FCO Update

Greetings from Victoria, BC.

My name is Ren L’Ecuyer and I have just returned to Victoria from the FCO reunion which was held in Lethbridge, AB on August 28^th , 29^th and 30^th. I have been advised that there were 411 attendees at the reunion and I was able to chat with quite a few of those who attended. Much to my surprise, I met and spoke with some FCOs that I have not seen in 40 years.

I would like to thank those who loaned their photo albums to me. Your trust is greatly appreciated. Rest assured that I shall process everything as quickly as possible. Your albums and assorted detail will be packaged and returned by mail as we discussed at the reunion.

There appears to be three major items of interest that are outstanding from the reunion.

1 – There were a number of 8 ½ x 11 photos of station crests which were on the wall at the back of the banquet room. Please bear in mind that not every station had an official station crest. It is my understanding that the station would design a crest, submit it through channels, and that those that managed to make it through the requirements were eventually approved by "Queen Elizabeth". The station crests which we have been able to obtain are available for downloading from the Pinetree Line web site. (see #1 below)

2 – There were a number of station drawings which were on the same wall – located below the appropriate station crest. These drawings were also used as the design for place mats at the banquet, held on Saturday night August 29^th. Our thanks go to Bob Findlay for providing the following detail about the drawings.

Miss Judy Flostrand, an art student from BC was commissioned in 1985 to produce suitable artwork depicting the Pinetree radar sites. CFS Moisie and CFS Mont Apica declined to join the project and chose to have local artists depict their site. The project was initiated and agreed upon at a Commander’s Conference in Winnipeg. The CO of CFS Holberg got the ball rolling and arranged for the artist. She visited all of the sites during the summer of 1985 and gathered ideas as she went. The items included in the drawings were decided during those visits. The prints were ordered and paid for through CFS Holberg so any details would have to come from someone who was there in the 1984-1986 time frame. The original black and white pen and ink drawings were to be hung in the new Air Command HQ building in Winnipeg. Details of the paintings from the other two sites could also be gained from those sources. As you will notice from the prints, the Station/Squadron crest as well as a recognizable profile of the site and something depicting the local area were usually included. If you look at St. Margarets, you’ll see the BUIC Scope, NORAD gong and CF-101 were included as a reminder to all that it had been a BUIC site and took over control from 22 NORAD Region when North Bay was being updated to ROCC status in the early 80’s. For those who knew St. Margarets in the 1970s and 1980s, they may be surprised to see no indication of our neighbour – SITU (the Satellite Identification and tracking unit). That was because the CO of SITU decided that it would not be appropriate. If you look at the Alsask print you will notice a piano on the bottom left. I assume that it is in recognition to that "OP PIANO" originated there. That was a 24 NORAD Region contest that took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Piano will only mean something to those who participated in or have heard of something about those exercises. – Bob Findlay

Since the drawings were commissioned in 1985, it is safe to assume that there is NO drawing available for any radar station which was closed prior to 1985 (i.e. Armstrong, Beaverbank, Comox, Edgar, Foymount, Moosonee, Pagwa, Parent, Puntzi Mountain, Ramore, St. Sylvestre and Tofino). All 24 of the station drawings that are known to exist are currently available for viewing and downloading. (see #2 below)

3 – There were a number of still photos which were taken at the FCO reunion. I am pleased to advise that I have received an estimated 120 photos on September 30th. These photos have been scanned and are now available for viewing on the Pinetree Line web site. The images have been scaled down in JPG format to allow you to view the photos on line. There has been an attempt to identify as many of the individuals as possible. We can, however, use your help with the identification of a small number of photos. Let's be realistic folks. No one can be expected to remember let alone know everyone - at least not at our age. <grin> Many thanks for your patience. (see #3 below)