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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor They say everybody has a story to tell, but Albert Gordon Stevens has quite a few of them. At 88, the longtime former Flin Flonner recently self-published his first book, No Feather Beds: A New Twist to an Old Tale. "I'm very happy about it," Stevens told the Portage la Prairie Daily Graphic. "It's quite an experience writing my first book. We have been so busy this spring that I really didn't think of it. Now it's starting to sink in a little." The book relays Stevens' experiences with the Royal Canadian Air Force, with whom he served during and after the Second World War, and his life in Manitoba, including Flin Flon. After leaving the Force in 1946, the Darlingford, Man., native Ð who goes by "Bert" Ð settled in Flin Flon. Here he worked with Sutton Pederson, Bert's Record Bar and HBMS. Stevens and wife Gwen retired out west to Vernon, B.C., in 1986, but they maintained the friendships they had made while in Flin Flon. When Gwen passed away, he returned to Manitoba, this time Portage la Prairie, where he still resides. For Stevens, sharing his many wartime stories was important. "It needs to be told," he told the Daily Graphic. "A lot of people don't realize what goes on. I hope that people enjoy it. There should be a few laughs, and a few points that will make you stop and think." Stevens will be at the Flin Flon Public Library this Friday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. He will present his story and sign copies of his book as part of the 2011 Culture Days celebrations.
