Farewell Aunt Margaret

Last night, Mom received the news that her oldest sister, Margaret (Etsell) Newton, had passed away in Winnipeg at 88. You can see Mom at the far left beside Aunt Margaret, with Aunt Jean and Aunt Marjorie, respectively, on the right. 

I'll miss Aunt Margaret. She was kind, compassionate, warm, intelligent, and accomplished, and she had a smile that lit up the room. My thoughts are with my Uncle Gordon, my cousins David, Kathy, and Barbara, my aunts, and, of course, Mom. 

Aldon Gray

Mom sent me some old pictures of her first cousin Aldon Gray (left), of whom she says: "He landed at Normandy and walked all the way to Germany with the South Saskatchewan Regiment. He was lucky to survive, as he was in the infantry and was under fire a lot. As he was single, he stayed in Germany to help with the displaced people until he came home in 1946. He was a quiet person, but very smart. He died in Deer Lodge (a military hospital) in Winnipeg at the age of 97. Your dad and I went to his funeral."

I appreciate Mom letting us know this slice of family history. I cleaned up the photograph she sent a little bit. I wonder what that piece of equipment is to Aldon's right; it looks like either a spotlight or one of those signal lights with the shutters. 

A Short History of Transair by The View from Seven

Way back in the early 1970s, I flew for the first time. Mom will have to correct my memory, but I believe we flew from Winnipeg to Thompson on a Transair 707, then from Thompson to Leaf Rapids on a much smaller propeller-driven plane.

At least I think that's how it happened. I remember Mom bought me an inflatable Transair jet, which some time later shifted in the closet while I was sleeping and terrified me, causing me to bolt downstairs in a flash into the arms of my parents because I thought it was a monster.

Transair was a short-lived Winnipeg-based airline with a brown and yellow paint scheme--very 1970s. I'm not sure why I was thinking about it today, but to my delight someone's actually written a capsule history of the airline. If you're interested in flying or Manitoba history, read about Transair here. 

Photo Phlub

You find the strangest things when you dig through the family photo archives. Here I'm at a cousin's wedding in Winnipeg, and whoever shot this caught me unprepared, capturing my sublimely goofy expression. Mom looks really good, though.