This year marks the 50th
birthday of the Terrace-Kitimat
airport.

Built during the Second World
"War, the airport. is now a vital
\ fransportation link in the north,

*. Below are some stories of the
‘airport’s early days, Next week,
-. @ look at the airport today

‘TERRACE — The norihwest
wasn’t as secure as most would
“Rave thought during the carly
*. stages of the Second World War,
. Japanese forces attacked and
occupied the Aleutian Islands off
Of Alaska early on.
A Japanese submarine surfaced

_ Off the coast of B.C. and shelled a
lighthouse,

=» Japanese forces let loose high
“flying balloons carrying in-
-cendiary devices in hopes they
«would. be carried by wind cur-
“rents until dropping into forests

“and starting fires.

Terrace became a key part of

_ the defence plan for the north-
~ west. Located inland, it wasn’t

_.. considered as vulnerable fo an at-
* tack'as were places on the coast.

* The army. moved thousands of
troops into: Terrace proper and
planning began for a Royal Cana-
dian Air Force. airfield on the
: plaicau south toward Kilimat.

SS Sidney °° Cooper,
Tanger: here © (and father to

“alderman Bob Cooper), was suc-

cessful some years before in put-
~ ting a reserve on the arca.

, Surveying. and construction
-work began in 1942 and was sub-
“stantially completed late in 1943,

In advance of construction, two
“ Squadrons were formed and first

the forest’

based on Annette Island located
near Ketchikan, Alaska.

Number 135 (Fighter) squadron
flew Hurricanes while Number
149 (Bomber) flew Ventura
bombers and Harvards.

Advance parties began arriving
from the two squadrons in No-
vember 1943 with main elements
leaving Annette Island by ship to
land in Prince Rupert and then to
Terrace by train.

Personnel quarters weren't
complete yet and some airmen -
found themselves housed and fed
by the army.

Although the two squadrons
were to defend the northcoast
against enemy. attack they found
themselves viclim to a very bad

winter.

Continuous bad weather
hampered flying at Annette Island
and later on when based { in n Ter
race,

The squadrons also based air-
craft at Smithers and relied on a’
Strip buill ‘at Woodcock near

Kitwanga for back up.

No sooner had spring arrived in.

1943 and flying operations stabi-
lized when new orders were
issued.

The threat in the Pacific was
reduced and the squadrons and
personnel were ordered. else-
where.

-The fighter squadron left for:

* Patricia Bay on Vancouver Island

Weather proved difficult
for two wartime squadrons

__ TERRACE — Life in the milita-
"ry can be difficult at the best of
“times, even without the prospect

of combat.

Such .was the case with two
~-RCAF squadrons which occupied

».. the new: airfield at Terrace in late
1943.

“The mission of the one bomber

and,; ine on aed a a

oo squadrons indicate flying crew -
and ground personnel ended up

battling more than their fair share
of inclement weather.

An improvement (in the

weather) was noticed by noon but
- late in the afternoon a ceiling of

fog formed at 400 feet,” read the
Feb. .7,, 1944 entry for No. 149
(Bomber) Squadron.

Early
shape

TERRACE — A little known
name in local history is
‘responsible for the start of com-
/ mercial aviation in the area.
'sClare Giggey, the owner of a
sawmill called Inter-Valley Lum-
“ber and Supply Co., gathered to-
. gether’a small group of investors
to purchase an amphibian aircraft
‘in 1948,
The Seabee carried a pilot and
“three ‘passengers and could land
“on land’ and in the water. It flew
‘under. the name of Skeena Atr
Transport Ltd.
We were just a bunch of fel-
ws-.interested*in flying,’ re-

inor investor inthe company, _
““Afier the war there were
ople: saying that -flying would
3 the same as driving cars,””
‘The ‘company was pretty much
‘the only active presence at the
aiiport. in the years following. the
cond World War. There was no

~ Members. Lioyd Johnstone, a

ther- ‘commercial service, only. a

“Two patrols took off on
scheduled, but neither was com-
pleted on account weather condi-
tions. One retumed to basc, but
the other on attempting to make
the airport a little late was unable
lo get through because of low
clouds,’

“Tt finally landed at - Masset
four,.,and: half hours after, take
off,’” thé diary continued... myenje Lies

Aircrew and. ground: personnel
also found themselves facing i in-
teresting ground Situations.

Upon arrival.in Terrace in No--
vember 1943; they were informed
of a diptheria outbreak among the
civilian population. Consequently
the town was placed “out of
bounds’’,

Entertainment was provided
through films, discussion nights,
bingo games, floor hackey and

the like.

One. highlight, as recorded in
the diary of Number 135
Squadron (fighter) was a Feb. 26,
1944 dance — the first of ils kind
since arriving the year before.

“There, were many difficulties
for the dance committee to over-
come, the chiefs ones being .the
matter of ladies (or lack, of them)

Sunes and musiGy » the, diary

Sais qmatter of ladies was ¢x-
ceedingly difficult owing to the
marked scarcity of the fairer sex
in this district,” it continues.

: That was: ‘‘overcome as much
as was possible under the circum-
stances by putting on a first class
‘drive’ for the ‘attendance of
ladies, and, happy lo relate, these
efforls were crowned with suc-
cess,’’ the diary states.

evelopment
air service

couple of private aircraft and the
airport wasn’t maintained during
the winter months,

Although . townspeople didn’t
think much of the tiny company,
it did serve as a charter service,

That changed in June 1948 .
when ihe: Skeena River flooded,
taking out the CN line on both
sides’ of Terrace - and doing.
damage to roads...

‘The Seabee was very busy. for.”
the better part of the month flying _
people back and forth, There was
very little if any rail. transporta-
tion,’’ said Johnstone.

_ Air activily and. the develop-

ment of the alrport as a key trans-

portation - link « in northwestern.

B.C. accelerated in’ the early

1950s when Alcan began work on:
- Kemano and Kitimat. ~

There was no road connection
between Terrace and Kitimat and
no railway. The ‘airport became
the marshalling point for aircraft.
coming -in from Vancouver for

continuing amphibian service to
Kitimat and to Kemano.

That period also marked the
purchase of Skeena Air Transport
by Russ Baker’s Central B.C.
Airways out of Prince George
which burgeoned under the
Kemano project, ©

It operated a scheduled air ser-
vice between here, Smithers, Al-
can’s Kenney Dam south of
Vanderhoof and Prince George.

Johnstone credits a lot of the

development in the north to Al-
can’s Kemano project which not.
only brought hydro power bul °

provided: the impetus for better
transportation services. .

Al the same time, CP Air began:

a service from Terrace. to Prince
Rupert, connecting to Sandspit

_ and Port Hardy and then south to

Vancouver’

Thus began the start of regular

commercial - air. service which
over the years has changed from
all casl-west connection. to direct

(now the site of Victoria Interna-
tional Airport) and the bomber
squadron was disbanded.

A new name was given to the
airfield — Staging Unit 18 — and
a small number of RCAF person-
nel stationed there. It was used
sparingly until closing officially
in August 1945 at the conclusion
of the war,

There were no combat losses
recorded by either squadron. but
one Ventura bomber: and four
crewmen of the bomber squadron
went down someplace in north-
western B,C.

‘Search operations went on for
several weeks. in late 1943 bul
were unsuccesful.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 30, 1993 - Page A5

ar Spurred airport’s start

VENTURA BOMBERS
belonging ta the Royal Ca-
nadian Alr Force were one
of three types flown here
during the Second World
War. This picture, taken In
1944, is looking east taward
Williams Creek. PHOTO
COURTESY NATIONAL
ARCHIVES OF CANADA

Stories by
ROD LINK

MILITARY CONTROL tower and large hanger marked what was
'9ft at tha end of the Second World War. The tower was taken
down. One large hanger is now the arena in Smithers while a
second one burned down in 1985 after years of civilian use,
PHOTO COURTESY TERRACE REGIONAL MUSEUM

SOCIETY

FIRST COMMERCIAL air service in Terrace was provided by
Skeena Air Transport in 1948. It flew this Seabee, able to land
on water and on land. The company was later sold to a forerun-
ner of Pacific Western Airlines. PHOTO COURTESY TERRACE

. REGIONAL MUSEUM SOCIETY

flights to Vancouver.

“The airport became known as
a jumping off point in the north.
It continues to this day with mini-
ng, for: example,’? said Johnstone.

‘There is also a strong historical
link between the service of today
to that which began 40 years ago.

Central B.C. Airways cventual-
ly became Pacific Western Air-

‘lines, It few inte Terrace for

years, as did CP Air. Pacific
Western subsequently bought CP

: Air and the new. company is now

known as Canadian Airlines In-
ternational.

Johnstone and others began
Trans Provincial Airlines based at
the airport in 1960. It grew to also
serve on the north coast and on
Queen Charlotte Islands.

The: airport had another in-
fluence in the northwest, One of
the large hangers buill during the
war, for example, was taken
down and. moved to Smithers
where it is now that community’s

arena,

Tk

TOTHETERRACE STANDARD

<

Howe Creek’s
tasty secret

Dear Sir:
‘ Open letierto city council:

This letter is written in
tegard to future development
of the property north of Park-
side School that runs through
to the fish hatchery.

Not taking into account the
drainage problems this will
create being part of an old lake
bottom, what damage will this
do to the wildlife that this nat-
ural green belt supports?

We were quite surprised by
all the people that come to
Howe Creek to pick the water-
cress that grows in the creek
that cannot be found anywhere
slse in our region that we
know of.

There were families from
Prince Rupert, Kitimat plus lo-
cal residents that use the water
cress in soups and salads, A
couple from Prince Rupert
closed their restaurant to make
a special irip lo Terrace to pick
il,

They said they used fo have a
creek in Prince Rupert that had
just the right depth and flow
for watercress to flourish, but
along came development and it
was covered over and paved.

If the city cannot contro] de-
velopment, then surely il could
protect this small creek in its
natural-state and force the de-
yelopers to submit plans that
would take this into considera-
ton

Rather than destroying natu-
ral parkland and its beauty now
and spending thousands to try
and recreate it later, lets pro-
tect some of these special little
places and natural food sup-
plies.

consider the above when the
plans for development come
before you.
Sincerely yours, . - ;
N.R. McFarland. © ,

showt a Rott
Dear Sir:

A letter of thanks to all who
performed in the Academy
Music Fest Sunday, June 20,
from the youngest ballerina to
the eldest musician. ©

You may or may not ialize
the joy you give to others with
your gifis of lalent and con-
fidence.

I must confess there were
some that. stirred my heart
more than others, but to all the
participants (for your
determination and = per-
formance), instructors (for
your teaching) and parents (for
your patience, payments and
persistence), I give you thanks

and recommend to any who
‘have not attended one of these
events, that you look forward
to the end of next year's sea-
son and take in the Gala Music
Fest and so add to your list of
happy memories,

Sincerely, and again with
thanks for the gifts of music,
dance and colour,

Lynn Buehle.

The Terrace Standard
welcomes letters to | the
editor. .

We asked that they be
signed and a phone num-
ber be included. Unsigned
letters will be discarded,

. Letters are also subject to
editing for reasons of
length and good taste.

In closing I hope you will}.

Roots

is Doug Tennant.
‘He works. for the depart-
ment of highways. .

on the bank so grass will

. grow. | =
“The grass has roots.

vent erosion. -
The Spraying was done
last week

‘The man in the picture }

The roots will help pre- |

He is spraying fertilizer He

Bunny trouble

There is.a painting
on Terrace Mountain.

It is a painting of a
playboy bunny. =

It is by the old-.
Skeena bridges:

Some . people: don’t .
like the bunny.”
They don’t think it
should be on _ the
mountain, 2

~ Carey Bretfeld.. ‘and
his .-patiner-. Mark®:

Anson painted the
bunny.

They like the paint-
ing. os

“They. plan to paint

fs other, things, includ-
_ ing arose. :

Corey. says ‘that ihe

painting is legal.

~ Corey and his friend
like, to © paint’ when
they have some > Spare
tine.’ on --

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