Yellowknife, N. W. T.
December 28, 1938
Dear Mother:
All your Christmas cards and letters arrived very appropriately on Christmas morning. In fact they were on the desk beside me when I awake so I presume Gray must have placed them there. There were about ten in all.
Festivities really started with us on what we termed Christmas Eve Eve so that probably not much work was accomplished in the office on the 24th. Anyway we quit about four and returned home for cocktails before supper. Most of us spent the evening in visiting everybody else just as we did last year. On Christmas night I had dinner with as hosts and hostesses Mr. & Mrs. Armstrong, Tudor and his mother. We had cocktails in one apartment and supper in the other; then switched back to the first while supper was cleared, then back again. People were coming and going all the time making it a very enjoyable evening. The party was over around 2:30 and I then went to see the Howes and later the Hamiltons.
I got up in time for lunch on Boxing Day but got sidetracked by the mill supt. (you remember him holding the gold brick) who had already started celebrating Boxing Day. I was there till about 3:30 and then went up to the Hamiltons for breakfast. Tommy was just getting up so this fitted in fine. While I was still there and just as it was getting quite dark Page came in. Tommy went to meet him and arrived back with my parcel. Thank you. It came just at the right time.
Almost immediately Page left again and as it was quite pitch dark we could not puzzle it out. He retuned after a while with Ben Harrop, his mechanic and a passenger. Ben had left Goldfields on Christmas day and we were not expecting him as this had not been reported by radio. When only about 17 miles away they had been forced down out of gas. Ben’s ship is radio equipped and the next afternoon Bill Fuller heard him just by luck. He sent out a Canadian Airways plane to look for them but this was unsuccessful and it was up to Page who probably spotted their fire. What a way to spend Christmas. Just before Christmas the weather had turned decidedly cold and so despite their fire they were unable to keep warm and consequently had practically no sleep.
Mrs. Potter had a rather lonely Christmas also as Bud was unable to get his ship repaired in time to get back. I think she was hoping to go out to McMurray on one of our other planes but as there were so many waiting to get out this was impossible. Anyway Bud came in yesterday, after dark as is usual for him. He had been away over two weeks.
Reports say that it was 55 below in Edmonton this morning. I should hate that. Even the -35 here makes the walk to the office seem very long and we are dressed for the cold. Particularly me for it really does have feathers.
I have spent several evenings at the bowling alley. We have both five and ten pin games but I have only played the former so far. I did act as pinsetter for the latter however and so do not feel like encouraging this game.
I have only been up to the office one night so far and consequently work is piling up which won’t be touched for a long time. This doesn’t worry me much as a lot of the work (statistical matter anyway) is never used. Ben’s passenger is a man for the office but he won’t help me much for a while anyway as there will be a lot of end of the year inventory work to be done on the stock cards.
I hope you have got some snow for your skiing by now.
All the best for the New Year
With love from
Tony.