A good sport

Murray Fraser with grandsons (and fellow skaters) Thomas and Edmund

Dad had always been a good casual skater, and biking and line dancing kept him healthy and fit. I've written previously about Dad's amazing feat (and feet) as a speedskating champion. He seemed very casual about it, and rather amused by his success. He made it look easy, and it surprised him to discover that he could readily break national records.

With a coach urging him on, Dad gave competitive speedskating his best effort.

Winnipeg Free Press, Sunday, January 24, 1993

Dad was modest, but proud of his records. His engineering mind studied the existing records, and calculated the pace he needed to challenge them. I like how he initialed the target time (at right, below) for the 3000m. Dad had a habit of initialing his work, a holdover from his Bristol days.

 

The calculations worked, and Dad bettered his target times. He cruised through one after the other, claiming the podium for several distances, on indoor rinks and the big outdoor oval.

Len Barsky was the man to beat, and that's just what Dad did.

Spot the champion. Hint: #250.

The St. James Speedskating Club welcomed Dad into their fold and were thrilled with his success. He was quite the inspiration for the younger set, I'm sure.

Celebration in the clubhouse. A family dynasty in the making? 

Certificates and trophies and medals, oh my!

The official record. Dad sweeps the Masters 5 Men at 400m, 800m and 1000m, March 1992.

It's true -- Dad left the 500m long-track record unchallenged, so that Albert Cohen could remain a champion.

Dad met Albert Cohen while they were both lacing up their skates in the change room at a St. James rink one day. As two oldtimers still enjoying the sport, they struck up a conversation. Mr. Cohen offered Dad a piece of his Oh Henry chocolate bar, and Dad felt that was so nice of him. Later, Dad was amused when we explained who Albert Cohen was. This industry giant could afford a lot of chocolate bars!

Albert Cohen was very proud of his speedskating, and was given a lifetime membership in the Manitoba Speedskating Association in 2006.  

The Wikipedia entry for Albert Cohen begins as follows:

Albert Diamond Cohen, OC (January 20, 1914 – November 21, 2011) was a Canadian entrepreneur, community builder, philanthropist, and Officer of the Order of Canada. He was Chairman, Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Gendis Inc. (www.gendis.ca), a Toronto Stock Exchange listed Canadian real estate and investment company headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. At one time, Gendis held a 51% stake in Sony of Canada and owned the SAAN Stores retail chain. He was married to Irena Cohen from 1953 until his death, and they had three children: Anthony, James, and Anna-Lisa. He was the author of several books: The Entrepreneurs: The Story of Gendis Inc...The Triangle of Success: The Gendis/Saan Story...The Story of SAAN...and...I.D.E.A. His latest and last book, published in the fall of 2010, was titled Reminiscences of an Entrepreneur - How Sony came to Canada and then to the World in 1955. His interest and talent for writing stemmed out from his close personal friendship with the late British author Ian Fleming. He died peacefully at the age of 97 years, 10 months, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

 The Wikipedia article further notes that:

While Cohen has collected an array of awards for business achievements and community service during his life, he was particularly proud of the fact that he holds three Canadian speed skating records in Master 5 Class (over 70 age category), as per the Ottawa Amateur Speedskating Association.

Speedskating Champion Cindy Klassen, Premier Gary Doer, Albert Cohen in 2009

Now, we know that last paragraph should read held, but it was inevitable that Dad's records would be eclipsed, too.

At the oval in 1992-93, Dad admired 47-year-old James Whiddon, who was blowing away records in the Master 2 category. I suspect this serious international athlete will claim the Master 5 records as soon as he turns 70, in 2015. James is hot on the heels of Eugene Kurmey, who bettered Dad's Master 5 records in 2001.

If it's any consolation, James Whiddon is also a Bristol Aerospace employee, and he was delighted to meet Murray Fraser.

The Seven Sisters

It's a tongue-twister: The Seven Sisters, Sussex by the Sea.

It's also a gem of an oil painting that Mom brought back from her trip to Britain with Dad in the spring of 1975. Her note on the back reads, "June 1975 - Purchased in antique shop - Lynton, Devon (soiled and in need of new frame). The locale is said to be Birling Gap, cliffs called 'The Seven Sisters' -- East Sussex, South Coast of England."

Mom's travel diary records the find. It was a dollar well spent.

"Bought a soiled old oil painting for $1
-have great hopes it will clean up and look super in new frame."

"Across the Bay" by W.N. Pellett

In 2012 Myrna and I took the painting to Loch Gallery to have it professionally cleaned and reframed before hanging it above Dad's kitchen table at Sturgeon Creek II. The gallery staff member who examined it was rather dismissive, and said it was not worth anything. She was not familiar with the artist, but said she could tell it wasn't valuable because the brush strokes were too fine; a proper artist would use a thicker application.

Well, we were there to have it cleaned and reframed, not to appraise it, but I still beg to differ - it is valuable to us as a family keepsake that Mom loved.

The Seven Sisters are often mistakenly identified as the White Cliffs of Dover, but they are actually about 70 miles southwest of Dover. According to Wikipedia:

The Seven Sisters are a series of chalk cliffs by the English Channel. They form part of the South Downs in East Sussex, between the towns of Seaford and Eastbourne in southern England. They are within the Seven Sisters Country Park. They are remnants of dry valleys in the chalk South Downs, which are gradually being eroded by the sea. The Seven Sisters cliffs are occasionally used in filmmaking and television production as a stand-in for the more famous White Cliffs of Dover, since they are relatively free of modern development and are also allowed to erode naturally. As a result, the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head remain a bright white colour, whereas the White Cliffs of Dover are protected due to the important port and are therefore increasingly covered in vegetation and are greening as a result.

(A) marks The Seven Sisters, 70 miles southwest of (B) The White Cliffs of Dover

As we know, Dad made friends while serving overseas in 1945. He stayed in touch with Molly Neil, and they exchanged landscape calendars every Christmas for several years.

An historian, Molly was an excellent tour guide for Mom and Dad in 1975. But she was rather lost in London when she went to meet Dad near the Underground station. She noticed a kind-looking gent and went to him to ask for directions. Wouldn't you know it, that kind man was Dad!

Molly Neil, 1959

Molly sent a postcard later in 1975, with the note, "Thought the last picture would be of special interest to you. Beachy Head is round the right hand corner."

Postcard from Molly, 7/8/75

Today, the cliffs are an obvious vantage point for airshows. On this day, Remembrance Day 2013, consider what a welcome sight England's white cliffs were for those Bomber Command airmen returning from their raids. 

Of course, Vera Lynn said it best: