December 2007 Churchill, Manitoba Beluga, Bears, and Bingo-Who Could Ask For Anything More? By Kathy Chin Leong In Churchill, Manitoba, graying buildings sit atop gravelly, pock-marked roads, hardly the tropical paradise you see on the cover of travel magazines. Yet Mayor Michael Spence eagerly looks forward to another -40 degree Farenheit winter, and so does everyone else in this decaying port town. That’s when tourist season zooms into overdrive. And the hodgepodge of inns, lake lodges, and motels, along with polar bear safari companies (booked two to three years in advance) play host to wildlife lovers all over the world. In the winter, Churchill boasts the highest concentration of polar bears anywhere. IT AIN’T EASY As tourists and seasonal help come and go, the ruddy 1,100 residents, manage to make the best of what most of us would deem an extremely difficult lifestyle. About 60 percent  are native Canadian Indians or officially known as First Nation peoples. First, there’s its remoteness. Churchill is located in northern Manitoba, about a one-hour flight away from the Arctic Circle. Above Manitoba is Nunavit, a province with few towns and mostly made up of Inuit native peoples with a heritage of living off the land. Churchill is closer to the Arctic than it is to New York or California. To get to Churchill, you must embark on a two-hour plane flight from Winnipeg, Manitoba’s capital in the south. The roundtrip will set you back $800 to $1,000. If you want to come from Winnipeg via train, that runs about $200 for the full ride back and forth. Don’t be surprised if you arrive ten to 12 hours late, says Mayor Spence. The rail, owned by OmniTrax of Denver, has long been showing signs of age, and its need for constant repair causes delays. It also takes a minimum of 36 hours to get to town. BRRR… But once you get here, you must adapt to the winters and the polar bears. It’s not just cold. It’s bitterly cold. From October until June, a bus picks up school children to go to school even though they may live down the street, says former principal Louise Laurie. And because a stray polar bear will wander into town, it’s simply safer to snatch up the kids before the bears do. "I came for the first time in the winter," says a Vancouver, Canada, visitor named Lauren Schmidt. "Just to walk to the café, I had to psyche myself up to go outside." Over a steaming cup of coffee at the Seaport Hotel which Mayor Spence owns, he says the cold is simply something people have to get used to. Layering with boots, hats, scarves, gloves, sweaters and a down coat is the secret to survival. It’s so frigid groves of trees are often stripped of foliage on the left or right side due the cutting winds. They are literally sawed in half by nature. BELUGAS, BEARS Once the spring comes into play, residents get a breather. Another round of tourists come for beluga whale watching season. In addition to having the highest concentration of polar bears in the world, Churchill boasts having the highest number of belugas-as many as 5,000 in the Churchill River in the summer. It is also one of the top ten birding sites globally, and birders can dip into a smorgasbord of more than 200 species with their binoculars. Mayor Spence is a pureblood Cree aborginal born in the town of York Factory 150 miles away. And he’s spent the majority of this life in Churchill. Spence’s father was a fur trader who supported his family by hunting. One positive thing, notes Spence, racism doesn’t seem to be an issue here. The aboriginal and non-aboriginal get along well. "There is no wrong side of the tracks," says Spence. "We all live in the same area." It’s common for townfolk to gather at Gypsy’s Café & Bakery, the gossip epi-center where you’ll find the best and largest toasted cinnamon buns in the world and teriyaki caribou jerky at the counter. It is at Gypsy’s where you can buy meals on credit or keep a running tab. FEW PROFESSIONALS STAY City folk find it strange that Churchill has no dentist, no hair stylist, no hospital, no mortician, no lawyers. No Starbucks, no fast food, no spas, no shopping centers, no jail, no car dealership. It has one or two doctors who stay until they decide to move on. Says pastor David Caskey, "Unless people are committed to the community, they leave because they cannot grow professionally. When they stay, they lose. When they go, we lose." Young people also have a hard time sticking around. Many high school students go to boarding school in Winnipeg for better opportunities. If they stay, many drop out after they turn 16, notes Louise Lawrie, town volunteer and former teacher of 20 years. A high school graduating class from Duke School, a kindergarten-through-high school, will have only about 2 or 3 graduates. To celebrate, the businesses in town chip in to throw a lunch. Students in adult continuing education who are getting their diplomas are also honored. However the average age of residents is 35 to 40 years old, married with kids, which means there is a dearth of singles. For those unattached, night life consists of going to each other’s homes to visit, building bonfires on the beach, or hitting the local tavern. There is also an opportunity to play bingo at the local legion hall or sing karaoke once a week. "There’s no one to meet," laments one 20-year-old. "My parents came here for their business, and I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I’m here for now." LOVING IT Shawn Bobier, an officer with the Manitoba Conservancy, enjoys living here. His wife is flying to Winnipeg  to deliver their first baby. The rule is this: two weeks prior to the due date, expectant mothers should fly to Winnipeg’s hospital. "I’ve always lived in the north," he says. "To me, Churchill is a big town. I used to live in a smaller place in Manitoba where the population is now down to one. This is the big city for me." Louise Lawrie, who owns the Aurora Inn, says she wouldn’t trade her lifestyle for anything. And she used to live in San Diego, Calif. "There’s plenty to do here," she says. "It’s up to each person to get involved." An abundance of volunteer opportunities such as helping out with youth organizations and assisting researchers at the Arctic Research Center can be a blessing for those who love kids and nature. "There’s going to be an archeologist coming to town, and I hope to be going with her to identify some of the old graves in our former town site," Lawrie says. "That will be very interesting." Kevin works as a driver for the Tundra Buggy Excursion which offers polar bear siting safaris He’s grown up in the north and has always thrived in Canada northern wilderness. Having never been to college, his education has been the outdoors. Ironically, he lectures college researchers on his own findings. Mayor Spence says he’s proud of living in a safe community where everyone knows each other. "Right now my car is unlocked, and the keys are in it. That’s not unusual." Casual living and respect is a hallmark of the community, says a resident simply known as "Monica." Even the odd transients are taken care of. Recently when she saw a familiar man collect cans and bottles through town, she gave him her address. "I left my house unlocked, and I told him to help himself to the recyclables. I came home, and the bottles were gone, but everything else in the house was in tact. Nothing was missing." **** Author Kathy Chin Leong went to Churchill in August on a beluga snorkeling tour.