A hotel manager's guide to loving the North
Mike Bryant
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 14/01) - Like many Yellowknifers, Shawnette McNeil's move up North did not come about without at least some sense of trepidation.
The city is full of transplanted southerners. Many stay for only short periods of time, maybe a year or two. Yet others fall in love with the place, and after a few years stop nervously associating themselves with their provincial roots -- as if not to would cut them off completely -- and embrace their new home.
"We didn't know if we were going to stay, but we bought a home and now Yellowknife is home," says McNeil, who moved up North with her husband, James, from Halifax six years ago.
"I found when we first came up here, people kept referring to where they came from as home, but after a while I kind of stopped that. Now when I go to visit Halifax, I can't wait to get back home."
A slowing economy on the east coast spurred the couple on to look for work elsewhere. When a federal Department of Human Resources officer told them to try checking out the job market in Yellowknife, they decided to give it a shot.
"We knew no one and had no job to go to," says McNeil. "We just took a chance."
The McNeils' packed up as many possessions as they could, including their cat, and embarked on a six-day voyage from Halifax to the Northwest Territories in their car. It was with a sense of wonder that they watched urbania drift away behind them into wilderness on their long, lonely drive up the Mackenzie Highway.
"The further we got, the fewer towns there were," recalls McNeil. "More and more trees and less street lights. It was getting a bit scary."
There was, however, at least one friendly beacon guiding them on their trip up North.
"It was the first time we saw the Northern Lights," says McNeil. "I remember standing outside of the car and thinking, 'My God, that's just beautiful.'"
They also soon realized that they were not leaving civilization completely behind.
"We were very surprised," McNeils says. "When you pull into town and see the 'Welcome to Yellowknife' sign it was like eh, there's buildings here. I was quite relieved."
As it turned out, the couple had little trouble finding work.
They arrived on a Friday and by Monday, McNeil was working at the Explorer Hotel as the front-desk manager. She would stay there eight months before moving on to where she now works at the Yellowknife Inn. She is now the general manager.
Of course, there were certain things McNeil had trouble adjusting to, like the outdoors for example.
"I went canoeing up the Yellowknife River and I was awful," McNeil recalls. "I kept driving into the shore. I just couldn't paddle correctly. We only did it for about an hour."
Apparently, the local popularity of fishing didn't grow on her either. As general manager of the Yellowknife Inn and member of the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, she often visits Enodah Wilderness Lodge, but it's not the giant pike lurking near the shore that keeps her coming back.
"I was fishing on the dock, and I'm no fisher-person," says McNeil. "But I caught one, and when it landed on the dock I ran away. Someone had to take the hook off the poor fish and put it back in the water."
Despite her ambivalence towards the great outdoors, McNeil persevered, and has found many other things to enjoy about living in Yellowknife.
Even though the corn didn't grow too well, she still managed to start a relatively productive garden in her back yard, growing mainly peppers and herbs.
Her "family" has grown from husband and one cat to include four dogs, two mice, a rat, five frogs and few tropical fish. "We have no human children," McNeil laughs.
Additionally, the McNeils' are no longer alone in the North, as far as familial relations are concerned. They have since been joined by her husband's parents and his brother.
"They came to visit for just a couple of weeks and they loved it so much they came back and they're still here," McNeils says.
Recently, the couple decided to renew their wedding vows. McNeil had grown up a Roman Catholic, but did not have a church wedding. When she discovered her mother had taken ill, a wedding date was set for a ceremony at St. Patrick's Parish as soon as it could possibly be arranged.
"I think Cathy (her best friend) and I got the wedding ready within three weeks," says McNeil.
"It's kind of sad, my mother was dying and I was the only one in the family who didn't get married in a Catholic church. She asked me if we could get married in one so we did.
"She was too ill to come, so we sent her the pictures, the videotape, and a copy of the marriage certificate."
Even though McNeil is married (again), as the manager of a busy hotel constantly dealing with the public, she says she still draws many admirers.
"Some of the local people come in here and continuously ask me to marry them," McNeil laughs. "It's always an adventure."
Of course, like with any job, there are the usual ups and downs. "It's wonderful," McNeil says. "I love my job. Some days I don't love my job, but I love what I do. I purposely chose this career."
And after six years, little has changed. "The North has been good to me," says McNeil. "The people have been great, and I can't see myself leaving home."
