The Stations History
1968 - 1972
Commanding Officers:
LCol. GL Davis CD July 1969 to July 1972
LCol. LRA Cimon July 1972 to August 1974
With nearly all the changes in the radars now completed that led up to the configuration we have to the present day (1978), there’s not much more to add to the story of the operations side. So I thought in this section I would take you through a rambling tour of the years 1969 to 1972. It has been very interesting researching this history. We have used the official histories of the unit which are kept in the Directorate of History and the National Archives in Ottawa and old copies of the Station Routine Orders that were kept there as well. We have asked for personal reminiscences and studied the local papers and the unit’s photo albums to come up with something that we hope will interest you. From time to time there have been items which just didn’t seem to fit in with the story of the five years under discussion but which were very interesting to read. And so this era will be devoted to items such as that.
One of the things that always intrigued me about CFS Moisie and Sept-Iles was why we were on Eastern Time rather than Atlantic Time. If you look at a time map of Canada, you will see that the dividing line between Eastern and Atlantic Time makes a little bubble around Moisie and Sept-Iles to ensure that Sept-Iles is on the same time zone as Quebec City and Montreal. Well, here it is from the L’Avenir of the 26th October 1969. "Sept-Iles now on Eastern Standard Time with Montreal. - The Minister of Municipal Affairs, the Honourable Robert Lussier has bowed to pressure brought about by the Department of Education, the Matane Television Station and several other businesses and industrial sources, to obtain legislation through which Sept-Iles changes time to conform to the time maintained by the rest of the Province of Quebec. In an unusual procedure in the National Assembly last Thursday afternoon, Bill 67, a bill to standardize the time in Quebec, was passed through three readings in one day to allow the change to be made Sunday morning at 00:01 a.m. The bill received Royal assent Friday. The time change applies to all that territory west of the 63rd longitude and passes east of Baie Johan Beetz. This means that the main communities on the lower north shore also changed their time last Sunday morning".
Throughout our research there have been continual references to the efforts of the Search and Rescue Team of CFS Moisie. These volunteer stalwarts have been called on through the years to assist in dramas and tragedies. What follows, although probably not a typical 12 months, gives some idea of their responsibilities. In February 1968 a Cessna 310 belonging to the Wheeler-Northland Co. failed to return from a photo-reconnaissance flight of ships proceeding through the ice in the Sept-Iles area. In the extensive air and ground search that followed, CFS Moisie became one of the bases of operations. Observers from the Search and Rescue Team from CFS Moisie were dispatched to accompany the planes and the Ground Search Team from CFS Moisie combed the area between Moisie River and Sept-Iles airport.
In May of 1969, the Search and Rescue Team left for Baie-Comeau to assist 413 Search and Rescue Squadron from Summerside, PEI, in a search for a Piper Comanche which was believed to be down in the vicinity of Baie-Comeau. The crash was located.
On the 1st of July 1969, two members of the Search and Rescue Team from CFS Moisie rescued a local vacationer from the waters of the Moisie River. The man had a 14-foot plywood boat powered by a 12 h.p. engine. About 500 feet off shore behind the CFS Moisie domes, the boat went into a sharp right turn and the single occupant of the boat was thrown into the water and was hit either by the upper part of the motor or by the boat itself. When rescued by the two airmen of the CFS Moisie Search and Rescue Team who were patrolling the river, the vacationer was dazed and bleeding from cuts on the head. He was completely unable to help himself.
On the 18th of July 1969, assistance was provided by CFS Moisie Search and Rescue to help Quebec Provincial Police in the search for several missing persons believed drowned. The St. Lawrence River shore was thoroughly searched and one body was located.
These are just some of the activities that the CFS Moisie Ground Search Team has been called upon to perform throughout the years.
On the 1st of May 1968, LCol Santarelli turned the first sod to begin the work of building the Moisie Curling Rink. The project was completed on the 2nd of November 1968, and was opened with a bonspiel involving most of the station. The project officer was Captain P. Paszek, very ably assisted by MWO Racine.
It was 1970 when Moisie first fielded the Moisie Flyers in the Sept-Iles Commercial Softball League.
Although it was their first year playing, they still managed to finish third in the standings for the division. Here is a short note from the L’Avenir from that time. "Had the Moisie Flyers managed to get going a little earlier in the season, they would have placed even higher in the circuit. In fact, the boys led by Burt Ferron, after being defeated in their first four games, managed to find a winning formula and lifted themselves over the Wabush Mines Voyageurs. By this fact, they managed to make the playoffs in their initial year of competition. The finding of Paul Farrow to labour on the mound for the Flyers made a big difference. Steve Landry was another strong asset as he handled the hot short-stop position for the airmen. In their maiden year, the main problem for the Flyers was defensive lapses that too often allowed their opponents to jump ahead with insurmountable leads early in the game. The addition of the Moisie Flyers and the Clarke City Nine made a great difference in the league this year. Considerable interest was awakened and the outside Nines added a little competitive spirit to the games this season".
On a not so light note, this article is from the L’Avenir. "One month in jail in Moisie shooting." Two young men of 18 years of age from Moisie were sentenced to one month in jail last Tuesday afternoon in Quebec Provincial Court in Sept-Isles. Immediately following their sentence the two were taken to Baie-Comeau where they will serve their sentence. The pair were accused under articles 160 and 373 of the Canadian Criminal Code as having fired a rifle shot toward the Guard House at the Moisie Radar Station. No one was injured. The incident took place some two weeks ago (26 October 1970)".
On the 25th of July 1968, Governor General Roland Mitchener arrived at Mgr Blanche’s dock on board the navy destroyer HMCS Assiniboine, there to conduct a visit of the Sept-Iles area. He inspected a 50-man Guard of Honour from CFS Moisie.
Why do we always have trouble with our sewer line? Hopefully the new sewage plant will help to alleviate the problem, but it’s doubtful. In September, 1968 six divers from the Clearance Diving Establishment, Halifax, repaired the sewer outflow pipe in the St. Lawrence River. These divers also participated in the search for the Cessna 310 previously discussed. However, on the 6th of December 1968 the main sewer line to the St. Lawrence River was again damaged by the high winds and high tides and seas. If it’s any consolation to you old timers they are still trying to keep the thing working.
How prices escalate! The Canex Grocery Store project for CFS Moisie was approved at an estimated cost of $95,590 with construction starting on the 4th of November 1969. This grocery store was to be a trial project for grocery stores for all radar stations and completion was anticipated by the end of April 1970. Well, they didn’t quite make it, neither from the date nor the budget. From the 12th of May 1970 there is this entry in the official history. "Official opening of the $200,000 Canex Complex". I guess things haven’t changed.
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.