Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Listening Point - General Discussion :: Ice road incident, Brule Lake, 1948
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straighthairedcurly |
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MHS67 |
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bobbernumber3 |
The 1948 freeze-up was unusual in that the lake froze before there was much snow. A car or pick-up truck with chains on could drive on the ice anywhere on Brule Lake. The ice was thin along the shoreline, however, and pointed up the difficulty that could be encountered with winter cross- lake travel. Here is how Dave Mealey describes one episode: "In January, a road crew went out on Brule Lake with the intent of setting small fir trees in the ice to mark the roadway. This was necessary because without the markers a driver could easily get lost crossing the lake at night or in a snow storm. That time the crew was using a pickup truck to haul trees and complete the job. The roadway had not been plowed, the ice was still thin, and when the truck became stuck the driver spun the wheels to get free. The truck had tire chains on and when the wheels spun they cut through the thin ice. The rear wheels dropped through the ice and the truck settled in the water and hung on the running boards and fenders. The guys walked to shore and cut a couple of long birch poles. They returned to the truck, rolled down the windows and shoved the birch poles through the windows. They had barely completed the task when the ice gave way and, the pickup ended up in the lake hanging by the poles through the windows. I wasn't present for that little escapade so I don't know what they did to retrieve the pick-up, but they did. And you will probably recall seeing that truck with the dents in the top of the door frame on each side where it hung on the birch poles." I do recall that truck, a 1948 International with a 4 speed transmission, as I later was assigned that unit when I returned to work full time for North Star in June of 1949. The truck was winched ashore somehow and rehabilitated, but forever thereafter it had two crescent shaped dimples at the top of each door frame which whistled as one drove down the highway. |
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RetiredDave |
Dave |
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bruleman |
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