Kapuskasing revisited

We've been in Kapuskasing and environs for six days now - which is kind of humourous given that Montreal only got four on our schedule. But we're starting to meet people. Which, being me, is what interests me the most.


I tree planted around here in the early 1990s - and had some good times here. Since that time, the mill has slowed down and the population has dropped from about 12,000 to about 9000. Mostly francophones. Its kind of odd that all the signs are in english, but all the people speak french. Odd in that way that shows how power still operates.


As you saw from the last post, Mac's family was kind of a big deal around here - he was the local mill manager, a road was named after him. We went to visit his grandparents graves yesterday and met up with a lovely lady named Shirley Toal. She's come 'home' to Kap after years of travel. She was tending her second husband's grave - in the English side of the cemetary (seriously, there is an English side and a French side). Her enscription was all ready for her - it said 'the final journey', with a plane engraved on the stone under her name. She used to run the travel agent in the old train station, and when she retired, she went travelling. Now she's back. She offered to get a flower stand for Grandma and Pops grave, and explained it as 'typical Kapuskasing'. Indeed, that sort of openness is everywhere here. People just come on up and introduce themselves, asking who we are, and where we're from. Right now, most people think we're here for the old (english) high school reunion. Which we did go by for a bit, after some old friend's of Mac's mum suggested we do.
 So at the Tim Horton we met Lorraine, who lives in town and is a self proclaimed 'talking machine'. She said she'll see us later at the splash pad. We didn't see her, but there we met a gal who had just returned home from Courtney BC with her kids. Her hubby is in diamond mining, heading next for Mali. Oh dear. A growth industry I'm sure. She told us that she'd never heard of Flatts - that everyone in Kap was a francophone, and that she knew we weren't from around here.

We've been camping for a few days at Rene Brunelle Provincial Park - near Moonbeam, Ont - just down the road. We've met quite a few folks there - some because we helped to save their boat. We had rented a canoe to go fishing and we were out on the water when we noticed an old motorboat taking on water, as it was tied up with its stern to the waves. It was going down fast as it filled up. We paddled over, pulled out the gear and then ran up to the RVs, yelling - "Un bateau rouge, does anyone have a bateau rouge?" We found some folks and we all returned to the dock, where the boat was completely sunk. Miraculously, we were able to bail the sucker out and maybe, just maybe the motor will work again. Anyway, when they heard we were from Toronto and had helped them out - their eyebrows rocketed up to the skies. Methinks Torontonians are kind of a mythical and evil beastie around here.

More later..