Yeah, that was Ed Ottertail.  He's a heckuva nice guy, a former Mountie, and was one of the elders over at LLC.  He ran the General Store on the reservation and also did some outfitting (ie. towboat service, shuttle service, etc.).  I used him a few times when my trips took me down towards LLC and got to know him a bit. 

I was surprised when I learned last Spring that Ed "was running the office at Beaverhouse."  No, "administration" would not have been Ed's strong suit.  You could never depend upon him to answer the phone of his "other businesses." More often than not, it was his towboat service that I was looking for and, half the time, it was "having work done on it."  Whenever I actually got hold of him, however, he was always true to his word. 

I ran into some Park rangers in the middle of Quetico many years back.  I think it was the very first time I had used Ed (Quetico Dave had recommended him for an LLC boat shuttle). They asked, "Who will be picking you up at Bell Island?" (for the tow back to the park office at LLC where my vehicle was shuttled). When I mentioned "Ed", they laughed.  One of them said, "You don't actually expect him to remember to pick you up, do you?"  I must admit, that comment gave me pause as my four person party sat on the floating dock at the bottom of the Maligne River, waiting for him.

As it turned out, Ed was late, sure enough, but he DID eventually get there.  During our wait, we actually had something of an adventure (which we would NOT have enjoyed, had he been on time).  The last page of a story I wrote back in 2003 tells the tale (see:   (You need to Login or Register ).  Incidentally, Stu Osthoff of the BWJ "censored" this particular page from my, "Of Inukshuks & a Stroll Through the Park" story, published that year (or the next).  I think you'll see why....

Anyway, I have ALSO heard great things about Ed Ottertail's offspring as park office attendants (both at BH and at LLC).  I met one of them at LLC.  Ed was/is a "character" but he certainly raised his kids well.

I suppose I could write VOLUMES of Ed Ottertail stories but that would just get us more offtrack.

Bottom line: if Ed's kids are manning the desk, you're in good hands!

Jimbo   8-)