1st FCO Reunion - 1996

Several years prior to the first FCO Reunion, going back to approximately 1985, Don MacKenzie was attempting to find interest in organizing an FCO Reunion with little or no results. Don found lots of helpers but no organizer. Firtunately, Don was directed to Alex Sheaves and they in turn contacted several other FtrCops in the Red Deer area and our first meeting took place at the Red Deer Legion on 18th November 1995 at 1930 hours with 22 retired FCO's in attendance. It felt great!

Attendance roll for our first meeting included Alex Sheaves, Pat Bourk, George Slaugnwhite, Joan & Harold Truckle, Paul & Ruby Jacquard, Don & Ethel MacKenzie, Bill Jenkins, Dave Adams, Bob & Marg Higginson, Gary Fairservice, John & Ceci Ferris, Bill Cuerrier, Tom Welch, John Dunn, George Cooke and Spider MacDonald.

At this meeting, we selected our Committee which consisted of: President - Alex Sheaves; Vice President - Don MacKenzie; Secretary - Ruby Jacquard; Treasurer - Pat Bourk; Entertainment - John Ferris; Golf - John Dunn; Tours - Hal Harder; Nominal Roll - George Cooke; Memorabilia & Pictures - Gerry & Joan Fairservice, Don & Ethel MacKenzie, John & Ceci Ferris.

Additionally, we each made a small contribution towards our registration fee, giving us a financial "spring board" in which to work from. We gathered $180.00 that first evening.

Letters of intent were to be sent out to everyone on our list along with a request for additional names. The list grew and in a very short period of time we were feeling quite confident that our attendance projection of 300 would be more than met. George Cooke and Don MacKenzie were kept busy maintaining the "Nominal Roll" fortunately - both had their own computers.

Initially, we held meetings every two weeks - 14th November, 24th November, 30th November and the 14th December. As the winter of 1995-1996 approached, several of our snowbird FCO's departed on their flight south."

At this time Pat Bourk took up the slack and continued on with the reunion preparations, with help from Spider MacDonald, Hal Harder, Bob & Marg Higginson and Noella Berezowski. By the time of our next meeting on 14th March 1996, most of the work was well under way or accomplished and Pat was commended for doing a bang up job.

At our meeting of 25th June 1996, it appeared that everything possible had been attended to from caps, T-Shirts, lapel pins, books, Meet & Greet packages, 10 cent beer, dance - and everything was progressing most satisfactorily. All we had to do now was a final check up and wait for the people to show up - and they did!

The Reunion was absolutely fantastic. We never expected to find so many people experience and display the feeling of nostalgia as they embraced long lost friends from their past. It was a heart warming, wrenching, tear dropping weekend. Don, Alex, Pat and crew outperformed our greatest expectation and all FtrCops are greatful to them.

Everything went off like clockwork - even taking group pictures of all those who served at various stations across the Pinetree Line - which was not planned but requested by a group from St. Margarets, and snowballed from there.

The reunion is impossible to describe and I think it was well wrapped up when Harry Hayes came over to bid farewell on Sunday morning. All it took was one look and it was obvious a simple hand shake would never do. We embraced and bid each other a fond farewell, as we dried our watering eyes. What a Reunion!.

This article was prepared by John Ferris - in consultation with Don MacKenzie, Alex Sheaves and George Cooke.