“Never trust the ice,” Giroux said. “I almost lost my life. In this job, you are close to real problems.”
Giroux took over his father’s trap line, beginning in the winter of 1963-64. He was 18 and was a sturdy 180-pounds of muscle stacked on a five-foot-eight frame. It was Giroux’s last season trapping with his father. Philippe had a heart attack portaging a canoe while minnow trapping in December 1963. He was 48.
Giroux carried on with the business and grew it extensively over the years. Through the decades, Giroux would work jobs in the mines and other industries, but always came back to his trap lines every fall.
He stayed busy.
He married the woman he loved, Patricia, and they were together for 44 years before she passed. Giroux became a father to two boys, Robin and Serge. He helped create a Trapper’s Council and eventually became president of the Ontario Trapper‘s Association and did workshops all over the world because of his outstanding reputation and passion for the trade. He helped make traps more humane and worked with the Fur Institute of Canada. He was in a CBC television feature. Giroux and his family battled natural disasters and the ups and downs of the fur trade industry. Giroux kept at it and built his business. By the late 80s, Giroux had bait trapping licences and opened Al’s Bait and Furs, which still exists today. In 2005, he was awarded by the fur industry with its Man of the Year Award for his dedication to the industry - among an endless list of adventures and experiences that can be read about in his book.
“I did lots of work and I was determined to succeed,” he said. “I love my work and I got involved.”
Giroux wrote the book to share his time from a unique lifestyle. He hopes it hits home to the heart because it came from his heart.
“I have humour, adventures, practical experiences, recipes and even sadness in this book,” he said. “It is also about respecting what we have and being respectful of family, friends, animals, the land and water and nature and people.”
The book has been published in English and French. Copies can be purchased at Ramakko’s Source for Adventure in Greater Sudbury.