10 Jun 2016
Museum Memories

We made our stop in Saskatchewan in Moose Jaw, where the provincial nursing This biplane has bright yellow wings and a pusher propeller high above the red and white boat-shaped cockpit, with a cavity in front for the aerial photographer. Aerial mapping plane school taught nurses from 1917 to 1970. We were impressed to see that it shared its motto with the United States Coast Guard: Semper Paratus.

The local museum has a terrific collection of aircraft, many of them adapted for the particular jobs to be done in isolated territory in weather which was often snowy and otherwise treacherous. It is commonplace for planes to take off and land from water, as that enables fairly easy access to much of Canada.

We enjoyed a homemade video of a bunch of old folks (they looked our age) This old black and white photograph shows the farmer and the queen standing side by side looking at dairy cattle. Farmer, queen and cows who had cobbled up a home made glider, which they proceeded to fly by towing it behind a truck.

Another plane carried a photographer who was strapped into an open enclosure at the front of the airplane. He took three photos per minute (one to the left, one to the front, one to the right) while the pilot flew up and down a 100-kilometre stretch. When the plane landed, the photos were developed and if there were any problems they would have to go back up and do it again. The same type of plane routinely ran fire patrol, with the spotter in front calling in any fires which he had found. The idea of standing up in the front of a flying plane without any safety gear scared both of us!

With long snowy winters, Canadians have come up with a number of ingenious ways to get around in the snow, such as tracked vehicles and sleds and sleighs. We In the museum case are the very cups from which the queen drank her tea, with the tea stains still visible. Unwashed cups display were particularly interested by what was called a "snow plane." It was an ordinary car body on four sturdy skis, with a large propeller in the rear powered by a good sized gas engine. Once it got going it could make excellent time over the snowy fields. The front pair of skis could turn to allow the passengers to guide the vehicle.

In 1956, the young Queen Elizabeth made a visit to Moose Jaw. The host family ran a farm a mile from the nearest paved road. The farmer showed Her Majesty his herd of cows, and someone, fortunately, took a photo. They purchased a special set of Rosenthal china for the visit, and never washed the Queen's cup, which is on display in the museum.