Operation Bonfire 2020

In-person cadet training resumed on Saturday, October 3.  The cadets & I were glad we could finally begin the 2020-21 Regular Training Year.  The cadets played sports on Saturday, and shot Daisy Air Rifles on Sunday.  On Wednesday, October 7, the cadets reviewed drill.  I made a list of items the cadets needed for their uniforms.

The first big event of the year was the annual weekend bonfire.  I scheduled the event for the evening of Saturday, October 10.  All planning & preparation had to be done in advance because there would be no time on the day in question.  There was marksmanship in the morning and sports in the afternoon. 

The cadets created three lists for the bonfire on October 7: personal kit, corps kit, and food.  Personal kit was their responsibility.  The cadets had to help me assemble the corps kit & buy the food from the Co-op.  Corps kit contains things like paper towels, garbage bags, scissors, roasting sticks, shovels, matches, Firestarter sticks, and toilet paper.  For food, I bought hot dogs, marshmallows, juice boxes, and granola bars. 

We assembled at the school’s gym to take attendance & load the supplies into two pickup trucks.  Frank lent me one of his trucks and a senior cadet was able to borrow their parents’ truck.  We drove to the airport and arrived at 6:45pm.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to secure an ATV & trailer.  We had to walk down to the bonfire area behind the airport.  The wood we burn is collected along the shoreline during the August beach cleanup.  The cadets have been keeping this area clean since 2013.  Even though we couldn’t do a cleanup this year, there is still plenty of wood in the woodpile.  It took some time to reach the firepit because we had to carry everything with us.  The heaviest items were the juice boxes.

The junior cadets shoveled the snow off the wood pile and brought wood pieces to the firepit.  The senior cadets arranged the wood pieces while I organized the food table.  A large round wooden table has been at this location since I arrived in the community.  The senior cadets used matches, Firestarter sticks, and naphtha to get the wood to burning.  The fire grew to an acceptable size after 10 minutes. 

Everyone grabbed a roasting stick and immediately proceeded to the food table.  The hot dogs were distributed first.  The hot dogs were roasted to various degrees of doneness.  I like my hot dogs roasted with a few black streaks.  Some cadets roasted theirs completely black.  The hot dog buns & condiments were next.  I only bought one ketchup bottle & one mustard bottle.  No one eats relish. 

The cadets continued to feed the fire with larger pieces of wood.  The fire grew taller & brighter.  I occasionally glanced towards the community, wondering if the people could see the fire.  The heat from the flames pushed us away.  The cadets took many pictures with my camera. 

Marshmallows were for dessert.  I roast mine quickly.  Some cadets like the outer layer to be roasted black.  Some marshmallows were lost to the fire.

I bought two boxes of granola bars this year to give cadets a third choice.  Eating too many hot dogs & marshmallows can make a person sick.  As for the juice boxes, it’s always good to have beverages at a bonfire.

The festivities continued the building a second bonfire.  I didn’t mind.  The more wood we burned the better.  Anything to shrink the size of the woodpile.  Lighting the whole pile requires a lot of Firestarter sticks and naphtha.  That fire would last for days, and the cadets & I don’t have the time to watch it until the end.  So, we’re forced to burn wood in small batches.

The bonfires attracted the attention of two Inuit hunters.  They were returning from a bird hunt along the Road to Nanisivik and decided to see what was happening behind the airport.  They drove up in two ATVs.  They said they saw our fires from far away.  One of the hunters was a former student of mine.  They stayed for some time, watching the fire, and talking to the cadets.      

I scheduled the bonfire to finish at 8:30pm.  We actually stayed 15 minutes longer, most likely because of the perfect weather – not too cold & no wind – and leftover food.  I had to shut everything down at 8:45pm because I didn’t want annoyed guardians & parents coming down looking for their kids.  The fires were extinguished with lots of snow.  The cadets helped me pack the leftovers & corps kit.  The garbage bags were tied shut.

We began the long walk back to the airport parking lot.  The cadets led the way.  I was the last one to leave because I needed to make sure no one was left behind.  It was very dark outside but most of us had flashlights.  The pickup trucks were running when I got to the parking lot.  I left the key in the ignition and thankfully, no one took Frank’s truck for a joy ride.  The senior cadet drove half of the cadets home.  I did the same with the other half.  I returned Frank’s truck the following day.

Another successful bonfire completed.