11/5/71 Buck barely able to get out of bed. Obviously in much pain. Wind came up during night and sank transom of boat. Cliff and I had one helluva time getting it bailed out. Off for Kettle River buoys by 10 a.m. Finished about noon and on to Charlie Williams where I called Bohman to pick up Buck. He came at 2:30. West wind howling with gusts up to 30 mph. Cliff and I took off, easing our way into the rolling waves. Narrowly missed rock off Amicks point. We made it to Soldiers Point by 4:30 and decided to hole up with Johnny Kulokowski. Did. A party of 7 hunters led by Claude MacFarlane welcomed us in. An Art Shire, Fort Frances, very anxious to get home. We talked him out of trying. A couple of drinks, a good meal, to bed early. I listened to wind howling in trees and very happy that I wasn’t out sleeping under one.
11/6/71 Wind howled all night. I know this for sure because Art Shire checked it every hour. A very nervous young man. Breakfast at 7:00 Radio said we could expect high winds today, turning more to NW. Temperature to drop to 5o. We decided to make a try, as did Art and Mac. They left a few minutes ahead of us in Starcraft. We did not see them again. The wind was straight west, and temperature 10o. I ran motor (25 hp. Johnson) from stern and every big wave contributed to the ice that was slowly forming on me. It took us an hour to go the 5 miles to Harbor Island where we built a big fire, peed, had coffee. We followed inside channel all the way to Rice’s Island. Not bad. Cliff took over at Bushyhead and did fine until we got to Jackfish. There a big wave covered his glasses with ice and I ran boat rest of way. Jayme, Timmy, Jill & Lisa to meet us as we pulled into Buck’s dock. From their reactions we must have been a sight. My cap was welded into my parka by ice - my body was in an ice cast. It took some doing to get outer clothes off. Buck had tears in his eyes (as did I). A great homecoming. Layna came soon after. More relief there. I am glad it is over altho I can honestly say that at no time was I concerned for our safety (scared). A good boat, good motor, and a spare. It was quite an experience. Karen & Robin and the Shifskys here. A good visit. Had Gene and Ah-li join us for a venison feed. A great way to end an interesting and exciting trip.
11/7/71 Karen, Robin, John, Layna and I out to see Buck and family. He is pretty badly crippled but now hobbles around house. Definite improvement, he says. Kids took off for Duluth after lunch.
11/8/71 Dorothy Eisenach was buried today. We went to the Catholic funeral. A 45 minute deal which must have been a terrible ordeal for Don. We did not go to the graveside service. Another friend with tragedy. Sincerely hope he can pull the pieces together like Harry did.
11/9/71 I am to speak at Rotary tomorrow. Will tell them about people we first met who lived along Rainy Lake. I am having a hard time with my material, not from a lack of it but a problem in editing. A beautiful calm day. We should be after the last 7 buoys, but Buck’s back no good. Received letter from government explaining the $575 I got on Oct. 18. It was an adjustment on my Coast Guard pension! My SS still not taken care of.
11/10/71 Woke up early worrying about my Rotary Club talk. Got up and made a bunch of notes. I think I have it OK. When I arrived at that decision, Harry called to say my time had been preempted by the High School Debate Team. I have a week’s reprieve. George Amidon called to ask us for dinner. We went to his apartment at 5:15 to find the Daveys there. At Holiday Inn, Harry corrected George’s grammar. We all jumped on him (Harry) and much fun followed.
11/11/71 To Bill Martin’s mother’s funeral at 2 p.m. Many old friends there. We left at 4 p.m. and stopped at Sammy & Toots’ place. We ran into what I have expected for several years. Sammy definitely going off his rocker, and Toots knows it. A real messy situation. On to Laird & Ah-li Monahan’s “homestead”. Ah-li had cooked a mess of partridge. A very, very pleasant experience. Much good talk, mostly about Oberholtzer. They have their hands full and are earning every cent that they are paid.
11/12/71 Harry & Virgil Anderson here at 7:15 for breakfast. Off for Willard Lake deer hunt soon after. A 2 ½ hour run with a shopping stop at Sioux Narrows. Harry eager to try for trout. Virgil and I off for a deer - or two. We came in at dark skunked in both cases. A few deer around but we did not connect.
11/13/71 Our hunting preparations reminded me of my days with Lawrence Olson. No one excited about getting out. Up late, leisurely breakfast and ready for woods by 9 a.m. Just as well, I suppose. We made several drives in a.m. but no one saw a thing.
11/14/71 On water at daylight. Cruised about a mile of shoreline hoping to see a deer. Nothing. Still hunted about 2 hours and decided that big wolf, whose tracks we saw all over, had chased deer out of our area. We gave up. Back to cabin, cleaned up place and closed it up. So endeth a pee poor hunting trip from a game standpoint but very enjoyable one, otherwise. The Lynches (from Dahlbergs) here for couple of hours. They are having their hands full on their development. They seem full of optimism - which is mighty important in their business.
11/15/71 Layna and I to island by 11:00. Skinned out both deer and cut up same. I was afraid to haul both animals at the same time. I have a Canadian license but it wouldn’t help if I got stopped with more than one. It might not help then either. Legally, I am supposed to take the deer to Fort Frances and pay an extra $10.00. The hell with that. Too much money and much too much trouble. To Sheriffs Civil Service meeting at Littlefork with Tony Rizzo. Pete Peterson nobody’s fool.
11/16/71 We cut up and packaged the two deer we brought down yesterday. Gave a hind leg and set of ribs to Buck and gave a small package to Bernice. Our freezer is full of goodies. Maybe we should stay home this winter and eat them.
11/17/71 After two postponements, I finally gave my talk to Rotary. It went well. The butterflies left my stomach before I even started and all went well. The song says, “There’s a little bit of corn born in all of us.” I guess I have my full share. I talked about people we knew in early days on Rainy Lake. After it was over, a good share of the audience came up and shook hands and thanked me. Big deal. To Kellner’s for an old fashioned “visit.” It was fun. Very interesting, talented people. Tom thinking very seriously of selling and retiring. Both worried as to their finances. I don’t know if we helped them any.
11/18/71 Earl Kirk and Ray Carlson dropped in in a.m. What a surprise! It is 20 years since they first guided for Layna at M&St. L. We saw much of them for about 5 years but they have been almost completely out of sight lately. Buck came soon after. A real gabfest. To Supervisor’s meeting in p.m. Frank Fredrickson retiring. A fine, Christian man. Started to read Bruce Catton’s The Coming of the Fury.
11/19/71 Took George Amidon to his place at 3 p.m. Cold. He picked up some stuff, took a few pictures and we were back by 4:30. He has fixed up his place in Phoenix and told us we could use it this winter if we wanted to. He sounded sincere, but we will have to give that one more thought. He told us quite a bit about his relationship with Elsie Harridge. Sure hope it works out.
11/20/71 Littlefork and Bigfork rivers still at flood stage. What a wet fall we have had. We had supper at Daveys’ and played cards till 10 p.m. We are seeing a lot of these good people and enjoying it. Grace’s shadow getting dimmer day by day.
