My name is Michael Whitty and I am a former Dewliner(1970-1972). My father, Walter Whitty spent more than 20 years on the Dewline. I worked at a number of sites but remember working in the kitchen at Hall Beach as a General Helper. Great memories and being the youngest person there helped me to mature very quickly. A cast of characters from all over Canada and North America.
I'm only 55, former USAF and have just recently discovered videos about the DEWline. The amount of work and planning that went in to each and every site was incredible. I've seen some old things while serving sitting the cold war, defunct Japanese Air Bases, musty Warehouse in Turkey and even old communications technical control rooms (now that was awesome) but having you take me on a tour of your life in the North was especially kind. Thank you very much Brian!
Thank you for your kind comments Andy. If you haven't already discovered the DEWLine website, check out lswilson.dewlineadventures.com or my personal DEWLine site at www.dewline.ca. Lots of stuff to see.
It's so funny because I was in Hall Beach with the Air Force reserves flying the dew line in the early 90s. Coming from Minnesota in July I didn't even know where the heck Hall Beach was. But it had the word beach in it and I brought my shorts 🤣. Once we got up there looking around I had to wear my flight suits the whole time 🤣. They still had snow on the ground in July.
Hall Beach, at any time of the year, isn't the type of beach that you set up a tent and lay in the sun (unless you want to freeze to death :-) ). Having said that, temperatures are generally minder in the summer months, along with the 24-hours of daylight. It's an interesting part of the world.
As a weather tech I was posted at Fox Main in 1973-74... You really brought back memories to me ...I wish I could go back there one day before my own sunset. And bring my wife along.... Thanks for sharing this
We were there at the beginning -50's. Dad was Corp Of Engineers ( SCARWOF ) Army Combat Engineers assigned to the Air Force. We had been at Beal. Drove from Beal ( Calf.) to Atlanta and back to Anchorage when the ALcan Hwy was all gravel.
Back in 1984 to 1986, I was in the US Army and was assigned to USAISC Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, we had the AT&T Satellite link with the DEW Line. We were a link between the DEW Line and NORAD, worked in the Tech Control and used to maintain and coordinated with those of you who were assigned in those sites.
I really enjoyed seeing this, and have watched the DEWline documentary as well, which is where I saw Mr. Jeffrey's reference to his work on this video. I was born in 1944 and grew up in far northeastern Montana on a dryland farm. As I was in elementary school in the 1950s, we were aware of and and had high appreciation for "the DEWline". Being just 45 miles from the Canadian border, even as youngsters we knew that we never wanted to see high-flying planes moving north to south. The original development and construction of the entire concept is amazing and, once again, done by "git-er-done" people, working with schedules and plans, transportation and construction in tough conditions, and they did a productive and solid work that has actually stood the test of time very well. Really, really interesting, Mr. Jeffrey. Thank you for sharing this. My oldest brother (17 years older) had joined the Navy in 1945 along with most of his high school senior class, hoping to get in on WW II wrap-up work. He missed action then but was engaged as a combat photographer in Korea, photography in Antarctica during the 1957 Geophysical year, and much aerial reconnaissance work as the years went on . I've often wondered, considering the trajectory of his 30 year career in the Navy, to what extent he was aware of and perhaps considering involvement in DEWline work. His eventual reconnaissance work had him qualified as a navigator as well so that he could fill one of the two seats of the limited 2-man crews on the planes that overflew Cuba and the Finland/Soviet Union borders. Significant times they were. The Cold War was highly stressful for a lot of reasons, at many levels. Thank you so much for the work you have done to document this part of it.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments Sharon. Had your brother had electronics training in the navy, he might have ended up on the DEWLine as a Radician. If you enjoyed the video, you might enjoy my book, "Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War" (on Amazon!). Short commercial message :-).
Enjoyed your comment, where in NE Montana did you live ? I grew up in lustre, live south of wolf point now. Have always been intrigued with all these old radar sights and systems. Also the saint Marie air base
Very cool Brian, thanks for sharing! I was up there 1990-1992, stationed at Hall Beach for most of my time in the north. Great to see the place again, and not a huge amount has changed since I was there...
This is an absolutely touching and (as far as I am concerned), a very well-done tutorial of an incredibly far North place! Also, I can't believe how IMMACULATE this facility is! Literally not a single thing out of order! Very nice work! All respect and KUDOS! May the longest future continue for this work of art! Lastly, thank you for educating me in something so amazing as this!
When I was he Alaskan DEW LINE this A-tain stuff was the lower base camp. I was a top a mountain 2500 feet above accessible by a zig-zag gravel road in the summer. We used TRAM cable car that operated when the winds were below 35 mph. We had high winds that blew off the wind cups off the wind gauge that when up to 200 mph. The FPS-20 was a top of the mountain and was powered by cables from the lower camp. We lived in an attached hut with 3 room and a bath for 8 guys for a year. Sleeping room. Kitchen/ Living area, Bathroom. There was no personal space except your bunk...which was enclosed with blankets so your light would not disturb the others. It caused me to never want to be with anyone living with anyone else ever. So I have been a solo liver and worker all my life. At sea I quickly became a rated man to get a private room (3 engineer). Then I wa an OTR trucker. I never married.
Great to see this combo video and picture tour of a place on this planet that still amazes me that I got to visit it not once but twice. Both times I was at Hall Beach were as an aircraft structural mechanic working in that hangar on our airline's (Nordair) FH-227 (around 1985 to 1990). Flew in and out on Nordair 737-200 combi planes and was headquartered in the end-to-end trailer accomodations near the hangar. Loved the nearby village.and bought some very inexpensive soapstone carvings and also some frozen arctic char to bring back to Montreal (still my favourite fish to eat!), The dining room was great too. Not mentioned was the extremely high quality of the food there and how competitive the chefs at Hall Beach were with those at Cambridge Bay (also excellent eats!). I've dreamt of going there for a visit (I'm now a few days shy of 62) but the cost would be extremely prohibitive since I wouldn't have an official reason to be there. I appreciate you posting this though Brian!
Thanks for dropping by and commenting Peter. Hall Beach is indeed a special place on the planet especially for me as that's where I had my 20th birthday in 1960. You might enjoy reading about the early years on the Line. My book, "Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War" is available on Amazon. You might also check out the DEWLine website at www.DEWLine.ca.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I worked from Cam Main to Fox Main as a tech. rep. for the big White - Superior Generators that were installed in the early 1980's.
Loved the site, the stories, and the video. When you look at the way those sites were built, it defies the imagination. It's just part of history that is destined to be lost in time. Sites like yours do a great job in telling people just what it was like to be part of the DEW line. Thanks for keeping the rest of us "southerners" safe!
In 1989, I spent 6 months at Fox Main working with other tradesmen preparing the site for the North Warning System takeover. Stayed in an Armco next to the Hangar. There were 4 of them there, never a dull moment. I loved the DEW Line. And I was still surprised to see the bearskin in the Dining room lol. A few guys hid the skin above the ceiling when I was there for a joke. Missing for about a week! Not really that funny. Great Vid!
Thank you very much Brian for the video. I may have actually met you on your visit, I was the fire inspector/trainer for Nasittuq in the area that summer. I made quite a few trips to Hall Beach for fire inspections and trainings and I believe I may have actually given you a few lessons in fire behaviour and extinguishers that July . This brings back a lot of fond memories to me and I will definitely be showing this video to my family and friends who would never believe the locations I was at across the DEW line.
I enjoyed watching your video. As an Air Force photographer in the 1970's, I traveled from BAR Main to DYE-3 working on a documentary. I stopped at FOX Main and ended up being weathered in for 2 weeks at FOX-3. Your video brought back memories.
Wow, at FOX 3 Dewar Lakes? I spent a bit of time there during the early summer and again during the late summer of 1966 as a junior scientific officer 🙃 on an Arctic Wolf Research project. I played a small role in Brian's trip back to FOX MAIN as I had discovered his DEWLine history website and I was living just north of Hall Beach in Igloolik Nunavut from 2004-2015! 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🌎 🇺🇲 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
My father was stationed up there in what must have been the early to mid 70's. Cambridge Bay & another I can't remember at the moment. I believe he started when our neighbor, who was a chef up there got him a job. He started as a custodian & then got into the kitchens with Mr. Hutman. I can't remember his 1st name, always knew him as Mr. Hutman haha. Very nice video & congrats on the dream being fulfilled!
We had some incredible chefs and cook's helper's on the Line. I gained 30 lbs on my first tour and had to buy some mail order clothes to have something to go south in.
I believe the chef's name was charlie hutman. I didn"t know him but my dad did. I spent about 9 years at various stations until closing in 93. If you could handle the isolation on the small sites only 11 guys it was a cool place to work and the money was very good at the time.
Ok, thanks. I've always been fascinated by the DEW line and all the technology involved (I'm also a cold war history buff and a Navy vet and I worked in fire control). Thanks for your quick response. Craig, I'm sure I'll have more questions in the near future. Good day -- Craig Henry
Don't hesitate to contact me directly at Brian@DEWLine.ca. Several years ago, I took a stroll down memory lane and documented my DEWLine experiences in a book titled, “Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War.” It’s available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions at: www.amazon.com/dp/1719989532. You might find it of interest.
Hi, I’m wondering if that DC-4 was really an RCAF Northstar? The DC-4 had round radial engines, while the Northstar had V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
You're quite correct James, the facilities are too large for the current staffing. During the period from 1957 to 1994, FOX Main would have been home for 100+ people. Once the DEWLine went fully automated and became the North Warning System, the need for all those people disappeared but the facilities didn't.
That's great - and you're both welcome. I would love to have visited the area. Not much chance now though. I suppose one has to learn to like somewhere in both dark and light seasons, to be able to live and work there. I would like the silences too. As a Poet/Author, I find it very inspiring, but I was always interested in the Cold War era and things like Dewline. All the best to both of you.
I am not sure which years it was that my father, Richard Gooch, worked there but he was well known and had great stories about the place. Please let me know if there is a web page I can go to that may have contact names and/or stories of the people that served there over the various years. Thank you.
I can't specifically remember, but two numbers stick in my mind for the 60 foot antennas, 42 dB and 49 dB. My bet is 42 dB. That would make the 120 footers about 45 dB. Certainly good ballpark values.
Thank you for the kind comment. Most appreciated. You might enjoy reading about my experiences on the DEWLine. My book, "Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War" is available on Amazon.
Craig: The DEWLine itself was replaced by the North Warning System that used many of the original DEWLine sites for locating the new radars. The DEWLine was formally closed in a ceremony in 1994. I have a video of that ceremony.
What have you seen in the way of change of the weather at Hall Beach, compared to the weather there 50 years ago? Did you have any clear sky and did you see contrails of passing jet planes? Did you have a clear night and did you see lights of passing jet planes? When you walked around the focal point of the tropo scatter antennas did you hear any rumbles from distant jets? Has the vegetation changed since you were there? Three miles west of Hall Beach there is a geological dome structure, visible on goog earth. What kind of rock is out there?
All good questions Lee. As I was there is July, there was 24 hour sunlight (and clear skies!). Didn't see any contrails but then I wasn't watching the sky, nor was I watching the radar as I did some 52 years previous. Much of the land looks like I remembers it from 50 years ago. The big change at Hall Beach was the settlement that has grown North of the station. That wasn't there in the earlier days. Not being a geologist, I can't tell one rock from another. :-)
Spent a 2 day stay over at fox main waiting for the weather too clear so we could continue on to USCG loran station Cape Christian,Baffin Island, NWT, May 1969
Well when the Chinese and N. Koreans shoot down all of our satellites it'll be back to the _DEW_ line- I'm glad that they kept up the facilities so nicely.
The administrator (John Pialaq) is my father. I'm sure it'll put a smile on his face when I show him that someone put a picture of him in one of their youtube videos.
You raise an interesting point about the value of the sites today. A couple of reasons come to mind. One is that they help establish Canadian sovereignty in the Northern part of our country. Second, with the United States and Russia appearing to restart a Cold War, it might be useful. Also is valuable for trans-polar flights. It's like an insurance policy that you hope to never have to use.
Roger on that Brian! It's known as Inuit sylabics. It's a representation of the Inuit language (Inuktitut) where each symbol represents a sound rather than a letter of the alphabet. In technical terms our English language is referred to as being written in Roman orthography and of course our numerals are Arabic numbers! No new world Indigenous language had a written format similar to European languages so of course Christian missionaries devised ones such as Inuit sylabics so that they could translate the Bible into book form! North American sylabic language translations began with Anishinabec and Cree (commonly referred to as Oji-Cree since we chose to refer to some of those folks as Ojibway, Woodland Cree and Plains Cree). Translation tools now exist online not surprisingly!! Nunavut means 'our land'! Inuit means 'the people'! Inuk is the singular form! Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day! 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
Fantastic job Thank u i wish i could live out my years there with a nice job and my own room But it looks like nobody is really there How many people still stay there
While most of the stations are unmanned, there were a dozen or so people stationed at FOX-Main when I was there in 2012. I expect the number would remain about the same today. There are always more people there in the summers months when outside maintenance happens.
When I was there in 2012, they were doing what they've always done, maintenance and repairs on the various stations to keep them operational. Of course, most of the DEWLine stations have all been replaced by North Warning System stations with modern, remotely monitored radar equipment.
What is the environmental impact of a 25MT hydrogen bomb exploding over New York City? Has Greenpeace prepared an EIS which evaluates the effect on the environment of 10 MIRV'd 150KT weapons exploding over Eastern Seaboard communities from Boston to Washington, DC? The impact on the environment of the DEW Line facilities is tiny by comparison! Thank you, Brian! A great video!
@@morgangrey4020 Morgan: You could reinstall transmitters of some sort and reestablish the communications link back to Thule again but for what. The two antennas provided a communications link to Thule and weren't radar antennas. I'm not sure what's up a Thule these days worth communicating with. All of the old DEWLines sites have either been converted to the North Warning System or abandoned. Most of the abandoned sites have been reclaimed or are in the looong process of remediation/reclamation.
The takeover was an Alberta company FRONEC that made trailers took over, reason CANADA WANTED TO RUN THE DEW LINE, US PAID FOR EVERYTHING, FRONTEC TOOK OVER AND THEN IT WENT DOWN HILL. MISMANAGED, RUN OUT OF MONY. CLOSED IN 2 YEARS.
You were obviously born after the cold war ended. When the DEW line was constructed, the memory of Pearl Harbor was in the minds of the men who built it. The Soviet threat WAS real. The DEW line was part of the reason they didn't attack. We came close in '62 (dodged a bullet).
That is an interesting perspective. I see it more as an insurance policy, like fire insurance on your hone, that you never had to (or want to) use. To each their own.
I think you're actually referring to your own time in English class; judging by your spelling, sentence structure and grammar your philosophy is "a D- is still passing".
My name is Michael Whitty and I am a former Dewliner(1970-1972). My father, Walter Whitty spent more than 20 years on the Dewline. I worked at a number of sites but remember working in the kitchen at Hall Beach as a General Helper. Great memories and being the youngest person there helped me to mature very quickly. A cast of characters from all over Canada and North America.
Thanks for sharing, I’ll be seeing it for myself in 2 weeks
I'm curious as to why you're going to my old stamping grounds, and what you're going to be doing up there. Let me know if you get a chance.
I'm only 55, former USAF and have just recently discovered videos about the DEWline. The amount of work and planning that went in to each and every site was incredible. I've seen some old things while serving sitting the cold war, defunct Japanese Air Bases, musty Warehouse in Turkey and even old communications technical control rooms (now that was awesome) but having you take me on a tour of your life in the North was especially kind. Thank you very much Brian!
Thank you for your kind comments Andy. If you haven't already discovered the DEWLine website, check out lswilson.dewlineadventures.com or my personal DEWLine site at www.dewline.ca. Lots of stuff to see.
It's so funny because I was in Hall Beach with the Air Force reserves flying the dew line in the early 90s. Coming from Minnesota in July I didn't even know where the heck Hall Beach was. But it had the word beach in it and I brought my shorts 🤣. Once we got up there looking around I had to wear my flight suits the whole time 🤣. They still had snow on the ground in July.
Hall Beach, at any time of the year, isn't the type of beach that you set up a tent and lay in the sun (unless you want to freeze to death :-) ). Having said that, temperatures are generally minder in the summer months, along with the 24-hours of daylight. It's an interesting part of the world.
As a weather tech I was posted at Fox Main in 1973-74... You really brought back memories to me ...I wish I could go back there one day before my own sunset. And bring my wife along.... Thanks for sharing this
We were there at the beginning -50's. Dad was Corp Of Engineers ( SCARWOF ) Army Combat Engineers assigned to the Air Force. We had been at Beal. Drove from Beal ( Calf.) to Atlanta and back to Anchorage when the ALcan Hwy was all gravel.
Thanks for sharing....I spent 8 months at Port Mollar, AK in 1969....Air Force.
Back in 1984 to 1986, I was in the US Army and was assigned to USAISC Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, we had the AT&T Satellite link with the DEW Line. We were a link between the DEW Line and NORAD, worked in the Tech Control and used to maintain and coordinated with those of you who were assigned in those sites.
Support from those of you who were in warmer climes was always appreciated.
Thanks for sharing this. I enjoyed it. And thank you for your service.
Glad to have frozen my behind off to keep you sake. :-)
Thank u for sharing this piece of historical document. I have been a fan of this project for about 10 years.
I'm delighted that you enjoyed the video. The journey back to Hall Beach was a trip of a lifetime for me.
I heard there’s a old abandoned dew training site somewhere on a farm in Illinois…. Great Video 👍
Located outside of Streator Il. Still there and abandoned.
I really enjoyed seeing this, and have watched the DEWline documentary as well, which is where I saw Mr. Jeffrey's reference to his work on this video. I was born in 1944 and grew up in far northeastern Montana on a dryland farm. As I was in elementary school in the 1950s, we were aware of and and had high appreciation for "the DEWline". Being just 45 miles from the Canadian border, even as youngsters we knew that we never wanted to see high-flying planes moving north to south.
The original development and construction of the entire concept is amazing and, once again, done by "git-er-done" people, working with schedules and plans, transportation and construction in tough conditions, and they did a productive and solid work that has actually stood the test of time very well. Really, really interesting, Mr. Jeffrey. Thank you for sharing this.
My oldest brother (17 years older) had joined the Navy in 1945 along with most of his high school senior class, hoping to get in on WW II wrap-up work. He missed action then but was engaged as a combat photographer in Korea, photography in Antarctica during the 1957 Geophysical year, and much aerial reconnaissance work as the years went on . I've often wondered, considering the trajectory of his 30 year career in the Navy, to what extent he was aware of and perhaps considering involvement in DEWline work. His eventual reconnaissance work had him qualified as a navigator as well so that he could fill one of the two seats of the limited 2-man crews on the planes that overflew Cuba and the Finland/Soviet Union borders.
Significant times they were. The Cold War was highly stressful for a lot of reasons, at many levels. Thank you so much for the work you have done to document this part of it.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments Sharon. Had your brother had electronics training in the navy, he might have ended up on the DEWLine as a Radician.
If you enjoyed the video, you might enjoy my book, "Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War" (on Amazon!). Short commercial message :-).
@@DEWLiner I will check out your book - don't mind that commercial message at all! Thank you for your response -
Enjoyed your comment, where in NE Montana did you live ? I grew up in lustre, live south of wolf point now. Have always been intrigued with all these old radar sights and systems. Also the saint Marie air base
Great video. Brings back memorable memories, I was up there with Nordair maintaining the FH-227’s
Thanks for the comment Rob. It was a neat and unusual place to live and work. I hope your memories were as pleasant as mine.
Very cool Brian, thanks for sharing! I was up there 1990-1992, stationed at Hall Beach for most of my time in the north. Great to see the place again, and not a huge amount has changed since I was there...
This is an absolutely touching and (as far as I am concerned), a very well-done tutorial of an incredibly far North place! Also, I can't believe how IMMACULATE this facility is! Literally not a single thing out of order! Very nice work! All respect and KUDOS! May the longest future continue for this work of art! Lastly, thank you for educating me in something so amazing as this!
Thanks Brian. I was on Fox Main in 1971, in logistics. Also went to Broughton Island and Cape Dyer.
Gary:
You should add your name to the DEWLiners Contact List at lswilson.dewlineadventures.com.
Brian J.
When I was he Alaskan DEW LINE this A-tain stuff was the lower base camp. I was a top a mountain 2500 feet above accessible by a zig-zag gravel road in the summer. We used TRAM cable car that operated when the winds were below 35 mph. We had high winds that blew off the wind cups off the wind gauge that when up to 200 mph. The FPS-20 was a top of the mountain and was powered by cables from the lower camp. We lived in an attached hut with 3 room and a bath for 8 guys for a year. Sleeping room. Kitchen/ Living area, Bathroom. There was no personal space except your bunk...which was enclosed with blankets so your light would not disturb the others. It caused me to never want to be with anyone living with anyone else ever. So I have been a solo liver and worker all my life. At sea I quickly became a rated man to get a private room (3 engineer). Then I wa an OTR trucker. I never married.
Great to see this combo video and picture tour of a place on this planet that still amazes me that I got to visit it not once but twice. Both times I was at Hall Beach were as an aircraft structural mechanic working in that hangar on our airline's (Nordair) FH-227 (around 1985 to 1990). Flew in and out on Nordair 737-200 combi planes and was headquartered in the end-to-end trailer accomodations near the hangar. Loved the nearby village.and bought some very inexpensive soapstone carvings and also some frozen arctic char to bring back to Montreal (still my favourite fish to eat!), The dining room was great too. Not mentioned was the extremely high quality of the food there and how competitive the chefs at Hall Beach were with those at Cambridge Bay (also excellent eats!). I've dreamt of going there for a visit (I'm now a few days shy of 62) but the cost would be extremely prohibitive since I wouldn't have an official reason to be there. I appreciate you posting this though Brian!
Thanks for dropping by and commenting Peter. Hall Beach is indeed a special place on the planet especially for me as that's where I had my 20th birthday in 1960. You might enjoy reading about the early years on the Line. My book, "Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War" is available on Amazon. You might also check out the DEWLine website at www.DEWLine.ca.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I worked from Cam Main to Fox Main as a tech. rep. for the big White - Superior Generators that were installed in the early 1980's.
Loved the site, the stories, and the video. When you look at the way those sites were built, it defies the imagination. It's just part of history that is destined to be lost in time. Sites like yours do a great job in telling people just what it was like to be part of the DEW line. Thanks for keeping the rest of us "southerners" safe!
Thanks for the kind comments. Most appreciated. We were keeping Southerners and Northerners, alike, safe during tense times.
The language is Inutitut, the aboriginal language.
In 1989, I spent 6 months at Fox Main working with other tradesmen preparing the site for the North Warning System takeover. Stayed in an Armco next to the Hangar. There were 4 of them there, never a dull moment. I loved the DEW Line. And I was still surprised to see the bearskin in the Dining room lol. A few guys hid the skin above the ceiling when I was there for a joke. Missing for about a week! Not really that funny. Great Vid!
Thank you very much Brian for the video. I may have actually met you on your visit, I was the fire inspector/trainer for Nasittuq in the area that summer. I made quite a few trips to Hall Beach for fire inspections and trainings and I believe I may have actually given you a few lessons in fire behaviour and extinguishers that July . This brings back a lot of fond memories to me and I will definitely be showing this video to my family and friends who would never believe the locations I was at across the DEW line.
Thanks for the kind words Kevin. Good to hear from you. Be safe, stay well.
I enjoyed watching your video. As an Air Force photographer in the 1970's, I traveled from BAR Main to DYE-3 working on a documentary. I stopped at FOX Main and ended up being weathered in for 2 weeks at FOX-3. Your video brought back memories.
I spent lots of time at FOX-3 particularly when I was being helicoptered into and out of FOX-C at Ekalugad Fiord.
Wow, at FOX 3 Dewar Lakes?
I spent a bit of time there during the early summer and again during the late summer of 1966 as a junior scientific officer 🙃 on an Arctic Wolf Research project.
I played a small role in Brian's trip back to FOX MAIN as I had discovered his DEWLine history website and I was living just north of Hall Beach in Igloolik Nunavut from 2004-2015!
🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🌎 🇺🇲 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
My father was stationed up there in what must have been the early to mid 70's. Cambridge Bay & another I can't remember at the moment. I believe he started when our neighbor, who was a chef up there got him a job. He started as a custodian & then got into the kitchens with Mr. Hutman. I can't remember his 1st name, always knew him as Mr. Hutman haha.
Very nice video & congrats on the dream being fulfilled!
We had some incredible chefs and cook's helper's on the Line. I gained 30 lbs on my first tour and had to buy some mail order clothes to have something to go south in.
I believe the chef's name was charlie hutman. I didn"t know him but my dad did. I spent about 9 years at various stations until closing in 93. If you could handle the isolation on the small sites only 11 guys it was a cool place to work and the money was very good at the time.
very insightful! Thanks for sharing this slice of history.
Ok, thanks. I've always been fascinated by the DEW line and all the technology involved (I'm also a cold war history buff and a Navy vet and I worked in fire control). Thanks for your quick response.
Craig, I'm sure I'll have more questions in the near future.
Good day
--
Craig Henry
Don't hesitate to contact me directly at Brian@DEWLine.ca.
Several years ago, I took a stroll down memory lane and documented my DEWLine experiences in a book titled, “Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War.” It’s available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions at: www.amazon.com/dp/1719989532. You might find it of interest.
Hi,
I’m wondering if that DC-4 was really an RCAF Northstar? The DC-4 had round radial engines, while the Northstar had V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
If you are referring to CF-IQM, that was a DC-4. It ultimately ended up with Buffalo Airways (may still be with them!).
I'm sure you have good memories. I enjoyed the tour very much. thank you. Scott
Nice video. I was in the USAF. First job was 304x4. I loved Alley Hall for some reason. Lol
Hasn't changed much except for the smaller lower camp since I saw it for the last time in 93. Thanks
Vey cool, seems a lot of bedroom space and such a large kitchen for a minimally-manned site, however.
You're quite correct James, the facilities are too large for the current staffing. During the period from 1957 to 1994, FOX Main would have been home for 100+ people. Once the DEWLine went fully automated and became the North Warning System, the need for all those people disappeared but the facilities didn't.
Fantastic story and video. thanks for sharing.
Thanks Phil. It was an incredible trip down memory lane for me. To be able to go "back home" after 52 years was an adventure.
Thanks for Posting this and Ron's video. Again, very interesting.
Thanks Jack. I've passed your comments along to Ron Blessin.
That's great - and you're both welcome. I would love to have visited the area. Not much chance now though. I suppose one has to learn to like somewhere in both dark and light seasons, to be able to live and work there. I would like the silences too. As a Poet/Author, I find it very inspiring, but I was always interested in the Cold War era and things like Dewline. All the best to both of you.
Quiet! The DEWLine was an introvert's paradise:-).
I am not sure which years it was that my father, Richard Gooch, worked there but he was well known and had great stories about the place. Please let me know if there is a web page I can go to that may have contact names and/or stories of the people that served there over the various years. Thank you.
Fantastic. I watched it twice . Thanks for sharing
And you stayed awake? Good for you. Honestly, I'm pleased you enjoyed it.
Good job Brian! You obviously had a great trip. CAM Main 82-83 for me.
LOL Peter I was there to at the same time on site cleanup. Awesome video.
I wonder how much gain those troposcatter antennas had, and how long it has been since they were used.
Those are 120’ billboard antennas. They were fed with 50KW continuous power (50KW per antenna).
I can't specifically remember, but two numbers stick in my mind for the 60 foot antennas, 42 dB and 49 dB. My bet is 42 dB. That would make the 120 footers about 45 dB.
Certainly good ballpark values.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this.
You stood your watch. Well Done, sir. Well Done!
Thank you for the kind comment. Most appreciated.
You might enjoy reading about my experiences on the DEWLine. My book, "Adventures from the Coldest Part of the Cold War" is available on Amazon.
good video i have been to some of sites in Alaska
Great video, I thought all that dewline stuff was closed down years ago though. It's still in full operation?
Craig: The DEWLine itself was replaced by the North Warning System that used many of the original DEWLine sites for locating the new radars. The DEWLine was formally closed in a ceremony in 1994. I have a video of that ceremony.
Enjoyed Brian. Memories, but, more sunny and warm climes!
thankyou i really enjoyed watching
What have you seen in the way of change of the weather at Hall Beach, compared to the weather there 50 years ago? Did you have any clear sky and did you see contrails of passing jet planes? Did you have a clear night and did you see lights of passing jet planes? When you walked around the focal point of the tropo scatter antennas did you hear any rumbles from distant jets? Has the vegetation changed since you were there? Three miles west of Hall Beach there is a geological dome structure, visible on goog earth. What kind of rock is out there?
All good questions Lee. As I was there is July, there was 24 hour sunlight (and clear skies!). Didn't see any contrails but then I wasn't watching the sky, nor was I watching the radar as I did some 52 years previous. Much of the land looks like I remembers it from 50 years ago. The big change at Hall Beach was the settlement that has grown North of the station. That wasn't there in the earlier days. Not being a geologist, I can't tell one rock from another. :-)
Amazing how the entire DEW Line system was created in just 32 months. Today it would take 32 months just to do the impact study. Lol.
#BrainJeffery
Thank you for this awesome video!
How could I began working at a site like this?
What education discipline should I major?
Spent a 2 day stay over at fox main waiting for the weather too clear so we could continue on to USCG loran station Cape Christian,Baffin Island, NWT, May 1969
Even though the weather cleared it appears you never did make the climb...correct?
Is this site still operational as of 2022?
Yes!
Funny, I was just on the site yesterday
My dad was on dew line in 1960
Now that's some incredible scenery up there. Did you ever make it back to the tower?
I decided that climbing the tower might not be such a good idea for a 72 year old fart so I declined the opportunity. :-)
Well when the Chinese and N. Koreans shoot down all of our satellites it'll be back to the _DEW_ line- I'm glad that they kept up the facilities so nicely.
The administrator (John Pialaq) is my father. I'm sure it'll put a smile on his face when I show him that someone put a picture of him in one of their youtube videos.
I was briefly introduced to John during my 3-day visit back "home". He is a true gentleman.
BTW, I had my 20th birthday at Hall Beach in 1960.
I thought all these stations were decommissioned decades ago. What is the point of that one still remaining in operation?
You raise an interesting point about the value of the sites today. A couple of reasons come to mind. One is that they help establish Canadian sovereignty in the Northern part of our country. Second, with the United States and Russia appearing to restart a Cold War, it might be useful. Also is valuable for trans-polar flights. It's like an insurance policy that you hope to never have to use.
On that placard where it told of the clean up is a language I have never seen before. Some sort of code, or is it alien?
I believe it's the Inuit language, Inuktitut.
Roger on that Brian! It's known as Inuit sylabics. It's a representation of the Inuit language (Inuktitut) where each symbol represents a sound rather than a letter of the alphabet.
In technical terms our English language is referred to as being written in Roman orthography and of course our numerals are Arabic numbers!
No new world Indigenous language had a written format similar to European languages so of course Christian missionaries devised ones such as Inuit sylabics so that they could translate the Bible into book form!
North American sylabic language translations began with Anishinabec and Cree (commonly referred to as Oji-Cree since we chose to refer to some of those folks as Ojibway, Woodland Cree and Plains Cree).
Translation tools now exist online not surprisingly!!
Nunavut means 'our land'!
Inuit means 'the people'! Inuk is the singular form!
Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day! 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦
Who knows the address of the police station in Hull Beach?
Fantastic job
Thank u i wish i could live out my years there with a nice job and my own room
But it looks like nobody is really there
How many people still stay there
While most of the stations are unmanned, there were a dozen or so people stationed at FOX-Main when I was there in 2012. I expect the number would remain about the same today. There are always more people there in the summers months when outside maintenance happens.
i wonder what they are doing there today??
When I was there in 2012, they were doing what they've always done, maintenance and repairs on the various stations to keep them operational. Of course, most of the DEWLine stations have all been replaced by North Warning System stations with modern, remotely monitored radar equipment.
What is the environmental impact of a 25MT hydrogen bomb exploding over New York City? Has Greenpeace prepared an EIS which evaluates the effect on the environment of 10 MIRV'd 150KT weapons exploding over Eastern Seaboard communities from Boston to Washington, DC? The impact on the environment of the DEW Line facilities is tiny by comparison! Thank you, Brian! A great video!
Brian, You are a true Cold War Warrior.
Just one of many. We also served who stood and froze. :0(
11:42 that’s a nice tv lol
Tell me what you know about Fred Colson.
I wonder if small nuclear power plants where considered?
Those back scatter dishes can stop your heart if they are still working.
Fortunately, the high powered transmitters have been long removed and the antennas stand only as a landmark and a reminder of the Cold War.
Brian
@@DEWLiner bet it wouldn't take much to get them all going again.....you know ..JUST in case.
@@morgangrey4020 Morgan: You could reinstall transmitters of some sort and reestablish the communications link back to Thule again but for what. The two antennas provided a communications link to Thule and weren't radar antennas. I'm not sure what's up a Thule these days worth communicating with.
All of the old DEWLines sites have either been converted to the North Warning System or abandoned. Most of the abandoned sites have been reclaimed or are in the looong process of remediation/reclamation.
scattering antenaes---very cool
Wow
Wow, indeed! Going back to Hall Beach, FOX-Main was a trip of a lifetime for me. A real trip down memory lane.
The takeover was an Alberta company FRONEC that made trailers took over, reason CANADA WANTED TO RUN THE DEW LINE, US PAID FOR EVERYTHING, FRONTEC TOOK OVER AND THEN IT WENT DOWN HILL. MISMANAGED, RUN OUT OF MONY. CLOSED IN 2 YEARS.
No way would the soviets ever attack, it just wouldn't happen.
You were obviously born after the cold war ended. When the DEW line was constructed, the memory of Pearl Harbor was in the minds of the men who built it. The Soviet threat WAS real. The DEW line was part of the reason they didn't attack. We came close in '62 (dodged a bullet).
go check out Able Archer and see how close they came to pushing their button...in 83 or 84 if i remember right
North Island Salvage demolished the base in 1989
You must be thinking of another site. Hall Beach (FOX Main) was still there when I visited it in 2012.
Brian Jeffrey an opp
Awfully loud insipid music. Really distracting.
A total waste of money,resurces,energy,and man life time,teribble. Th
That is an interesting perspective. I see it more as an insurance policy, like fire insurance on your hone, that you never had to (or want to) use. To each their own.
I think you're actually referring to your own time in English class; judging by your spelling, sentence structure and grammar your philosophy is "a D- is still passing".
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