The late Arthur (Art) Leo Look
Glen Vienneau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 15/00) - One of the North's earliest settlers, Arthur (Art) Leo Look, passed away in the early afternoon hours of Dec. 7.
He was 86
Born in Portland, Oregon on Nov. 8, 1914, Look came North of 60 with his family in 1922, at the age of seven. The family moved to the Taltson River area where he got an early start learning to hunt and fish.
"He loved to be on the land, he loved to trap," said his son Bruce Look.
"He was like a child in the bush and he trapped like that by himself."
Look continued trapping for a living until his early 30s. It was in 1945 when he moved to Yellowknife to seek work so he could send his younger brothers to school.
Never afraid to learn a new trade, Look's jobs included installing the hydro poles for the Snare Hydro System, working at Con mine and working in exploration.
He also worked for Darcey Arden hauling logs up Great Slave Lake.
By 1954, he landed a job as a game warden which saw him working in Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Hay River, Aklavik and Inuvik. Eventually, he was transferred to Manitoba.
"Some of the work he really was pleased with. He did some work with the musk ox and some caribou transplants from an island that was barren of caribou in the Arctic," said Bruce.
In 1967, he returned to Yellowknife until his retirement in 1975. He then moved to Fort Providence until a year ago. He continued to trap, returning to do what he enjoyed the most.
While in Fort Providence, he was also involved in looking after buffalo that were transplanted to the area.
"It was an attempt to get a clean herd that was away from anthrax," said Bruce.
While in Fort Providence, Look also served as a justice of the peace for nine years.
He is survived by his wife, Harriet, his siblings Vivienne Demelt and Grant Beck Sr., his children Annie, Russell (Sue), Ken (Elvie), Patricia (Ron), Bruce (Maureen), Randy (Mary Anne) and Gayle (Robert).
He was predeceased by his first wife Lillian ne. Weir, one daughter Sharon and two brothers Raymond Beck and Danny McQueen.
A memorial service was held on Dec. 11, 2000, at the St. Patrick Church in Yellowknife.
