Cross Lake Elder Charlie Osborne

While in Cross Lake, I stopped in to visit with elder Charlie Osborne. Now, 83 years old, Charlie has been a long time contributor to the north and he has accumulated a lot of experience and many stories.

One of the stories he told me, goes back to the early 1950s when he was working for Manitoba Hydro and they were looking for sites to put hydroelectric dams. One of the sites they visited was the location later used for the Kelsey Dam. The Kelsey Dam was the first hydroelectric dam in the far north and provided power for the city of Thompson when it was built and for the mine and smelter located there.

At the site where the Kelsey Dam was later constructed, Manitoba Hydro needed to put a rope across the river. Though there were engineers there, they were not sure how to do this. It fell to Charlie Osborne and his friend to provide an answer.

One person stood on each side of the river, and used a bow and arrow. Each one shot an arrow at the same time. They hoped that the arrows (with a string or twine attached) would become entangled in the middle and they could then pull the string across and use it to pull rope across the river. It did not happen they first time they shot the arrows, but after many attempts they succeeded. They were able to pull the rope across the river as they has hoped.

The photo shows me with Charlie Osborne and members of his family.