Sioux Lookout, Dryden

When I was driving back in from the woods I drove Sixty miles or more through a smoky haze. I thought at first I was near a sawmill that was burning its sawdust, but I wasn't driving beyond the smoke, and I didn't think sawmills did that any more. It went on and on. It wasn't until I listened to the news later I realized what was the true cause, there were ninty-some wildfires started by lightening burning out in the Ontario backwoods. All of the firefighters of the area were busy extinguishing the fires. The smoke had lightened up a bit by the time I reached Sioux Lookout, Ontario.

Sioux Lookout is an interesting name for a town. It is even more interesting when you know the story behind it. The Sioux tribe lives nowhere in the area. It is in territory for the Ojibway tribe. Long, long ago the Sioux would trade with the locals. The Sioux would travel up into the territory with their wares and trade for furs or whatever was the commodity sought. Everything went along swimmingly for a while until one clever Sioux thought of a way the trade would be even more profitable. How can you make trading even more profitable? Return with the payment as well as the goods brought up to trade. This required slaughtering everyone in the village they traded with. This seems kind of dense. I mean, if you just want to kill everyone and take everything they had, why bother schlepping all of the trade goods around and go through the motions of fair trading? It was an awfully complicated way to raid a town. The Vikings simply sailed in, slaughtered everyone, then took what they wanted. It's much simpler and much more honest.

Slaughtering your clientele is not a very good business practice. While your short-term profits may skyrocket, you'll get your butt kicked in the long run and this is what happened to the Sioux.

The tale of the deciding battle is a quickand fascinating read. I cannot wite it better than the version at the SiouxLookout.com official site, so I encourage you to read the article there.

Eye for an eye, the Sioux were all killed except for one small boy that was saved by a compassionate Ojibway woman. He was adopted into the tribe and later became one of the tribes most respected chiefs. Never again did any Sioux attempt to trade, illicitly or otherwise, with the Ojibway. There are two morals to this story. One: Don't kill the people you want to do business with. Two: People whom you don't kill can end up doing great things.



This is the story of how Sioux Lookout got it's name. The event happened in the 1700's. The tale is remembered today, and will for centuries to come, because a hilltop was given an unusual name so curious people would ask "Why is it called that?"

-=-=-

"The years between Forty and Sixty seemed like they passed in just a few months. I hear that Sixty to Seventy passes like it is Twenty Minutes! I'm sixty-two, I've already used up four of those minutes. I just want to retire!" I was speaking to Mac Rowat . He owns the Town and Country Motel in Dryden Ontario. Mac is an interesting fellow. He loves to fish and ride his motorcycle and was, at one time the only person sail boarding on Lake Wabigoon. Though he no longer sailboards, he finds he doesn't have enough time to do the other things he wants to do. I can relate to not having enough time, how about you? Mac is set up and has enough money to retire. But he wants to get out of the Motel business.

Mac wasn't always in the motel business. He used to own some lumber yards. In fact he owned a lumberyard in Ignace when the fellow was building the Lone Pine Motel and remembered him well. "Oh that guy, he was a character. Sold him a lot of wood." About 18 years ago, Mack decided to get out of the lumber business and get into the motel business.

So far, all of the motels I have stayed in during my passage through Ontario have changed hands within last few years and the new owners are excited about their businesses. They are busy refurbishing their motels and making them their own . These are all people who are loving what they are doing and are building wonderful lives. I have found so much pleasure talking to them and interacting with them. There is nothing more pleasurable than being around people who love the life they are living.

I am not implying that Mac doesn't enjoy his life or business or it is not doing well. The motel is fine for him, but he wants to retire. He's thinking about those 20 minutes. "I want to fish. I want to ride my motorcycle." The motel is making money, it is doing quite well and he is making a good income. He just wants to stop working and play. With the 20-minute analogy, who can blame him? So, what is he doing? He is selling his motel. Yes, he has a motel for sale in Dryden, Ontario. I felt this was a strange coincidence after the previous three Motels I stayed at. Three sets of people making new lives followed by an opportunity for someone else to make a new life.

I bring this up simply because you, dear reader, might have been inspired to try something like Eugene and Rafal Stephen at the Parkway Motel or Troy LeBarge at the Lone Pine Motel have. Mac's motel has 37 rooms and a 4-bedroom living quarters for the owner/manager. He is asking a soft, $800,000 Canadian dollars for it. This might be your dream opportunity, it might not. If you think this might be for you, contact Mac Rowat at 800-263-0183. He will have more details for you.