The NetLetter

For Air Canada Retirees
(Part of the ACFamily Network)

 

March 16, 2013 - Issue 1246
First Issue published in October 1995!
(over 5,400 subscribers)
In This Issue
TCA/Air Canada People Gallery
Alan's Space
Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc
Reader's Feedback
Odds and Ends
Terry's Trivia
Smileys
NetLetter Past Issues

Past Issues
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Greetings!
Terry Baker
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

TCA/Air Canada People Gallery - Compiled by Terry Baker
 
TCA/Air Canada  LogoBelow 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.

Issue dated - March 1947
Dragged from the "Between Ourselves" magazines.
In July 1937, the Department of Transport survey flight of TCA's transcontinental route left from Montreal's St. Hubert airport for Vancouver. The flight returned to St. Hubert on July 7th which included TCA officials who conducted their own survey of the route.

On March 1st 1938, the first experimental air mail flight left from Winnipeg in a TCA aircraft.

Our "five-year" Stewardesses are increasing. In January, two more Stewardesses, Roberta Jones and Kay O'Brien, were presented with their five-year pins for long and faithful service with TCA. Dave Weir, Station Manager at Lethbridge, made the presentations. In addition to the award, the veteran Stewardesses also received pen and pencil sets.

There were only four other Stewardesses who were still active with TCA at this time, who wore the five year pin. They were Betty Hemingson (Supervisor of Stewardesses for TCA), Rita Wiggins (Stewardess Supervisor for the Western Region), Marg Brezenski (Stewardess Supervisor for the Eastern Region), and Stewardess Val Day.

Airport staff at Toronto. In this photo front row left: A. Shotbolt, G. Mine (Passenger Agent-in-Charge), L. Gehlsen (station Manager), B. Stewart, H. Deegan, G. Grant. Rear row left: J. Brisbin, G. Kerr, A. Martel, D. Campbell (station Dispatcher), W. Hagen, G. Matson (Cashier), W. Donaldson and R. McLeod.

Issue dated - April 1947
1947
  • April 1st - Inauguration of DC-3 service between Halifax and Boston.
  • April 15th - Inauguration of North Star "Skyliner" service between Canada and  England.

During the first two weeks of April, TCA aircraft based at Moncton were making daily 4.5 hour patrols over the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Straits of Cabot watching for the break up of the ice and its relation to the St. Lawrence shipping.

Alan's Space - by Alan Rust
Alan's Space
I'm back! Yes, I've been away! Did you miss me?

 I just returned on Monday (March 11, 2013) from the longest vacation that I've ever had, 45 days. My wife is a licensed ZUMBA instructor and managed to land a job at sea (pun intended) and was fortunate enough to be chosen to provide ZUMBA classes on Celebrity Cruise Lines on the Celebrity Solstice (beautiful ship) during the cruise.

We were on two back to back cruises starting out in Auckland, New Zealand on January 28, 2013 and ending in Sydney, Australia on March 4, 2013 where we stayed another week to explore the city of Sydney. We actually sailed south from Auckland, down the coast of New Zealand and then completely circumnavigated Australia with a two day stop in Bali, Indonesia before ending in Sydney. Great trip!

Terry has asked me to share some of my trip experiences with you and I do hope to do so in the coming weeks.


Restored Mosquito in New Zealand 
Below, click on the image to hear awesome twin-Merlin sounds and a great video of Keith Skilling and Dave Philips putting the newly restored World War 2-era Mosquito FB.26 fighter bomber through its paces during the aircraft's first public display at Ardmore Aerodrome in Auckland, New Zealand.

KA114 (the serial no of this particular aircraft) is now painted in the colours of EG-Y of 487 (RNZAF) Squadron during 1943-1944. Three different Mosquitos carried these identification codes during that period.

This aircraft has been rebuilt/restored by AvSpecs (a.k.a. Warbird Restorations) in Auckland, and by a huge number and variety of subcontractors around the country and around the world.

Low Level Mosquito FB.26 fly-bys 
Low Level Mosquito FB.26 fly-bys
Canadi>n/CP Air/PWA, Wardair, etc. People & Events
- Compiled by Terry Baker
CAIL TailsNews and articles from days gone by gleaned from various publications from C.A.I.L. and its "ancestry" of contributing airlines.
Issue dated - July 2000
Found in the "Canadi>n Flyer" magazine -
Canadian Regional Airlines was put up for sale effective January 30th 2000.

After a hiatus of nine years, Canadian returned to the Sydney, Australia market with a daily flight in July 2000. Canadian began service to Australia in 1949.
 

In 2000, as Air Canada began the process of creating a new uniform for all Air Canada and Canadian Airlines front line employees, all CDN front line employees were wearing  the current AC uniform on an interim basis while the new uniform is being developed. Wanda Kennedy and Debi Montgomery, YYZ are two of a group of 62 Customer Sale and Service Agent who began wearing the uniform in June. The plan was to have entire stations transitioned to the AC uniform at the same time, which began in Toronto and spread across the system.


Sixteen volunteers from Canadian, including spouses and children, pitched in to help an elderly couple in Calgary spruce up the outside of their mobile home, during the annual "Paint the Town" event in June 2000. Members of the Calgary "Workplace Volunteer Council" on which Wendy Kennedy represented Canadian Airlines, were asked each year to form a group of volunteers from within our corporations and paint the home of a senior/disabled persons. The homeowners are elderly and on a fixed income, or handicapped and unable to pay to have someone do this work for them. Paint and all supplies are donated. Here is the gang back row left to right; Vicki Arsenault, Gail Waterman, Neal Jensen, Pat Brooks, Betty Lor and Rebecca Popp. Middle row left to right: Joe Arsenault, Tammy Davies, Debbie Iversen, Zane Pajak. Front row: Wendy Kennedy. Missing from the picture were: Geoff Kennedy, Brett Pennett, Walt Anderson, Linda Anderson and Shannon O'Hama.


In October 1999, Customer Relations announced the arrival of "Vantive", a sophisticated customer database management program. After seven months of careful nurturing and a few hiccups, we can say that it was developing into a valuable tool for analyzing monitoring and responding to customer issues. Here we have this photo of Sue Platts using the system.

Reader's Feedback - Compiled by Terry Baker
Reader's Feedback
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.
In NetLetter nr 1236 issued January 7th 2013, we had this photo and asked for any identifications. Jack Morath in LHR passed the photo to a member of the workforce that was there at the time and she has  given me a note of the names.
They are as follows: Front Row - Gulshan Dhanjal, Sheila Hakeim, Anita Shah, Jane Rodgers, Sandrine Thabot, Bob Cree, and Sara Ramage. Back Row: Sian Ayres, Sue Fell, Val Evderest, Edie Etheridge, Jo choules, Lucy Nevin, ? Adley, Sarah Everest, Ann McKellow and Mary Grossman.


Referring to the photo submitted by John Rodger of the 1973 Maintenance Management Training at Mont Gabriel QC. inNetLetter nr 1244, and one of the names identified as _______ Herbert.
Alan Tutty has suggested that the individual identified as "_____ Hebert" is actually Marcel Huot. He was a Foreman in the Avionic Shop in Dorval.

Klaus Stahl has also come to the same conclusion regarding the identification of Marcel Huot with this comment: The front centre marked ? Hebert I believe is Marcel Huot. Pass it on to Keith for an update. Klaus Stahl

Carol Bell sends us this: Just one little correction to the pix posted of the 1973 Mtce Mngmnt Trng group at Mont Gabriel. The name of the first man in the back row, LH side is Zenie Borecky, he was a Quality, Power Plant Foreman. I love looking at the NetLetter, it brings back so many good memories of my time at AC. Carol Bell (nee Folkes)
 
In NetLetter nr 1244, we printed a photo of the old and new terminal at Fort Smith, N.W.T.
 
Cliff Cunningham has sent us this photo of the terminal with some more information.

Thought I would add this to the item about the 'new' terminal at Fort Smith. Here is a picture of the Old(er) [and, I believe, original] Fort Smith terminal building where I worked as a traffic clerk 1957/58 with Ken Wood, the agent.

The 'Old' terminal shown for 1969 opened in 1957, across the airport from the 'Old(er) one. At that time, all our communications had to go through the DOT Aeradio station, which was on the side where the 'New/Old terminal opened. Fort Smith did not have long distance telephone service, teletype, TV, etc. at that time and the only other means of communicating with the 'outside world' was Royal (snail) Mail and the Army Signals station which sent commercial telegrams.
Cliff Cunningham 
 
Jack Stephens has sent us this information with regard to the photo of the four gals in NetLetter nr 1244: The location is Winnipeg. The Hangar was for Line Maintenance, and the building to the left housed the Engineering Dept. on the top floor and below was the Cafeteria. The Ramp guys devotion to duty would qualify them for the Order of Canada!
 
Kathleen Delaney sent us this note in reference to the photo of the ACRA softball team in NetLetter nr 1244: I'm in the photo 1976 Cathy Owen ACRA second place team. What fun we had....

Odds and Ends.

Image Blank 200pxSometimes we receive articles and information that just doesn't fit in our other areas. This is where it goes!


Gretchen Aird Dawson has sent us these details of the following obituary published in the Globe & Mail. Although we don't normally post obituaries, we thought this one was fitting for the NetLetter.

Lucile (Garner) Grant - June 13, 1910 - March 4, 2013
Lucile died peacefully in Oakville ON. One of four children, Lucile was born and raised in Qu'Appelle SK. In 1937 she graduated from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal as a registered nurse and then, acting on a friend's tip, applied to Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada) to become their first stewardess, in 1938.

Lucile created their training program from the ground up, hired and trained new stewardesses, established rules of  conduct, and even designed the uniform. Four years later she was lured away by  Yukon Southern Air Transport (later Canadian Pacific Airlines) to start up their stewardess program. In 1942 Lucile retired and married Norman Dennison, an aeronautical engineer. As Air Canada's first stewardess, Lucile's association with the airline lasted through the years with her  participation in their 25th, 50th and 75th anniversaries.

In 1951, Lucile and Norman and their two children, Margaret and John, moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a year. Norman, seconded to the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization, trained the local airline staff
in aero maintenance, while Lucile taught secretarial studies at a college. After Norman died in 1955, Lucile married Jack Grant, and with his  children, Jackie and Fred, raised their blended family of four children in Lachine  QC.

When Jack died in 1987 Lucile continued to live in Lachine, where she  became an avid gardener, and enjoyed bridge, riding her bicycle, attending  Canadian Club meetings, Centaur Theatre, and Montreal Symphony concerts. Lucile was a longtime member of Canadian Maple Wings, where she made many lasting friendships.

In 2005, Lucile moved to Oakville, and still living independently, made new friends and enjoyed family events. In 2010, she  made one last move to Delmanor Glen Abbey Residence. Always cheerful, positive, and with a great sense of humour, she brightened the lives of those she met.

The family is very grateful to Delmanor for the professional care and compassion of the staff. Lucile was predeceased by her brother John Garner and sister Grace Garner. She will be deeply missed by her brother Donald (Patricia) Garner,  Thousand Oaks CA; children John (Christine) Dennison, Victoria BC; Margaret
(Patrick) MacLure, Oakville ON; step-children Jackie (Grant) Ludwin, Spring Hill FL; and Fred (Judy) Grant, Bowmanville ON. Lucile's many grandchildren and great grandchildren, nieces and nephews always delighted in her company and will have wonderful memories of their times together. Lucile always looked to the
future with keen enthusiasm, and never looked back. Lucile was cremated, and a celebration of her life will take place at the Oakville Golf Club, 1154 Sixth Line, Oakville on Sunday, June 9th at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers,
donations can be made to Oakville Symphony Orchestra (www.oakvillesymphony.com), the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific (www.hcp.ca) or a charity of choice.

Other references:

Lucile was born in 1910, over one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here's a list of how the world was when Lucile was born.

 

Here are some statistics for the Year 1910: 

  • The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
  • Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.
  • Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
  • Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
  • There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
  • The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
  • The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
  • The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
  • The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
  • A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
  • More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
  • Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
  • Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'
  • Sugar cost four cents a pound.
  • Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
  • Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
  • Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
  • There was no such thing as under arm deodorant or tooth paste.
  • Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
  • The five leading causes of death were:
    1. Pneumonia and influenza
    2, Tuberculosis
    3. Diarrhea
    4. Heart disease
    5. Stroke
  • The American flag had 45 stars.
  • The population of Las Vegas Nevada was only 30!
  • Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet
  • There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
  • Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
  • Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
  • There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

 I am now going to include this in a newsletter without typing it myself.  From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD...all in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

 


Michelle Wall sends us this information:
I am attaching website for one of our retired CSD'S. Please visit: Her name is Elizabeth Angst, a longtime employee of Pacific Western /Canadian Airlines/Air Canada. She has written a book, and I feel it is very important to support our colleagues in their new ventures after we have retired from flying. We all have a wonderful sense of adventure, but few actually write about it. I encourage you all to read of Elizabeth and Anders experiences on the South Seas. You will not be disappointed, a truly exhilarating book. Thank you, Michelle Wall (Retired F/A)

The following is from the web site:

From Dreamers to Doers: South Seas Adventures By Elizabeth Angst.

Here are the exciting adventures of two loving friends who, in their "retirement," deliver sailboats to exotic islands in the South Pacific and thread their way down Australia's Great Barrier Reef among their many adventures. Join them as they experience violent storms with gale-force winds and dangerous anchorages, battling huge fish and often catching and eating them while crisscrossing the International Date Line.

ISBN9781300694236 Copyright Elizabeth Angst/ Elan Boat delivery (Standard Copyright Licence) First Edition Published March 5, 2013 Language English File Format ePub File Size 7.56 MB.
Can be downloaded for most eReaders at $8.99

Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips - by Terry Baker

Terry BakerThe longest flight from YVR is to Sydney, Australia. It takes 15 hours and covers almost 13,000 kilometres!

Prior to your vacation, Dargal Interline Worldwide suggests you check www.visacentral.ca to see if a visa is required. If a visa is required, and you can't be bothered, plan B may be an alternative trip for you, see www.dargal.com for other interline deals.  


Paul Gauthier sends us this information:
As always, your newsletter is interesting, informative and brings back memories. The hints in Terry's tips are most useful, and I would like to add to them, based on my experience and suggestions by other travelers: 

  • In addition to photocopying passports, photocopy all your cards (credit, bank cards, driver's license, provincial health cards); leave a space in between each so you can write down the telephone numbers shown at the back, the ones you need to call if you loose them.
  • Passengers on my last cruise also mentioned they always carry a copy of their "Medical Care - Power of Attorney" with them, in case it is needed; it will help if your traveling companion is the designated person, or will help the medical facility to contact the individual.
  • Make a list of your supplements/vitamins/medication/prescription, including the dosage and the frequency, in case of a medical emergency; I also added the name of my G.P., as well as any other specialists, as well as their contacts (tel # and e-mail addresses); this would be important information for the medical facility treating you.
  • It is better to travel with a few extra sheets of paper and have peace of mind.

In the meantime, Safe Travels, everyone!   

Paul Gauthier, Retired Service Director Toronto   

 

Smileys - Compiled by Terry Baker
Smileys
As we surf the internet and back issues of airline magazines we regularly find airline related jokes and cartoons. Below is our latest discovery.

From the "Between Ourselves" magazine issued September 1947, we have another sequence of the Miscellaneous Meanderings of Joe Mech. as drawn by J.F. McDevitt.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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

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.
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 [email protected]