1968 - L. J. (Lou) Debenham, the
first officer-incharge and
subsequently telecommunications
area manager at Winnipeg International Airport, has retired, ending 36 years of government
service.
A
native of Sintaluta, Sask., Lou started
his career in 1931 as a radio
operator with the old Department
of Railways and
Canals. He was first
assigned to Churchill
VAP, a marine coast station.
On completion of his Churchill assignment
in 1937, Lou was assigned to Winnipeg
range as OIC when the station was
first established. He held
this position until
his retirement and saw it grow from a threeman
station to a complex of more than 70
employees.
In the
early days of the 30's, Lou recalls,
"one would leave Halifax by
boat convoy and after several months reach Churchill
for a tour of duty."
The
old VAP marine building was in
those days a simple structure
having a small
transmitter and receiver, bunk beds
and eating area, all housed
in one room. This luxurious life didn't seem to hamper Lou's health or have any after effects
as he retired from D.O.T. without using a single
day of his sick leave.
Last
December, more than 100 friends
and colleagues, including W. E. Fenn,
regional director of air services at Winnipeg,
gathered to honor Mr. and Mrs.
Debenham.
The
guest of honor was presented with a
painting portraying his
first assignment at Churchill where, at the time, he enscribed
his name, the date and the call sign of the
station on a prominent rock.
After
the presentation, Lou presented Mr. Fenn with an electrolytic detector, a device
used to detect signals prior to the
invention and development of
the vacuum tube, and a power meter that was used
extensively during the spark
transmitter era.
The items were taken from the
S.S. Alette believed to
be a French vessel that ran
aground off the west coast of Hudson Bay
in the early part of the
century. Mr.
Debenham asked that the items be
donated to the Ottawa museum
where they might possibly contribute to the interest in
marine telecommunications in
Western Canada.
