Lögberg-Heimskringla - 26.08.2005, Page 11

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 26. ágúst 2005 »11
Itrnuas
PHOTO: STEINPÓR GUÐBdARTSSON
Retired fisherman Joey Arnason in Gimli, Manftoba, has many a story to tell.
Joey Arnason
Gimli, MB
It was a long walk for Hector
McGinnis late in the 1920s.
Winter set in fiercely on
Lake Winnipeg.
Several fishermen and out-
fits were stranded at Rabbit
Point on the eastern shore of
Lake Winnipeg. The ship Lady
of the Lake was unwilling to
chance the freezing conditions.
Since communication was non-
existent, Captain Bill Stevens
Sr. chose to take the chance and
headed the M.S. Goldfield for
Rabbit Point for a last effort to
rescue the stranded fishermen.
However, winter was com-
ing fast and furiously, and the
M.S. Goldfield became vic-
tims of the freeze up. Only one
chance remained, a sixty-five
mile walk to Fisher River and
Hodgson, a rough trip for the
toughest of men.
One crew member was
Hector McGinnis, manager of
Gimli Fisheries, a stout mid-
dle-aged man unused to hard-
ships and the nasty conditions
of Lake Winnipeg in the fall.
Now Hector showed that he
was as tough and stubborn as
the others and handled himself
as well as the rest of the vet-
eran Icelandic crew.
They headed on foot for
the long joumey to Fisher Riv-
er then by team to Hodgson,
a distance of sixty-five miles.
From there they made their
way to Winnipeg.
* * *
In 1938, a broken-down
converted fishing sailboat
equipped with an old converted
car motor left Little Grindstone
and came chugging around Big
Grindstone Point. The weather
was wet and dull. Two men
huddled on the open deck in
silence, one on the tiller, the
other nursing the old motor.
They tied up at our dock
at Fox Island — J. B. Johnson
and Martin Johnson Fishing
Station, one of the few painted
red, with the name of the op-
erators painted in large letters,
“JOHNSON & JOHNSON”
(later nicknamed “Baby Pow-
der Fish Co
After taking off their foul
weather gear at the dock, two
older, chubby men met at the
dock, one wearing a worn suit
coat and dress shirt, and most
important, his hand-tied bow
tie, the other still in his oilers
and hat and a tailormade Sweet
Caporal in his lips.
They shook hands like
long-lost brothers, as visitors
seldom came. Working days at
fishing camps have little time
for entertaining unless surpris-
es are involved. After a good,
hearty handshake and a pat on
the back, McGinnis and John-
son went to the bunkhouse and
kitchen where Margaret Lang
served them coffee and good-
ies.
Now back at J.B.’s cabin,
cigars were lit and they settled
down to some serious fishing
business.
But J.B. was rustling down
in the bottom of his tmnk; he
just happened to have a bottle of
Johnnie Walker Scotch Whis-
key, to be used only on special
occasions or for bad colds or
medical relief. The shack was
reeking with cigar smoke, and
laughter could be heard at Al-
bert Point. The discussion cov-
ered fish production, fish pric-
es, small mesh nets and a fish
inspector problem. I can still
see their happy faces and their
hearty laughs as they bid fare-
well on the unsteady dock.
Not much solved; a friend-
ship renewed; then back to
fishing.
Who was Hector?
Hector McGinnis was born
at Albert Lee, Minnesota, the
son of Prof. and Mrs. Angus
McGinnis. He schooled atBell-
ingham, Washington, before
being transferred to Vancouver
as a traffic manager agent, then
as elevator agent for the Great
Northem Railway at Blaine,
WA.
Sometime later, he came to
Manitoba as an agent for Chi-
cago North Westem Railway.
ARGYLE
Transfer Ltd.
Specializing
in livestock transportation
ff
Wally & Linda Finnbogason
Stonewall, MB
Wally 467-8822 Mobile 981-1666
Daryl 322-5743 Mobile 981-5460
Mr. McGinnis was manager
of Gimli Fish Co. from 1919
-1930 and later at Armstrong
Gimli Fish Co. After two years
in Winnipeg, became manager
and shareholder of Riverton
Manufacturing Co. Then in
1938, he was managing the In-
dependent Fish Co.
He served as mayor for the
town of Gimli, and director of
Fish Producers Assoc.
Mrs. McGinnis (Nellie)
was a respected member of the
Women’s Institute. Mr. Mc-
Ginnis was the first non-Ice-
landic mayor of Gimli for two
terms, 1927 to 1933 and 1937
to 1946.
Hector McGinnis was
popular in the Icelandic com-
munity with all his wisdom. He
never became a wealthy per-
son, trying to overcome hard-
ships and the tough times of
the ’30s. He was very fond of
his pets, especially his shaggy
little terrier, his Buick roadster,
1934 edition, also proud of his
“Bamey Thomas.” He con-
verted, with the help of Mike
Magnusson, an old boat, to one
of the workhorse fish freighters
of the south end of Lake Win-
nipeg. Due to devoted captains
and crew, it was his pride and
joy.
Hector always aware of su-
perstitious things — black cats,
ladders and other oddities.
It was a rather cold mom-
ing as I was making a fire in the
office stove when Mac walked
in, lit up his pipe, and said:
“Watch your step for Black
Friday.”
Things went well and Hec-
tor went home for his usual
“bmnch.” When the phone
rang, it was Mrs. McGinnis. “I
need help!” she said. “Please
come!”
Hector McGinnis had had
a massive heart attack seated
in his favorite easy chair, the
shaggy dog at his side. Yes, it
was Friday, December 13,1946
— “Black Friday.”
The Gimli community will
remember “Mac” as a charac-
ter, and among those who re-
member, Hector McGinnis left
his mark with the fishing in-
dustry and the Icelandic com-
munity of the Interlake.
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