Alasdair and Cheryl Veitch: Life in the North
It is a long way from the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories to the west side of New Glasgow for Alasdair and Cheryl Veitch.
They love the proximity to other places that comes with living in Pictou County and the opportunities for cycling and hiking as well as a pool that operates year-round but the north will always hold a piece of their hearts.
Neither Alasdair, who grew up in Marystown, Newfoundland, nor Cheryl, who was raised in Wainwright, Alberta had a plan to go north but opportunity took them to the town of Norman Wells and they stayed 20 years before retiring to New Glasgow in 2013. Avid runners, they met at the University of Alberta where Alasdair was a graduate student and Cheryl worked in administration.
“I saw an ad in the Edmonton Journal for a wildlife officer in the Sahtu. There was no Internet so I actually had to go to the library to find out it was somewhere between Yellowknife and Inuvik. I applied, went for an interview and called Cheryl to tell her the place was a natural playground and we’d love it,” said Alasdair.
The region, roughly five times the size of Nova Scotia, is populated largely by Dene and Metis and is comprised of five communities in the vicinity of Great Bear Lake. The region has no all season roads so goods are brought in by freight planes or up the MacKenzie River on barges. Snow can come as late as June but it rarely amounts to more than enough to pack down for skiing unless you go into the mountains.
“It was a dream job for me, after spending 12 years in Labrador,” said Alasdair.
Straight out of university, he got a job with the federal fisheries department in St. John’s but soon lost it in cutbacks so took a position as a project leader with Kativmavik, a group providing hands on living experience for youth.
“The position turned out to be in Labrador which I figured I might as well see. Within a few months, the wild life manager there needed a technician and he asked me. I went from being the 250th person in the fisheries office to the second spot in Goose Bay. It was a fantastic learning opportunity from the very first day.”
In Labrador he became involved in studies of caribou and black bears which is what led him first to the University of Minnesota and then to the University of Alberta. For a biologist, the NWT offered a much greater diversity of species than Labrador.
“When we went up in 1994 there were still 250 people making a living trapping but that’s down to 40 or 50 now. It is not an easy living and there are crazy variables that impact the price of furs so many young people prefer to work for oil exploration companies.”
Cheryl, who loves to be outdoors, had no trouble finding a job or places to explore.
“There are people who just stay in their homes because they are afraid of wolves or bears. You have to be sensible but I was always out running, hiking, skiing, kayaking and camping.”
When she first arrived in Nova Scotia she enrolled at NSCC to upgrade her office skills and put winter tires on her bike to travel the Samson and Albion trails to the Stellarton campus.
“I loved biking on the trails and through Allen Park all winter. I had to get used to freezing rain but most days were beautiful for cycling.”
On a damp, windy, bone-chilling Maritime spring day both Veitches are likely to be thinking fondly of the weather in the Sahtu.
“It could be 35 below in the Sahtu but the air is dry and there is no wind making it much nicer,” said Alasdair, while Cheryl noted she has had to add layers to her winter wear in Nova Scotia.
Their diet has also had to change from when they lived in Norman Wells, though being in a flight centre they did not suffer the lack of fresh produce many northern communities experience.
“It is the meat we miss. Muskox is a beautiful meat and Dall’s sheep is absolutely delicious,” said Alsadair.
Both are lean and of melt in the mouth texture, Cheryl insisted, adding she cannot find similar flavor in supermarket meats.
“Since coming to Nova Scotia Atlantic salmon has become my favourite food.”
Recently, Alasdair presented a slide show on the Sahtu to the Pictou County Naturalists Club and was surprised by the full house.
“It was great to be able to show photos of the wildlife and how really beautiful the light can be in the north. It is very different with the short or long days of sunlight depending on the season.”
It is not often he and Cheryl get the chance to talk to people about the Sahtu.
“It is a part of Canada that isn’t well-known where we are today but if ever anyone has the opportunity, just go because it is amazing,” said Cheryl.
They met plenty of Atlantic Canadians during their 20 years in the north.
“I can remember being at the Legion in Norman Wells which was the social centre of the community and all 12 of us at the bar and the two bartenders were Newfoundlanders,” said Alasdair.
For all its appeal, they never planned to retire there because of the expense of getting in and out and the lack of medical services. When Alsadair’s parents, Jim and Mary Veitch announced they were leaving New Glasgow for Dartmouth, they asked if Alasdair and Cheryl would like to take over their house.
“My father started his career working on the Clyde (River) in Glasgow, Scotland and retired from Pictou shipyards. I’d left home before they moved to New Glasgow and Cheryl had only ever visited the East Coast but here we are.”
Not so long ago, Alasdair jumped on his bike and cycled all the way to St. John’s.
“That’s something I couldn’t do in the Sahtu.”