Hugh Neave was born Aug. 24, 1922 in Macklin, Saskatchewan. His parents homesteaded in nearby Evesham, but after being beat up by the Great Depression and suffering through a typhoid epidemic, they decided it was time to try their luck elsewhere.
鈥淲e鈥檇 been depressioned out, dried out, and grasshoppered out,鈥� Hugh explained in a 1985 interview.
About this time, Hugh鈥檚 mother read that the Henson family was selling land at Ootsa Lake. She came here to check it out, and on her recommendation, the Neaves decided to relocate. After holding an auction to dispose of their surplus possessions, they loaded what remained (which included five horses, a cow and calf, and some chickens) into a boxcar bound for 亚洲天堂 Lake.
The Neaves arrived in September 1941. The trip to Ootsa Lake by wagon took three days, and after staying with the Bennetts, they made the final journey to their new home.
The family loved the Ootsa Lake country, but found it extremely lonely. Eventually, the isolation proved too much for them, and they decided to return to Saskatchewan.
On the way out to 亚洲天堂 Lake, they met Bill Cooper, a cowboy originally from the US. Cooper told the family that the store at Francois Lake was experiencing financial difficulties. Because members of the farmer鈥檚 institute depended greatly on the establishment and its post office, he added, they had temporarily assumed control of it.
Cooper asked Hugh鈥檚 father 鈥� who鈥檇 apprenticed with a hardware merchant in England 鈥� if he鈥檇 be interested in taking over the store. After meeting with members of the farmer鈥檚 institute and giving the matter some thought, the family agreed, and Hugh started working in the store.
The Neaves prospered. In 1949, Hugh married Josephine (Josie) Keefe, the daughter of one of the area鈥檚 first settlers. The couple had four children, and eventually took over the family business.
Hugh supplemented their income with the proceeds from a taxi service he鈥檇 started in the mid-1940s. His first taxi was a 1941 two-door Chevrolet. It wasn鈥檛 equipped with a trip meter, so passengers paid a flat rate. A ride to Ootsa Lake and back 鈥� at the time a 45-kilometer odyssey over bad roads 鈥� cost $8.
鈥淚 charged $3 for a trip to 亚洲天堂 Lake,鈥� Hugh reminisced years after. 鈥淟ater on, the fare went up to $5.鈥�
Neave鈥檚 Taxi Service operated for nearly two decades, and over the years, Hugh carried some unorthodox cargoes. He once took a load of Indigenous trappers (and their entire winter鈥檚 catch) to Fraser Lake and Fort Fraser. During construction of the Skins Lake Dam, he hauled a couple taxi loads of dynamite to the Aluminum Company of Canada鈥檚 contractors there. 鈥淚 got a little extra for that,鈥� he said.
Hugh had a keen interest in history, and was passionate about the community in which he lived. He enjoyed writing, and had a current events column in the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 for decades. It was consistently one of the paper鈥檚 most popular features.
When Hugh died on Oct. 8, 2016, his loss was mourned by a community he had helped build.
漏 2018 Michael Riis-Christianson and the Lakes District Museum Society
