Walter Hall:
CLASS OF 1959
Hapnot Collegiate High SchoolClass of 1959
Flin flon, MB
Kelsey CollegeClass of 1966
Saskatoon, SK
Walter's Story
1956-1957 finished grade 10 , completed ICS structural drafting course while working and playing for several years , then grew up and completed high school matric at St.Josephs, 1962 to 1964, and completed an "at distance"Associate degree in Engineering Technology at Kelsey Campus and UofS .1964 to 1966 while working nightshift as apprentice mechanic. Received certificate of qualification , auto mechanic , early 1965. Joined a major american construction firm in 1966 as a General Foreman , building and equipment assembly and installation. 1970 moved to the forest industry in B.C. and retired from the position of Pulp & Newsprint Maintenance and training superintendent in year 1996 to owner of small construction company.
Co-authored two papers on oxygen bleaching
Co-authored a paper on workplace safety with a local physiotherapist and ergonomics specialist.
I met my future wife while she was taking a P.N. course at Kelsey and after dating for several years on a casual basis , we decided to get married. We had three birth children (wanted more but medical problems intervened) and raised 4 foster children from infants on through college , and am now raising two grandchildren who came to us shortly after birth. We found we loved children and have been blessed to have some with us all our life. We have 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren..
Still own the 1951 Ford Victoria I purchased in Flin Flon from the original owner who brought it there from Winnipeg. It now is a collector car and goes to car club meets only. We also own a collector licensed 1966 sport fury convertible which is a numbers matching original car with an original 71000 miles. It also only goes out on nice days and to shows. I have done a number of restoration projects on various old automobiles over the years as a hobby.We also have a touring motorcycle and have taken trips on it all over western Canada and the States and on into Mexico. We have been doing this since 1975.We also built a 1947 Fargo pickup and did much the same with it. We had one very unique adventure in Mexico with this truck. We were stopped by the Military on the highway and told not to go any further as banditos were in the area. These soldiers were just very small kids with big guns and we had to buy our way out of this with US$ and all the canadian loonies and change we had. They finally called for an escort Toyota truck which escorted us North out of harms way . Scary!!!
We spend quite a bit of time on the water sailing and do inland fishing on some of the local lakes.
We do as much travelling and camping as possible given that our two children are still in school .
Thought I should elaborate a bit and fill in some details.
In leaving Flin Flon , I left behind a great circle of friends and a very beautiful , intelligent and musically talented young lady , but Flin Flon did not offer anything for me to expand and create a career that I would want for the rest of my life.
Growing up , I lived with Ray and Minnie Darragh and daughters , on Boam Street . I worked with Empire Paint and Fuel in Channing on weekends unloading coal . My boss was Don Hartmier , who later lost his life going through the ice in one of his trucks.. I also worked night shift at the Gas Bar for quite some time, by the railroad tracks. Great part time job. Other jobs came and went. I slapped zinc plates at the Zinc plant and helped the old fellow in the Gold Room at times. I absolutely hated this type of work and knew this was not for me.
Floundering around like a baby duck in a pond for several years, but maturing into a young man , I suddenly decided enough was enough , bit the bullet , so to speak, got the education I was missing, the training I needed , and created a career in supervision that I was to love for the rest of my working life. I never went to work one day without enjoying the work I was doing.
Strangely , Flin Flon and some of of my friends never left my life. During my career building , many young men and women from Flin Flon would come and go in my life as we all moved about. However several became life long friends, like Jeff Pope , who I used to visit as a kid and build crystal radios, mecanno sets, miniature engines with. His father , Fred, used to drive me to work from time to time in his old mercedes. .Jeff moved to the forest industry in 1973 as an instrument mechanic and we worked together for some time before he went on to start his own Air conditioning and Refrigeration business. Jeff was unusually articulate and extremely talented in everything he did. We were friends until his passing last May . 2009. His father , Fred, joined the forest industry in 1969 and worked for me as a millwright until his retirement. He was a machinist at H.B.M&S before...Expand for more
this. Another was Cece Andreychuck from Creighton, who lived one block over from Blue Tenigt, I think. He worked for me as a H.D.mechanic until he retired. He now lives back at his fathers place just outside The Pas. He still comes back to B.C. for visits. Allan McFayden is another and the list goes on. In early 1970, I supervised an equipment installation at the Dankoe Mine site, formally Utica Mines, in between Keremeos and Ossoyus in B.C , and at a followup project budget meeting , I was to meet Albert Koffman , already a renowned figure in the mining industry. I do not know why he was there .He may have been part of the new principles who were taking over after a stock rollback in this year. He was HBM&S chief geologist up into the mid sixties.He was one of the people who led Manitoba through a turndown in the economy with the opening of Snow lake and others. During this period Manitoba prospered while other provinces were struggling. Unfortunately , we did not get to talk due to his and my busy schedule. I had two other B.C. projects I was overseeing at this time. I assume Mr.Koffman was a key figure in the overall management of this mine or was going to be .
I still meet many people from Flin Flon , who either grew up there or worked there.
My old Ford car that I bought years ago in Flin Flon had been repainted in gray before I bought it , but was originally a two tone green . It was the same model of Ford as Reno Pearsons car . His was a two tone blue. I loved the styling of this model and just kept it because of this . Some may remember both of these cars as we spent many hours cruising main street along with others.
Some of my favorite things to do were cruising at slow speed , drive-in movies , friday night movie theatre , friday dances at the community dance hall, Denare beach , Beaver lake , trout festival, trappers festival in the Pas ,hanging out with friends , playing pool at the "fall in" on main street where the floors were way out of level , getting haircuts at Kenny Iles father's barbershop (who claimed I had a double scalp because of my thick hair) and shared milkshakes at the Drop-in next door .
There was one negative event in my life in Flin Flon which I have carried with me for life. One night at the Dance Hall , a group of older young guys jumped us teenagers as we walked out the door . As I walked out the door , I was hit by a guy wearing a forearm cast which he hit me in the side of the head with. Little was I to know this would have a profound effect on my physical well being for a lifetime. I was first diagnosed with epileptic problems a couple of years later. But subsequent testing proved this wrong and the new diagnosis was brain trauma resulting from a small hemorrhage in the right hemisphere , probably from a blunt blow to the head. Later catscans and recently Mri tests did collaborate this original diagnosis. I was left with an ever weakening left side muscular control disability , but although this was a disability , I was able to do everything I ever wanted or tried to do . I played and coached hockey ,achieved a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and competed several times at Simon Fraser and Fort Lewis in all karate tournaments. , snow board and ski , competed in oval track racing with a 500 cc Yamaha for several years, stock car raced for two years, played baseball and biked competitively . I also ran several marathons and placed way back but enjoyed it anyway. Many of my activities were not approved by my neurosurgeon but I did them anyway
. Some characters from Flin Flon still stick in my mind , like Ovid Schmidt , the big wild man who claimed he had a steel plate in his head . When he came to town , everybody just let him go his way. A big RCMP officer with the same last name tried him on for size once but that was a mistake as I witnessed the result and it wasn't pretty. Ovid willingly turned himself in at the cop shop shortly after the carnage. Another was a polish gentleman who used to load railroad flatcars with ties in Channing. There were many young men who thought they were strong and tough , but none could even "half-pace" this older man much less keep up with him. He definitely had the "big John" syndrome.And there were many more.
Our immediate family , my wife and I and the two girls, toured up to Flin Flon for the 2000 homecoming arriving there two weeks ahead of time and planned on a one month vacation in the area. After spending just one day there looking at the old mine site and driving to Channing and other old familiar spots , we were notified of an extreme emergency within my wife's family and had to leave right away. We are hoping to make the next one , whenever that may be.
We are planning another trip. Perhaps this year, 2010, to Flin Flon , for a vacation .
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