Editorially speaking...
For me, a sad beginning to an otherwise pleasant Spring day.
An email from Eric Ricker, a fellow veteran of the years-long campaign to save the century-old tipple/headframe at Morden Colliery Provincial Heritage Park, informed me that another oldtime Friend of the Morden Mine has passed away.
Both Frances Christopherson and her husband Charlie were dedicated to preserving this last standing monument to Vancouver Island’s coal mining past and laboured for years to make it happen. Years of being stonewalled by successive provincial governments of different political stripes.
But they and other “historical purists” as the Times Colonist once termed us, persevered and a belated and limited restoration has just been completed, thanks to B.C. Heritage Trust’s recognition of the park’s unique historical significance.
Both Frances and Charlie Christopherson were active participants on other fronts in the Greater Nanaimo community who gave wholeheartedly of their collective knowledge, energy and ability to everything they believed in. Charlie passed away several years ago.
I conclude my own modest tribute to Frances Christopherson with this quote by Eric: “Frances was 88 years old—a bit short of the age of 100 that she aspired to—but a tremendously resilient soul in the face of the several health complications she faced and dealt with so courageously. and in good spirits, over the past several years.”
Since I’m into eulogies this morning, a lengthy obituary notice in the TC two weeks ago caught my eye. Archibald Thomas Kay, who made it all the way to 101, had an amazing career. Glasgow-born, he began work in the family granite quarrying business that held the patents to making perfect curling stones.
But Archie obviously had other ideas and he apprenticed to a heating and ventilation company until the Second World War when he was posted to the UK Ministry of Defence. “Because of his expertise in HVAC he was soon attracted to a research group assigned to find a way for the RAF fighters and bombers to fly higher than their normal ceiling of 30,000 ft without the pilots becoming starved of oxygen or half froze to death... Over the course of the war Archie and his colleagues overcame all the technical barriers and got to fly on many of the test flights to observe first-hand their handiwork...’
His connection with B.C. began when he met his wife-to-be who’d travelled from Victoria to visit her grandparents and cousins in Inverness. So started another sterling career, this one in shipbuilding as an estimator for the Victoria Machinery Depot where he played a key role in the design of the 1960s Royal Canadian Navy’s “Cadillac” destroyer escorts, minesweepers and construction of the Sedco 135, then the largest floating oil rig in North America.
Then it was on to Burrard Drydock and Vancouver Shipyard to work on the new provincial ferries, cruise ship conversions and tugboats. Not even mandatory retirement at age 65 slowed him down: he just hung his shingle as a consultant and worked on more ferries, provincially and for the Australian government.
All in all, a long and varied career. How many of us can claim such fulfilling and worthwhile work?
Since my theme for today is recognition, this one from last week’s Cowichan Valley Citizen which reported that CowichanMalahat-Langford MP Alistair MacGregor has introduced Private Member’s Bill C-292 to make October 22nd the day of honouring Canadian Armed Forces members who have made the ultimate sacrifice while on Canadian soil during peacetime.
The bill is widely supported by local veterans’ groups and is intended to be similar to the recognition that fallen armed services members receive each November 11th. As MacGregor explained, “Every year, on Remembrance Day, Canadians are proud to honour the Canadian services members who have fallen in combat, in conflicts around the world; however, what’s often overlooked is the number of service men and women who have sacrificed their lives during peacetime while on Canadian soil.
“Since 2013, more than 54 members of the Canadian Armed Forces have died as a result of [Post Trauma Stress Disorder] alone. It is my honour to introduce Bill C-292 and bring greater awareness to the sacrifices these brave Canadians and their families make during peacetime.”
Here’s hoping...
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