Gus on the Arctic Rigs: Photos, Letters from Gusty and articles

 

 

 

 

(see newspaper articles & original letter below)

Spitzbergen
a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean, N. of and belonging to Norway.

May 21st 1967

Dearest Lois

I received your letter the other day, which was very nice to receive.

The weather out there in parts of Alberta sure has been a corker.  Its not much better back here either.  The wind blows nearly all the time and the sand drifts around just like it was snow.  Its rather cool too.

I guess we have been here about two weeks.  All the parts for the rig is unloaded, but things are going very slow.  I think it will be three weeks or more before we will be drilling. This sand is giving us trouble with getting our first 120 ft. of pipe, which we have to drive into the ground before we can get our rig set up.

There isn't very much on this island, a little grass grows which the horses eat, but I sure don't know what keeps them alive.  I guess there is about 160 or more of them. This island seems to be a place for the seals, there's dozen's of them swimming around and some of them come up on the shore.  They are quite comical to watch.  They try to get on top of pieces of block that float around and they seem to have quite a ball.

This island has been quite a graveyard for ships.  They say about 600 or more have been wrecked here.  I guess it used to be a place where the pirates and theives used to hang around and lure ships into and rob them.

Its supposed to be haunted as the story goes, some thieves lured a ship ashore and robbed the people, one rich lady had a big diamond ring on her finger which wouldn't come off so they cut her finger off and they killed her.  Ever since they say she walks around looking for her finger.  I haven't as yet met up with the lady.

The week we arrived at Halifax we worked around the docks getting the ship loaded.  Then on friday night it snowed, so didn't feel up to renting a car and going out to look up anyone.  I phoned up Valerie's dads place while we were in Toronto, but there wasn't any answer.  I think we only waited a couple of hours and then took off to Montreal.

Well I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well in their work at school and John's music turned out so well.  So Grace is going to take part in the Klondike days, good for her.  So Charles is the farmer around there.  So Wade is giving a little out on the piano.  Hows Kathy getting along?

Well dear I hope you are not playing yourself out doing all that work, be careful and don't overdo it.

I've been feeling O.K. just a bit of gas trouble once in a while, but eno fruit salt seems to help bring the gas up.

I guess just as soon as we get things rolling I'll be coming home for awhile and will then be coming back for another stretch.

I guess this will have to be it for this time.

With love to you and all

Gust

p.s. say hello to Joyce Kruger

 

January 1966

NEWS FOR OLD TIMERS!  Brentwood Bay, V.I., B.C.

Dear Ralph;

We thought you might be interested in hearing a very interesting story about a couple of former Trochu people.

Perhaps you remember Gustave Mattson who married Lois Bigelow when she started to teach school out near Finn Hall about 1944 or 5.  Well Lois was a fine clever girl and our daughter and her were good friends and she was often at our farm home as they lived only a mile away.

Each Christmas she sends us a card telling us how things are going with them. This year Gusty is with an oil drilling rig at Spitzbergen 500 miles north of Norway in the Arctic.  He has been there since last June and was to have been back about the end of November but the drilling went slower than anticipated so he is not expected till January.  Peter Bawden Drilling Co. was contacted by Cal-Tex Co. to drill a well up there and paid a half million dollars and all expenses to try for oil.  They took a drilling rig and all supplies, a 24 car train from Edmonton to St. John, New Brunnswick, and from there by boat to Spitzbergen.  The men flew to St. John and then took the boat the rest of the way.  They had to cut through 12 miles of ice and it took 3 weeks before the camp and rigs were set up.  The island is rocky and the only industry is coal mining.  The last boat left the island in November and the Norwegian Airforce now delivers the mail and takes out passengers.

On the way to the island a barge sank with 70,000 gallons of fuel so they may be unable to finish this winter and have to return next summer. Gusty is one of the best oil drillers and trouble shooters in the business and was often sent to Mellville Island up in our own Arctic where 3 big oil companies are drilling a test well, yet when he was young he was just a real farm boy.

Best wishes and God Bless for 1966.

Tom Jones

(click on article to enlarge)

Comments

[Linda]

This is absolutely a beautiful website. Thank you. I was researching the Patriquin Family and found this site. May I sue some of the pictures for my personal Family Tree?

[Kathleen]

Absolutely, Linda! In fact I would love to know more about you... your connection to the Patriquin's. My mom published a book called, "Descendants of James Graham Patriquin (1840-1882)" She was really into the genealogy; I am into the 'stories'. As you may have read here, her mother, Grace Patriquin, was an eloqutionist who performed, Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a very personal story to the Acadians. I have the photos from the performance which was done in 1899. I want to post them here as well.
my direct email address is: kprophet.darkeros@gmail.com
We can continue our dialog there. If you are interested in the book, I can work on obtaining a copy for you.
Thanks for commenting!
Kathleen