio station where I worked about 2 miles from the camp site. A large Bombardier covered vehicle which held 6 passengers was provided for our transportation to our work place.
We employed several Inuit to work at the site and sometimes they would drop by the radio station after our shift and offer us a ride back to the site on a dog team. It was quite a thrill to ride on a dog sled. Sometimes during the night we would look up and see a large black nose in the window. It was quite frightening as there were a lot of polar bears in the area but it turned out to be husky dogs roaming around..
We worked a 12 hour shift 7 days a week which was just as well. There was nothing to do as we didn’t have satellite TV in those days. Once a week we had a movie and a number of the Inuit who worked for us would attend. Some brought their families as it was quite a treat for them. After about an hour into the the movie when people started to thaw out there was a noticeable smell as most of them lived in igloos which had no bathing facilities.
We had a great chef who prepared great meals so that compensated in some way for lack of things to do and helped to pass the time. An old man used to visit the site about once a week and the chef would give him a meal. He was always telling amusing stories and jokes. I asked who he was and the chef told me he was the Catholic priest at the mission.
During Christmas the priest invited us to midnight mass at the mission and we all piled in the Bombardier for a five mile journey to his church and residence. The priest preached in 3 languages – French, English and Inuit. After the service we were all invited to join him and his congregation for a meal. On the stove was a large pot of walrus stew. It didn’t look very appetizing so we all took a pass but the Inuit had a great feast as it was quite a treat for them.
It was quite an experience living the the Arctic for one winter and seeing how the Inuit lived. I really enjoyed seeing a different way of life. It is a very barren land but beautiful in it’s own unique way.
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Photos courtesy of Ron Connors