Life at Lake of the Woods

In this photo taken in 1937 or 1938 at Lake of the Woods in northwestern Ontario, Olaf Johnson sits on a beached houseboat with his children, Adeline and John. Johnson was a commercial fisherman by trade, but he supplemented his income by contracting on various small projects at camps and homesteads around the lake.

His family accompanied him as he moved from one job site to another. This photo was taken on remote Centre Island, not far from the American border, where he was hired to build a cabin. It was a transient and isolated existence, but the Johnson family bond was strengthened through their hardship.

Johnson was a quiet and contemplative man who spent most of his free time reading and gardening. The children were educated by correspondence; Johnson always showed an interest in what they were learning and helped when he could.

Johnson moved to Lake of the Woods from Minnesota when he was eighteen. He married Rose Boucha of French Portage, whose ancestry included Aboriginal women, Scottish and English traders and French voyageurs. The moccasins worn by Adeline in the photo were made for her by her grandmother.

In the early 1940s, the Johnsons traded in the nomadic life for a permanent home outside of Sioux Narrows, Ontario. According to her daughter, Becky Johnson, Adeline still looks back fondly on her childhood and on the lifestyle she enjoyed with her family at Lake of the Woods.

Submitted by Becky Johnson of Winnipeg, daughter of Adeline Johnson. Text by Steve Ducharme.