The NetLetter
For Air Canada Retirees
(Part of the ACFamily Network)
August 6, 2013 - Issue 1266
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First Issue published in October 1995!
(over 5,400 subscribers)
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NetLetter Past Issues
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Donation Information
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Send cheques payable to "ACFamily Network" to:
ACFamily Network
#800 - 15355 24th Ave, Suite 523
Surrey, BC V4A 2H9
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Sponsors
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Greetings!
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Welcome to the NetLetter!
We welcome you to allow the NetLetter to be your platform and opportunity to relive your history while working for either TCA, AC, CPAir, CAIL, PWA, AirBC, Wardair, etal and share your experiences with us! 
Terry Baker and the NetLetter Team
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| Upcoming Events - Compiled by Terry Baker |
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 Fly-In Lunch Edenvale Airport
The Fly-In lunch at the Edenvale Airport ( CNV8 ) has been re-scheduled for Tuesday the 13th of August with a rain date of the 14th. Arrivals anytime after 10am, lunch at 12 noon.
For further information, please call Ken at 705 797-0083 or Fred Thompson at 905 848-3339. Let's hope the weather co-operates for us this time. Ken Patry
The London U.K. Pionairs have organized a boat trip on Thursday August 22, departing Runnymede at 11:00 for Windsor, arriving at 12:30. The boat then departs Windsor at 4 pm, arriving back at Runnymede at 5:30 pm. It's £11 for members, £13 for non-members , and £5 for children from 3 to 15 years, under 3 years are free. Limited space available. Contact Jack Morath, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if interested.
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| Reader Submitted Photos - Compiled by Terry Baker |
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 Reader Submitted Photos - The photos and information below have been submitted to us by our faithful readers.
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Since I'm a former FA with C.P. Air, I am always on the lookout for any Canadian Pacific/C.P. Air airline related memorabilia. Recently, while at a yard sale in my community of Knowlton, Quebec, I came across these two Air Canada schedules and because they are commemorating the 40th anniversary of Air Canada 1977, I thought that perhaps you might be interested in posting them in the NetLetter.
Best regards, Nancy
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After reading the article about the Gimli glider under "Alan's Space" in NetLetter nr 1264, Robert Arnold has dug out these photos from his collection.
It is hard to believe it has been 30 years since I took these photos. I was there the day it came in for the historic landing and watched the whole thing unfold. I remember well the incredible side slip that was made as I watched it come in. I also remember the eerie silence just before touch down, and then did it ever get noisy. My problem was, I had left the camera at home that day. What a day to leave the camera at home. I was able to capture these photos the following day and again the day after. By this time they had towed it beside a hangar to start the repairs and prepare the aircraft for the ferry flight to Winnipeg. The aircraft to the left is a former Air Canada Viscount, CF-THF with Ontario Central livery painted above the window line.
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| TCA/Air Canada People Gallery - Compiled by Terry Baker |
 Below we have musings from the "Between Ourselves" and "Horizons" magazine, Air Canada publications from years gone by, as well as various in-house publications. The NetLetter has been fortunate enough to have our readers donate vintage Trans-Canada Air Lines and Air Canada publications from as far back as 1941 to share with you. These have been scanned and are being prepared for presenting in a special area of the ACFamily Network for archival and genealogy research.
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Issue dated - March 1953
Some items gleaned from the "Between Ourselves" magazines.
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The first TCARA (Trans-Canada Air Lines Recreation Association) the fore runner of the present ACRA was first formed at Winnipeg in April 1941. Ed Winnik edited the "NewsGram" magazine which started in February 1953 to keep its members up to date with events and news.
The fourth TCARA was formed at Vancouver in June 1944, and Henry Brown produced the "Caravan" magazine for the members starting in October 1952.
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Issue dated - September 1977
Some items gleaned from the "Horizon" magazines.
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 Halifax Anniversary
Sales, Operations, Maintenance and In-Flight Service in Halifax put their heads together and came up with a dashing float in the annual Halifax Natal Day parade marking the city's 228th anniversary. Using the company's 40th anniversary as a theme, passenger agent and flight attendants donned uniforms from past and present era. The idea of participating in the parade came from Halifax's Sale Promotion Committee and was helped along by the hard work of many employees.
Passenger Agent Robin Wyllie came up with the design while Kelvin MacKenzie, Chief Mechanic was largely responsible for construction of the tail fin. Shown on the float are, from the left: Charmaine LeBlanc, General Clerk, In-Flight Service; Flight Attendants Solly Eskenazi and Ginnette Goujean; Margie Molson, Passenger Agent; Kristanne Collier, Flight Attendant Supervisor; Carolyn Coffill, Passenger Agent; and Flight Attendants Johanne Ladreville and Dale Littie.
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 The re-enactment of the company's first flight. A planeload of spirited passengers took off from Vancouver airport September 1, 1977 bound for Seattle's Boeing Field in a re-enactment of the company's first scheduled flight forty year ago to the day. In contrast with the ten-seat Lockheed L10A of that lime, the latest version of the B727 C-GAAJ fin 410 c/n 20941 was used, carrying aviation pioneers, member of the Board of Directors, civic dignitaries, company executives and a large number of retired and active employees representing years of dedicated service to the airline from its small beginnings to the giant it is today.
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 Boeing Field. Captain McGregor was co-pilot of the first flight, September 1, 1937, from Vancouver to Seattle.
From the left are: McGregor; Purser Marianne Crottaz; Flight Attendants Eva Mossop, Leslie Nelson, Mabel Wilson, Marge Cymbala and Harvey Lomer; Second Officer Andre Lamy; Captains Bob Christie and Keith Sanderson.
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 Here is some information from the 1930's, "Instructions for Hostesses".
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| Alan's Space - by Alan Rust |
The Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS) is having their 50th Anniversary this year. To celebrate they have a special 50th Anniversary Calendar and other items for sale on their web site.
I know that many subscribers to the NetLetter are either CAHS members already or would like to join or at least buy a calendar or other items for themselves or for gifts for family or friends.
 If you're interested, please visit the CAHS website by clicking here. The deadline for pre-orders and payments is 15 Aug 2013.
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Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc. People & Events
- Compiled by Terry Baker
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 News and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and its "ancestry" of contributing airlines. |
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Issue dated - July 1980
Items from the "CPAir NEWS" magazine -
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The year 1980 was the 50th anniversary of flight attendant service in the airline industry, and CP Air celebrated it with a "Jewel" on its platter of plaudits. She was none other than Jewel Butler, one of the first two flight attendants hired by former President Grant McConachie in 1941, and she was found after a search through the old company records and the days telephone books. Where? Surprisingly, residing only three blocks away from Edmonton's City Ticket Office, the city where she began serving on CP Air's oldest route, the Edmonton-Whitehorse multi-stop now known as Flight 31.
Jewel left Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1943 when she married and became Mrs. O'Hanlon. Jewel and her friend Melba Tamney, who became Mrs. R.N. Goldie, had trained together as nurses at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital prior to pioneering as flight attendants with McConachie's Yukon Southern Air Transport, which later merged with other small lines to become Canadian Pacific Air Lines, Limited.
On July 7th, 1980, Mrs. O'Hanlon made a nostalgic trip up the line to Whitehorse, dressed in a recreated original CP Air uniform, in recognition of the 50th anniversary.
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 PROJECTED TRAFFIC patterns and development of CP Air's winter 1980-81 and summer 1981 schedules for Western Canada Services were the main topics of discussion at the airline's semi-annual regional managers' meeting held June 18-19 in Whitehorse.
From left, on the wing of a restored CPA DC-3 at Whitehorse Airport, are Dan Burton, Grande Prairie manager; Wolf Wiedemann, Vancouver, assistant vice-president, sales and service; Norm Dawkin, Fort Nelson manager; Vic Cheropita, Watson Lake manager; Ralph Sharp, Prince George manager; and Norm Dartnell, Fort St. John manager.
From left on ground, Hammy Smillie, Vancouver, senior reservations controller; Chris Ketchum, Vancouver, route planning and development manager for domestic routes; Warwick Beadle, Whitehorse manager; Paul Kirkpatrick, Vancouver, route analyst; Al Vance, Vancouver, sales planning manager for Western Canada Services; Tom Laurie, Terrace/Kitimat manager; George McBurnle, Vancouver, public relations representative; and Bill Shilvock, Vancouver, director of Western Canada Services.
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 In 1979, the CPAir's Pionairs was organized and here we have this photo from the second annual luncheon held in Vancouver was attended by some 650 retirees and spouses from across Canada and as far away as Denmark, England and Australia.
Word got around about last year's event because attendance was up by about 100 and together years of service of this year's group totaled 9,037 years.
Among participants are from left: Mel Stackhouse, Ruth and Gordon Stock, Florence Fraser, Pat Semple and Ken Fraser.
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| Reader's Feedback - Compiled by Terry Baker |
Every week we ask our readers for their stories or feedback on what they have read here in previous issues. Below is the feedback we have received recently.
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| Regarding Airline Names from the Past, Gordon Mackenzie sends us this email: The one airline that flew more on the B.C. coast was B.C. Airlines and at one time in number of aircraft was the third largest in Canada. They also flew into more places in B.C. than any other airline. This is one of the unlisted former airlines. Gordon Mackenzie |
After reading the information about Hounslow Heath aerodrome in NetLetter nr 1257, Stuart Hyde in the UK did some investigation and found this photo of a plaque erected on Hounslow Heath.
It shows photographs taken 20 years ago of the plinth with the scroll
fitted to it. I went to find Hounslow Heath on Saturday last. Sadly, the whole plinth and metal scroll are in a bad state of repair. It is sad to see such damage to a very prestigious and important aviation replica. It would be nice to see it all completely refurbished, but it's not in an ideal situation, as Hounslow has changed enormously since Hounslow Heath first started operations.
H ere is the photo taken 20 years ago.
The inscription reads - "This plaque marks the entrance to London's first civil airport London Terminal Aerodrome Hounslow Heath
August 1919 - March 1920.
From here the first British International Airline operated
and the first flight from Europe to Australia was made." |
 This photo shows the deteriation and vandalism. |
The article in NetLetter nr 1263 regarding the fumes in 737 Church Street brings back this memory for Juanita (Scott) Ollivier: I read Judy McKay's and also Allen Knapp's comments. I certainly remember Al Knapp, & he might have known me by my maiden name, Juanita Scott.
As I said, in the picture, I only remember Keith Nablo (that is the correct spelling not Noble) & I recall all the faces but not their names. I was seated speaking on the phone in one shot & in the other I was seated with one foot on the chair. Al would likely remember Pat Scott-Heppler & Robbie Simich as well... Michael Power, etc. And we were located above Austin Motors at 737 Church St. I turned down the offer to work at the airport, so was never there except as a passenger. I left TCA to work at CPA in the Royal York hotel ticket office. I was formerly with CPA at the airport in Vancouver. I married Bert Ollivier in May 1953. |
Alan Evans, residing in South Africa, had this memory resurrected by the article in NetLetter nr 1259 under "Odds & Ends":
I was surprised to see your article from Jack Stephens regarding Camp Canol. This was not the only thing the US Army had to do in that area. In 1966, I was flying for North West Explorers in the North West Territories and Arctic later joined Bob Engels with Northwest territorial Airways. During the summer of 1966, I was flying the two owners of Northwest explorers, regretfully the names I cannot remember. On one trip into the Arctic circle, myself and one of the owners landed at Port Radium Great Bear Lake. This mine had been abandoned since the war. The whole mine including the clothing, household goods and furniture were left as the personnel were flown out. We slept in the old kitchen which was very much intact. The prospector, (I tried to remember who the prospector was but from a signature in my old log book but I cannot make out his full name -it looks something like MacBeth but the last part is definitely some --beth) then went about his explorations with me returning some days later from Yellowknife to collect him. He gave me a piece if native silver which he had extracted from the old mine and was convinced he had found the motherload. I should have invested in his exploration company as he was right and Port Radium on Echo Bay became one of the biggest silver mines in Canada. Today it has been raised including the buildings and runway, big enough for the mines private B727, everything returned to its natural state after years of silver productivity.
The point of this story is that it was from this mine, Port Radium that the uranium used to manufacture the first A Bomb was obtained. It was shipped down the Great Bear lake on barges then eventually on to the Mackenzie via the Norm Wells U.S Army camp, then west to meet army road transport, eventually to the States. All top secret.
In 1967, I flew as far North as Resolute Bay, Chimo, Victoria islands, Copper mine, Hudson Bay, and more. The DEW line was operational and I used to visit some of them as well. After the Arctic and North West, I joined P.W.A. I flew with P.W.A on the DC-6 operating into Norm Wells and to my recollection the US Army camp at Camp Canol was still there, the old runway being used by bush pilots. At that time I believe I was the only South African flying the N.W.T and Arctic. More uranium was obtained from the Congo being flown out by an old Pan Am China clipper flying boat. The same old Clipper crashed while attempting to land on the bay at Trinidad. She was a flying wreck but was passed by the CAA to do the secret Congo Leopoville flight. Not many clippers survived nor the original crew that made the initial Pacific crossing. Cheers Alan
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Odds and Ends.
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 Sometimes we receive articles and information that just doesn't fit in our other areas. This is where it goes!
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 We received this photo from George Duchow with the following information:
This is from a 1960's trip his grandparents took to Canada. I'm am researching the places my grandparents visited since they did not leave detailed information. I have a photo of "Moffat's Motel", which I believe to be somewhere in Western Canada, showing an ACRA sign, and I'm hoping there may be a record of the address of this motel in old documents. I do know this about the trip: my grandparents and cousins were at Bourchart Gardens near Victoria, took a ferry to Vancouver and then drove to Banff, visiting attractions in that area. They then went on to Yoho Provincial Park and Glacier National Park. From there they went "across the Canadian Desert" to Kenora and on to Duluth. I would appreciate any help you may be able to provide. Thank you very much for your time and attention to my inquiry. Sincerely, George Duchow
(George sent the enquiry mainly due to the "Member of ACRA" sign (hard to see but if you enlarge the photo, it's there) and thought it may have referred to the Air Canada Recreation Association (ACRA). Our ACRA was never associated with any accommodations, so this is not a good lead. We, at the NetLetter, searched the internet for such organizations with the acronym of ACRA, ie Alberta Camping & Recreation Association, or Antique Car Rally Association and numerous other combinations but to no avail. Perhaps one of our readers may be able to help George - eds) |
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) has proposed a second runway for the airport as being a more cost-effective and speedier solution to the southeast's capacity problems instead of a third runway at London Heathrow Airport.
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Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips - by Terry Baker
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 Some interline deals - September in Europe is beautiful. The crowds are winding down, the lines to attractions are shorter and the weather is the best all year. The prices are too. Call today, pricing and availability change quickly.
Sept 1 from London(Dover) Carnival Legend 12 Day $799/$899/$999
London(Dover)/Sea/Alesund Norway/Bergen Norway/Stavenger Norway/Sea/Oslo/Sea/Hamburg/Amsterdam/Zeebrugge Belgium/Le Havre France/London(Dover) $799/$899/$999
Sept 8 from Venice to Barcelona Carnival Sunshine 12 Day $809/$909/$1559
Venice/Venice/Dubrovnik/Sea/Athens/Izmir/Sea/Messina Sicily/Naples/Rome/ Livorno/Marseilles/Barcelona
Sept 20 from Barcelona Carnival Sunshine 9 Day $689/$739/$1089
Barcelona/Marseilles/Monaco/Livorno/Rome/Naples/Messina/Sa/Palma de Mallorca/Barcelona.
US$ pricing Prices shown are per person based on double occupancy, port charges and gov't taxes are additional.
636 536 1119 Fax: 636 536 7760 www.airwayvacations.com
Double discount for employee/retiree in-flight duty free purchases during August! For the month of August we will be holding an in-flight duty free promotion, and that means employee/retiree discounts will double to 20%! Simply show your employee/retiree ID card on flights where we offer duty-free products for sale to receive the discount and pay with a credit card. Happy shopping!
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| Smileys - Compiled by Terry Baker |
As we surf the internet and back issues of airline magazines we regularly find airline related jokes and cartoons. Below is our latest discovery.
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 With the company having to sweeten the compensation package for oversales and delays, we thought this cartoon by Dave Mathias which appeared in the "Between Ourselves" magazine issued July 1963 was appropriate.
Nattanya H Andersen thought this url would give a chuckle -
Air Traffic Controller: "Where's Toronto?" - YouTube (see video below)
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| Air Traffic Controller: "Where's Toronto?" |
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The NetLetter is an email newsletter published (usually) once a week and contains a mixture of nostalgia, current news and travel tips. We encourage our readers to submit their stories, photos and/or comments from either days gone by or from present day experiences and trips. If we think that the rest of our readers will enjoy it, we will publish it here.
We also welcome your feedback in regard to anything we post here. Many readers have commented with additional information, names and personal memories from the photos and articles presented here.
The NetLetter, which is free, is open to anyone that wishes to subscribe but is targeted to retired employees from Air Canada, Canadian Airlines and all the other companies that were part of what Air Canada is today. Thanks for joining us!
We hope you have enjoyed this issue of the NetLetter, see you next week!
Sincerely,
Your NetLetter Team
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Disclaimer: Please note, that neither the NetLetter or the ACFamily Network necessarily endorse any of the airline related or other "deals" that we provide for our readers. We would be interested in any feedback (good or bad) when using these companies though and will report the results here. We do not (normally) receive any compensation from any companies that we post in our newsletters. If we do receive a donation or other compensation, it will be indicated as a sponsored article or link.
E&OE - (errors and omissions excepted) - The historical information as well as any other information provided here is subject to correction and may have changed over time. We do publish corrections when they are brought to our attention.
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First published in October, 1995
- Chief Pilot - Terry Baker, Nanaimo, B.C.
- Co-pilot - Alan Rust, Surrey, B.C.
- Flight Engineer - Bill Rowsell, Londesboro, Ontario
- Stewardess - Lisa Ruck, Brooklin, Ontario
To contact us, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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