Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

The NetLetter

 (part of the ACFamily Network)

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Do you remember the "good old days" when we used to get substantial discounts by just mentioning that we were airline employees and flashing our ID cards?  Now with so many web sites offering discounted rates to everyone on the internet, true Airline discounts have all but disappeared. To come to the rescue (and save us money) we have partnered with CARP to bring back some of the deals that we have been missing. By capitalizing on the buying power (or grey power) of over 300,000 retiree/members, they provide one of the best options for finding savings. Using this collective buying power, YOU CAN SAVE BIG MONEY on Health & Home Care, Financial & Insurance Services, Entertainment, Shopping, Telephone, Travel, Car Rentals, Roadside Assistance, Funeral & Memorial Services...and much more.

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Please view the videos below for more information and if you are interested, please join CARP through this link. As an additional bonus, all NetLetter subscribers that join CARP will get a complimentary subscription to the (new) ACFamily Network (worth $12) which will be coming online early in 2012. Please follow this link to subscribe or learn more.

This would make a good last minute Christmas Gift for anyone that's a ZOOMER (over 45 years old).

CARP Infomation

CARP Affinity Partners

Due to the inability of the Kapuskasing airport to handle the Viscount aircraft which the company plans to substitute for the DC-3 on the northern Ontario route, service will be suspended on December 31st 1957.

During this year, the new Timmins Terminal building at Montreal Airport accommodated the entire "heart" of TCA's operation, housing the Cargo, flight planning, crew scheduling, ramp agents and station manager.

"WALLY" COURTNEY, DSM, Victoria , first sales employee, turns photographer at a party held for him in Vancouver on the anniversary of his 20 years' service with the Company. He was the recipient of a ZEISS camera given to him by his many TCA friends.

Smiling pretty for cameraman Courtney from the left are: Jack Robinson, DSM, VR; Jack McLean, DSM, QR: Jim Findlay, Assistant to the RSM, VR; Ernie Locke, DSM, YC; Ted Deyman, DSM, SEA; Jack Dolby, RSM, VR; Gordon Wilson , Director of Passenger Sales, UL; Gordon Gaffikan, Area Sales Manager, LAX; Tom Moore, DSM, WG; Don McLaren, Executive Assistant, VR; Len Sampson, DSM, XE.

On the 10th anniversary of service to Hamilton Ontario, a new ticket/Sales office was opened.

Here we have, from the left, R.C.Rathwell, T.C.Charles, Mrs B.J.Meldrum and H.A.Smith.

MANITOBA INDUSTRIAL LEAGUE CHAMPS - The TCA Fastball team, emerged winners in the recent
playoffs of the 19.team Manitoba League.

The team was organized in 1956 and is composed of players from all departments in TCA. Players are: Front row, from the left: G. Letourneau, D. Garvie, E. Boren, F. Lanyon (Coach) , Dave Johnson (Manager) , Dave Dallinger, Dick Lanyon, Jim Ursel, E. Ste. Marie.

Back row, from the left: B. Hotel, J . Canacher, Ross Lowrie, Barrie Burton,  Ed MacDonald, G. Ste. Marie, Gord Smith, Don Wilkinson and Neil Chambers. Not shown in the picture are G. Timlick and E. Yozenko .
(Judging from the crutches sported by B. Hotel, the playoffs must have been quite intense, if so that may account for the two missing players - eds)

Toronto employees had an opportunity to tour the Company's first 727 still sporting plastic covering on
its 144 seats and smelling like a new car.

Escorted by Passenger Agent Eugene Gonzales, Elaine House and Louise Volpe of Personnel take their first look at the aircraft, one of five to enter Rapidair service in October.

Ed Gallagher, Procurement Supervisor, Purchasing & Facilities, Winnipeg ended a 28-year company career surrounded by some 200 friends who would not allow him and wife EIsie to forget Air Canada.

Among the gifts presented to the Gallaghers were a Viscount window inscribed with the names of fellow workers, a pencil holder made by CAE staff from a condemned fuel pump rotor and a miniature oxygen bottle.

In addition, Ed received a certificate from the Company sponsored 177 Air Cadet Squadron in appreciation of his help to that organization.

Shown at the retirement party are, from the left : John Bordian,  Sam Brown, (CAE),  Don Wilbur, (CAE); Les McDowell,  EIsie and Ed; Kitch Olson and Wally Sinkwich.

INSPECTING NEW FACILITIES at Tokyo's new international airport at Narita prior to the move from Haneda airport al the end of March are, from left: Misao Kosano. marketing & sales admln. Shizuo Hoshino, catering supervisor and Franz Metzger. station manager.

After 11 postponements and despite the presence of 15,000 protesters and 13,000 military/riot police in the area, Narita airport, Japan, finally opened peacefully on May 20.

The first CP Air aircraft (742), Flight 401 from Vancouver, touched down at the new airport the following day, Crew members were: Captain L. G. Moffan; First Officer E. J. Quinlan; Second Officer W. C. Cowan; Passenger Service Director Van Aarup and flight attendants Natsuko Masuda, Sally Mussallem, LI Kwong, Olivia Van Soldt, Dorlnka Reggl, Fred Hofer, Carol Blackmore, Hal Staud, Susan Achlam, Masako Naganuma, Gabi O'Brien and Louise Morton.

Vancouver-based personnel at Narita to observe the first arrival were: John Stimson, manager, security. Jim Wilkinson, manager,facilities, planning.

Charles W. Townley of Kingston, Ont., wrote to the company in these words: "Thought you might like to see how a senior citizen put in the time on a recent flight from Edmonton to Toronto. My wife and I enjoyed the flight immensely and hope to fly again with CP Air."  

Attached was this poem:

Eastward bound on a seventhirty-seven,
Up there the birds don't fly,
A few kilometers closer to Heaven,
In a cloudless azure blue sky.
 
Our thoughts are high and our spirits too,
As we wing our way through space,
With faith and navigation true...
And our seat belts hooked in place.
 
On the intercom comes our Captain's voice,
"We're making our descent to the 'Peg,"
Destination for some...fly on is our choice,
As we prepare for the second last leg.
 
Ascending aloft and on to Hogtown,
We fly with the speed of a comet,
Our passage is sure...we cannot bog down,
Praise the Lord...praise also Mahomet.
 
We wine and we dine in the lap of the gods,
As closer we come to our goal,
Then down through the mist to the frozen sods,
Wheels down...on the tarmac we roll.
 
So here's to our plane, the skipper and crew
For a very fine flight from the west.
I'm sure you'll agree, as we do too,
That Canadian Pacific is the best.
 
Responding and not be outdone, Sheila Cameron and Cliff Cunningham, headquarters customer relations representatives, sent the Townley's the following reply with the notation "with apologies to poets, past and present":

We thank you for your poem
That says it all-in rhyme.
We're glad you had a good flight
That brought you home on time.
 
The crew was pleased to serve you,
The staff at each end, too.
We're glad you "Caught our Spirit"
And liked the way we flew.  

FAREWELL PARTY was held in Lima to mark transfer of Eric Scher, formerly airport services manager there, to Winnipeg where he is reservations / CTO manager.

Among guests were, from left: C. Bastidas, office boy; C. Maldonado, accounting clerk, Mr. Scher; G Boutellier, flight attendant: C. Franchy, supervisor, sales & service. cargo, and R. Zegarra, cashier.

BACK IN UNIFORM for heavy summer travel period are Ihese fIve former flight attendants who were recalled under a new program.

From left: Mrs Gertraude (Zajc) Holmes, Mrs. Helen (SmIth) Marshall, Miss Jenny Lamb and Mrs. Pat (Swan) Biggs. Front is Mrs Donna (Knowles) Weatherly.  

George Brien sends us this memory -
Hi folks
NL 1181 had a picture of the new staff in YBG that brought back memories to me.




BAGOTVILLE'S Airport, hub of our activity in the Saguenay area, was the scene for this group photo of our Operations staff there. They are from the left: Jean-Rach Gobeil, Station Attendant, Lionel Comeau, Dennis Kerwin, Jacques Vernier,Roger Gallant and Alfred Leblanc, Operations Agents, and Gaston Yanasse, Station Manager.

George writes -
In Dec. 1955 , I was based in YFC with a title called "Regional Spare Operations Agent", and when Station Manager W I. Himmelman called me into the office and slowly took his pipe out of his mouth, I knew it was time to get my bags packed  Regional Spare was another way of saying "where we need you, we'll send you" 

TCA had just traded off Canada- Mexico City routes with CPA in return for DC3 routes in Quebec YUL/YQB/YBG/YZV and also YUL/YVO/YUY/YYB/YXR/YYZ and I believe they threw in YQA(Muskoka) as a bonus.!!!!

My assignment was to YBG, (Bagotville), an RCAF base in the Kingdom of Saguenay and the job description was a bit vague but to assist in training and setup of the new station. One of the CPA agents, Lionel Comeau, remained and transferred to TCA and we were joined by new recruits Dennis Kerwin and Jock Vernier from YUL who would be trained as Operations Agents.

The new station Manager was Gus Vanesse, an ex Bush Pilot and then Assistant Flight Dispatcher with TCA/YUL.

The Terminal building looked more like a large two story house than an Airport Terminal, even more so because the ex CPA agent along with his wife and children lived on the second floor which made it convenient for us as she provided lunch for us at noon. We all stayed at the Chicoutimi Hotel and since Gus had the only car, he provided the ground transportation for us all.

I was joined by Operations Agent Earl Young from Stephenville and we worked the 8hr x 7day shift for the length of the tour. (Our union was not quite as rigid in those days but we did enjoy a great per diem). Most of our duties consisted in training the new recruits on procedures etc working on the job and since Earl and I were limited in our knowledge of the French language, we had to leave the check in procedures to the ex CPA chap and handle the radio/tely comms along with weight and balance.

At the time we were running North Stars on the route YUL/YQB/YZV and Stn Mgr Gus, as an ex dispatcher, was always trying to make up time on the station stop. One day we went all out and had the passengers/bgge off . reloaded and flight dispatched in 6 mins and that was the highlight of the month for Gus and he got it out of his system , and we went back to normal work pace.

As Christmas drew nearer, I was beginning to worry about getting home. Working 7 day weeks built up some time off so on Dec 23 I got the OK to leave and caught the last seat on the flt deck and made it home for Xmas.

I thought that was the end of the YBG experience but I ended up going back in Jan/56 for another 6 weeks. The people and the team spirit in those days was a great motivator to get things done and although it was about many years ago, I can still recall the great guys we had to work with up there.

George Brien