The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Evelyn Bridges was born in Kenora, Ontario on November 10, 1903. What a life this lady has lived and what things she has seen! Can you imagine transportation in those days was by boat or horse. There were no cars, trains or planes. There was no electricity, meaning no power, lights, telephones or appliances. There were no indoor toilets, not to mention in most cases no toilet paper. The Sears and Robucks catalogue worked well! Laundry was done by drawing water either from a lake or if you were lucky enough to have a well, it still had to be heated, and clothes were scrubbed on wash boards, often with homemade lye soap and hung on the nearest tree, or if you were lucky a clothes line, even in 40 below weather! In those days you had to be strong! Evelyn's father had a fleet of steamships and he was doing very well, until one day someone from the Canadian National Railway came along as they were building railway lines all over the place and offered to buy Mr. Bridges out, telling him if he didn't sell that they would put him out of business. Well, he didn't sell, and they did put him out of business. So in 1919, Evelyn's parents moved to The Pas and took over the Pasquia Hotel, and Evelyn went to high school in The Pas. See 'Skater' P.# Con't from P.# Evelyn was quite a speed skater in those days and actually represented her school in Winnipeg at a meet. She also was captain of the school baseball team for a couple of years. It was at the skating rink that a man named Fred Constable took notice of Evelyn and asked if he could see her home. "To which," Evelyn laughingly stated, "I told him no thanks, I can get home quite well on my own!" However, not to be deterred, Fred followed her home to see where she lived and began calling on her. Remember, there were no phones in those days! Evelyn eventually weakened to Fred's charms and they were married in 1926 and moved to Winnipeg to live for about a year. Fred got a contract with the government to clear portages and rapids and to build dams, so they moved back to The Pas. Evelyn got a job as secretary for Booth Fisheries. Fred trapped in the winter. They travelled by dog team. Evelyn would go with him and became the official cook. Cooking was fine but when it came to skinning the animals, "I'd turn my back." She told Fred when it came to trapping, "If you want it you can have it, but I'm having no part of that!" The trap line was so large that Fred had a cabin at each end and Evelyn took a bolt of gingham and decided to make curtains, table cloths and a cover for the beds. She laughingly stated, "Well, if this was to be home it was going to at least look like one!" "We always travelled on dog sled with a shotgun. One time I was supposed to meet Fred at one of the cabins and I was going down the trail with the team, when I noticed that the dogs were acting strangely. I looked over my shoulder and there was a whole pack of wolves. I got the dogs to speed up knowing full well that if I fell out of the sled, I was a goner. Fred saw us coming on the dead run and realized what was going onÉ with one blast of his shotgun, the wolves took off. That was just one of many close calls," she laughed. Fred was almost through to getting his degree in civil engineering when he got the government contracts and it paid so well he quit schooling. However, the education he did get helped him when it came to mapping the area. Evelyn states that some of Fred's maps are still used today. "We loved the outdoors. We even went up the Churchill River by freighter canoe and a small motor. Fred would pick me up at Norway House where I came in by government plane, and I'd do the cooking for the crew on the trip making fresh biscuits and everything!" See 'Tourist' P.# Con't from P.# The couple bought some property at Cranberry Portage and soon realized the potential for a tourist lodge. They started in 1950 with one log cabin and turned their living room into a dining hall. Evelyn laughs, "We had a boarding house table, two sawhorses and a sheet of plywood!" They'd travel back and forth to Flin Flon for supplies by boat. The tourists would come to Cranberry Portage by train from The Pas and points south. The first year they built two more cabins that they rented and their customers supplied their own boat and motor. Then the next year the Constables bought some boats and motors so that they could rent them. Fred was also the acting Fire Ranger for about two years, travelling the lake with a canoe and paddle. Then in 1930, Fred got a job at HBMS in Flin Flon as a rigger and Evelyn took over the running of Constables Lodge. At its peak, they had five cabins with dining staff of a cook, a waitress and a cleaning lady. During that time Evelyn became pregnant with Ivale and went to Winnipeg to have her baby. Her parents came back with Evelyn to help her with the child and run the lodge. By this time tourists were coming to the lodge from all over the United States, especially executives from oil companies such as Shell, Gulf and Imperial Oil. Their dining room had seating for 35 people and often the Chamber of Commerce or the Rotary would come out for their events. Evelyn states that some of those customers still come back to this day and bring their families. One family has been coming to the lodge for over 30 years. See '101' P.# Con't from P.# Fred's brother Earl Bridges was a great dog sledder and he would run his team from The Pas to Flin Flon. Fred had helped build the old Northminster United Church on Hill Street. Fred retired from HBMS in 1965 and he passed away in 1967. Evelyn's daughter Ivale and her children Bob, Randy, Shaun and Debbie still help with the running of the lodge. "They take turns. The lodge has been downsized to three cabins and we have dispensed with the dining room. I still have a controlling interest in the lodge," she said. Even at the ripe age of 101, Evelyn is still quite active in that she still plays bridge once a week. Her friends, Kay Einarson, Bill Wingert and George Kearns join her for a game. In her day, Evelyn was secretary-treasurer of the Tourism of the North Association with Wes Vickery of Vickery's Lodge being the president. They would often go to Winnipeg for meetings. Evelyn recently received her Honourary Life Membership to the Flin Flon/Creighton seniors organization. When Evelyn turned 100 the family had a celebration at the lodge and many people turned out for her birthday. She received congratulations from the Queen, many Members of Parliament and the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. She also has tons of birthday cards. This lady has an excellent memory and loves to tell tales! Her eyes are sharp and you can still see the 'mischief' in them! She gets around very well with her walker. She still lives in her own home. What a great way to spend an afternoon! Thanks for sharing! Evelyn wanted to say that, "I had a wonderful married life and I have a great family who are always there for me and help me take care of myself and my home!"
