Crowd attends Dance Fire monument unveiling

The overcast sky matched the grief felt by those on hand Friday morning for the unveiling of a monument commemorating the 17 victims of the Dance Fire that occurred on Thanksgiving Day back in 1938.
Held 70 years to the day, about 300 people, including survivors and family members of the victims, crowded under and around the large tent to witness the unveiling.

“For some people it is still too painful to talk about,” noted emcee Marnie Brown. “But it’s about time.”
Laura Spence, with the Ministry of Natural Resources office in Dryden, recounted the details of that tragic day. She noted how the slightly dry weather and high winds spelled disaster that cost 17 lives, left some 300 people homeless, and saw a township of 60 plus homes dwindle to 30.
She added cattle, horses, and deer were scorched, and the wood lots that fuelled their livelihoods were consumed by the flames.
Yet, despite all of that, she is grateful to see the community did not disappear.
“It is a symbol of the strength and perseverance in this town how you stay and how you all join together to commemorate those who were lost,” Spence remarked.
Committee member Rosanne Farmer, whose family lost the most victims, quoted Neil McQuarrie’s highly-anticipated book on the Dance Fire. She tracked the lives that were lost, briefly telling of their final moments.
But the passage did not end in sadness. It left the crowd in hope as it read “the trees are thick and green again, and wildlife abounds,” marking the passage of time and allowing those to see how far they had come.
“With this monument, their lives will never be forgotten,” insisted Farmer, with many on hand nodding in agreement.
Gilbert Smith, of Northwest Bay First Nation, spoke of how his reserve was affected by it all. Though noting the fire did not burn down any homes, or destroy any part of their land, he referred to the Dance tragedy as “their depression.”
He noted that when everyone else suffered through the Great Depression, his people were largely left unaffected because they were still living off the land at that time.
They ate the deer, moose, and the other animals in the surrounding woods, and built their homes with the trees that were there.
After the fire, however, the animals were all gone, the trees were burned to the ground, and the people were shut in with closed windows, doors, and tents because of the heavy, dense smoke that hung in the air for days.
Their livelihood also was stripped away with that fire.
Yet in the midst of all the sadness Friday, in the midst of the tears and tragic memories, Rev. Frances Flook pointed out the hope that was held in each of them.
She noted the hope found in those who erected the monument, the hope found in those who moved through the grieving process, the hope in the fact that they have come so far and have so much further to go.
When the monument was unveiled, the white sheet pulled back from the glossy black rock, “Amazing Grace” played in the background, bringing everyone to their feet.
People read the monument and touched it, and took pictures. Some cried.
Afterwards, everyone met at the Dance Hall.
Though too small to house the massive crowd, those who got inside were treated to a luncheon, where they ate and talked and looked at various artifacts saved from the past.
They even were smiling and laughing.