The Beacon Beckons

Over on the hill, as you drive up and just before you get to the gas filling station here in Rankin

The Light Atop the Hill

Inlet sits the remnants of a time when Rankin Inlet was founded. The actual town was based upon the opening of the Rankin Nickel Mine in the mid fifties.  

For the first time in canadian history, native northerners were employed and they came in droves from all across the north. From the various hamlets, trying to improve their lot with a steady paycheck, they arrived and stayed in the various matchbox houses erected to house the miners. 

In the early days of the village, the area where they stayed was named 'eskimo town'. Of course, 'white town' was just the other side of the area. Many things have really changed since those days. The mine closed after only a few short years of production due to increased costs. The price of nickel and copper had fallen making it non-competitive to mine, especially in these harsh conditions.

Abandoned Mining Equipment

The 1,000 foot shaft, all tunnels and below surface accesses were flooded and apparently have since frozen, reducing surface collapse potential. During mining the processed ore was taken away by ship in the warmer months. The mine head was just north of Johnstone Cove and I have already shown some of the equipment that stills remains today.

The roughly 500 miners were left not only unemployed but in an area that was not home and with no hope of re-employment. It was a dark time in the history of this hamlet. Starvation, lack of housing, and unemployment reigned. Many different programs were attempted and one has made it to this day.

There were miners who seemed to possess certain abilities. A fledgling arts program was encouraged. Carvings in stone, caribou antler and walrus tusk began and flourish to this day.
The stone carvings here are quite different from those you will find in 'Baffin'. Drawings are again different here as the Inuks that settled here came from various backgrounds. We'll talk about the actual art in another segment.

Facing the Bay

Their subjects are things the artist knows. The land, their prey, their history and their people can be found, if you look close enough. Some were hunters and nomads and commonly referred to as 'land' people. Their food sources were primarily the caribou, muskox, wolf, and fox. Others from the two other predominate areas were 'coastal' dwellers. They, in turn, naturally hunted whales, seals, walrus and fish.

Early white explorers to the area, as well as the whalers that followed, often referred to the natives as raw meat eaters and it was true. This region is well above the tree line...what would you use to cook with if you had no wood? The answer in summer would be the lichens and moss, when the 'land' is void of snow and ice. The only alternative would be whale oil.

Today Rankin Inlet is a thriving town with closest new mine reaching full production in the next year. The 25 mile road travels across country and even that had a long negotiation in order to be built. The town has grown to about 3500 residents. 

The stories of the mine and the early days of the town are difficult to confirm. The research about the light on the hill has many rumours. One that I heard related to providing a beacon for airplanes landing on a flat section north of town. I dismissed this a it didn't seem possible in the area suggested, but I may be wong.

Snow-Filled Lamp and Gearbox

The story I'm going with pertains to its construction. I'm going to call it a lighthouse, even though it sits lonely on a concrete pillar. It's high on a hill so it could be seen for miles around on a clear day. It has a mechanism at its base that looks like a gear works which makes me lean towards a rotating light much like I can see at night from the airport.

Since shipping was important to the mine, I'm of the opinion, that the light was used for navigating into the docks. I was told that it still functioned to the early 70's, but that is not confirmed either since GPS was not available until much later and compasses here have a big deviation this close to the 'true' north pole.

Light Sitting High Left--Overlooking the Retooled Processing Plant

I went to the gas station the other day with someone who had been coming north for about ten years. He had seen the light but had never considered its history. Today, it hardly draws attention to itself, but years ago everyone was watching the beacon on the hill.