Childhood Memories of the Old Airport
Town
by Carol (Mercer) Walsh
Most of the
contributors on this site relate back to the late fifties and early
sixties, but what about those of us who go back a little further than
that? Where are you, old classmates and friends?
Maybe I can get some of
you to start reminiscing!
Now when I came to
Gander in 1947, I remember getting off the train in the middle of the
night! Upon waking in the morning, all I saw was rain, black cinder
walkways and streets filled with big potholes of water. Everything was
so dismal and depressing! Those big, old buildings all looked the same
- green felted on the outside with huge wooden coal boxes next to each
apartment. Not a very exciting or pretty place, I thought! How about
all those long overhead funnels stretching everywhere sending steam to
buildings and the coal dust that kept getting in our eyes from the steam
heating plants? Doc Paton spent his time getting coal dust out of our
eyes.
As time went on though,
we began to enjoy the delights of living and growing up on this great
airport. We were lulled to sleep by the constant roar of the engines of
the DC-7’s and Super Connies as they warmed up for takeoff on the
runways and we saw movie stars that only others saw in the movie
theaters or magazines. After all, who else could boast of seeing Tony
Curtis, Liz Taylor, Clarke Cable, etc. on a daily basis?
Our H-shaped building
was number “4”, just across “the brook” and behind the Laundry and Dry
Cleaners. There was a lovely path with an old wooden bridge spanning
the brook that led directly to the back of the Bakery. On a summer’s
day, you could smell the newly baked bread and see the pies and other
pastries lay out on the veranda to cool. Yes, we had our own bakery!
Imagine that! Well, I discovered that we had a few other things too,
like a couple of movies theaters, a hospital, a railway station, bowling
alleys, a couple of good stores, a drugstore, a dozen or so first class
hotels, schools, churches, and, oh yes, did I mention a huge
international airport with the largest runways in the world at the
time. Ah, but we did not understand that then, we were children and we
just did what children everywhere did.
Many of you can
remember the hours spent in the wooded areas, picking raspberries and
blueberries, building forts, getting our legs torn to pieces from the
rolls of old barbed wire left around from the war days. We were all
Dale Evans’ or Roy Rogers’ with our holsters and guns on our hips. All
those mounds and dugouts made during the war days were wonderful hiding
places to ambush the crooks!
We played ‘marbles”,
hopscotch, and tiddely. The girls had “cobby houses”, and the boys made
themselves slingshots and bows and arrows. Most of our parents didn’t
have cars and many of us didn’t have phones. We listened to music and
stories on the radio in the earlier years and in later years, we had a
“record player” that played 78 rpm records which were hard to get and
were too expensive to buy anyway.
Exploring old air raid
shelters and old airplanes were the adventure part of our days and
fascinating stories were conjured up by our overactive and suspicious
minds. There were ghosts in the old air raid shelter near the railway
station. Sure you could tell by the odd pair of crutches left around,
the rooms with old papers left in place as if something had happened to
halt whatever they were doing. You would get this eerie feeling as you
explored this dark, underground place with its many rooms and any little
sound made you scramble and race out of there. You just knew, of
course, that many of the soldiers who had occupied this area for periods
of time, had probably been killed and your childish imagination came to
full play.
Then there were those
long, long, summer days that took us to Deadman’s Pond where the wharves
jetted out into the Pond and boardwalks that surrounded it where
servicemen and women once walked. Many of them would also never return!
The “Cabin” was so inviting with its huge fireplaces and the ice cold
Orange Crush and Coke’s were delicious on a hot day. Sometimes we
carried our own lunches and found a grassy spot to picnic.
How many of you biked
to ‘Union East” for a day of swimming where the water was so clear you
could see the bottom with its soft sand mixed with sawdust from a mill
that had operated there during the war years. We would return home
before supper, faces burned and totally exhausted. If your parents were
along they often had an open fire and cooked a big meal – a scoff, i.e.,
salt meat and cabbage with big mugs of tea brewed over the fire.
In winter, we walked to
and from school, no school buses or cars for us! The big field at the
end of the old runway (near the hospital) was treeless and the biting
wind on a cold winter’s day was torturing and cruel. Sometimes, we used
the “back road” which was a little more sheltered and with scarves
wrapped over our faces and our caps pulled down as far as they would go
we bravely battle the below zero temperatures. Remember how our feet
would be so cold and the agonizing pain when our fingers would begin to
warm up.
Each fall the school
would produce an “Operetta” and it was performed a couple of nights by
the students at the old Globe theatre. It was a musical play and
brought out many fine voices that would ordinarily not have been known.
The colourful costumes were spectacular and all made locally but music
was the highlight of the show.
We had Sunday School
picnics, garden parties, trips to camps with Air Cadets, Boy Scouts,
Girl Guides and CGIT.
Hockey, of course, was
always a big in Gander. My dad, at one time, was the goalie for the
Gander team. That was when hockey was played at the hangar on the
American Side. No heat and no bleachers, just a walkaround balcony of
sorts. Of course, later we moved to the stadium in the building which
housed the bowling alleys, gym, swimming pool, etc. Now we had a nice
heated stadium with very nice seating! All paid for by a $20.00
contribution from each working person that was taken out of our
paycheques each payday in installments. .
Do you remember the
competition between Gander and Grand Falls? It was so keen that when
the playoffs came around, the CNR put on an “excursion train” for the
fans to travel to Gander, Buchans or Grand Falls. How many, I wonder,
had to be left behind when the train was ready to return after the
game? Some of our “good old boys” would often get a bit scrappy and
also a little too happy. Many a night was spent in the lockup by those
fellows who had to catch the regular train back the next day.
We spent our time
skating at the stadium and on the ponds. How many romances were ignited
while skating at the stadium with our arms wrapped crosswise around one
another and keeping in time to the Skater’s Waltz? We also had skating
parties at Twin Ponds, Deadman’s Pond, and Joe Batt’s, and, of course,
the gravel pits and small ponds. We always had a big bonfire to keep us
from freezing and lots of hotdogs and hot chocolate. Remember the road
to Twins Ponds and Joe Batt’s was called Monchy Road – no pavement then.
We loved to bowl at the
alleys and never missed the latest good movies at the Globe or the old
westerns at the Star. How about the balcony of the Globe – ever been
there? Aah, bet you have!
We also liked to hang
out at Goodyear’s Canteen, the Snack Bar at the Terminal, or just
sitting around the Main Lounge of the Terminal watching all those
beautiful stewardess’ and movie personalities that came through. The
Canteen had a jukebox and that’s where we first heard Elvis.
Sometimes, we just rode
the bus that would take us around the airport from the American Side to
the RAF Side and back – that kept us out of the cold for awhile.
Believe it or not it was also a great place to meetnewcomers…..or others
you might be looking for or at…..!
Can you recall those
roaring fires and wiener roasts on the beach at Gander Lake. Seems to
me that those rocky beaches were much more attractive than sand, and,
wow, things happened down there, enough to cause a lot of chit chat for
days afterwards. Some of you can relate to this. ‘Nough Said!
We could always rely on
someone putting off dances. The drinking age then was 21 so dances had
to be held special without any bars being open. The Airport Club, the
Canadian Legion and the Elks Club seemed to be the most popular. Of
course, girls couldn’t attend any of these functions without a male
escort and also, we had to dress formally. How about those full skirted
dresses with tulle and net overlay, long elbow length gloves, and spike
heel shoes! We were fortunate to have “The Solidaires” at most of these
but, if not, we had Rio Morrisey or Roger Down on the piano accompanied
by someone on drums..
Have I awakened your memories? You
made memories too – can you tell us about them? Can you add to mine?
These are memories we made and,
although, they may seem childish and not worth recalling by some let
alone repeating, they are who we were and are today. Our children and
grandchildren may someday discover us in a different light through our
telling.
The Flight was only intended for
Reunion 2005 but has turned into a wonderful collection of biographies,
accounts, records, memoirs and narratives. It has helped us make new
friends and discover old ones. This is not the stuff we will find in
history books. I truly hope with your help we can keep it going!
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