This is Mike on the base during our second posting in Churchill. The siren on top of the building was set off at noon everyday. We always knew when it was time to eat. It was actually there for emergencies. Sometimes the wind would make it moan and make eerie noises. The siren was not appreciated by the guys who worked late on midnight shifts and had to sleep during the daytime.

The fellows at the base fire department flooded the ground not far from the airport and at the back end of the PMQs. The children used the ice for skating and practicing their hockey skills. The hanger of the airport is on the right in this photo.

Michael, Duncan and some other children are shown practicing hockey. Duncan got himself lost this day, too. He tried to go home before I went back to get him and I guess he got confused with the duplicity of all the PMQs. He went to one of the doors, which was in a different row, but in the same place where our PMQ would have been in "J" Row. He knocked on the door and told the lady who answered the door, "I am Dunc the Skunk and I am lost." I don't know how she found out where he lived but she came to my door, knocked, and said, "Is this where Dunc the Skunk lives?" He still gets called Dunc the Skunk occasionally.

This is a photo of the Maroons Midget Hockey Team that Jack (on the far left) coached when we lived on the base in 1959. Being a coaches wife is not a comfortable situation during a Midget Hockey game. The mothers can sure be vicious. I was inclined to stay home from those games.

Chris Dawson, the young lad farthest left in the front row, was occasionally our baby sitter, looking after our three children once in awhile. His father, Ron Dawson, was a PT Instructor in the Navy and his mother worked in the Officers' Mess on the Army Base. It is hard to believe that all of those players in the picture are now all over fifty years old!

This is a photo of the Maroons Hockey Team crest.

This is a photo of the Navy "B" hockey team. Jack was the other goalie on this team but he was not there when the picture was taken. I presume that he was on duty or something. By looks of the face of that goalie I am kind of glad that Jack was not the goalie during that particular game. At this time the goalie did not wear a face mask or a helmet and neither did any of the players or the referee.

Jack did some refereeing and lived to tell the story. There is nothing as horrible as being the wife of the referee during a hockey game between the Army and the Navy or against the civies. The referee is never a popular guy and neither is his wife if she is present at the game. I learned to avoid going to games that he refereed.

The Navy Hockey team played in the Churchill Hockey League and were the international champions in 1955-1956 season. This is the crest for the "B" League Navy Hockey Team. They played against teams from the Air Force, Navy, Army possibly civilians from town (not sure about the civies). The games were played in the only available arena which was the one on the Base at Fort Churchill. Jack (aka Jake) was one of the goalies.

Jack was a member of the "A" League Navy Softball Team that became the champs in 1955. This is Jack (aka Jake) in his Softball uniform (he was #12) and the crest for the Fort Churchill Softball League DRNL team in 1959. Jack played on this team, even though he was in the Navy. I am not sure what DRNL stood for but they were guys who worked for the DRNL. Maybe if someone who worked for DRNL reads this they can tell us what it was.

Broomball was another sport that the Navy personnel took part in. They must have been good at it since this crest says they were the 1959/1960 champs! There were personnel in Fort Churchill from both Canada and USA so most of the sports jackets had both flags on them as seen in this photo.

Curling was another sport that was very popular there at the time but I do not seem to have any pictures of that. There was also a small curling rink in town that I remember Jack curled in sometimes. If other people look at these pictures it may bring forward some more information about sports in the north during that era.