Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

1988 - April 3 –

Non-stop service by AirBC between Victoria and Calgary commenced with the flight continuing to Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

Continuing the Time Travel: 75 Years in Events. Started in NetLetter #1419.

1947 - Frozen meals take off. 

When the new fleet of TCA North Stars arrived in 1947, these heated, pressurized aircraft came equipped with high-speed ovens that could heat frozen foods.

TCA is the first company in Canada to introduce full meals that are flash-frozen, a process invented by Clarence Birdseye, who was inspired after learning how to ice-fish with the Inuit in Labrador.

As TCA stewardess Anne McAllister said at the time, “I defy you to tell the difference between these meals and the ones prepared in your own kitchen.”

Inaugurating service to Chicago.

The North Star was christened on July 1, 1947. The aircraft’s increased power and passenger comfort opened the gates for Canada–U.S. routes to Cleveland, Seattle, Boston and Duluth, Minnesota.

Before the first flight to the Windy City, Commander C.P. Edwards, O.B.E., Deputy of Transport, addressed the crew:

“You will be flying the old Chicago Trail. It was made famous by the covered wagons and their oxen. Then it took days to make the trip from Detroit. After the railways came, the trip was made in some 10 hours. Now the aircraft are flying over this historic trail and you will make the same trip in a couple of hours.”

(Source: http://moments.aircanada.com/timeline)

(More next NetLetter issue– eds)

At the conclusion of the 9th Pionairs AGM in 1986, Ray White, Pionairs Treasurer -  1987 to 1989, penned the poem below:

The Pionairs have wrapped up "Number Nine"
By marking half a century for our Line.
From my vantage point up front, I scanned each face:
Ten thousand years' experience in this place!
Someone from every airline trade is here
To join with friends from almost everywhere,
And celebrate careers with no regret
And past unpleasant things we all forget.
Looking out, and seeing folks I knew.

I thought of how each one had marked my life.
Of hundred met, I've liked all but a few,
And from the lot, years by, I found my wife!
At any time, had fate changed my career,
Some other person would be sitting here.
How seldom do we stop and realize
The way we influence each other’s' lives?

In early years, we were so very few,
Each one around the Base you really knew, -
Mechanics, clerks, dispatchers, those that flew,
Collyer, Larson, English were the glue
That held it all together in those years,
And formed our Airline out of sweat and tears,
A minute's silence, when each stood alone,
To think of friends with names engraved in stone.
Some lost their lives in aeroplanes, -
Others through illness or old age,
But each a special contribution made,
And in our history, overflows a page.

You think, - "Did I come close to my potential?"
The answer is - "It is not real essential."
According to our talent, each one gives
A touch of color to the scene we make,
When we retire, the picture really lives
And all who view it, - satisfaction take,
For those of you who still have years to go,
We hope you fill our planes with happy fares,
We'll watch and see the airline grow and grow,
And eventually see you join the Pionairs!

We are a part of a very special nation
That long has lead in the field of aviation,
And even though the "Pionairs" are retired,
Whenever they get together they're inspired
To talk of planes and jobs and times gone by,
While wives stand back resignedly, and try,
With other wives, to find some common ground
That deals with a world with no airplanes around!

It’s a happy group of people that I've seen.
The reason is very simple - just because
It is better to be an Air Canada "Has Been".
Than for you to be just another "Never Was"!

Yarmouth station closes.

Air Nova has been granted permission by the Canadian Transport Commission (CTC) to operate service between Yarmouth - Boston, Moncton - Boston (via Yarmouth) and Saint John - Halifax, effective August 1. 1987.

Air Canada has filed an application with the CTC requesting the right to terminate services between Yarmouth and Boston, the net effect being the closure of our Yarmouth station.

The company has had full and open discussions with the staff in Yarmouth. Eight employees accepted positions in Halifax, one went to Charlottetown, two retired and one resigned.

The regional airline, which is an Air Canada connector carrier in Atlantic Canada, uses propeller driven Dash 8 aircraft which have a 37-seat capacity.

Issue dated September 1987.

All the festivities of Air Canada's golden jubilee are but memories now and the company honored some of the employees who helped to make the 50th anniversary celebrations a success.

A few YUL Cafeteria employees are shown with the President.

From the left: Bob Cleroux, Jeanniot, Angele Seguinot, Nicole Scott, Derrick Murphy, Heidi Frauenhoff, Darren Deshover, Felice Smeets, Gusset Morrison, Marc Boudreau, Gary Ainscow, Paul Klein, Alex Gal and David Nisbet. 

The 1988 Annual General Meeting for the National Pionairs was held in Anaheim, California from May 19 to 22, 1988.

Officials for that year are:

Stefanie Mandzie, Winnipeg District Director; Georgina Stevens, Secretary; Kay Napolitano, Toronto Director; Martin Betts, Pension Representative; Ken Esselmont, Treasurer; Frank Dunlop, immediate past President; Art Scott, Ottawa; Director; George Daman, Montreal; Tony Nuttall, London, Ontario; Gerry Chaffey, Edmonton; Gord Saunders, Calgary; Mike Lewicki, President; Jack Charles, First Vice-President; Jack Motyer, Second Vice President and Doug Armitage, Vancouver.

Missing from the picture are John Innes, Victoria who was away when the photograph was taken and Tony Bruneau, Halifax, who was unable to attend due to illness.

(Sadly the accompanying photo was of such poor quality - eds)