So many interesting stories to be told..
I had an uncle in the Airforce who flew planes in Penhold for many years…he had
retired after WW2 back to a Saskatchewan farm but had to re-enlist after my
cousin contracted polio and he needed the health benefits that no one had
except military and government..
As the Diefenbaker I remember being in the CP rail yards of Calgary (about 6
years old) listening to him ‘stumping’ off the back of a train…
D
Sent from my iPhone
On May 16, 2021, at 10:08 PM, Bob Thomlinson <bthomlinson@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Not Penfield. Penhold is the town about 8 km south of the airport. The old
military barracks were sold to a developer and the new subdivision is called
Springbrook.
Cheers,
Bob
On May 16, 2021, at 10:00 PM, Willow Arune <walittleboots9@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There was a rumour in Edmonton that one hydro building contained a staircase
leading to that kind of bunker. And the military training base - was that
not in penfield?
The Prince George BC runway was also extended, hoping to be a gas stop for
planes coming from China. In all my years there only one 747 and that huge
Russian commercial plane landed there. A short time ago, when the airport
was extended, the CN railyards had a large renovation, the highway south was
four laned for much of its way, and the city built a large industrial park
intended for warehousing. Prince Rupert port expansion too. The port, like
Vancouver, is land locked. The idea seemed to be that containers could be
unloaded in Rupert and go by existing rail lines to Prince George and held
there until needed. If we had inland duty free Ports, as the US has, no
duty would be paid the goods until they left for Chicago. You can see this
on a globe. Rupert is actually closer to Chinesemanufacturing than any
American West Coast port with good rail and transportation connections to
the US. Leo the concept had merit.
Willow
Willow
On Sun, May 16, 2021 at 9:36 PM Bob Thomlinson <bthomlinson@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Willow,
Another site that might have been of interest was the DiefenBunker on the
east side of Hwy 2A at the turn into the Red Deer airport. This was one of
several built across the country to house government if the Russians nuked
the capital of our home and native land. Kind of like the tunnels under
Dover Castle. It was built under a wheat field and the access was hidden
but still there when we moved to Central Alberta. Eventually they decided
it was a safety concern and filled it in and sold the land to the farmer.
The Red Deer airport has struggled to find its way but was a training base
for military pilots in the past. It has a very long runway and it able to
land planes a lot larger than you might expect. I owned part of a hanger
there for a while. The long runway and distance from a major city is
supposedly why they chose it for a DiefenBunker. As if the Russians
wouldn’t figure to look for places with good transportation and long
runways. No social media so a different time.
Cheers,
Bob
On May 16, 2021, at 8:16 PM, Willow Arune <walittleboots9@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Thanks Bob. I may head up there next week.
Willow
On Sun, May 16, 2021 at 8:05 PM Bob Thomlinson <bthomlinson@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Although they cut up the prototypes, there is a full scale Avro Aero
model indoors at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin. They are also
exhibiting some of the drawings. The model was created for a CBC movie
but not all of it is covered in aluminum. Only the parts needed for
close ups. The rest is painted wood. Still very impressive.
Cheers,
Bob
On May 16, 2021, at 5:27 PM, Willow Arune <walittleboots9@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I agree. Cancelation and especially cutting the prototypes was
vindictive. I almost articled in Kamloops with Fulton’s firm. Yes he
was a good man, better than Dief. I love your story of sneaking into
the convention BTW. And like him or not, dief had an excellent memory
for faces. I can’t recall. Did the SIU and the Captains and Mates
Associatin which got nasty and closed our ports happpen under Dief,
Stanford, or Pearson? I recall a thug from the US escaped from prison
during the strike.
Willow
On Sun, May 16, 2021 at 4:58 PM akfarmilo2 <akfarmilo2@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Ah yes Diefenbaker....he who trashed the Avro Arrow and with it a large
part of Canada's airplane (and space) development and resources.
I interviewed Dief during the Conservative convention when he was
replaced by Bob Stanfield. My personal favorate Davey Fulton lost out.
I crashed the convention actually. They allowed observers in the grey
seats way up at the top of Maple Leaf Gardens. Earlier I had
discovered that if you went into the men's washroom on the North side
there was a service door that accessed a stairwell down to the gold
seats at rinkside. I had worn a suit and jacket and brought a notepad
(paper version of course). Most men had doffed their jackets as it was
very hot, and since most badges were on the jackets many men did not
have a visible badge. I joined a crowd of reporters trying to
interview Dief as he walked off the rink area through a narrow gate.
By the time he exited I had entered the rink area. I spent the
afternoon interviewing all the leader candidates and also Pierre Burton
for the fictional newspaper the Yellow Grass ( Sask) Agricultural
Record. Had thirty pages of notes that afternoon, tons of fun and a
(somewhat dubious) little place in history.
YITBOS Jim
PS. Likely could not do that kind of thing today. 😆
Sent from my Samsung device over Bell's LTE network.
-------- Original message --------
From: Willow Arune <walittleboots9@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: 16-05-2021 15:02 (GMT-05:00)
To: dsp-ea-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Black
P.S. Finding a mint copy of LordBlack’s History of Canada was great. A
lucid and well written book that captivates rather than bores. Just
finished with Mackenzie King and onward to St. Laurent. Then
Diefenbaker. I first met him when I worked as a news photographer at
CFRN Edmonton. After his ouster, at the Edmonton airport. Some decades
later he came to Campbell River and actually recognized me when I asked
him to sign his three volume autobiography!
