By Doug Berg
One Saturday morning, March 27th, I got a phone call from Jerry Pushcar, the marathon canoeist from Biwabik who is, in three years, canoeing from New Orleans to Nome and who the members of the Voyageur’s canoe trip this past fall met on the Pigeon River end of the Grand Portage. He was visiting a brother in the Twin Cities for a few days.
Jerry has been spending the winter in an abandoned farmhouse outside of Williams, Minnesota by Lake of the Woods. The Forest Service would not let him build a cabin as he had intended to do–with 52 nails. His Samoyed dog, Blizzard, was poisoned by snowmobilers on Christmas Day. He is going to send us prints of some pictures he took of us the morning he guided our group down to the Cascades on the Pigeon River. He said hello to the nine kids he met on the Grand Portage and wished Mini-School well, saying how he hopes we can continue doing the trips we’re doing.
In the meantime, he is anxiously waiting for the ice to go out of Lake of the Woods (which it should do in mid-May) as he can continue his journey. I wished him well. Perhaps a send-off gift from Mini-School might be in order?? What do you think, council?
It just happens that a gift was sent off to Jerry a few days ago. We sent him an aluminum Dutch oven–the kind the people on the winter trip used. It will be great for him if he wants to make a little treat for himself like a cake or pie or any goodie. We hope he will enjoy it.
–Lesley Seamans