It seems incredible but five years have passed
Doug Caldwell ... Born July 3/1934 passed away on Thursday, May 7, 2015 in the McCausland Hospital in his hometown of Terrace Bay.
Doug had been in poor health for a few years after suffering a series of strokes and had been hospitalized for several months while waiting for accommodations in the long term section of the hospital.
Doug was a real champion for the Slate Islands and served tirelessly as the Search and Rescue guy along the north shore of Lake Superior. He was often asked to help pilot Canadian Coast Guard ships as they were surveying the waters from Marathon to Thunder Bay.
Doug was the owner of Caribou Charters and spent countless hours looking after his clients.
I'd known Doug for almost 30 years ... he was a real friend ... Kathy and I would stop and see Doug and Mae whenever we were traveling along the North coast ... Doug took us to the Slates every spring and fall from 2007 to 2013.
I moose hunt along the north shore ... that's how I met Doug in the first place ... the year was 1976 ... Doug was recommended as a reliable charter and since he was also the search and rescue guy I contacted him to take me to a hunting spot.
That began a friendship that lasted through several iterations of moose hunting parties.
Since Doug's trapline encompassed our moose hunting area I helped him out by prebaiting some of his martin boxes and would arrange to get picked up last so that I could help him get his beloved Bullfrog ready for the trapping season.
I never got tired of listening to his stories of north shore living, whether they were about his hockey games, adventures while having a few pints at the Jackfish Hotel or his trapping exploits.
Through these stories I learned some of the history of the north shore ... about the town of Jackfish ... about the second world war internment camp near Schreiber ... I got to meet people who were born in Jackfish ... Kathy and I visited Jackfish and the last spike monument along the rail line just west of Jackfish.
Doug took us to the internment camp site and showed us where the residents of the camp had their gardens ... he was still in touch with one of the residents.
We'd often have breakfast at The Bakery ... It seemed that everyone who met there for a coffee knew Doug ... After all Terrace Bay is a small town and a lot of the retirees met for coffee almost every day. I got introduced around and in true northern hospitality the locals soon began calling me by name ... even later when I'd show up in the spring or fall it was always "Hi, how are you? Here on another visit to the Slates or moose hunting?"
I saw him constantly since then ... after his stroke, while he was trying to recover I helped him with some charters while I was in town ... we'd chat on the phone several times a year when one of us got the urge to talk ... I visited him in the hospital and while he was out I took him on some driving lessons in an attempt to get his license back ... it never worked out.
Hardly a week goes by that something triggers a memory ... I miss the old fart ...
So ... In honour of Doug ... take a look around ... see what the Slates were like in their heyday ... there are also some pictures of Jackfish.
Take a Quick Tour of the Slate Islands
Click on any of the thumbnails above to play the associated video clip.
The first is a trip out to the Slates and some caribou video.
The second is still pictures of caribou, scenery and geology
The third is a great caribou clip.