The Stations History
1953 - 1957
Commanding Officers:
A/S/L BD Madill, DFC May 1953 to July 1956
S/L DH Evans July 1956 to August 1957
S/L CA Brunger, CD August 1957 to August 1959
I am quite certain that the pioneer spirit which the first service personnel brought with them from all corners of our country must have been very strong indeed, for the task which stood before them must have appeared insurmountable. Imagine standing there on that pile of sand, looking at the buildings, some of them completed, others in various stages of completion, and radars that were only half-completed and not yet operational.
The engineer and technicians of the electronics contractor, RCA Victor Company, arrived on the 24 August 1953 and proceeded to install the main radar and radio communication system. Although they worked long and hard many problems thrust themselves in the way and further delayed trials until mid-October 1953. On the 21 November, the equipment passed all tests, and was then handed over to the RCAF subject to a number of deficiencies. Of course, the traditional visit by the AOC (Air Officer Commanding) A/V/M AL James took place as outlined by Major Blezard; unfortunately the purpose of this visit must have been "official", only for the Moisie River was then frozen over, and there were no salmon available to be plucked from it and placed into the hold of the aircraft. Life for the dependents in those days was obviously different from the convenience-filled atmosphere which prevails today, particularly when one considers that there were, at this time, no paved roads, no top soil, no lawns, no sidewalks etc… The town of Sept-Iles boasted a small Hudson’s Bay Company, store where one could purchase clothing, dry goods and meat. Fresh fish could be bought either at the village of Moisie or in the town of Sept-Iles itself.
Entertainment on the station consisted basically of … bowling in town, the Liberty Run on Wednesday and Saturday which left the station at 1900 hours returning at 2315 hours, poaching salmon from the Moisie Salmon Club Incorporated, square dancing and you know, reading books…! Reading was quite an exciting pass time during those early years and an exchange library for pocket books was set up in the airmen’s canteen. Both military and civilian personnel alike made full use of this service.
It seems as though even the CO got carried away with the "friendly" spirit of the station, as his wife was reported to be the first woman of the station to give birth. Their son, Godfrey Russel Madill was born in the Iron Ore Company’s hospital in Sept-Iles on the 5th August 1953 (so who counts the months).
The birthrate may have resulted from the results of the Canadian government to financially assist these young growing (and growing, and growing, and …) families, for in those days the married rate for Northern Allowance was $87.50 a month. Taking inflation into account, this equates to approximately $500 a month nowadays (1978). No wonder so many young airmen got married just before they were posted here. At this point in time, isolation leave as well was available for all personnel.
Excerpt From the Moisie Monitor
"Thinking of changing the name of our unit to "Mail’s Midget Factory". It’s a fact. Kids, Kids, KIDS!!! All over the place we’ve got kids! You know that old standby expression, "You’re kidding!"? Started right here at Moisie where the locals fish all summer, and well … they’ve got to do something in the winter, he? Maybe it’s the climate!"
Young officers of today can bask in the warm thought that the OPDP examinations are really just a take off from Flying Officer and Flight Lieutenant qualifying examinations. Not only that, but these "old-timers" had to write eight sets of exams in lieu of our six.
The first of the weekly CO’s parades commenced in mid-February, 1954. In an effort to promote sharper dress and appearance, two items appear in the early records: the barber shop was open on Tuesday and Wednesday, from 0900 hrs to 2100 hrs, and there were boot and shoe parades every Wednesday morning between 0830 hrs and 1000 hrs. Footwear left to be repaired by the civilian shoe repairman, MJ Porlier from the village, could be picked up on Thursday afternoons. For the rest of the uniform however, it seems that some things just never change - the clothing store itself was only open one day a week. The Supply issue hours were changed from week to week as sections complained of non-availability of supplies when they needed them.
The first woman officer to arrive was F/O R Blisner, the Nursing Sister, who arrived on 11 January 1954 from Uplands. It is recorded that on that date, for some unknown reason, the faces of the station personnel seemed to come alive with smiles. Anyways, she took over the MIR from the Med. A, and diligently set out to improve the medical facilities of the unit. The MIR at that time, was tasked with providing free dependents Medical and Dental benefits, however, these privileges were soon lost on the 13th of April 1954 (see! There is some truth to that unlucky number), along with the Northern Allowance. The MIR must have been quite busy in those days, as appendicitis was quite rampant among military personnel … or could it be that military personnel were just looking for an excuse for a little sojourn in the hospital in Sept-Iles?
Station sports received quite a boost in January of 54 when the Quonset hut previously used for ME storage, was converted by voluntary labour into a Sports Centre. The improvement in morale was noticeable. Volleyball and badminton were strongly supported, however there were still no facilities on the station for curling or bowling. The sport of cross-country skiing was not exercised but in its place there was ice-skating. A heated room had been set aside at the west end of the hobby shop for changing skates, warming one’s feet and so on. An RO entry occurred at the time which forbade changing of skates in barrack blocks.
As with all stations throughout their early years, the construction of a series of new buildings to house personnel, equipment and vehicles was continually underway. In June of 1954 the station already boasted a school, in fact there were two school buildings. There was one which was inaugurated in early June by A/V/M AL James on his second visit to this station, and the other a Catholic school known as "Our Lady of Lourdes". It so happens that on this particular visit to the station that A/V/M AL James brought along not only his wife but A/V/M LE Wray and his wife. On this second visit there is a note in the station ledgers which stipulates that they did go out fishing and that they were successful in their endeavors.
In the fall of the same year (1954) the project for the paving of the roads and sidewalks in the domestic site and the station proper commenced. As well, construction was started on the recreation and drill hall and this particular building proved to be a very welcome and most necessary addition to this isolated station. The building was expected to be completed by May 1956 and much to everyone’s surprise, I am certain, it was completed on time. Other buildings that were completed on or about this same time were: the new Administration building, which is our Headquarters building today; the Fire Hall which still stands as the Fire Hall; and the hospital which now houses the MIR in one end of the building and the CE Headquarters in the other.
Just prior to the first snow the CE section commenced landscaping of the station proper and in just one month they completed 50%. The rest of the landscaping was to be done in the fiscal year 1958-59.
The PMQ’s were not all built in the same year and on the 28th of September 1957, the record shows that 20 additional were occupied. Of course, having PMQ’s called for a system of inspection at regular intervals throughout the year, and not just when people moved out of them. So girls, you can thank your lucky stars for the present system of just checking the PMQ’s when you are "Marched Out".
I would have to say that one of the most amazing feats during this period concerned the paving of the streets in the PMQ area. What happened was that all of the streets in the PMQs, their driveways, the driveways of the Fire Hall, of the Admin building, the parking lot, the Rec. Hall and the roads in the area were completed by CE within one week of commencement. Now how’s that for a World record!
In mid-July 1954, a party consisting of a CE officer and 11 airmen were called out to assist in fighting serious forest fires which were threatening the lives of the communities of Clarke City and Shelter Bay (now called Port Cartier). These twelve brave souls assisted in the successful fire-fighting operations which managed to save the town of Shelter Bay itself from damage and which minimized damage to the City of Clarke City. The firefighters from the station were highly praised by appreciative officials in the threatened area.
Approximately a year later in July of 57, the first Search & Rescue Mission on record occurred and concerned a civilian aircraft that was missing on a flight from Mingan to Rapid Lake. The Search & Rescue team operated from a headquarters at this station. Later in that same fall, a helicopter was forced down onto the Moisie River. Fortunately there were no injuries to the crew on board and the station personnel themselves organized themselves in assisting and salvaging the aircraft and also guarding it.
You think we have it rough with the isolation nowadays, did you know that on the 4th, 5th, and 6th of September 1957 severe rainstorms in the area caused a loss of all communications to the outside. At about the same time the matron, F/O Baillie, was obviously kept very busy. We have a record that on the 16th of October 1957 the first in-patient was admitted to the brand new MIR. We then have the "Champagne Baby of Moisie" being delivered by the nursing sister on the 29th of October 1957. We don’t know whose child it was, nor whether it was a boy or a girl, but we do know that it was the first child born on the station and delivered by the nursing sister. In 1957, there was a flu epidemic as well which caused fifty-seven patients to be hospitalized before the epidemic was terminated. It did not stop the November 11th parade however, for on November 11th, 1957 we have the first record of a Remembrance Day Parade.
Concerning the operations of the site, one day springs from the pages of this time. On the 1st of November 1956 tests were started for the identification of aircraft and continued for a two week period. On the completion of this trial period the station was given an identification function and the Squadron now became 211 AC&W Squadron. This changed the role of the site from that of a strictly reporting site to one which was self-contained and allowed to control interceptor aircraft. An indication of the importance of our Aircraft Controllers occurred on the 14th of May 1958, when a USAF aircraft declared a state of emergency when he was 75 miles NE of the Sept-Iles airport. The on-duty Ftr Cop, Sgt. Bob Johnson, directed the aircraft into Sept-Iles airport. The pilot landed on his 2nd attempt with both inboard engines feathered and the starboard engine on fire. A little short on power I would say! As the aircraft was only able to jettison half of its fuel before landing, it blew 3 tires of the main undercarriage before stopping on the inter-section of the main runways thus rendering both unserviceable. The engines of the A/C were replaced at the end of two weeks and it was able to proceed on its merry way.
Throughout this four year period, a number of official visits took place some of which have already been mentioned. However, there are two others that must be mentioned. In September 1957, His Excellency, The Governor General of Canada, Vincent Massey, visited the Sept-Iles area. One must mention as well the visit of HMCS Saguenay to Seven Islands.
This detail was obtained from Section Three of the 1953-1978 Moisie Anniversary - 25 Years of Service Book. A copy of the 1953-1978 Moisie book was loaned to us by Deanna Gilbert and the material has been typed for use on the Pinetree Line web site in December 1998.