ELDER'S STORIES Ta k e n f r om a n i n t e r v i ew w i t h t h e l a t e C o l l e t t e Go o d c h i l d
Before our Elder Collette Goodchild passed away, she sat down with Florinda Christianson to tell some stories from her childhood and what it was like growing up in the community at that time. One of the things she spoke about was what it was like being a youth in the community during the winter.
(The following are Collette's words taken from a recording owned by Sustainable Development)
"...So I remember my dad would cut wood, and warm the church up in the winter. The priest was not always there, just four or five days every six weeks, so they didn't have to stick around to keep the fire going. I remember one particular winter there was a lot of snow, Later on, as I remember, my dad was taking one of my brothers, Junior, as he was sick. There were no snowplows or anything on the roads, and he was going to see the doctor in town, or it would be called the townsite, or Heron Bay South. My mom I guess, wrapped my brother up in a toboggan, all wrapped up, and I could see my dad putting on his snowshoes. He was having to take him to the doctors because the doctor couldn't come down because of that particular weather. It was around March, and during that time I remember we were all excited as kids having to see a big tractor, coming down to plow the roads to the church, and down the gravel road from Heron Bay. We can see all of the workers coming in. I couldn't imagine, we were so excited because we knew soon it would be spring and we'd be able to go down the mouth..."
"...during those days when you come home, even at lunchtime, you could smell the cooking at home. Especially in the wintertime. In the wintertime, my mom would have her macaroni soup, or maybe some little bannocks to eat. I remember my mom making just before my dad would go out into the bush, she would make bannocks for my dad but they were made with sugar and had raisins on it. So that was his lunch. Every once in awhile my dad would give me one, one of those little bannocks. We usually get, the parents, many, many years ago would come to our bedroom and give us a cup of tea. It was so nice to have that big cup of hot tea be given..."
Collette Goodchild "North Wind Woman" January 11, 1946 - January 10, 2020
Elders in the community that wish to be interviewed or to submit a story can contact Florinda Christianson, at (807) 229-8900 ext.223 or florinda@picriver.com
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T h e B i i g t i g o n g C u r r e n t
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