Peter Apsit Photos 1916 -1921 at Portage La Loche

1920 photo taken in Portage La Loche of Eleonore Marie Laprise (nee Janvier in 1901 at La Loche) holding her son Johnny (nee Janvier) Laprise in a mossbag. (from the Peter Apsit photo collection provided by Gerald Sarapu)

Apsit cabin 1918-1921. Peter and John Apsit are in their cabin sitting at a table and lying on a cot by the window. On the wall is a 1918 calendar and dozens of photos. (from the Peter Apsit photo collection provided by Gerald Sarapu)

Portage La Loche 1919-1920 -- Hudson's Bay Company factor's house at West La Loche. Peter Apsit sitting in dark striped shirt (on the right), John Apsit standing in white shirt. Angus McLean the HBC factor who was sixty years old in 1916 may be the man in the dark clothes sitting in the chair.(from the Peter Apsit photo collection provided by Gerald Sarapu)

La Loche 1958 Robbie Fontaine's House

 "La Loche Road Project 1958. Hauling the Bombardier motor south for repair." (photo by Don Neely submitted by Craig Neely).

La Loche 1958 -- William Boucher and his dog team in the foreground in front of the Robbie Fontaine house . Robbie Fontaine may be the man in the red-black shirt. The house would have been where the GDI building is now located. The dog team is on what is now La Loche Avenue. The dog teams are going to a bombardier (snow-bug) that broke down during the building of the La Loche to Buffalo Narrows road with tools and a passenger who might be Conservation Officer Harold Thompson'

About thirty men from La Loche helped in the project. Mathias Herman, Pierre Gun Janvier and Michel Montgrand helped as guides along the way, Martial Montgrand and Sammy Herman did a very good job of cooking for the men. The snow bug which carried the men to and from work was driven by Norman Tinker of Buffalo Narrows. Other men helping in the work were Robbie Fontaine, Jules Montgrand, Pierre Marie Sylvestre and many others too numerous to list here. The men worked very hard and can be proud of the road they made. It is hoped that some day it will be cleared all the way to Buffalo Narrows and built better so that cars and trucks will be able to drive all the way to La Loche. (The Great Portage -- 1958 -- La Loche newsletter for Jan.- Feb.- Mar, page 4 -- (author Don Neely) (text may have been slightly altered from the original (corrected spelling)) http://archives.algomau.ca/main/node/25743

The building is Robbie Fontaine's house which was located across the "street" (now La Loche Avenue) from the DNR compound.; The old RCMP detachment was built at that location which is now the Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI).

A picture and a story--Magloire and Mary Rose--August 1945 in La Loche

From Société historique de Saint-Boniface archives.comes this photo captioned simply "newlyweds'. A mistaken description quickly discovered by facebook readers when it was published there. This is a brother and sister in front of the rectory in La Loche-- Magloire Montgrand and Mary Jane Jolibois --They were identified by Manny Sylvestre as "Magloire Montgrand and Mary Jane Jolibois,  they are not newlyweds, they are brother and sister".  They are my "great grandpa and auntie"

 Magloire Montgrand is now 90 years old and is living in Descharme Lake north of La Loche with his son's family.

His sister Mary Jane Jolibois (wife of Alex Jolibois) was killed by the whirling propeller blade of an aircraft in 1965 at Descharme Lake when she was 39 years old. The aircraft was owned by Grover Clarke, of Meadow Lake, Sask. The old town of Descharme had a fish filleting plant and a store. It had an airstrip and a hanger. These were run and owned by C. & M. Airways of La Loche. G.M. Clarke and John H. Midgett of Meadow Lake were the owners with Leon Belanger of Ile a la Crosse as another partner.  The Dene High School cultural camp is now located nearby.  A memorial cross is located on the spot of the accident.---News story: "Woman Killed By Airplane Propeller"---

La Loche August 17-24, 1945 -- Magloire Montgrand on the left and his sister Mary Jane Montgrand (Jolibois) on the right with their parents Joseph and Rosa Montgrand. (Joseph was also later identified as Marc Montgrand also known as Jean-Baptiste). https://archivesshsb.mb.ca/en/permalink/archives113280

From New York City to La Loche with love

 The children of New York City have sent us stars. Each star is painted on one side and a message is written on the opposite side. Made by school children of New York City for the children of La Loche to place around town at a place of their choosing. Photos by Raymond Dauvin

The star marked "Hope" has a message from; "Dunya...Love". The other has the message "Hope you can re-build what was damaged...Emilie." ----(Thank you Emilie)--

This one says; "Helo my name is Sasha. I'm from New York and I'm thinking of you!".--(Thank you Sasha)--

Sasha sent us this star with "Love". The message on the other side says; "Helo my name is Sasha. I'm from New York and I'm thinking of you!"

The message on this star says; "Marilyn in New York City. Wishing you a bright and warm future."

"Stars of Hope have been delivered to our community from New York. They are meant to be a symbol as a daily reminder that children in New York City care about the people of our community and that we are all in this together. They will be placed on fences, trees, and other public places to give our community a sense of HOPE each and every day. Students from Dene High and Ducharme Elementary will be placing them throughout our community this week. Please respect these wonderful gifts and leave them where they are placed ' .Link to La Loche Community School

The stars were sent in response to a tragedy that occurred in La Loche in 2016.

"On January 22, 2016, four people were killed and seven others injured in a shooting spree in La Loche. Two people were killed at their home and a teacher and an educational assistant were killed at the  La Loche Community School".

Buffalo Narrows ferry--The drownings in 1965

Buffalo Narrows ferry--The drownings in February 1965--"Albert John Savidan, 38, and his wife Muriel, 33, of Hoey, Sask., drowned Wednesday night at Buffalo Narrows, Sask, "...."Mr. Savidan and his wife were passengers in a car driven by his brother, Paul Savidan, 32. The driver and his sister, Sister Lawrence of La Loche. Sask., were rescued by the operators of the Buffalo Narrows ferry.' (They were heading north to La Loche at night and may have missed the signs for the ferry crossing or their brakes failed. They drove into the water.)   photo link

Close-up of the ferry and the south-side where the vehicle entered the water.Saskatoon Star-Phoenix - Feb 26, 1965--news article

This bridge, completed in 1981, crosses the Kisis Channel at Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan. The photo was taken on the north end of the old ferry site in 2016, (photo by Raymond Dauvin).

Buffalo Narrows axe murders 1969

"On the night of January 30, 1969, 19-year-old Frederick McCallum intruded into the home of the Pederson family, slaying seven people with an axe in the remote Saskatchewan town of Buffalo Narrows. He murdered Mr. and Mrs. Pederson and four of their children, along with a family friend. The only survivor was their 7-year-old son, who was in critical condition after the attack. A psychiatric evaluation revealed he showed signs of schizophrenia, and he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. In January 1970, he was moved from a mental institution to Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary when a psychiatrist ruled he was no longer mentally ill and didn’t require treatment. 

McCallum contacted several people after the murders, and once he was apprehended, police found him at his home enjoying a cup of tea. When the officer told him he was under arrest for murder, he replied: 

“Sure I killed them, so what?”  https://www.tumblr.com/search/frederick%20mccallum

• Blood-stained axe produced in court , The Star-Phoenix (October 15, 1969)

 View of Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan in 1955 (St. Leo the Great R.C. Church and rectory Jeffrey Morin in canoe).

Forty-eight years ago on January 30,1969 seven people were murdered during the night in Buffalo Narrows. The older generation remembers. They don't talk about it very often. It was a shared community trauma much like La Loche has experienced and is experiencing since January 22, 2016 the day of the school shootings The Phoenix newspaper wrote the following article on the tragic event. .Seven murder counts laid in northern axe deaths

Smoke in La Loche May 2016

Thick smoke from the Fort McMurray wildfire in La Loche

"On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, destroying more than 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history."  Wikipedia

The northern Saskatchewan village of La Loche with an area population of 4,000 is 120 km (75 miles) to the east of the city of Fort McMurray. Clouds of smoke and ash from the wildfires reached La Loche on May 5.  When the air quality was poor the schools were either closed or the children kept inside.

West La Loche 2015

Leaving Poplar Point, a sub-division of La Loche, with Alfred Toulejour in his new skiff.

La Loche fires 2015

Photo source Mark Tuite on February 28, 2007 (Departing La Loche enroute to Fort McMurray) 

This aerial photo of La Loche shows how vulnerable the village is to forest fires. Two nearby fires and the resulting heavy smoke has resulted in the evacuation of several thousand residents of La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation to Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina. 

Grassfires in La Loche

A grass fire in La Loche claimed the old pool hall across from Ducharme School last week. The building was built in the 1950s.  This picture was taken last year. In the spring every year dozens of grass fires threaten the community.