The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Bill Wingert came to Flin Flon in October 1935 from Englefield, Sask., a small farming community about 20 miles east of Humboldt. Bill was born in 1916, the eighth of twelve children. His parents were Americans who immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1909. He had helped run his father's farm at the age of 16 and when Bill made it clear to his dad that he did not want to take over the farm, his dad sold it. Bill went to work for other farmers for a couple of years but it was a lot of work for little pay. Bill had heard of good pay at the mine in Flin Flon, so he headed north. Bill stated, "When I came to get a job at HBMS in 1935 there must have been 500 people standing in line looking for work. A man named Protease from the employment office at HB just sat at his desk with his arms crossed and said 'nothing today.' There was a policeman available to boot us out the door if we gave any trouble." Bill took whatever work he could get, still going back regularly to the employment office. He worked around town helping pour cement, on construction gangs digging basements, at Elander's Dairy in Creighton (milk was delivered by dog team in the winter), and hung around the bowling alley and set pins. It was there that he met Bruce Weese, who got Bill a job in the bottling plant. There was a wholesale warehouse called National Fruit, where the Provincial Building now stands, and Fred Ford got Bill a job for 21 cents a hour. See 'Got' P.# Con't from P.# Then in May his luck changed as he got a call from HBMS. He worked there for two years before he signed up for military service. "We were each called into a room, took a test and the next thing we knew we were in the Navy," he smiles. "It was that quick. They gave us one month to get back home, get our affairs in order and we began our training in Winnipeg for three months, then on to Victoria for continued training. "Then on December 7, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, our duty became collecting all the Japanese fishing boats and getting them to New Westminster, where we guarded them and serviced them for winter." In 1942, Bill was off again for more training, this time to Hamilton, Ontario for a crash course in submarine detection. "This course was done with a hydrophone (today it is called sonar), in which we were taught to decipher the difference between schools of fish and a submarine," he said. "I then ended up on the East Coast in early 1942 and was posted on the HMS Fennel as an 'ASDIC' operator for about eight months," he continued. "We worked what was called the 'triangle run' in which we escorted ships from New York, Halifax to St. John's, Newfoundland. Then another escort group would take them to and from overseas. "New York was a great place for service men. We were treated very well and we toured everything from the Empire State Building to great shows including Woody Herman and Tommy Dorsey. We ate very well as the staff seemed to bend over backwards for the service men. "However, that was short lived and we were sent overseas in 1943. We found ourselves on the 'derry' (Londonderry to St. John's, Newfoundland) run and we ended up getting torpedoed and we went into dry dock at Londonderry for repairs. We took our leave and headed for the closest city Ð that was Belfast Ð on the train. About half way there was a place called Port Rush, so we got off the train, decided to stay and got a hotel room. See 'You' P.# Con't from P.# "The girl in the hotel cafeteria was very friendly and told us her two sisters were coming to visit her and asked us if we'd like to meet them. Of course we said yes. One of her sister's names was Margaret (Dougherty) and the chemistry (between us) was electric. "My five days leave flew by and any thoughts of going to Belfast were gone. When we got back to Londonderry our ship was not ready and our leave was extended five days. I was off on the train back to Port Rush. Within those next five days, I asked Margaret to marry me. It was wartime, you had to take opportunities as they came around. "By the 5th of June our ship was ready to go and then of course on the 6th of June, all hell broke loose. We were sent out as the striking force to destroy submarines. It was a very tiring job, because you were on full alert. When you hit your bunk you were out like a light. "Finally in July, 1944, I got four days leave and Margaret and I were married. I had one more trip out and then we were sent back to Canada to be refitted. It was then that I took the Petty Officer's course, as I was stationed in Halifax. "After I completed my course I was given 28 days leave and I managed to get a ride on a ship going over to Ireland so I could see my wife. Margaret was at Coleran, Ireland, her hometown. We spent our honeymoon touring the countryside on bicycles, getting to know one and other. "Later I was posted to a manning depot in Scotland. It was then that I made application for Margaret for immigration to Canada on a French vessel. As it turned out she got to Canada before I did and she lived with my mother in Englefield, Sask." Bill and Margaret came to Flin Flon in October 1945. They first lived for a short while in the Royal Hotel. Finding a place to live was very difficult, and they finally found a basement suite on Fifth Avenue. Bill worked on the bull gang with the bricklayers as a helper with Frank Allen and Joe Skoda, and also helped build the war houses in Willowvale for 56 cents a hour. He finally got a raise, thanks to Laurie Johnson and Baldy Green, to 82 cents an hour. Bill bought one of the houses they had been building in 1946, at 370 Parkway Boulevard. His neighbours in the early years included John and Mary McLean, Bliss Murray, Bus and Isobel Ketchen, and Steve and Mary Windjack. Bill transferred to the paint gang in 1947 and worked with the likes of Jack Buckland, Steve Windjack, Bus Ketchen, and later Jack Scott and Red Nelson. Bill joined the union when he got on the Paint Gang and in 1948 and eventually became the president of the Flin Flon Labour Council in 1950, holding the position for eight years. Peter McSheffrey was the secretary-treasurer at the time. "We had a good relationship with HB management," said Bill. In 1961 Bill took a trip to Ottawa along with a delegation from Snow Lake, The Pas, Swan River and Dauphin, meeting with Tommy Douglas, John Diefenbaker and Judy Lamarsh, trying to bring television to this area. He recalled that in 1967, he arranged a group to clear the area along Highway 10A where Flinty's Park is now. That would be the site of a special Centennial bonfire. Bill was also attached to a committee to study the economic future of Manitoba when Duff Roblin was premier from 1960 to 1963. Bill also spent time as chairman of the Apprenticeship Committee and secretary of the committee to build the war Cenotaph, along with Bob Fredrickson. Bill retired from HBMS in 1978. Unfortunately his wife Margaret passed away in 1983. He spent a few winters in Florida with his daughter, Patricia, and her family, and then in 1989 bought a mobile home in Arizona , where he spent part of the year for about six years. He also toured Europe in 1988, visiting nine countries. His journeys even took him to the top of the Tower of Pisa as well as the top of the Eiffel Tower. Bill remains active in the community and is a member of the Knights of Columbus Ð and has been for 65 years. He is also a member of St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church (he has been for 70 years) and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 73 (for 60 years). Bill spends a lot of his time playing bridge with Ivale and Evelyn Constable, among others. He has five children: Sandra, born in 1946; Kevin in 1949; Jim born in 1950; Patricia in 1957; and Lois in 1960. He is the proud grandfather of ten. "I don't know where the time went," Bill laughs. "I have very deep roots in Flin Flon and I have worked hard at trying to make things better for this community. I have absolutely no plans of ever leaving here and I am always so glad to get home whenever I have to leave here for a short while. I feel so blessed and am looking forward to my 90th birthday in March of 2006." Thanks for sharing this wonderful story, Bill! It was a pleasure!
