Sun Dogs and Yellowcake, a new book by Patricia Sandberg

Gilbert LaBine’s first uranium mine helped end the Second World War. His next fed the Cold War. Immigrants fleeing post-war Europe and job-seeking southerners came to Gunnar Mines in northern Saskatchewan, joining the area’s First Nations and Métis. They found adventure, romance, tragedy, and a freedom never again to be equaled. Meanwhile, lamps made of uranium drill core sat in their homes and their children played at the tailings pond. Sun Dogs and Yellowcake is their story.
The beautiful cover image is based on a photograph by the very talented Robbie Craig.
I am thrilled to announce that Sun Dogs and Yellowcake will be available this September. Stay tuned.

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Author: Patricia Sandberg

A former mining and securities lawyer, Patricia relied on her family’s history and interviews of over 150 people to write about the Cold War uranium mining town in Northern Canada that residents said was ‘the best place they ever lived’. She is now working on a novel. Sun Dogs and Yellowcake has won two international awards, was shortlisted for the Canadian Authors Fred Kerner award, and was finalist for Whistler Independent Book Awards 2017. View all posts by Patricia Sandberg

16 thoughts on “Sun Dogs and Yellowcake, a new book by Patricia Sandberg”

Barry Irwin says:
June 6, 2016 at 9:42 pm
I like the title, I like the cover image, I like the intro…who says I can’t judge a book by [what’s on] its cover? I’m thinking I’m going to get one of these.
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1. Patricia Sandberg says:
  June 6, 2016 at 9:46 pm
  That’s lovely. The truth is that it is the wonderful Gunnar people that have made this book happen. And you are one of them!
  Reply
Ole Jacob Raad says:
June 6, 2016 at 9:59 pm
Congratulations!
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1. Patricia Sandberg says:
  June 6, 2016 at 10:16 pm
  Thanks Ole, not just for the positive words here but for your great story in the book!
  Reply
mikrix says:
June 6, 2016 at 11:08 pm
Only got to Gunnar once, George Watson and I took two dog teams from Eldorado and did an overnight stop in Ken Passler’s cabin, somewhere over that way (Millikan Lake?) Probably a 50 mile round trip, coming back George was a long way ahead and I crawled back into Eldorado and up the firebreak to the dog camp in the dark. So I did get to se Gunnar! Looking forward to reading the book. Not enough written about that great part of the country.
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1. Patricia Sandberg says:
  June 6, 2016 at 11:19 pm
  Nice to hear from you and thanks for following my blog. There were a surprising number of people who passed through the area and I agree – not enough has been written about it.
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poetrytoinspire says:
June 13, 2016 at 2:38 pm
So excited for you Patricia. I know it will be a good read.
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Patricia Sandberg says:
June 13, 2016 at 6:42 pm
Thanks!
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Richard Cor says:
June 18, 2016 at 4:03 am
Love to read about the north, lived in Uranium City 5 years, Eldorado 5 years, and can’t wait to read the book.
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1. Patricia Sandberg says:
  June 20, 2016 at 3:49 pm
  Hi Richard, thanks very much for your interest. This area has not had a lot written about it and I hope you will enjoy my book.
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Cam Fergusson says:
August 12, 2016 at 6:04 am
Looking forward to reading your book. Gilbert LaBine staked the first Pitchblende claim in May 1930 at what became Port Radium NWT. It led to the formation of Eldorado Mines and establishing of the Port Hope refinery in Ontario. The “waste” from the refinery was Uranium and some of it was supplied to the Manhattan Project which eventually produce “Trinity” the first Atomic Bomb.
There is a back story to the 1930 discovery which you might find interesting. I live 1/2 a block from the South Surrey Library and if you are interested, contact me and I would love to tell you the story over coffee.
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1. Patricia Sandberg says:
  August 12, 2016 at 4:29 pm
  Great to hear from you Cam, Email me at CrackingstonePress@gmail.com.
  Reply
Pat Chubak says:
December 16, 2016 at 7:54 am
Kim told me you had a book out. We are old friends of hers from Vanderhoof days. Will get your book & read it! Good luck!
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1. patricia says:
  December 18, 2016 at 11:13 am
  Hi Pat
  Great to hear from you, thanks for getting in touch. The book is available at Black Bond Books in the Vancouver area, Books and Company in Prince George, Audreys Books in Edmonton, McNally Robinson in Saskatoon, Bolen Books and Munro Books in Victoria, and Amazon. If you have any difficulty getting hold of a copy let me know – you can also order through me. Let me know what you think once you have read Sun Dogs. Have a great Christmas!
  Reply
Aldo Buffone says:
December 27, 2016 at 4:54 pm
I love this book it makes me re live the time I spend up at Gunnar mines,was there for 5 years
from March 28 1958 to April 1963
and have many great memory’s and they are all good with the exception the 11 or 12 of April 1958
when I was diagnosed with an acute appendicitis and after one day in agony back and fort to the local hospital , to the bunkhouse the nurse was communicating with Doctor Betty in Uranium city he decided he would fly in to Gunnar and operate me there because the weather was too rough for me to fly out, so he flew in
and did the operation there with a nurse assisting.
I remember it all ,
after the appendix was out the doctor showed it to me;I was mostly awake.
I don`t know if I was the only one that had an internal operation in Gunnar??
But that was an experience I will never forget.
Again thank you for writing this book
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1. patricia says:
  January 2, 2017 at 2:11 pm
  Hi Aldo
  How wonderful to hear from you and to know that you love the book! Sounds like your medical experience was a bit traumatic but had a good end! Dr. Beatty was the best and for a small, northern community we had pretty amazing healthcare.
  All the best, and a very happy 2017
  Patricia
  Reply

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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