Mile Post 104 and Beyond de Robert P. Wells

Mile Post 104 and Beyond

Robert P. Wells

Robert (Bob) Wells grew up in northwestern Ontario in the 1940's. Mile Post 104 and Beyond is an anecdotal collection of reminiscences and short stories about life in the Canadian bush. His familiar surroundings were the lakes and the forests, three younger brothers and the few people living in the area, chiefly of native or recent immigrant stock. An accomplished hunter, by the ripe old age of 11, he was his family's main protean provider. After high school in Wisconsin he returned to a life of guiding fishers and moose hunters and fur trapping. Marrying Inge, together they survived seven winters running a trap-line, raised a son, and his twenty-eight year career as an Ontario Conservation Officer. After his early retirement and some travelling outside of Canada, they now live in Kingston, Ontario, where they maintain a balance between urban, lakes and forest. His intimate knowledge of, and respect for, the natural environment, along with his warm personality and ability to make and keep friends, distinguish him. His stories highlight an eclectic and unforgettable group of characters. Mile Post 104 and Beyond shares one man's love of nature and carries a strong message for all of us to respect our natural world and each other. Bob Wells brings us some glimpses, both insightful and entertaining, of a Canada that was. Gerard Wyatt, Professor Emeritus, Queen's University at Kingston

Citește tot Restrânge

Notă biografică

I grew up in the 1940s at my family's fishing lodge in remote northwestern Ontario. Home was 104 miles down the railroad track from now Thunder Bay. As a child, I was not aware of a privileged childhood. To think of my life as enchanting or special was absurd; it was just there - a part of everyday life. When out-of-door, I lived in the Indigenous world, which brings me to why I wrote Wawahte. I promised to my dear friend Moochum Joe, that when I became old, I would: "Draw words on paper telling my kind how bad Indian people were treated. They take our kids away and not allow us to live as to who are. They sell me a child's train ticket to ride on the train - I am an 'insulted' old man!" I became more and more aware, how much my friends and growing up in the Canadian bush are a part of who I became. I married Inge, who was born in Germany, and we became parents to a blue-eyed blond-haired boy whose out-of-doors play language was Anisinabek. My friends. My life as a fishing and hunting guide and fur trapper and twenty-eight years as an Ontario Conservation Officer have resulted in my appreciation for nature and interest in First Nation(s) culture and their history. We are sufficiently mature to live in the truth of our history. Our challenge is to agree on the need for a different future relationship.