This story has a colorful person, personality and place. The person and personality are gone, but the place still exists.
Along Newfoundland’s west coast lies a stretch of land called Wreckhouse. It has proven to be faithful to its name. It has become infamous for the high winds that can blow down from the over 2000-foot-high Long Range Mountains, exploding onto the barren plains below. The force and power of the winds can exceed 124 miles per hour, equaling that of a Category 2 hurricane. It is normally a peaceful and quiet place, but when the winter and spring southeasterly winds come, it can be a very dangerous place to be. Many transport trucks have been blown over on their sides because the driver foolishly ignored local wind warnings.
Today, the Trans-Canada Highway passes through this stretch of land, but there was a time when the Newfoundland Railway cut a straight line through these barren plains. Train engineers feared this stretch of the line, as the fierce winds would often pick up a car and toss it off the rails, causing it to land on its side. This happened to many an unfortunate engineer before Lauchie MacDougall came into the picture.
Lauchie MacDougall
Lauchie MacDougall was a trapper and farmer who lived in Wreckhouse, just a few yards from where the train passed by. He had the unique gift of being able to “smell” the wind, and without any instruments to aid him, Lauchie could predict with near total accuracy when a windstorm was coming. He used his other senses as well; he would observe the cloud formations and what direction they were blowing in the sky. He could also predict storms by how his clapboard house shook when the winds started to blow. Using observations such as these, along with his sensitive nose, he began to advise engineers and railroad officials when he was certain that a storm was coming.
It was 1935 when the Newfoundland Railway hired Lauchie MacDougall, finally having grown weary of the expense and time of retrieving many upended cars. They provided him with a telephone and $20.00 a month pay for his services. He was responsible for calling the Port aux Basques agent, telling him when to stop the trains from going through Wreckhouse. During his tenure, he held up hundreds of trains and is credited with averting many tragedies, even saving many lives.
Better Gifts
Lauchie had a God-given gift which he used in a good way. God tells us that every good gift comes from Him, and He expects us to use it for the good of others. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:1717Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)). The “Father of lights” is God Almighty, and we can love and trust Him because with Him there is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” This means that God is always the same — He never changes. Not only is God loving, kind and good, but He is also holy, just and pure. We are not suited for God’s presence because we are sinners who have rebelled against Him. This is why He sent His Son to die on Calvary’s cross for our sins. Jesus was and is perfect and sinless in every way. He paid our sin-debt towards God in full on the cross! Jesus is God’s perfect gift towards lost mankind. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-98For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8‑9)). Come to God in repentance, putting your faith in the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross for your sins. When you put your trust in Jesus and turn towards God, you are receiving God’s perfect gift of salvation. Accept God’s free gift right now, today, while you are able — you will never regret it!
Outdated?
But there were some among the railway officials who thought that Lauchie’s talents were exaggerated. They thought that this method of having one person decide whether a train should go or stay was, well, rather outdated. So, one day in 1950, when the winds were not that strong, they decided to send the train through even though Lauchie had warned them not to because of a storm that was coming. It proved to be a big mistake. The Wreckhouse winds awoke in full force and spoke for Lauchie MacDougall, tossing several cars off the tracks and stopping the train. One article states three cars were turned over, and another article states that twenty-two were flipped off the tracks. Either way, that did it! The railroad officials learned a hard lesson, and Lauchie MacDougall’s job was secure. Earning respect among the Newfoundland Railway workers, he gained the title of “Gale Sniffer Extraordinaire.”
Though they never disregarded Lauchie’s warnings again, they did try to modernize in a more scientific way later on. They installed an anemometer on the plains at the base of the cliffs with a land line into the Port aux Basques terminal with a gauge that gave wind velocities. But again, the mighty winds took up Lauchie’s cause and blew the anemometer away. Lauchie used his unique gift of wind sniffing for good, and he provided this service to the Newfoundland Railway until his death in 1965.
God’s way of salvation isn’t outdated either. “The word of God is [living], and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:1212For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)). God’s living Word speaks just as clearly as it ever has to the heart and conscience of all. The only question is whether or not we guard our hearts and refuse to believe what God is saying to us.
The next story, Finding Your Way Home, gives another of God’s unique gifts to His creation.