Letter to the Editor:

Missing Sioux Lookout

So, as I was going through some old emails and I came across an email my daughter Ashley Guenther had sent me of her time with me living in Hudson ON, and the many great moments of and around Sioux Lookout. Though life has seen both of us move away, I’d say our hearts are still drawn to that great nook up North. Maybe in the hustle of life we forget the great blessings we have in nature and a town to call our own, but truly Sioux Lookout has warmed our hearts, even if only from a distance now.

Here’s a poem my daughter wrote when we lived up that way.

It doesn’t seem that long ago,
when I was 16 head to toe;
that I belonged to a world anew,
a land quite missed when which I grew.

I walked with trees and flowers in bloom,
escaping the dread of my teenage gloom;
I begged to see this world some more,
this world beneath the eagle’s soar.

I loved the feel of freedom’s hold,
the North was my protective fold;
I was a part of a magical place,
clear skies and water were nature’s embrace.

I miss the way the loon would sing,
amongst the mist of a morning spring;
I miss the art of catching fish,
the size every fishermen could only wish!

On that day in the old canoe,
with biting mosquitoes that wouldn’t shoo;
my father had taken me minnow trapping,
but we were too busy with turtle catching. 

I never knew my heart was home,
regret is my internal gloam;
I miss the way the sun would rise,
or never escaping the forest’s eyes.

I miss the hunt of fresh ripe berries,
the size and type, it always varies;
but I sought out the best of spots,
sitting and eating with happy thoughts.

I miss the way the moon shone bright,
the stars went on till the end of sight;
the way a bull moose looked at you,
I sure do miss that town of Sioux. 

Submitted by John Guenther