To whom it may concern

Cpl. Murray Fraser, looking uncharacteristically serious.

Cpl. Murray Fraser's active service in the RCAF dates from April 25, 1941 to February 7, 1946. The RCAF was a unique training ground, and Dad was an excellent student. His superiors wrote glowing letters of recommendation attesting to his exceptional skills, good conduct, keen aptitude and initiative.



Cpl. Fraser received Machine Shop training in Ontario before he went overseas in 1945.

Recommendations like these no doubt helped Dad land his job at MacDonald Bros. Aircraft.

Honourably released, February 7, 1946.



A fair trade

In 1943, when Dad was at Trenton Air Force Base, he bought a Norton motorcycle from a buddy, Orville Neal. It was a mean machine. He once said to me, "I sold it before it killed me." The $60 Orville earned from its sale went towards a lovely diamond engagement ring for his sweetheart, Cay. Now that was a good investment!

Born to be wild!  Cpl. Murray Fraser on his newly acquired Norton motorcycle.

Dad bought the Norton for a whopping $60, July 30, 1943.

Dad and Orville Neal stayed in touch over the years. Below is a Christmas card from Orville and his family.

A post-war baby boom: Orv, Cay, Bobby and David Neal.

Orville's wife Cay sent Dad a nice note this year after receiving Dad's change of address postcard when he moved into Sturgeon Creek II. Sadly, Orville passed away a few years ago.

Roots of the Fraser family tree

As I add to this family archive, it's probably time to post a cast of characters. To keep these Frasers sorted, here's a brief chart that will help identify who's who in earlier generations.

The top row of siblings (Sandy, Jessie, Will and John) can be considered the "Down East" Frasers, while the bottom row (Pete, Doug, Gordon and Annie) were the "Out West" Frasers.

A tip of the hat

While we've heard Murray Fraser speak of some of the fine fellows down at "the plant" (Bristol Aerospace), we can also get a glimpse of his co-workers' high regard for him through a few notes Dad saved. Although he preferred to manage engineering projects rather than people, he was a respected manager and all-round good guy. We're not surprised.

The President of Bristol Aerospace, Murray Auld, sent the encouraging memo below. Edo refers to the Edo Aircraft Corporation of College Point, New York, founded by Earl Dodge Osborn. Edo pioneered the design and manufacture of metal seaplane floats. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_8ccwoVZTc for a 1942 Edo video.)

MacDonald Bros. Aircraft (MBA) Limited started in 1914 as MacDonald Brothers Sheet Metal and Roofing, which led to work overhauling and repairing aircraft. The company changed its name in 1930 when they started to build aircraft floats under licence from Edo. In WWII virtually all the floats used by the US Navy and Air Force were built by Edo. After the war, Edo diversified, and was noted for the manufacture of underwater sonar detection equipment. The partnership between MBA and Edo was an important one, lasting 55 years.

Murray Auld

And in 1973, Mr. Auld penned these kind words in honour of Dad's 25 years with the company:

The most sincere praise is unsolicited and unexpected. Below: some kind words from two parting employees, "Eugene" and "Norm." They obviously appreciated and respected Dad tremendously.

Eugene Schench bid Murray a fond farewell in his 1954 Christmas card.

Above: Likewise, "Norm" hoped to be as cool as Murray some day.

Out of Africa

As kids, we were intrigued by a ferocious-looking tiger skin rug at Aunt Annie's house, and wondered how it made its way to Pilot Mound, Manitoba. Well, it seems it was sent by Bessie Lovell, Jessie (Fraser) Lovell's sister-in-law. Bessie Lovell graduated from Nursing School in 1897 and worked in Africa.

A 1953 newspaper reprint of a photo of the graduating nursing class of 1897.
Bessie Lovell is at the left.

Bessie Lovell in Africa

Bessie's note on the back of the photo above.

A letter home, dated Sept. 6, 1935 has the sad line "Sister Bessie's last letter" noted at the top.





An undated letter reports Bessie's sudden death in Nairobi:

The occasion was one of merriment. . .

The August 1982 edition (No. 17, Vol. 3) of Newsbriefs, Bristol Aerospace Limited's newsletter, included a column entitled "Retirements" with the following introduction: "Bristol employees recently honoured the retirement of four long-term employees of the Company at a farewell party in the Reserve Air Force Officers' Mess. The occasion was one of merriment and nostalgia as long time friends and colleagues bid farewell to the four retiring members." Among those honored was Murray Fraser, as noted in the article:

Murray Fraser of Dept. 623, after serving with the RCAF during the war and a brief period of farming in the Pilot Mound area, joined the Company on March 8, 1948 as a sheet metal fitter. In February 1952 he progressed to a tool and die maker and then to a chargehand position. He was promoted to an engineering assistant in August 1960 and transferred to the Planning Dept. Murray continued in this department as a planner until 1963 and as a senior manufacturing planner until his retirement in June 1982, accumulating 33 years' service. Although not yet a "par" golfer, Murray intends to lower his handicap as time permits between his travel and leisure living.

The accompanying photo in the newsletter featured Murray sharing a hearty laugh with Bristol President Robert H. May. Other photos taken at the reception follow.

Murray Fraser, left, with Bristol President Robert H. May

Bristol retirees (l-r) Walter Zager, Bert Butler, Murray Fraser,
and Nick Dawybida with Bristol President Robert H. May

An earlier Bristol newsletter photo. If you look closely, the "trophy" Dad received
at his retirement reception is one of the vanes from this engineering piece.
L to R: Bill Milne, Murray Fraser, Harry Szkwarek, Stewart Janke.

Welcome

Welcome to Recollections, Foof's new blog. Bear with me as I learn how to do all this.

My intention is to use this blog to collect and sort the many documents, photos, and other "trunk treasures" for the family. I hope this will be a good way to share the family lore and archives. Please email anything you'd like to see added.

Use the labels at right to move through the blog by timeframe, and avoid a lot of scrolling.

Just save the URL as a favorite if you want to check back often. Thanks very much.

Foof