KL: An Introduction
It’s not easy trying to describe the people that make Kirkland Lake the unique community that it is. Simple words you read on a screen or on a piece of paper don’t do justice to the complexity and diversity of a society. Statistical analysis helps. For example, Statistics Canada’s 2001 census figures show a modest sized community not unlike many others in northern Ontario:
- Population: 8,616 people, pretty evenly split between male
and female
- Median age of local resident – 41.3 years
- Per cent of population 15 years and older: 81.6%
- Largest age group: 25-44 years of age, followed by 5-14 and
45-54 age groups
- English is primary language (77% of population), followed by
French (16 % of population)
- Most people are married (3,175 people aged 15 and older) and
own their own homes
But such facts and figures do a poor job
of communicating the flavor of the community – those intangible
elements that determine how it feels to live or even visit here.
For that, one must refer to the real people, not statistics. Listen,
for example, the musings of Marian Botsford Fraser, a Kirkland Lake
native now residing in southern Ontario and working as a freelance
writer, broadcaster and critic. On her web site www.marianbotsfordfraser.ca,
she shares her impressions of a visit home:
“When you come up here you speak a totally different
language. It unleashes a kind of honesty. You can’t lie about your
age because everyone knows exactly where you fit in or where you
used to fit in. It’s important to be one of the guys. People are
robust, supportive of one another, they have huge affection, passion
for the town. Some of the men are suspended in some way, still teenage
boys; it’s still part of ethos to talk about how late you stayed
out drinking. Fundamental ethos: love kids, be loyal to families,
send your kids to college, give them a better opportunity, build
a big house or cottage if you can, those are the values. The real
things are real.
Northern resource towns are like dancers; they get thrown on the dust heap when they are deemed useless. Big companies, big cities exploit and continue to exploit; they have never paid a price, they just ship up their greed and take out what they can.
Up here you drive your car like a truck, one hand over steering wheel, knee up against the door, preferably wearing a peaked cap...”
Kirkland Lake..a small town, unpretentious, maybe a little rough around the
edges. But it's home.
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