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08/06/2020 08:24AM |
Sometime around 2009 my group and I were coming out at the end of our trip. We hit Big Sag on a day that was stormy in a way I have never seen in the BW; 4-foot waves coming out of Cache Bay and on the large part of Sag, 5-footers around the Rocky Point area.
We were coming from Swamp lake and we were headed for one of the sites on American Point, paddling about 5-feet from shore to get a bit of cover from the wind as it rises to go over the trees. In hindsight we should not have been on the lake. We really really really should not have been on the lake.
About half way from the narrows to the point a canoe in front of us dumped. We paddled hard to get to them to help. But the waves were so large that it took about an hour to go from the small island on the MN side just out of Cache Bay to the small beach area on American Point where they dumped. By the time we got there all of their party had made it to shore. We paddled in and cooked up coffee for them and helped them gather their gear.
It was at that point that Janice rocked out in her motor boat. Able seaman is not a just phrase for how well she navigated in those waves. Janice rocked that boat as if she was trolling along on a summer day. And boy howdy did she rip into all of us. She was mad so many people were being so stupid. And she was right to be angry.
Janice made sure that everyone was safe then kicked all of us off the water. Calling tow boats at various outfitters to come and pick us all up; after forcing us to paddle around to the tow boat point so no motorboats would be in the canoe only areas. She motored along side to make sure no one dumped again.
I hope the Cache Bay station has someone as dedicated, as loyal, and as damn skilled at boating as Janice. As a Coast Guard vet I can give no higher praise than my astonishment at her boating skills. She will be missed.
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08/06/2020 10:27AM |
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08/06/2020 11:11PM |
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08/06/2020 03:52PM |
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08/06/2020 04:31PM |
She certainly will be missed.
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08/06/2020 04:36PM |
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08/10/2020 03:46PM |
Thank you Janice!
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08/11/2020 10:34AM |
missmolly: "MichiganMan: ""
Man, that woman sure looks like the salt of the Earth in the photo. I wish I'd known her. I woulda been a fan. "
She was plain-spoken and kind, miss molly. Qualities that we probably all under-appreciate. You would have loved talking to her especially her one time going over a falls along the Falls Chain. Truly harrowing (and heroic) stuff.
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08/06/2020 11:09PM |
I hope her family knows how many people in the canoe world appreciated her and all she did. Thank you Janice.
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08/06/2020 10:52PM |
What a leader, way too young.
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08/07/2020 07:39AM |
WTIP BW Podcast July Episode
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08/07/2020 06:31AM |
I’ve been thinking a lot about Janice since hearing of her illness. So many memories of her “days off” which happened once or twice a month. She would come down sag and want to head to town. As much as she embraced the isolation of the island she relished her time in town. She loved talking to all people, music and dancing, oh she loved to dance. She was also quite the artist, too, creating paintings she then made into greeting cards, and jewelry.
Sometimes I think people should have come a day early when checking in for their permit thru cache bay. She gave all the info, and more, that could be absorbed. Some thought her overly cautious about wind and storms, but she risked her life more than once to save the hides of the invincible Americans who thought they knew better than Mother Nature.
Such a force of nature she was. I will miss you my good friend, Janice.
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08/07/2020 07:59AM |
You could tell that her job was a labor of love and she genuinely cared about Quetico. She gave me advice on bringing my kids...I wish they could of met her and I could tell her she helped us have the strength and desire to introduce them at a young age.
T
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08/07/2020 09:26AM |
Always ready to learn as well. As a mostly unskilled/unlucky fisherman, one year we stumbled onto a really good fishing hole and was telling/bragging about our success. Janice was pleased we would tell her the location and indicated she would tell some others about the location on Sag....... Lake. I hope she did and that many a good fishing moment has been made there. Some things in life are never fully known, but the chance this did assist in other's memories has been a pleasant thought for me over the several years since.
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08/10/2020 06:41PM |
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08/10/2020 10:19PM |
bobbernumber3: "Here is Janice with bobber#2 in 2006.
Thank you Janice!
Awesome photo. Janice did not really like the upgrade in technology but was forced to have a computer and all that went along with it. Once that was installed you couldn’t even see the desk.
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08/10/2020 11:02PM |
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08/07/2020 10:33AM |
Mocha: "Thank you for that article. I was looking for page two! So much more about Janicethat can be written. I sure hope the park officials give her a grand send off. Her contributions are immeasurable. I’m sure ranger at other entry points are good at their jobs. I’ve been thru all but lac le croix and nym. The ranger at French lake/ Dawson trail had so many great things to say about Janice and her knowledge.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Janice since hearing of her illness. So many memories of her “days off” which happened once or twice a month. She would come down sag and want to head to town. As much as she embraced the isolation of the island she relished her time in town. She loved talking to all people, music and dancing, oh she loved to dance. She was also quite the artist, too, creating paintings she then made into greeting cards, and jewelry.
Sometimes I think people should have come a day early when checking in for their permit thru cache bay. She gave all the info, and more, that could be absorbed. Some thought her overly cautious about wind and storms, but she risked her life more than once to save the hides of the invincible Americans who thought they knew better than Mother Nature.
Such a force of nature she was. I will miss you my good friend, Janice."
Full article-Janice 2013
Page down a little for Janice's article
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08/07/2020 11:01AM |
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08/07/2020 11:25AM |
MichiganMan: "
Man, that woman sure looks like the salt of the Earth in the photo. I wish I'd known her. I woulda been a fan.
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08/08/2020 11:22AM |
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08/11/2020 11:47AM |
I'm a reporter with Minnesota Public Radio News, based in Duluth.
I'm trying to put together a story honoring and celebrating the life of Janice Matichuk, and the impact she had on so many paddlers traveling through Cache Bay for more than 3 decades.
This is an amazing story you detail here...would you be willing to do an interview with me for the story I'm putting together, to share the details of this rescue, plus other memories of Janice?
Let me know as soon as you can. You can reach me at dkraker@mpr.org, or my cell is 218-343-3178.
And if others see this who also have stories to share of Janice, please reach out to me!
Thanks,
Dan
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08/11/2020 11:50AM |
My name is Dan Kraker, I'm a reporter with Minnesota Public Radio News, based in Duluth.
I'm putting together a story celebrating the incredible life of Janice Matichuk.
I'm reaching out to see if you'd be willing to do an interview with me for the story, to share memories of your friend? Or, if you have suggestions for other friends and family who may be willing to speak to me, that would be incredibly helpful.
You can reach me at dkraker@mpr.org, or my cell is 218-343-3178. And if others see this who have stories to share of Janice, I'd love to hear them!
thanks,
Dan
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08/11/2020 12:13PM |
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08/11/2020 01:55PM |
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08/11/2020 11:51AM |
HighnDry: "missmolly: "MichiganMan: "
Man, that woman sure looks like the salt of the Earth in the photo. I wish I'd known her. I woulda been a fan. "
She was plain-spoken and kind, miss molly. Qualities that we probably all under-appreciate. You would have loved talking to her especially her one time going over a falls along the Falls Chain. Truly harrowing (and heroic) stuff."
Plain spoken and kind are two of the best qualities. I should have interviewed her!
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08/11/2020 02:05PM |
Pinetree: "Wouldn't it be nice I they renamed the island in her name that the ranger station she was on in Cache Bay."
Nice idea worthy of discussion within the Ontario & Quetico meeting room.
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08/07/2020 03:04PM |
aruthenb: "In her closing words from the WTIP Boundary Waters podcast in July, "Be good people, wherever you are."
WTIP BW Podcast July Episode "
That was nice to hear her speak again. Thanks for sharing this.
Hex
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08/08/2020 11:14AM |
missmolly: "MichiganMan: "
Man, that woman sure looks like the salt of the Earth in the photo. I wish I'd known her. I woulda been a fan. "
She liked us because we always had kids with us. She loved seeing the kids. Cache Bay ranger station will never be the same again.
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08/14/2020 09:38AM |
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08/06/2020 07:43AM |
She was the longest serving Quetico Ranger in its history, 35 years.
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08/09/2020 11:56AM |
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08/11/2020 02:15PM |
TZ