"When our son was three years old, he became ill one night with appendicitis. My husband got some ice from the fish plant. We broke it into small pieces and filled the hot water bottle with ice chips and then packed them around his tummy, to keep the inflammation under control. In the morning, we were able to contact the ambulance plane. We used a two-way radio at this time. What we wouldn't have given for good roads and telephones then. He was flown to Big River and taken to the hospital. He was not expected to survive, but was much stronger than the doctor had anticipated.
      Another incident I'll always remember, was the time Mrs. Ida Johnson came to visit me. On her way home she twisted her foot and broke her ankle. Seeing this in the fall and the bays were only frozen slightly, planes could not fly her out. The men started a long procedure of getting her out to the hospital. She was taken by boat part of the way. Then she was picked up by Harry Edquist in a little jeep, and was transported through the portage to the Edquist's. She was then placed on a hand toboggan and toted across the bay to Harry Husak's. Harold Viden then drove her in his jeep station wagon, over the terrible so called roads of that time, to Meadow lake."

      "Approximately 25 miles of the road has been gravelled, two miles more have been graded and made ready for gravel, the first ten miles from the forks of this road were gravelled heavier than originally anticipated that it would require...at mile 27, on the big hill, a heavy gravelling job was done...600 yards or more (gravel) per mile was put on this mile. On the balance of the road, the low places, fills and hills, were gravelled at the rate of 600 yards per square mile. From miles 1 to mile 27, the road can be considered complete...25 culverts have been installed and two small bridges, these bridges have a ten foot drop."

      "On Wednesday, June 16th, 1954, I was returning to Big River in a department jeep when I came upon a three and a half ton Dodge truck: stopped at the temporary bridge about a half mile north of the Smoothstone Lake supply road. Mr. Sinion Poirier, the driver and employee of Clarke's Fisheries of Meadow Lake, had, prior to my arrival, finished putting on the dual-wheel truck's chains. I informed Mr. Poirier that he couldn't make it the rest of the way into Dore Lake as .59 inches of rain had fallen in that area during the day and the roads were practically impassable.
      Mr. Poirier agreed that it would be difficult to make the trip with the large truck, so he turned it south. (I learned the next day that he stayed at Fred Redhead's for the night and returned to the Smoothstone Supply Road on the morning of June 17th).
      On leaving Mr. Poirier, I could see by the freshly rutted road that a truck had continued on over the bridge and up into the hills towards Dore Lake. I also continued on my way to Dore Lake and came upon the vehicle that was rutting the road in a "snake-like" fashion -- bogged down on a side hill a few miles south of Dore Lake. Mr. Louis Bedard was the driver and only passenger of the stranded one tone Ford truck. It appeared to be useless to even try to give Mr. Bedard a helping-hand. I therefore, continued on to Dore Lake Headquarters as he didn't want to leave his truck and ride in with me.
      Mr. Bedard arrived into Dore Lake settlement later on in the evening.
      I learned that the two trucks under Mr. L. Bedard's supervision were attempting to get to Dore Lake to transport fish to Meadow Lake for the final packing and sale.
      I asked Mr. Bedard when he expected to return to Meadow Lake.
      He replied that he wouldn't even attempt to return to Meadow Lake with fish until the roads dried up. However, the following morning at 5:00 o'clock, the same man pulled out from Dore Lake, en route to Meadow Lake with thirty boxes of dressed whitefish on his one ton Ford.
      As the fish contained in these thirty boxes were very soft on the evening of June 16th, Conservation Officer Lenson and myself wished to re-inspect them. We overtook both trucks 23 miles south of Dore Lake Headquarters (approximately 10 hours after the Bedard truck departed from Dore Lake). Mr. Bedard had been stuck several times along the way and at the time of our arrival, the three and a half ton Dodge driven by Sinion Poirier was pushing the one ton Ford driven by Louis Bedard. We were obliged to follow them approximately three miles before we were able to pass, as both trucks were grinding their way down the center of the road - shoulders of the grade were very soft and even the in center of the road, the one ton truck was down to it's housings and in the fills crossing the muskegs, the three and a half ton Dodge truck dropped through the finished grade from 12 to eighteen inches."       If instances similar to this continue, this road will be of little use to the Department of Natural Resources and the people of this district, who are wholly dependent upon it for access to the Post Office and markets."