Established in 1924, by Kenneth Irving, after building his first gas station in Bouctouche New Brunswick. Seven years later, he had more gas stations than any other company in the Maritimes. Now they own the largest oil refinery in Canada, in Saint John, and Ireland’s only oil refinery. This expansionistic company also spread into pulp & paper, liquid asphalt, tanker trucks, ships to transport oil, automotive repair, newspapers, shipbuilding (including Canadian warships) and other ventures.
Big Stops started to be built during the 1970’s near major highways to provide good inexpensive meals and places for big rigs to refuel/rest/and eat. They also own all English language daily newspapers in New Brunswick, receive government grants and tax exemptions even though they make billions, engage in tax evasion/obfuscation, and the Irving corporate family places their personal fortunes in offshore accounts. However, Irving was also the first Canadian company to offer unleaded gasoline, low sulphur gas, and supported the Kyoto accords. They are still a major force in New Brunswick and the Maritimes.
Anyhoo, I ordered the old favourite of a classic clubhouse and switched fries for a salad. Tasty and nostalgic.
Next stop was the airport in order to be transported, but we weren’t getting into a plane. The International section has been converted into a museum.
Opened in 1938 it was soon the largest airport in the world with four runways. This was because flights across the Atlantic Ocean had to stop her for refuelling before continuing. The air traffic controllers here still direct planes in the North Atlantic. During WW2 it was a pivotal airbase. During the Cold War, this was the only airport that Eastern Bloc planes could land at before continuing to Cuba. Many defections happened here. International flights decreased in frequency during the 1960’s until the 1990’s when there were none. Planes travelling across the Atlantic that need a quick landing still use Gander. Also, crosswind testing of new airplane designs are still done here.
Famously, with the closure of American airspace on 11th September 2001, 38 airliners landed in Gander under Operation Yellow Ribbon. All aircrew and passengers were taken in and cared for by Newfoundlanders in and near Gander. Resident Beulah Cooper was quoted saying, “I got a phone call asking me to bring a tray of sandwiches to the Legion - didn’t know what it was for - when I got down there, I was told there was a plane load of people coming in…28 hours later I found my bed.” As Claude Elliot, the Mayor of Gander, said “On the first day, we had 7000 strangers. On the Third day, we had 7000 friends. On the fifth day, we had 7000 family members.”
The decor inside the international section has kept it’s 50’s-70’s charm. Furniture, art, and colour palette all embrace the nostalgia. The museum upstairs contains wonderful and uplifting informative displays. There are also a gift shop and concession stand.
Besides looking around there was another reason to be here. We wanted to see a movie. My wife, on the 15th of August, would be flying back to Victoria while I would go to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for two more weeks and see family and friends. There was a chance the movie we were seeing might have left the theatres so for a matinee show we watched “Spider Man: Brand New Day”. The local movie theatre closed in 2007 and this theatre, with state-of-the-art seats and equipment, opened just a few years ago. They show new releases for one week only to rotate them out. We both liked the new Spider Man film and found it had more gravitas and drama than previous ones. The action scenes purposefully advance the story rather than be excuses for unnecessary action.
Heading back to K&A’s we had supper, chatted, and later went to bed.
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