Saturday, June 01 Temp 47
Had to walk to work today as my tires are not over from the boat yet and I do not want to ruin the rim. I worked on the DRs all day. After supper we went for a boat ride. We went down about 5 miles and came back. It was just a nice ride and the evening was warm. When we got home we played a few rubbers of bridge.
Sunday, June 02 Temp 49.
I printed pictures this morning while Ruby, Len, Bert and Nona played bridge. We all went over to visit Bert's nets in our boat after supper. Fishing is not very good.
Monday, June 03 Temp 56
My tires are not over yet so I have to walk to the station again. Worked on books all day. Hastings came out and told us all about the swell boat that he has coming in. When I got home I found that my tires were here so I put 2 on the back. We went boating again after supper to visit Bert's nets, we all went in my boat. When we got home we brought in some ice cream from the hotel and then played bridge.
Tuesday, June 04 Temp 53
More mail and freight over today. We got our picture frames and a box of stuff from home. Bill was sick today so could not come to work this afternoon. I was on the Key all afternoon. I worked on all the books till quitting time. We went boating after supper then played a rubber of bridge.
Wednesday, June 05 Temp 50
Bill was sick all day so I worked finishing the accounts and books. Collected some of the accounts, etc. After supper Norman, Bert and Len were here and while they played cards, I fixed up my negatives by labelling them all and putting them into negative albums.
Thursday, June 07 Temp 49
These days are very much like those proceeding it. Bill has been sick and unable to come into the station and my operating has got to the point now where I can be left alone at the station and get things thru. The afternoons have been so bad for static that practically no business can be got thru. On Thurs. night I took my first initiation in the Ancient Mystic Order Rosia Crusis ( AMORC).
Saturday, June 08 Temp 49 Pearson's Arrive
Finished all accounts and got the mail off today. The Boat arrived tonight so we all went over. As Norman is going out on this boat we did not think he would want to go over so Bert, Ruby, Len, Nona and I went. Just as we were arriving at Fitz we passed McNeill's car coming out with Pearson and his wife. We met Hersey there and brought him over with us. Met JT there also. We stopped at the hotel and got Hersey fixed up then met Sgt Major Jack Pearson & Mrs Evelyn Pearson. They all came over to the house for a while then I took Pearson and Mrs Pearson and Nona out to meet Bill. Mrs Loverock went to the hospital this afternoon. We did not stay very long, then came home. They were here till 00:30. Hastings came in for a minute.
Sunday, June 09 Temp 49
I got up at 10:00 and was going to do some printing when Hastings came up and told me that Mrs Loverock was able to travel and asked me to go to the station and carry out the Turn Over to Pearson. They arrived shortly after I did and it only took about an hour to check over and finish the Take Over. I came back home then and we all went for a short boat ride. We played cards till nearly midnight. Norman left on the boat for Winnipeg tonight. He doesn't expect to return here.
Monday, June 10 to Sunday, June 16 Temps 50's
I was so busy this last week that I did not have time to catch up with the diary. We got to bed so late at night it was too hard to get up early. The weather had been cold and rainy all week. We had one bad cloud burst about Tuesday and it has been raining almost continuously ever since. For the first few days I helped Pearson unpack his furniture and lay the linoleum. We got an issue of Battleship linoleum for the W.O. quarters and for parts of the station. After supper for a few days I had to go to the dentist that was here. He was Dr. Sommers from Edmonton. He put a crown on my back lower left molar and filled a couple others. We went from there for a boat ride every night (that it was nice enough) to the fish nets. There was a run of whitefish on for a few day and there was enough to have one for the table. I think we had four altogether. The old bus went back on me this week. I think that two of the exhaust valves are stuck open and the weather has been too wet to take the head off to clean it out. I am going to do it the first decent day we have. Hastings went back to Resolution via plane this Sunday morning. I was down in my boat when the plane took off. They seemed to have some trouble before they got into the air. They were on the water for about half an hour. Nona and I went down to spend the evening with Jack Pearson and Mrs Pearson. We got there about 20:00. It was raining. We played over a bunch of records, most of them I had never heard before, then played bridge. Mrs Pearson and I vrs Nona and Jack Pearson. Our side had very poor luck with the cards. We left there about midnight after a very enjoyable evening and Bert and Len were still here when we got home. Bert and Len were here every night during the week and we had a great time.
Monday, June 17 Temp 52
Still wet and cold. Static in Edmonton was so bad that most of Saturdays business was still unsent today. It appears that there is a lot of interference there as well as static. After supper Bert and I went down the hill and we took my boat out of the water It is rising and there is an eddy where I had it. Owing to the rising water the eddy is now full of drift wood and I was afraid of getting the boat damaged. While there I painted the name on it. I have called it Muzero II after the old RCCS bus Muzero I. The evening was spent in the usual manner, bridge.
Tuesday, June 18 Temp 46
Cold yet and about 10:00 it started to rain that misty drizzle kind and it kept it up till late at night. I cleaned up a lot of business at the station then took the Key for a couple of hours in the afternoon. VED and VEC were working so I did not call. They finished just as Joe came on. We had everything cleared up by 15:00 but a new bunch was ready by 17:00. On my way home I drove Pearson uptown and he did his shopping then after supper I had a nap. Bert and Len came in and Nona and Len played a few rubbers with Bert and Ruby. I had to go over to the hotel about 21:00 for some bread and as Dr. Somers was there alone playing billiards. I brought him over to spend the evening. I believe he had a good time too. He laughed and told stories and was in great spirits. About 23:00 Walt came in. he had come over from the Halfway to look up some tools that was mixed up in Rag Wilson's' kit which is going to Bear Lake. Tools will come in handy down there- oh no, I imply nothing. Ha ha. Walt took Ruby's hand when she was tired of playing and on a Four bid of Spades re-doubled he cleaned up 1016 pts. Went to bed about 00:30.
Wednesday, June 19 Temp 38
Cold and rainy all day again. It looked as if it was going to clear but changed its mind again about noon. I took over the set at 10:00 and sent 8 to Edmonton then Joe relieved me for dinner. After dinner I took over again and stayed on till 17:15. After supper Bert and Len were up and the four played bridge. I read a couple of short stories. Radio perfect tonight, we went to bed at 00:15 and listened to it for an hour.
Thursday, June 20 Temp 35
It's still cold and wet. I snowed hard for about 2 hours today but the ground was so wet that it melted as soon as it struck the ground. I was on the Key all afternoon and as it was too wet and disagreeable to work outside, got nothing done in the warehouses. After supper the gang came in and as Miss Catt had been here all afternoon and stayed for supper she was here till the last dog was hung too. She and I played Bert and Const. Bell ( RCMP) from Resolution who dropped in about suppertime. We held the small end of the handle. Nona and Len played the winners while we sat by and looked on. She and I played another rubber after they beat Nona and Len and had worse results than the first attempt. We had a lunch at the usual hour of 23:30 and they all sat around and talked after lunch time till 01:00.
Friday, June 21 Temp 33
Well, today is the longest day of the year but the reading of the Meteors looked much more like November than June. Here is the Probs for the day. Temp 33, wind NE 20 mph snowing and raining at intervals, clouds 100%. Was on the Key all afternoon but so much traffic that I had to give up at the end of the day. SVC from Edmonton asked if I would stay off for the busy season as they cannot afford to go slow. I resumed the books for the summer. I like the later better anyway. Lizzie still working on 2 cylinders and the roads are terrible. The Portage road is absolutely impassable now and the roads around town are a close second. After supper Const. Bell and the gang came up and we had a good time. The boat was expected at Fitz but owing to high winds had been held up at Lake Athabasca. Went to bed about 01:00.
Saturday, June 22 Temp 46
At work at 09:00. Working on books all day. They are back to the 15 and by quitting time I had them all up to the 18 incl. it rained all day and it was that misty drizzle.When I got home Nona informed me that the Pearsons were up and invited us down for the evening. I went and worked for 2 hours on the car and had it working on all fours once again. It was raining while I was out but it was necessary to get it going. The roads are so bad that I might be getting stuck any day the roads are covered with about six inches of soft gooey mud even though it is composed of nearly pure sand. The long continued rains which have lasted for over 2 1/2 weeks has sure played havoc with them. We went down about 21:00 and stayed till 01:30. We had a real good time. Joe and Freda were there too. We did not play cards but listened to the phonograph and spun yarns . Jack Pearson had lots to tell about Ottawa and the Camp and stories of his happenings while up at Nottingham in Hudson's Bay while he was there. We got home about 01:45 and went to bed soon afterwards.
Sunday, June 23 Temp 42
I awoke at 08:00 and saw at a glance that it had rained all night and was still doing so, so I stayed in bed till 11:30. As soon as we got up, Nona and I took the irons down to Mrs Pearson and borrowed a hook then came back for breakfast. Bert and Len came in about noon and they had a game of bridge. About 16:00 Bert and I went down the hill to see what shape our boats were in and dumped them out. They had about 6 inches of water in them. The HBC Barge # 202 was in the water. It had been launched on Friday and Askew's men were gone. We had missed the launching. Had it been a decent day, no doubt there would have been a holiday as in the case of the 300 in 1927. We had a little difficulty in getting back up the hill, the bottom of it is a mass of mud about 18 inches thick. We were stuck for a couple of minutes but that was all. When we did get going up we had to straddle the ruts and had not trouble other than having to back down a couple of times to where our new rut is for better traction. When we got up all was well. Bert and I were going back across the river to the nets but the lull in the rain only lasted long enough to decide it. While we were getting ready the rain started again so we stayed home.
Monday, June 24 Temp 43
At last the rainy season seems over. This afternoon the sun came out and although the skies are still cloudy they are not the threatening rain clouds. When taking the Meteors at 17:30 tonight it was noticed that the humidity had dropped way down. There are 7 points difference between the wet and dry thermometers. As I am now off the Key excepting as relief at meal time and have taken over the books exclusively, a new schedule was made up today so that we would each have a little time off for work around our homes. I am off Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday mornings, starting tomorrow. I worked all day on the DRs and brought them nearly UTD. Nona came down with me this afternoon to the station and invited Joe & Freda and Jack & Mrs Pearson up for Wednesday evening. After supper Nona, Ruby and I went for a boat ride. Bert had gone down to thee cabin this morning and we were going over to visit his nets. We met him at the 3 mile Island and he said that he had been over to them so we all came back. The mail arrived today and I got a cheque for $2.25 for the 3 General Motors shares, it was the first dividend from them. There is to be another one in July. Bert and Len were up and we played bridge till bed time.
Tuesday, June 25 Temp 50
Up at 10:00 and printed pictures till 11:15. At the station I went at the books again and they were UTD early in the afternoon. After I finished with them I started to overhaul the batteries that I took out of the bank. I finished 3 of them before quitting time. Met Max Finkelstein this afternoon and he said that he would be up this evening. After supper Bert and Len came in and shortly afterwards in came Max. He brought a flask of whiskey and it was sure good stuff. He stayed till 01:00 and we had a dandy time. We just sat around and talked but he had lots to tell of the doings outside during the winter. When he went he emptied the flask and left us with about a half pint of whiskey. We killed it before Bert and Len went. There was 2 good sized snorts each in it. Radio was good tonight.
Wednesday, June 26 Temp 54
Today I was busy pulling the rest of the batteries to pieces. I took them to pieces and then got everything ready for the new plates. It was too late when I finished to start assembling any. After supper Mr & Mrs Pearson and the Dexters came over and Bert and Len were still here. We had a real go0d time. We had 2 tables of bridge and at my table Jack Pearson and I beat Len and Joe to the tune of 1100 points. While at the other table Nona and Mrs Pearson beat Bert and Freda to the tune of about 300. They left at 01:00. The radio was real good after 23:00 but static began to get heavy about 01:30.
Thursday, June 27 Temp 54
I got up and printed a bunch of pictures. At the station I worked on DRs all day. After supper we went for a short boat ride then came home and played bridge.
Friday, June 28 Temp 55
Books all day again. They are still behind. After supper I developed a bunch of films then played a couple of games of bridge.
Saturday, June 29 Temp 48
Nothing doing today out of the ordinary.
Sunday, June 30 Temp 44
The steamer got in last night and I got the mail at 10:00. No mail from home at all. We had planned a picnic down river today but it looked like it might rain so we called it off. Nona and I went to church this morning to hear Dr. Wesgate from Winnipeg speak. We enjoyed the sermon very much. While I was out chopping wood a voice behind me said " You used to do that 3 years ago" and looking around I saw Roche ( from Simpson) with his incessant grin.We came inside where several others of the gang were. Later he wanted me to run him down to the station to see Joe Dexter and Jack Pearson. As we were going past Pearsons, Evelyn called us. Frank Riddell, Neary and Padfield were all there. We had a good time talking over Camp ( Borden) news, etc. Pearsons asked us to come down this evening. After supper Nona and I went down. The gang were all there and we stayed till 01:00. I took the gang down to the boat in the car.