Joe's swirl cup

Samples showing machining stages in forming a swirl cup.

Throughout his training and career, Dad’s superiors often lauded his inventiveness, intelligence, and innovative thinking. This is well illustrated in his approach to the manufacture of the swirl cup for GE's J85 engine.

According to Wikipedia, the J85 "is one of GE's most successful and longest in service military jet engines, the civilian versions having logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. The United States Air Force plans to continue using the J85 in aircraft through 2040."

Dad kept a swirl cup on his kitchen counter and was always pleased to relate its story. It is a physical reminder of his smart approach to manufacturing. Having moved up into engineering and planning from the shop floor, Dad knew his stuff first-hand.  Co-workers and managers respected his ideas and knowledge.

Originally, these cone-shaped swirl cups required a phenomenal amount of difficult machining to get the tolerances and angles just right. Dad examined the part and recommended a simpler, faster (and more profitable) manufacturing approach. Understanding that the wide end would be welded closed anyway, he proposed that the piece be machined not from an initial cone, but from a flat piece of metal, with the slots cut before being folded into the cone.

While the concept was Dad’s, he gave due credit to the skilled machinist, Joe Stuhldreier, who proved Dad’s ideas were valid by actually producing these swirl cups the new way. Dad attended Joe's retirement reception on October 8, 1991, and said a few words, as follows:

In my 34 years at Bristol Aerospace, it was my privilege and pleasure to work with many highly skilled and dedicated toolmakers -- "world class" toolmakers! Joe Stuhldreier was, is one of the best -- anywhere.

Some of my best laid schemes -- for the tooling and manufacture of some of those sophisticated bits and pieces of exotic metal, which Bristol specializes in -- walked that fine line between "those two imposters" -- "triumph and disaster."

I was always relieved when Joe was placed in charge of some of these high risk schemes.

The swirl cup for the J-85 engine was one of our most dramatic success stories, success due in large measure to Joe. He has that "infinite capacity for taking pains"; that capacity which Edison himself called "genius."

Joe will be sorely missed. He has given his best. I wish him the best -- good health and happiness in his retirement.

With respect and admiration,
Sincerely,
Murray R. Fraser

While working at RRC, I noticed a colleague’s last name was Stuhldreier. It’s not a common name, so I asked Mike if he was related to Joe. Sure enough, Joe was his father. I sent Mike a copy of Dad’s tribute to Joe, which he appreciated very much. When asked if he needed to see what the reference to “swirl cup” was, Mike assured me that he knew all about them. His father was proud of that project, too.

Thank-you so much for sharing your dad’s treasure with me. It was really nice to read and reminded me a lot of the man my father was – and some of his perfectionist traits have definitely been passed on. I remember being at my Dad’s retirement and hearing everyone speak. That was over 20 years ago now, so reading your dad’s words again was a real joy. Just so you know, I am scanning this and emailing it to my three brothers. I am sure they will appreciate it as much as I do.

Thank-you again for your thoughtfulness. It means a lot.

Mike

PS – I am pretty sure we have a swirl cup too. In fact, I think several were used to fashion a clock out of parts that my father worked on that one of my older brothers now has. 

Joe Stuhldreier receives a swirl cup clock at his retirement reception

Dad and Joe must have made a great team; both were skilled perfectionists who took pride in their work. And Dad has always been a little jealous of Joe’s clock.

I like it when a plan comes together

As with many servicemen posted overseas, Dad often thought back to his home on the farm. (This is not to say he wasn't also thinking of Mom, and a few others who chased him. Have you seen his address book?)

But here's proof that he had plans awaiting his January 1946 return to Pilot Mound. We all recognize these as the tractor cab he made for his Dad's McCormick Deering tractor.

Click to view photos at a larger size in a separate window.

Heater? Air conditioned? What farmer wouldn't relish that?

Bottom left: the "Yankee Screwdriver" note means "hammer."

A plan comes together

The Fates had tried to tell Pete to get off the farm and back into teaching. One day, while at the helm of his Gaar Scott steam engine, the water level gauge malfunctioned, and Pete discovered the machine had run dry only when the boiler blew up and exploded past him. Had he been standing only a few inches to the side, he surely would have been killed.

Pete Fraser's Gaar Scott steam engine

Discouraging enough, but in 1943 Pete received a very real sign from above when he barely escaped a lightning strike. Dad was serving in Trenton by this time, but it made the Ontario papers, too.

Sometimes it pays to be short.

It's wonderful to read that the good neighbours immediately came to Pete's assistance. This was typical of rural folk, and it worked both ways. Here's text from a Pilot Mound Sentinel clipping in Grandma's scrapbook:

*  *  *

Misfortune in the form of illness having hit Jim Gemmill, at the most inopportune time of Spring seeding, friends and neighbors of Goudney and Huron districts decided to do something about it. The idea started with Pete (it would be Pete!) and was taken up by Billy Elliott (it would be Billy!) who together with George Paterson, proceeded to organize a “Bee”; it was the easiest job ever – because everybody was willing and r’aring to go. Accordingly on Tuesday afternoon they gathered at the Gemmill farm, some 25 strong – with ten tractors and eleven 4-horse teams – and made short work of a big job. During the afternoon, 75 acres plowed, including summer-fallow, and 47 acres seeded to oats and barley. So well organized and so willing were the workers, that everything was completed and cleaned up by 6 p.m. supper time.

*  *  *

Once back on the farm, Dad wasted no time in building the tractor cab he had planned. I have already written that it was "a resume in itself" but the cab was also a much-appreciated and well-used addition to Pete's new "work horse".

A proud Murray Fraser took a lot of photos of this tractor --

whether it was swathing, 

tilling,

hauling,

or (gasp!) moving houses!
This job took two tractors (Pete's and Jack Houlden's). I don't know who the trusting homeowner was. The job looks very risky to me, as those looking on might agree. 

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Grandpa's chair

Dad always called this chair “Grandpa’s chair.” And if it seems to have always been around, it’s because it is well over a hundred years old. Presumably, Douglas Fraser, Sr. brought the chair to Pilot Mound when the family came west from Ontario in March of 1906.

The original finish is barely discernible under layers of paint.

When Murray Fraser downsized in January 2012, we were sure to save this family treasure. The chair was indeed showing its age, a little unsteady and held together with strands of strong wire. A careful repair and refinishing job by The Furniture Guy revealed the true character of the chair and details that were hidden under layers and layers of thick paint.

Douglas Fraser, Sr.'s chair, looking glorious in its repaired and restored condition.

It was indeed Douglas’s favourite chair, and he used it a lot. Two knicks on the back are the result of several years of hitting a desk. Douglas's feet have worn the top rung under the seat to half its original thickness. There is no doubt this school teacher spent long hours in his chair reviewing his pupils’ lessons.

The chair is also significant for another reason. Douglas Fraser, Sr. actually died in this chair in June, 1915. The fact was noted in his obituary published back in Turnberry township, Ontario:

Death came very unexpectedly to one of this community’s much respected citizens on Sunday last, in the person of Mr. Douglas Fraser, calling him to his reward in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Of recent years Mr. Fraser had not been enjoying very robust health, but was able to be around pretty much all the time. On Sunday he was feeling exceptionally well, when all of a sudden he expired whilst sitting in a chair, succumbing to heart failure.

His wife Catherine (Kate) noted the same in a very brief entry in her diary. Her next entry is two months later. Ever practical, she reports a hard frost on August 25 that froze the vegetables.

Douglas's death receives a brief mention between more mundane entries in Kate's journal.

A resume in itself

Dad moved to Winnipeg from Pilot Mound to attend the Dominion Provincial Vocational School in 1940-41 prior to being accepted into the RCAF for airframe mechanic training. (He had applied to become a pilot in the summer of 1940, but was rejected for aircrew because of colour blindness.)

Post-war, Dad trained in Machine Shop and Tool & Die at the Manitoba Technical Institute. Within days of completing this training, he was hired by MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited. At the time, plants like MBA were struggling to find work. They had the good sense to recognize talent when they saw it, however, and with glowing references from his instructors, Dad landed a job and began his 34-year career with the company.

The Ford Plant - later Manitoba Technical Institute - at Portage Ave. and Wall St., Winnipeg

Dad took more training post-war at MTI, the precursor to Red River College.

I've always claimed that the tractor cab Dad built for his father in 1946 was a resume in itself. This is especially true when you consider that MacDonald Brothers Aircraft was building tractor cabs post-war, too! To maintain production volumes post-war, the company introduced a number of projects, including reconditioning surplus army trucks, producing aluminum cookware, car jacks, and sleigh bodies for tractor trains used in the north to haul goods during the winter. They also produced agricultural components, like crop sprayer assemblies, front loader attachments, sprayer tanks, and - tractor cabs.

A history of Bristol Aerospace Limited, entitled 50 Years of Technology 1930-1980: Volume One: The First Quarter Century describes the company's foray into tractor cab production:

A related product [to swathers and crop duster assemblies], reflecting the extremes of climate on the Canadian prairies, was a tractor cab, designed to be adaptable to the different types of tractor used at the time, giving protection from the elements to the operator, and thereby making possible the more effective use of the equipment.

This was a MacDonald Brothers development, from the basic design, through modifications to the finished product.

The cabs were marketed through a distribution system set up by the Company, until 1954 when all rights to the design and sales, were sold to the J.B. Carter Company, which continued to sell tractor cabs for several years.

Compare Dad's custom-designed tractor cab with that of MacDonald Brothers Aircraft. Call me biased, but I think Dad's design is much more elegant.

Dad poses (for scale) with the tractor cab he built in Pilot Mound in 1946.

See more photos of Dad's tractor cab at http://frasertrunk.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-like-it-when-plan-comes-together.html .

Pilot Mound Sentinel readers would have seen this advertisement, two years after Dad built his tractor cab.

Ad in the Pilot Mound Sentinel, May 6, 1948

Other advertisements at this time were more detailed:

Canadian Farm Implements magazine, August 1948
[Source: Red Power Magazine forum]

[Source: Red Power Magazine forum]

Tractor cabs built by MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited:

Early tractor cab development

Installing a tractor cab

Finished tractor cabs

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Down east

While we tend to think of Douglas Fraser, Sr. as a teacher in Ontario, he did operate a 107-acre farm on the Maitland River, near Wingham, Ontario. An assessment dated 1903 noted a total of 102 acres cleared. Assets included 1 dog, 20 cattle, 3 horses, and 102 hogs.

1903 assessment of Douglas Fraser Sr.'s Ontario property

The Fraser farmhouse appears large enough to accommodate Douglas's and Kate's eight children.

 

The Fraser farmhouse on the Maitland River, Turnberry Township

By 1954, when this photo was taken, only the old bridge supports identify the spot. 

Farewell Aunt Annie

The following portrait of Mom and Dad (Hazel and Murray Fraser) was taken at 400 St. Charles Street when Aunt Annie was in Winnipeg for a visit. A letter from her dated January 22, 1974 acknowledged receipt of the portrait:

The pictures came yesterday. Many thanks. Very good too, only that old lady you have out in front doesn't add any glamour.

Hazel and Murray Fraser with Aunt Annie

This may well have been the last photo of Aunt Annie. She passed away just two months later, on March 30, 1974, at age 82.

Published in The Winnipeg Free Press, April 2, 1974

Greetings from Bournemouth

Annie Belle Fraser was an independent, curious and adventurous soul. She often travelled back to Ontario and kept up with the Fraser folks down there. But sometimes she ventured further afield. In 1969, at 77 years of age, she took a cruise to the British Isles aboard the new RMS Queen Elizabeth II.

The website http://listverse.com/2008/12/29/10-great-atlantic-ocean-liners claims this was a luxurious ship:

At the twilight of the golden age of Atlantic steamers came the QE2, launched upon the retirement of the first Mary and her sister ship. From the late 1960s until 2004, the QE2 was the only way to cross in luxury (aside from the Norway, before she became a cruise ship). She sailed more than just the Atlantic, though, and came to port in Sydney, Australia, among other places. This gorgeous superliner finally retired in 2008, to become a floating hotel in Dubai.

RMS Queen Elizabeth II

Aunt Annie travelled from Blenheim, Ontario through Detroit and sailed to Dublin out of New York. This trip of a lifetime cost $1879.84.

The cost was worth it. Aunt Annie enjoyed her trip very much, as evidenced by a letter to Murray and Hazel Fraser dated September 11, 1969:

Souvenir of our school

With so many teachers in the family, Frasers were good students. Dad seems to have appreciated his own teachers, perhaps because he learned at home to respect the work they do. Among his keepsakes is a tiny booklet entitled, "Souvenir of our School" from 1925-1926. It lists a Pilot Mound School class of 26 students under teacher Nora E. Davidson.

Teddy bears on parade

Among the items in Grandma's trunk was a small, tattered photo that didn't make it into the family album. It's out of focus, and light has leaked into the camera, but there's no mistaking those little ears. These days, he has a stiff hip and is feeling his age, but that's to be expected when you're over 90.

No, no, I don't mean Dad. I mean Teddy, Dad's bear.

A young Murray Fraser with his bear, Teddy

Spot looks dejected as Murray and Jessie hug their toys instead of him.

Teddy sports black cotton palms and soles, which are actually patches that Grandma added to carefully mend his worn paws. His joints and head used to swivel, but have been sewn in place. One hip joint awaits surgery, and he's lost a little sawdust.


Much-loved Teddy

And speaking of bears needing surgery, Teddy has company in his hospital ward. L'il Teddy Bear, my own bear, has survived some very drastic procedures in his 60 years. My sister Virginia honed her surgical skills on this little body, including several skin grafts, and the implant of a red button heart.

As if this wasn't enough to "bear," L'il Teddy Bear once required an entire face transplant. Imagine my childhood terror to find my little bear in Montagnons' yard, with only the back of his head and ears hanging from his limp body. The neighbour's dog literally ripped his face off and kicked the stuffing out of him. I rushed L'il Teddy Bear to Emergency, and it was a miracle that he survived.

Yes, Mom skillfully crafted a new head, complete with embroidered nose, new button eyes, and a felt tongue.

Dr. Fraser's first patient. Just look at those fine sutures!