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JOE HIGHWAYS FISH CAMP
Joe Highways Fish Camp was located on Boundry Island which was the middle of Reindeer Lake. Bob
tells me that he took many loads of fish out of here. Bringing fish out of here in the summer was a
challenge because when the weather was warm, getting in and getting the fish out was an important
and challenging procedure. We would load the plane up with tubs of fresh fish and taxi out for take off
and during the take off procedure, it became evident that our load was definitely too heavy. I would
abort the take off, turn around and would be met by a boat and a couple fishermen and we would remove
3 or 4 tubs of fish which I felt would be required to allow us to get airborne. Back again to take off
and up and away with the load of fish. This was always a challenge during the hot weather in the summer
removing the volume of fish which was required.
This photo shows the area where the fish were stored. During the winter months ice would be cut and
stored in this building. During the summer months it was used to keep the fish cool until it was transferred
to market. You can see that it was also a fueling depot for the fishermen and their boats.
The above photo shows the fishermen loading their tubs onto the Norseman for transportation to market.
The usual load of fish was 18 - 22 tubs. This could vary with weather conditions.
Above is a Norseman parked on the Laurie River Damn Site belonging to Sherritt Gordon Mines.
One broken ski - This Cessna flipped over when the ski and supporting leg broke off and caused
the plane to flip over. No one was injured.
Same as above - photos had to be taken, reports filled out for DOT and the taking apart of the plane
and removal for repair. No small job - took many hours to salvage this aircraft. This incident took
place on the Churchill River near Pukatawagan.
HUDSON BAY AIR TRANSPORT OTTER
The above image was taken at Baker Lake, NWT. This young Inuit boy is very proud and happy
having his photo taken beside this big airplane. This was a special day in his life. Bob's memory
of the Inuit people is that they are very happy and helpful in any way. When there was Geologists
and Bush Pilots came to their community, was a very special occasion. They treated us well
and were very curious about what we were doing and loved having their pictures taken.
This is a group of young Inuit girls who wanted their picture taken to commemorate the occasion of
our presence. Like many young people, they found aircraft very fascinating and also the people
who travelled on them.
Young Inuit Mother with baby and one of the first times I witnessed children being
carried in the baby carry on the back of the Mother.
Here is a group of Mother's and children in the community of Baker Lake. You can see the small boy
in the Hudson Bay striped parka which was once a very common item sold by the
Hudson Bay Company for all sizes from adults to children.
HUDSON BAY EXPLORATION CAMP
This image shows a base camp of H.B.E.D. on the shores of Baker Lake.
This is the Community of Baker Lake.
Another Community image of Baker Lake.
SUPPLY SHIP
This supply ship makes 3 trips a year into the Community of Baker Lake. Do to restricted
passage, this ship could not be larger, therefore it is required to make 3 trips per year
to get the necessary supplies into the Community. This image was taken in July 1966.
Hudson Bay Air Transport Otter located on the shore of a lake in the Barren Lands.
As Bob looked at this photo, it brought back an experience of engine failure, something
that every pilot is concerned about. Working in remote areas, gasoline and oil was always
stored in drums for easy handling and transportation. Bob said he had explained to his mechanic
the importance of storing drums with a slight tilt so that water would not pool on the top of the drum.
Water in the oil and the gas was not a risk that they wanted to take. On the top of the drums, there are
two ports, one about 3" in diameter and one approximately 1". The caps or bungs as they were referred
to have a small rubber seal but many times do not seal as tight as one would like, so when this happens,
water definitely becomes a problem. Bob explained to the mechanic that during war time, water was added
to oil when they chose to sabatoge an aircraft. When they took off, the oil heated up like normal, however
the presence of water begins to produce steam. Steam builds up in the oil reservoir until it reaches a point
that the tank containing the oil experiences an explosion, blowing off the cap and the loss of 10 gallons of oil.
This is exactly what occurred to us in flight. When this happened, we were fortunate to be over water and
being on floats, I was able to set the plane down. Once we got down and Bob realized what had hapened
and thank God we had a good radio. Bob was able to reach HBAT in Channing and informed them that we
had lost all our oil but fortunately we were safe on a lake. They contacted Lamb Airways who were also
working and flying in the Territories and they were able to bring us 10 gallons of oil so we were able to
become airborne again. My question to Bob was - what did you say to your mechanic and he said that
he gave him a lecture and made him clean all the oil off the plane. I felt this was adequate punishment
as when the oil blew out and we had to force land, Bob believed that this was a lesson that this
young man would not forget. Just another day as a Bush Pilot.
Geologists from Hudson Bay Exploration & Development Camp Site located at a lake in the
Barren Lands.
DC3
This aircraft was transporting large drums of chemical to be put on an oil spill. This plane went down
at night approximately 40 miles east of La Ronge. When the aircraft came to rest, little did they know
how fortunate they were going to be. They were actually sitting on a reef and were able to get out and
find their safety on the reef. If one had to choose a place to put the plane down, it turned out to be
probably the best they could of done under the circumstances.
The above is an aerial view of the DC3. The plane was moved up onto the reef
and left there to winter at which time a crew of individuals went in, took the plane apart
and removed it from the wilderness lake, and it would be re-assembled and put
back into service.
This photo shows an Otter, also out of La Ronge which had gone down on a wilderness lake
and once again, they were fortunate that all survived.
This shows the Otter aircraft at lake level. This was another salvage operation where the aircraft
would be dragged to shore and wait for freeze up to disassemble and remove the plane. These
are very time consuming and expensive operations but you are always fortunate when there is
no loss of life.
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