CLINTON ONTARIO & IT’S ‘WARTIME’ & ‘COLD WAR’ TOP SECRET RADAR BASE……SSSSHHHHHH, DON’T TELL THE RUSSIANS

DID YOU KNOW CLINTON ONTARIO WAS ONCE KNOWN AS ‘CANADA’S HOME OF RADAR’ & THIS PIECE OF RADAR EQUIPMENT MOUNTED IN THE CENTER OF TOWN ATTESTS TO THAT FACT… CFB CLINTON

With the longest day of the year now behind us it is a slow but steady plod to the shortest day of the year which will occur on December 21rst later in the year.   Best part of that for me is increasingly ‘earlier in the evening’ sunsets. 

SAW THIS LONG WIND TURBINE BLADE BEING TRUCKED THROUGH CLINTON’S MAIN INTERSECTION LAST WEEK

A SAMPLE OF CLINTON’S DOWNTOWN CORE

Probably going to be a busy photo week.  The town of Goderich is host to an air show Wednesday organized by the Maitland Air Cadet Association with planes coming in to the Goderich Airport Tuesday & departing Thursday.  Also a static ground display Tuesday with the actual show starting late Wednesday afternoon.  Performing will be the CANADIAN FORCES SNOWBIRDS aerobatic team as well as the CANADIAN ARMED FORCES SKYHAWK parachute team.  Also participating will be the Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 HORNET demonstration team.  Sounds like a good show….weather permitting of course. 

FORGOT TO INCLUDE A FEW PHOTOS OF MY BIKE’S NEW TEARDROP MIRRORS A FEW DAYS AGO

 

 

AND HERE’S THE TOP OF KELLY’S OLD SEWING CABINET SHE FOUND BUT LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING…YES THAT RED IS THE COLOR SHE PAINTED IT BUT THE PATTERN IS CAUSED BY MORNING SUNLIGHT SHINING THROUGH SOME LATTICE WORK ON THE SIDE OF OUR CARPORT

 

HERE’S A COUPLE SMALL OUTSIDE TABLES SHE’S BEEN WORKING ON WHICH ACTUALLY ARE FINISHED NOW

For me years ago it wasn't the car or boat shows that drew my attention, it was the air shows.  My Uncle Fred took me to my first air show in Centralia Ontario some time back in the 50's. The main thing I remember that day in Centralia was Canada's aerobatic team the GOLDEN HAWKS.  They flew F86 Sabre Jets & of course for this young boy that became my favorite airplane of all time & oh what a show they put on.  I had never seen airplanes up that close or flying all together like that.  And the roar of those big jet engines just about lifted me out of my britches.  Also flying at that show was the 'Red Knight'.  Can't remember exactly the plane he was flying but I think it might have been a CF-100 & yes it was painted red.  I was just dazzled watching this fellow do all his twists & turns from low screaming passes to high rocketing out of sight loops & rolls.  I was hooked on airplanes that day & in later years especially during the late 70's I would always make it a point to attend both the London & Hamilton airshows each year.  Kelly & I attended an air show in Hamilton in 1994 & that was the last air show I can recall being to.  Knowing the large crowds air shows draw it will be our biggest challenge late Wednesday afternoon to find a reasonably good spot to see the show which will be performed out over the clear glistening waters of Lake Huron.  The whole Goderich beach area will be very crowded.

 

THE GOLDEN HAWKS F-86 SABRE JETS & A LONE CF 100 (PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE INTERNET)

The airbase RCAF STATION CENTRALIA where I saw my first air show was a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft training base during the Second World war.  In the same years during the war nearby Clinton Ontario was known as Canada's 'Home of Radar'.  In response to Britain's urgent request for 100 Officers & 1,000 Technicians to train as skilled radar operators Canada responded & in 1940 Britain's Royal Air Force agreed to build a radar training facility just a couple miles south of Clinton Ontario Canada.  It was known as RAF STATION CLINTON.  At the end of the war in 1945 many military bases were de-commissioned but not so Clinton's radar base.  The top secret facility remained active well into the Cold War days continuing to train personnel with the latest in electronic radar gear working in conjunction with military aircraft flying out of RCAF Station Centralia about 20 miles away.

THIS CRUMBLING RADAR DOME GIVES TRIBUTE TO A ONCE TOP SECRET RADAR BASE HERE BACK IN THE 40’S, 50’S & EARLY 60’S.

ONCE A THRIVING RADAR HUB MANY OF THESE OLD MILITARY BUILDINGS ARE DYING A SLOW DEATH

CFB Clinton was finally de-commissioned in 1971.  During it's active years many military buildings dotted the site as well as housing for base personnel.  Today the old air base is known as a little settlement called VANASTRA. <<< THIS IS A PARTICULARLY INFORMATIVE LINK  Some of the military buildings are still standing with private enterprise having moved into some of them.  Others stand stark against the horizon as reminders of a different age well over 70 years ago.  Many of the buildings are in decaying ruin dying a long slow death as 7 decades of wind & weather have ravaged their old creaking bones.  Fires over the years have felled others.  Most if not all the small war time houses on the base have fortunately been bought up by private citizens over the years & been refurbished, remodelled, & brought up to current standards.   Vanastra has grown into it's own small community complete with Recreation Center & a pool as well as a small convenience store.  Not sure if they have their own Post Office but I do know Ontario’s Hydro One has a work yard on the old base.  I'm guessing there may be half a dozen or more business's operating in Vanastra now.  One company makes large roofing trusses & it's where I had 4 roof trusses made for a small wooden garden shed I built about 10 years ago.  It was all I could do to stand the boards up straight for the walls let alone try to figure out all the angles for making 2 x 4 roof trusses.

OLD QUONSET HUTS REMAIN & I WONDER IF THAT IS A MILITARY NUMBER ABOVE THE DOOR ON THE HUT BELOW

   

 

SOME OF THESE HUTS HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS’S

 

I THINK SOME OF THE OLD BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN SAVED & MAYBE RENOVATED TO APARTMENTS

THIS ROOF TRUSS BUSINESS WHERE I HAD MY SHED TRUSSES MADE SEEMS TO BE DOING WELL ON THE OLD RADAR BASE SITE

ONE HAS TO WONDER WHAT EVER WILL BECOME OF THESE OLD BUILDINGS SOME DAY

CFB CLINTON WAS ONCE A FINE LOOKING PLACE

A FEW OF THE OLDER WARTIME HOUSES IN VANASTRA

 

Knew it was going to be a hot humid day so I was out early with the vacuum cleaner, garden hose, & scrub brush to clean up the Jeep Liberty.  Pheebs & I had it in quite a mess again with our muffin eating ways & dusty gravel road travels.  Luckily it's a small vehicle & easy to clean up.  Of course any vehicle seems small & easily cleanable after one has owned a big Dinosaur of an RV.  Even an old boat of a Cadillac would seem like a breeze.  Had everything that was needing done finished up by 10 a.m. then hastily retreated into the house for some nice energizingly cool A/C breezes.

Bayfield Homes Part 2 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

When you click on the photo album a page of photos will appear.  Click on the top left photo making it larger.  Now you can choose to see the photos in a slide show format by clicking 'Play Slide Show' at the top or view them one at a time by clicking the arrow at the bottom.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A clergyman, walking down a country lane, saw a young farmer struggling to load hay back onto a cart after it had fallen off.  "You look tired, my son," said the cleric. "Why don't you rest a moment, and I'll give you a hand."  "No thanks," said the young man. "My father wouldn't approve."  "Don't be silly," the minister said. "Everyone is entitled to a break. Come and have a drink of water."  Again the young man protested that his father would be upset.  Losing his patience just a little, the clergyman said, "Your father must be a real slave driver. Tell me where I can find him and I'll give him a piece of my mind!"  "Well," replied the young farmer, "you can tell him whatever you like just as soon as I get this load of hay off him."

‘FATHER’S DAY’–A MIXED BAG OF FEELINGS FOR ME EACH YEAR

AT THE HULLETT MARSH THIS MORNING
There has always been something just a touch extra special  about Sunday morning drives.  A serene tranquility in the air.  The sun is more warming, the breeze more calming.  I have noticed this for years.  Even birds seem to sing sweeter.   Just an overall relaxed & placid feel to the day not found to the same comfortable degree on week days.  The psychological feeling comes from knowing Sunday is a laid back content day of rest & always has been for as long as I can remember.  The reality of quieter Sunday's for people like me comes in the form of how we choose to spend it.  For me I like to think of it as a people free day.  It's a day to stay away from people, people places, & people noises, whether it be stores, busy highways, any kind of social get togethers or gatherings.  It's that one special day a week when it's time to spend time with self doing whatever self would like to do to bring a resting untroubled peace to ones own mind.   And for me that's a simple drive in the rural countryside. Others may differ of course:))

 

A TOUCH OUT OF FOCUS BUT LOOK AT THAT BUNDLE OF POLLEN THIS BEE IS CARRYING

Father's day each year is always a little different for me & comes with a mixed bag of feelings & emotions which I've never really come to grips with.  My Mother & Father were bitterly divorced when I was just a little fella & I remember those troubled days all too well.  Over the years I saw my Dad occasionally & we always got along fine but I can't say I ever really got to know him well & I don't think there was ever that true Father & Son bond there.  We were friends & he was always there if I needed something.  We just never spent enough time together to get to know each other well except in the last few months of his life & by then it was too late.  I see the closeness between Fathers & Son's but I have only seen it & have never experienced it.  Have always felt it was a part of life I missed.  By the same token I am a Father but have never been a Father.  My own Son Sean is in his mid 40’s now yet I was never a part of his upbringing or his life & that too has been another part of me which in the fog of life quietly passed me by.  Father's Day has always been a bit of a different day for me but I'm Okay with it................... 

 
TODAY’S WILD FLOWERS




Pheebs & I covered a few miles today getting a couple walks in with one at the Hullett Marsh & the other at the Wawanosh Nature Center.  Neither were long walks with annoying Deer Flies biting & harassing us at Hullett & Mosquitoes making our walk miserable at Wawanosh.  We’ve been by the Wawanosh Nature Center half a dozen times over the years but there were always cars there so I never went in.  No vehicles there today so Pheebs & I wheeled ourselves right into the parking lot & had us big look around.   Bonus:))  In between those two walks we did cover some nice scenic back roads & I was able to add to my rural farm barns photo file.  Always sensitive about unduly alarming folks I try to photograph the barns from a distance.  My good friend Jim who grew up on a farm once told me about how suspicious they always were seeing a car moving slowly along the gravel road past their farm east of Brodhagen Ontario.  No reason for a vehicle to be going that slow unless it was up to no good Jim's Dad told him.  I am always aware of that in my country road travels because I am normally driving along slowly looking for photos & just enjoying the scenery & the ambience of the countryside.   I always make it a point to never stop in front of a country property especially if the house is close to the road.  If while driving I see a nice looking homestead ahead I keep moving & use my wide angle lens held discreetly just above the door sill while rolling by.  I never hold the camera up to my face & look through the view finder.  Just don’t want anyone thinking I’m up to no good………………………… 

PHEEBS & I WERE ABLE TO SAVE THIS LITTLE PAINTED TURTLE FELLOW THIS MORNING BY MOVING IT OFF THE ROAD & TAKING IT SAFELY TO A NEARBY POND

It's always interesting when I get home & download my day’s photos into my Picasa photo editing program to see just what kind of a images I have actually captured & for me this is where the fun comes in when I am able to take those randomly shot candid pictures & work them into something reasonably presentable.  I love those kinds of days & hopefully I have not disturbed anyone along the way.

ALWAYS SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS TO SEE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD OF OURS…THESE 2 CHAPS WERE HANGING OUT IN THE HULLETT MARSH THIS MORNING

It’s not often I include a ‘You Tube’ music video in my posts but I came across one Friday night that moved me.  Many my age will well remember Led Zeppelin’s all time classic song ‘Stairway To Heaven’.  Released in 1971 this song has often been referred to as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.  It’s always been a of favorite of mine.  In 2012 at the Kennedy Center Led Zeppelin was honoured with an exemplary lifetime achievement award in the performing arts.  On stage performing their classic song was Ann Wilson & the band Heart.  I not only greatly enjoyed their tribute to Led Zeppelin with Stairway To Heaven but especially was taken with the warm & emotional reaction of Led Zeppelin’s surviving band members in the audience & especially that of Robert Plant who wrote the song oh those many years ago.  I’m not normally a big You Tube watcher unless it has to do with music & this one really grabbed me & brought back memories of days gone by sending shivers through me.  STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN  And here’s Jimmy Page talking about ‘how the song came together’………………………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:(( We were on our way to the hospital where our 16-year-old daughter was scheduled to undergo a tonsillectomy. During the ride we talked about how the procedure would be performed.  "Dad," our teenager asked, "how are they going to keep my mouth open during the surgery?"  Without hesitation he said, "They're going to give you a phone."
---
(You gotta know your Tom Jones songs or this next Groaner might just go right over your head)
A man went to the doctor with a strange complaint.  "Well it's like this Doc, when I drive to work in the morning through the country lanes I start to sing 'The Green Green Grass of Home'. If I see a cat then it's 'What's New Pussy Cat?'. It's so embarrassing, even when I'm asleep and dreaming, I still keep singing. Last night, it was 'Delilah', and my wife was not amused!"  "Yes, it would appear that you have the early symptoms of Tom Jones syndrome".  "Well I've never heard of that, is it common?" asked the man. "It's Not Unusual", replied the doctor.

A SHORT RIDE ON THE MOTORCYCLE & THAT WAS ABOUT IT

Had us a mighty fine weather day.  Our annual Spring pine pollen peril has moved on so I rolled the bike out & cleaned off all the left over yellow powder like residue.  Needed a couple things at the Canadian Tire store so hopped on the bike & motorcycled myself up to Goderich & back.  A perfect bike day with it not being too hot & not too cold.  Every time I have just about talked myself into selling the bike I get on it, go for a ride, & that quickly puts an end to my selling thoughts till next time.

Kelly's been working away on her sewing machine project painting the top a deep strawberry wine color.  Also with the same paint she is in the process of sprucing up a couple old small deck tables as well.  I did help a bit by putting on a couple coats of paint.
  
Aside from taking Pheebs for a walk around half the trail this afternoon there's really not anything else I can think of to write about.  Tonight's photos are from Friday's country drive with the Pheebs.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Tool Glossary:

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 24-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A very large pry bar that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end opposite the handle.

DREMEL TOOL - A very useful tool for modellers which allows them to make more mistakes much faster, thereby turning $100 kits into spare parts, and completely justifying the purchase of another $100 kit.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your can drink across the room, splattering it against that freshly-stained heirloom piece you were drying.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG YELLOW PINE 2X4: Used for levering an automobile upward off of a trapped hydraulic jack handle.

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent to the object we are trying to hit. Also used as replacement for screwdriver.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub you want the bearing race out of.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids and for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

RADIAL ARM SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to scare neophytes into choosing another line of work.

SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters and wire wheel wires.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

WELDING GLOVES: Heavy-duty leather gloves used to prolong the conduction of intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2 inch socket you've been searching for the last 45 minutes.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned guitar calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "YEOWW!