Cartwright, Labrador

I was familiar with Cartwright since I had worked with the construction crew at this location between 1951 and 1953.

I was living in Paradise River, Labrador before I returned to Cartwright (by ski-doo) in 1967. In the early 50s, I had been employed as a Timekeeper with the Fraser Brace Terminal Company during the construction phase of the radar station at Cartwright. I was now returning to a position with the Newfoundland government enforcing Forestry and Wildlife regulations and fighting forest fires during the summer months.

I had heard about this position from a friend that worked with the Forest Service in St. John’s Newfoundland. My new job in Cartwright had me working 9 to 5 Monday to Friday but I clocked many hours of overtime during emergencies. I lived in my own private home which was located in the village of Cartwright.

The USAF radar station was still operational when I returned to Cartwright in 1967. There was some social activity on the base and the USAF would put on a special bus run on the week-ends for people from the village to come and visit their clubs.

There were about 12 civilians from the village employed at the radar station. The military was advised of the impending closure of the radar station about a year before hand. The closure meant that there would be a loss of employment for those that had been working on the base.

The USAF eventually closed the radar station in 1968. They took the radar and some of the communications equipment but they more or less left everything else behind. The site was then operated by Canadian Marconi for a further 10 years. The Canadian Marconi employees made full use of the facilities that remained as did Bell Canada and Newfoundland Telephone. It is important to note that all of these positions were civilian in nature, and the military presence ended when the radar station was closed in 1968.

I would guess that there might have been around 50 employees with Canadian Marconi and a smaller number employed by other organizations at Cartwright.

The site was completely closed down during the winter of 1978. The remains were then sold to the "highest bidder" during the mid 1980s.

Unfortunately, I do not have access to detail as to whom the site was sold to, nor do I have any information pertaining to the demolition of the site.

It is known that the original site which was home to the 922^nd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron between 1953 and 1968 was razed to the ground and no longer exists. All that remains are some cement foundations which once housed various radar towers and buildings that made up the complex.