May 2019 - Patricia Sandberg

Gunnar Head Frame — The Gunnar head frame stood for more than 50 years after the mine closed, beckoning to all who passed by. Photo courtesy of Tim Beckett

BOOK REVIEW, submitted by Mr. Lynn Kelley

“Sundogs & Yellow Cake: Gunnar Mine – a Canadian Story” by Patricia Sandberg

“In February 2017, back when we met at the Artful Dodger, our luncheon speaker was Patricia Sandberg, author of SunDogs and Yellowcake: Gunnar Mines- A Canadian Story. Patricia spoke about her experiences growing up in Gunnar and related a few of the stories in her book. I purchased a copy of the book, which Patricia graciously signed.

The book sat on the shelf in our living room until I was packing for a beach vacation in February of this year. It turned out to be a perfect vacation read, with relatively short, self-contained chapters that weave the author’s coming-of-age story with touching accounts of the families who made a life under trying and primitive circumstances, all against the backdrop of the Cold War nuclear arms race. The author corresponded with more than 100 former residents of Gunnar and their absorbing personal accounts capture the building of healthy, vibrant community despite isolation and a harsh environment. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs and sketches by A. Y. Jackson and other well-known Canadian artists.

The author’s coming of age in an isolated northern mining town resonated with my own experience as a young man who found himself in an isolated northern mining town that shaped me professionally and personally and blessed me with many enduring friendships. I enjoyed Sun Dogs and Yellowcake as much as anything I’ve read in recent memory, and, with summer just around the corner, I would highly recommend it as a vacation (or bush camp) read.”

Published in The Rock Record 2001-9 by Saskatchewan Geological Society (SGS)

Thanks: Many thanks to Lynn Kelley for surprising me with this book review and to SGS for including it in The Rock Record.

Footnote: The Gunnar Headframe stood from 1954 (approx) to 2011 as a beacon to all those who ventured to explore the ghost mining town of Gunnar. In 2011, the headframe was demolished.

YouTube videos: The headframe’s sad demise and plans for cleanup of the Gunnar site. Louie Mercredi and his crew building the ice road over Lake Athabasca to Gunnar. Mr. Mercredi is much braver than I!

Purchase information: To read harrowing tales of survival and loss on Lake Athabasca, get a copy of Sun Dogs and Yellowcake here or through Amazon (hardcopy or e-book)

Book reviews are best when they come as surprises and are full of praise.

Camping on a rocky beach on an island near Gunnar Mines — My mother Barb, my grandfather Cleve and a family friend. Every summer, in whatever boat of my dad’s that had not yet been smashed or sunk, we headed to one of the islands near Gunnar to camp for weeks at a time.

Review by Elizabeth McLean, author of the exquisite book “The Swallows Uncaged – A Narrative in Eight Panels.”

Elizabeth McLean: “I have now finished reading “Sun Dogs and Yellowcake.” It’s a lovely book. What impressed me the most is how well you combined the ‘serious’ account of radium-uranium and its industrial development in Canada with the human stories of the families who lived the mining life in Gunnar.

Their daily active lives, traumas and celebrations warmed my heart. They built a truly intimate and loving community in such an isolated and harsh environment. The workers of Gunnar and their families make the book precious. You were right to give them a voice.

The structure of the book is a marvel: the narrative interspaced with pertinent epigraphs, quotations, digressions, personal testimonies and reminiscences, and excellent maps and photos.

It is such an interesting book, and I mean interesting in the best sense of the word – absorbing to read, as well as satisfying to peruse visually. I thought a book about a uranium mine would be dry and tedious? Ha!

The ending is traumatic. I had tears in my eyes seeing the hospital float on the waves of Lake Athabasca.”

By Elizabeth McLean, author of “The Swallows Uncaged – A Narrative in Eight Panels.”

Thank you Elizabeth McLean for your thoughtful book review.

Reader Reviews

I'm happy to report (and also embarrassed about the delay) that I started reading and am well into your book now, and I have to say that I am very impressed.

I thought it was going to be just another memoir of a small town girl, but the addition of the Cold War context, and the amount of historical research that you have done is simply remarkable. I love and read a fair bit of history, but I'd forgotten or didn't know a lot about this era. Very informative.

The photos are great, and the anecdotal sidebars give it personality and bring it alive. And from a copy editor's standpoint (I used to be one) it is flawless as far as I can see. You might know otherwise. 🙂

Anyway, you have produced an important book, and it deserves a place in every library and bookstore in the country. I hope you're working on that.

Congrats on a job well done! -David Tycho, writer, editor and artist extraordinaire.

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It's an amazing true tale of the men and women who built and lived in a uranium mining town on the shores of Lake Athabasca, Sask during the 1950s - 1960s. Yes, uranium! The ore that was key to the manufacture of nuclear bombs during the height of the cold war. This is an elegantly told, respectful story ... It is also about fearless pioneers, risk-taking and commitment to building a community - all values worth remembering. — Simon Johnson, best-selling author of House of Wives

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.....My sincere thanks and congratulations for this great little book. One of my first tasks when I moved to Watson Lake, Yukon, was to go over to Cassiar BC and empty our church there prior to its being sold and moved out. All around me homes and two story apartments were being dismantled. Cassiar was a mining town. Its life was the asbestos mine. The town, like Gunnar, had every recreational facility and resource; every building in this neat, properly laid-out town, complete with sidewalks, was heated from the mine's steam plant. In winter, the doors would be open because it was still too hot inside.
When I held the Rite of Deconsecrating the church I invited any and all remaining members to attend. All declined. It was too emotional for them. So my congregation was just my son.
My father was a bush pilot flying out of Yellowknife after the war, but had left there before Gunnar opened. My daughter lives in Yellowknife and just recently the Giant head frame was knocked down. The town was divided between those who wanted it kept as an historic site and those who wanted to be rid of the memories it brought up.
Thanks Patricia for making Gunnar come alive with the residents' memories. John Tyrrell

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Sun Dogs and Yellowcake is more than a story of a mining town, it is a story of the Canadian experience and heritage whose parallels exist in small towns throughout the country. Ms. Sandberg unfolds the experiences of the Gunnar community in which the reader assumes a front-row, central seat as the story evolves. What sets this work apart is the superb story-telling and comprehensive research into the historical mining community of Gunnar. Crafted with readable script and supported with excellent graphics and images, it presents the community’s issues, voices, and personalities clearly. Ironically, the enduring significance of what the town represented outlives its eventual demise. A delightful addition to the Canadian library of historical mining communities, Ms. Sandberg has preserved the account of a story almost lost, and added a delightful addition to the Canadiana library! KH

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I’ve finished reading your book. Fascinating; brings back long ago memories for me! It must have been a huge amount of work to track down and contact the many ex-residents and obtain their input.

My interest in this story dates from a summer spent camped near the mine. In the summer of 1954, I joined a small crew from the Geological Survey of Canada as camp cook (sort of under false pretences!). It had two senior geologists and two juniors, working in pairs, doing general geology in the southern part of the Crackingstone Peninsula. We were camped along the shore about 2.5 kilometres west of the open pit site from early May to late September. Looking at the map on page 29 of Sun Dogs, it appears that the west townsite eventually extended to within 1/2 km our campsite. We had an arrangement with the mine for our fresh meat and veggies, for which we canoed over to the mine about twice a week.

The memories of a lot of it still remain vivid. An adventure, a summer job after first year of engineering studies at the U of A. Excitement mixed with loneliness amongst a tiny five-person world. This was somewhat relieved by brief trips to the mine for supplies; the excitement of the monthly canoe trips into Bushell and U-City for canned and dry food supplies; deep disappointment at missing out on one such trip. Precious mail, received via the mine. The strange call of the loons, the ravens and foxes, all this new to a prairie boy. Regards, Des Williams

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P.S. It was a pleasant surprise to find that my teenage grandson was interested and has begun reading some sections of the book. Maybe I should do some sort of a write-up of what I still remember!

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What I’ve read in your book so far is fantastic reading from both a personal and historical perspective. Mining history is a particular passion of mine as I was a brought up in a small coal-mining village in Scotland. Saskatchewan mining in general has been a large part of my business in my current position for more than 25 years and our youngest son will soon graduate from the University of Saskatchewan as a geologist.

I will most certainly pass along your website to my colleagues and friends and recommend they read your book.

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It is interesting that in the process of your childhood you 'rubbed up against' one of the most crucial components of the twentieth century—specifically, the mineral that fueled so much of the Cold War.... The book is a vivid, compelling read, and even things that might have become mundane details are interesting—for example, when you get into the parts of how the government became involved in the search for, and in the ownership of, uranium. Very, very interesting. Neil

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Beautiful format, pictures, and artwork. Just an amazing telling of the history of Gunnar. — Laurie

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Truly, the heart and soul and love and time you invested was well worth it.
I’m enjoying each and every story you collected and wrote. — Sheila J

Month: May 2019

Book Review recommends ‘Sun Dogs & Yellowcake’

Surprises come as Reviews