ODDS’N’SODS — A belated public thank-you

It was time for Gerry Lecompte to return to Val d’Or, Que., and his wallet was nowhere to be found.

In order to get home, he borrowed some cash from fellow miners and a credit card from project manager Doug Thomson.

It was early autumn in 1985. Gerry had the uneasy feeling that he would never see his wallet again.

The project was a shaft-sinking job at Salnita, 150 miles north of Yellowknife, N.W.T. Gerry was an electrician for R.M. Drilling (now Talpa Mining); he had installed the hoist and, on completion, left for home. A week before Christmas, Gerry received a telephone call from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who wanted to see him.

“What now?,” Gerry thought.

When Gerry arrived, the officer handed him a plastic bag, inside of which was his wallet.

It contained his personal papers, credit card and $350 in cash — just the way he had lost it.

The police had a name. Although he has tried, Gerry has been unsuccessful in locating him. Thank you, Frank Kense, where ever you are.

— George Macmillan is a resident of Val d’Or, Que.