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.
Hazelet 'Sparky' Sparrow was born in Seabright, Nova Scotia in 1922 where he was raised and received his education. His family moved West to Russell and then to Brandon, Manitoba, but Sparky stayed behind and joined the Navy in 1942. He was stationed in Halifax and did what he called "the triangle run". He went from Halifax to New York and Boston. He recalls picking up survivors from a big merchant ship that were torpedoed near Sable Island. He was on a Corvette at that time. In November of 1942, he went to Londonderry, Ireland, Grenwich, Scotland and on to Cardiff, Wales. Later he went on to the Mediterranean and got caught in a storm where the waves were over 20 feet high. He spent 11 months at sea traveling to Algiers, Gibraltar and then came back to Wales and then to Canada in 1943. "I just missed the invasion," he says. Sparky then went out to B.C. where he helped bring a Frigate back to the East Coast by way of South America and back up the East Coast. "I much preferred the Corvette to the Frigate," he added. "In total, I spent 22 months at sea." After his discharge, he married Miriam Fraser and they were living in Brandon. It was while working for the Manitoba Power Company that he acquired the name Sparky. His boss decided the name suited him. See 'Crew' P.# Con't from P.# Sparky and his wife 'Mim' came to Flin Flon in the spring of 1948 partly because Mim's dad, Bruce Fraser, was here and Mim's sister, Anne Cameron, was at Island Falls. Sparky got a job on the line crew at HBM&S in 1948. On the crew at that time were: Jack Alexson, Jock Killoh, Stew Kirkland, Alex Kirby, Mac Bonnett, Vic Sizer, Bob King, Ed Saxbee, Gordie Luck, Stewart Evans, Wally Woronuik, Frank Stewart, Don Dow, Corky Dadson, Art Shearer, Carl Agmundson, Cliff McIntyre, Ken Ransom, Henry Budlong, Tommy Mann, John Akert and Gene Danis Ð just to name some that Sparky remembers. Some of that crew came later than '48, they are in no specific order. The superintendent at that time was Gordon Frost with Herb Kitchen being his assistant. Sparky recalls helping to erect the power lines such as the Flux Line, power lines to Phantom Lake then to Mandy Mine, Cuprous Mine and extending to North Star. The line crew also used to put up the Christmas lights on Main Street and that usually meant that they would be invited into various businesses along the street for a little refreshment. "The line crew were a close knit bunch and were very supportive of one and other," said Sparky. "This came in very handy from time to time, when one or the other would enjoy the refreshments just a little too much!" The crew would often pick blueberries when in season, once their work on the power lines was done. Unfortunately Sparky received a back injury that curtailed his "climbing ability" and he had to transfer to the sub station in 1952. The guys working there were Joe Chudy, Jack Doscoe, Mark Mackew, Don McDougall, John Hattie, Sid Brown, Don Hasselhan, Orest Chlan and Gerry Elhman. Some of the Bombers used to work there too such as Elhman. Bob Davison was the electrician in the Open Pit in the early 50s. Sparky recalls the first highway out of Flin Flon in 1950. It was a gravel road and when it was wet, cars had to be pulled through by tractor. Sparky smiles, "Yeah, I bought my first car, a '48 Dodge, from Henry Reimer." When Sparky and Mim first came to town they rented an apartment at 50 Ross for $35 a month. There was no running water and they had to chip the ice off the barrel to get at it. The apartment was heated by a cook stove. "We had an outdoor toilet." People they first met were Vera Larson, Mike and Inga Nowasek. Mike played for the Bombers in 1936. They originally came from Brandon too, as did Harry and Mitzie Stein. Some of the other Bombers Sparky recalled were Sid and George Abel who went on to play for Detroit and Jimmy Skinner who later scouted for Detroit. "We used to listen to the out of town games on the radio." In 1957, Sparky and Mim lost their daughter Frances to brain cancer. She was 13 years old. The Sparrows looked after many foster children and actually adopted the first two they had. During those years Sparky was very active in the Scouting movement and spent about 10 years helping 'Skip' Jones and Charlie Whitbread with the kids. In 1974, Sparky quit the Company and he and his wife went out to Nanimo, B.C. for awhile. "I had a spiritual calling and wanted to sell religious books for awhile," he said. "However after a couple of years Mim wanted to come back here so I swallowed my pride and came back to HBM&S, looking for a job." He was hired back at the sub station. "By then, Island Falls had become automated so many of the men from Island Falls came back here to work as well." Sparky retired in 1986 . After a long struggle with Alzheimer's, Mim passed away in 1992. Sparky later met and married Marge Davis in December of 1995. Together they spend many hours in the summer gardening, picking blueberries and taking short trips. They are very active in their church and attend Bible studies regularly. They have 13 grandchildren and enjoy their families very much. Thanks so much for giving us a peek into your past! What a great memory you have!
