Canadian Air Force Brat's Association Forum
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Not too sure Jim if my family lived in trailer park but they did live in France. My older sister Cheryl was born there in 1963 and I believed my parents lived there from 1959 or 1960-1963. I have older siblings some of who would have beeen in their teens in France.
Just wondering if you know anything about citizenship for military children born in overseas country? As I said my sister Cheryl was born in France in 1963. Back when she was 38 years old and living in Oakville ON she had her ID stolen. To her surprise when she went ot get her OHIP, license etc, she was told that she is not a Canadian citizen. Have you heard about this? My belief was that children born to a military personel on a overseas base and on Canadain soil there was in fact a Canadian.
Re: How many of you have gone back to look at your old bases and found them half torn down or closed
The only base still in operation that I lived on is Base Borden. Centralia, clinton, puntzi Mtn, rockcliffe, downsview, are all closed. I would love to get together for a reunion some day
Well a few years ago my mum, sister and my son went to Greenwood Nova Scotia. Our townhouse on Jordan (#16 I think)Ave. was being torn down so my mum wanted one last look. As my mum stood guard outside of the fence, my son and sister jumped over the fence to have one last look. Wouldn't you know it but the MP's came by. They questioned what they were doing there so my little old mother (75 years lod) told him the story of how her daughter (me) was born in Nova Scotia and that her son wanted to see the place. He said that they should move on then he left. My mum wanted to see more so again there they stood. Along came security and questioned them again. Mum repeated her story about living there and how her husband was in the service and stationed there. Well this gentleman asked her her name and what her husbands name is as he used to work there as well then became sercurity when he retired. When my mum mentioned my dad's name (W.O. Gerry (Germaine)Hogue) this man told her that he used to work with my dad. Hmm, I can't remember his name but that made my mum feel good. My dad passed away in 1981...3 1/2 years after moving from Borden. We lived there from 1973-1977.
I also went to Borden a few years back to see our old living quarters. We lived at 101 School Street. It was nice to see it again but I'm not too sure but I think the street shrank lol. Well back in 2007 I went back there again and our house was gone. Best years in Borden. I loved being a "brat" which is where I got my username of "xbrat".
Wow!!
I lived at 27 Maple drive....practically neighors.
I went to Barker Public school from grade 4 - 8 (1974-1979.) My most formative years were here. I almost cried when i saw the empty fields where the PMQs used to be. I can't even show my 16 year old son where i used to live and get into trouble.
I guess we're getting old...lol.
I live in Ottawa now and i still pass through the base for nostalgic reasons....
Hi Brats .. feeling very old after reading some of the comments lol .. I am a double RCAF Brat.
My Mum was in Trenton, Ont (6 R D)in the 40's
she was transferred to Clinton where she met my Dad, they married and lived off the station in Bayfield, both my brother and sister were born in Clinton (1947 and 49), they were then transferred to Morin Heights (Que)(lived in St. Denis) c 1951, from there we went to Mona Pica, Que (100 miles north of Quebec City) c 1953 (defunct since about 65,) from there to St. Hubert (lived on Popular St) until 1959 when we went to Ottawa, bought our first home in the west end, Dad was at Rockcliffe and Uplands before being moved downtown Ottawa, retired from the forces in 63 but had the same job as a civilian until he passed in 76.
I went back to see St. Hubert in July 2012. All the street names were Francicized years ago. Pine Circle where we lived is now named Rue Lery. My PMQ, no 40 burned down years ago according to the neighbours. Only the driveway remains. And all the row houses we called "the brick buildings" have been torn down. A wave of condos and town houses is creeping it's way across the fields that were behind our PMQ and the endless woods that were there full of poison ivy has thinned out and there is lots of visible housing now as Longueuil has expanded towards the base. The schools still look the same. The swimming pool and ice rink are gone. The solid steel and wood playgrounds with the Kamikaze teetor-totters have been replaced by kid-friendly plastics.
I've also been to Cold Lake a couple of times. The PMQs look more or less the same, except a bit run down and many are empty. The commercial center that had the theatre, pool, snack bar, Tomboy grocery store and the BX is all gone and part of it is a skateboard park. Kind of sad.
Interesting to hear from others who were St Hubert Brats like me! I also lived on Pine Circle #6 actually. Lived there 1970-74. I remember looking out my bedroom window at night at the rink and seeing the older kids playing hockey. The FLQ crisis happened when we were newly moved in and the older kids used to tell me that Pierre Laporte was buried under our back porch! what a nightmare at 6 years old!
Remember the Gypsy store just off base? Mrs Andrusiak as my Kindergarten teacher and Mr Bankuti as the Gym teacher? Mr Poole as the evil Principal at St Michaels school. Sister Claire as the miserable Nun/teacher.
Happy times. When did you live there? Did you look at the PMQs on Street view? pretty cool.
I hope to hear from you.
Rick
Hi Rick,
You're not going to believe this but before we lived in 40 Pine Circle we lived in 6 Pine Circle. My family moved to St. Hubert in 1956 two months before my twin sister and I were born. So we lived in no 6 for about a year then moved around the circle to number 40 which had more room. Pretty funny coincidence. I actaully took a lot of pictures of number 6 last summer. Like all the houses it's been done over with vinyl siding. I sure remember the Gypsy store, and sometimes having to climb over the barbed wire fence if the back gate wasn't unlocked. We left St. Hubert in 1965 and moved to Cold Lake Alberta.
Cheers,
Bill
Bill,
That is absolutely crazy that we both lived in the same house! Highly probable we had the same bedroom too! lol
Remember the detached garage? I used to use it as a hang out with my friends. My dad kept an old black 1962 Chrysler Imperial in there. We moved to Camp Borden from St Hubert and then to Summerside PEI. Great memories. I'm now in Ottawa where i'm at the 30 year point of my own Military career. As much as i wanted to get away from the military when i was young I guess it was in my blood. Did you stray from the military path in life?
Regards
Rick Quesnel
Rick,
My dad retired in 1969 but the only one of us to follow in his footsteps was my brother Al who was a forces weatherman but has since retired. My family lived in Ottawa before I was born, in Rockcliffe, which being close to a big city I guess the land is too valuable to let the PMQs stay.
Cheers,
Bill
I made this short webpage comparing two trips my wife and I made in 2004 and 2012 to St. Hubert. Previously I hadn't seen the base since 1965. The webpage was to show my siblings how things have changed but some of you may also be interested. There is no direct link in this forum so you'll have to cut and paste it into your browser. https://sites.google.com/site/rcafstationsainthubert/
Regards,
Bill Chalk
Very cool Bill! nice seeing pics of the old house from different perspectives. I have some St Hubert Pics i'll try to upload as well from @ 1970-72.
Remember the old outdoor rink? some of my best memories were on that thing. long gone now.
Thanks for posting this!
Rick
Rick, My older sister Penny reminded me that after we moved out of 6 Pine Circle in 1957 she became friends with a girl named Janet Hickey who lived in that house in the 1960's, so she spent a lot of time playing in that house.
Bill
I lived at R.C.A.F Station Rockcliffe from 1956-62. I started school there in 1956. My father was post back to Halifax N.S. in July 1962 after I finished Grade 4.
Speaking for myself those six and a half years at Rockcliffe was an experience that had a profound life long effect on me. Living on a Base or Station in the military is not like living on Civi Street or out in the urban Country. These Stations and Bases were unique communities unto themselves. My time at Rockcliffe was like living in a little paradise in so many ways. I can still remember that day in the last week of July 1962 when we left our PMQ for the last time and drove out the back gate of the station, a feeling came over me that told me a very important and unique part of my life was over. Today, nearly 51 years has gone by since I left Rockcliffe and I have become very nostalgic about those days. Since 1970 I have tried to return back to Ottawa and Rockcliffe at least once every 5 years or so. I almost hate to describe it as a "Pilgrimage" but really that is what it has become. My last trip back was in July 2009, I knew at that time it would be the very last time I could go to the section of the old station where my old home and neighborhood were still standing, for all the PMQ's in the East end of the station had already been removed for some time along with almost every military building. I took many pictures that day including some HD video. Again today as I am writing this blog May 2013 there is nothing left to go back to see but the paved streets. It has often been stated that Death an Taxes are the only certainties in life, but as we are all finding out in time " CHANGE " is also a certainty. We all have our memories now and it is through this latest technological advancement "The Internet" that we can re-establish long lost friends and associates to share these memories with. For myself I have found the 'Facebook website"," I lived at Rockcliffe" and have been able to link up with others like myself whom were lucky enough to have experienced life at Rockcliffe while it was still in operation till 1994. There are many other websites and many former " Brats" seeking to reconnect with their past, so keep looking and searching and perhaps you too will be able to take that walk down memory lane with and old friend again!
Hello Rick;
First, thank you for posting a response. For today's generation the computer is like the telephone was to our generation and they have been brought up from a very early age to take full advantage of this technology. Our generation as I mentioned previously had the telephone and "Letters". To be more specific if you wish to keep in touch with old friends that were no longer living in your area those friends would become " Pen Pals " with you, it was the cheapest means of staying in touch, as the phone in those days had high long distance rates associated with them. However, when the computer and Internet came along and became in more common use in the early 80's I am glad to say at least some of our generation made the effort to upgrade their skills to take advantage of this new means to stay in touch with old friends. The computer will always represent a challenge for our generation but the rewards can be great for those again whom make the effort to learn. I myself have two friends I have known since High School and they are not keen at all to learn the computer! This is the way things have developed.
I would never for a second trade a single memory from my days at Rockcliffe. It was like living in a " Leave it to Beaver" world if I could put it that way. It was so very idealistic in so many ways. However, the other side of the coin ( and unfortunately there is another side ) the whole profound experience effected me in a way that I grew up a bit of a round peg in a world that had mostly square holes to function in. Of course every individuals " Brat Experience" may be and of course will be unique to themselves.
My very nostalgic memories also extend to " Ottawa " in general. My mother worked for A.J Freiman's Department store on Rideau Street in the old downtown section of Ottawa. When I visit Ottawa and I am down in that area I can still see in my minds eye the old 'Daly Building" on the corner of Sussex and Rideau and the old " National Building" that was right next door to " Union Station" now the National Conference Center. I still recall those years 56,57 and 58 when during the Summers of those years my Mother and I would take the Street Car out to Britannia Beach. We were young then and they were all good times.
By the way Rick, your last name "Quesnel". My father was good friends with a fellow whom had the same last name when we lived at Rockcliffe, he and his family lived just outside the City a short ways in a little place called " Vars". Today here in Nova Scotia I know and used to work with a young lady who also has the same last name. In closing Rick, do make the effort to get your Facebook Account set up and of course encourage those others whom you believe would benefit from learning the computer to do the same. All the best to you and do Take Care!
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