CFB/DND Falconbridge

[bradinsudbury]

Hello,

I am looking for some very specific information in regards to the former base that made up part of the DEW line during the height of the Cold War.

Located in what is now Greater Sudbury ON, is an area that locally we refer to as the "Radar Base". The PMQ's and barracks are all still there now being used as geared-to-income housing. All the other buildings are still standing (although boarded up) as are warehouses and other buildings on an adjacent parcel of land.

My concern is that this vital piece of Canadian military history and it is not being protected. There is much that can be done to this site to tell of this country's role in the Cold War, but I don't know where to start? Does it just start with my MP, or is there anyone at the DND that could assist with this?

Also, if anyone has any pictures or knows where I could get some pictures/archives/articles about this installation I would be most appreciative; and if you or anyone you know ever lived or served at Falconbridge during the Cold War I would be very interested in speaking with you.

Thanks for any help you might be able to give me on my quest!

:yellow:

 

[Edward Campbell]

I'm nitpicking, again, but ... Falconbridge was NOT part of the DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line, it was part of the Pinetree Line.

NORAD's radar system had three "lines" in Canada, providing a layered coverage for North America:

1. The DEW Line, in the high arctic;

2. The Mid-Canada Line, its name describes its location; and

3. The Pinetree Line, which was very close to the US border and, consequently, aimed, primarily at defending US bases and cities.

 

[bradinsudbury]

i stand corrected.
however, the crux of my post remains the same..
except it was part of the PINETREE LINE....

 

[dapaterson]

I'm nitpicking, again, but ...

...but it's all part of your unique and unmistabkable charm.

 

[PMedMoe]

Several radar stations which were part of the Pinetree Line have been closed and dismantled.  My father was an Air Defence Technician and worked at several of them......Alsask, St. Margaret's, etc.  I don't know that Falconbridge would garner any special attention.

Nice idea, though, good luck with it.

 

[Blackadder1916]

My concern is that this vital piece of Canadian military history and it is not being protected. There is much that can be done to this site to tell of this country's role in the Cold War, but I don't know where to start? Does it just start with my MP, or is there anyone at the DND that could assist with this?

You may not find anyone in DND with anything more than a passing historical interest in Falconbridge, such as the Directorate of History and Heritage.  The property of the former CFS Falconbridge, like most of the nearly two dozen radar stations closed in the late 80s and early 90s, was disposed of when the stations were closed.  Not only are they no longer the property of DND, but it may be unlikely that they belong to any level of government - federal, provincial or municipal.  In Falconbridge's case:
http://www.ghosttownpix.com/ontario/towns/falconbridge.html

As a result of technological changes, Falconbridge was downsized and closed in November 1986. It was appraised and tendered for sale to the highest bidder. Appraisals based on rental income of the PMQs alone came in at between $1.3 and $1.6 million. The extensive sports and recreational facilities were not included in the appraisal.

Promotional literature described the base as having a library, recreational building with snack bar, theatre, bowling alley, sauna, medical building, school, church, garage, office building, 97 family units, pump station, driving range, soccer field, two ball parks, ski tow and downhill ski area and a football field. In effect, a complete town, built with public money, was being offered for sale.

Controversy followed when General Leaseholds, a publicly traded company, eventually won the bid for a paltry $140,000. The day they took possession they flipped it to a numbered company who eventually sold it to Henry Shepherd, a local trailer camp owner, for $190,000. Shepherd's earlier bid of $210,000 had been rejected. Shepherd sold the base in 1988 for well over a million.

The base still exists and has been renamed Valley View Developments. Although most of the homes have been renovated and rented, the remainder of the facility sits crumbling. The radomes were demolished and the sports field, park and playground are weedy and overgrown. Many of the buildings still stand - shabby and vacant - slowly deteriorating year by year.

Sadly, as a result of sloppiness and neglect, the opportunity to turn the lucrative remains of CFS Falconbridge into a viable, self-sustaining community appears to have been completely lost.

From pictures of the current site at http://www.ontarioabandonedplaces.com/upload/wiki.asp?entry=68 , it appears to be in pretty bad shape.  While the domestic side of the former station may still be used for housing, the heart of its cold war purpose, the radomes and the operations building (up the hill) have been demolished.  Maintaining a former Pinetree station as a historical site does have its appeal, however that may have been something to consider when those closures started 25 years ago.  I'm not aware of any that were kept in a level that would make it viable as such an attraction.

 

[Blackadder1916]

I probably spoke too soon!

. . . was disposed of when the stations were closed.  Not only are they no longer the property of DND, . . .

It seems that a few of these closed (and dismantled?) stations may still be on DND's property books - at least the department was receiving funds from Environment Canada a couple of years ago for clean-up at some of the locations.

I'm not aware of any that were kept in a level that would make it viable as such an attraction.

The Cold Lake Museums (which includes the Cold Lake Air Force Museum) is housed in the former facility of 42 Radar Sqn.  Part of the display is equipment previously used by the squadron.

One of the radomes at the former Pinetree site in Alsask was kept and supposedly declared a heritage site.  http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/alsask.html 

Construction of the 418-acre military facility adjacent to the north side of the village began in 1961, and in early 1963 the long-range radar unit, 44 Radar Squadron, was operational. The station later became known as CFD (Canadian Forces Detachment) Alsask. The base included three radar domes, housing, a school, a swimming pool, and the first cable television in the province. It was staffed by 125 service personnel, many of whom lived on site with their families, as well as 60 civilian employees. The village of Alsask was transformed by the activity and the combined population was over 800 in the early 1970s. The disbanding of the station in 1987 had a major impact on Alsask, as hundreds of people were gone within months. Few businesses remain in the community today. The one remaining radar dome, built in 1961, was designated a heritage property in 2002.

 

[bradinsudbury]

Blackadder1916 - unfortunately I was only 13 when the base was closed otherwise maybe I would have done something about it!!  :nod:

I knew it was a "shot in the dark", but I thought I would bring it up here anyway.

I am very much aware of the state of the property in question at Falconbridge. I think that is why it seems so important to me to have some sort of historical preservation of the site.

As a cable/telecomm tech I spend more than my share of time at the "Radar Base" on installations and service. While the housing is (in general) still in reasonable shape, it is the admin buildings, rec halls, etc. etc. that are crumbling and boarded up. I just think it's a crying shame that no one seems to care about our proud military history in this country. I know that the DND has no ownership of the property, but it seems there is a fiduciary duty on the part of the Government to preserve and protect heritage sites such as this.. I mean couldn't they even put a friggin' plaque up somewhere? If for no other reason than as a tribute to the men and women (and families) that lived there monitoring our airspace from the "Red Scare" of the Cold War.

Sorry, that's my rant... and this thread can probably be closed now...  except to say that I would still be interested in hearing from anyone that served at CFS Falconbridge during its operational years.

Thanks everyone for your responses.
:yellow:

 

[PMedMoe]

Blackadder, thanks for the info about Alsask.  Dad was posted there from '63-'67.  I was born in Kindersley.

 

[Blackadder1916]

. . .  Dad was posted there from '63-'67.  I was born in Kindersley.

Ahh, conceived in the trailer park*!  I remember a paper presented, years ago, by an MO (or maybe NO?) about the higher than average birth rate in military families posted to isolated and semi-isolated locations.  Radar stations made up the majority of those locations.

*IIRC, the PMQs at Alsask were mobile homes.

 

[George Wallace]

Ahh, conceived in the trailer park*!  I remember a paper presented, years ago, by an MO (or maybe NO?) about the higher than average birth rate in military families posted to isolated and semi-isolated locations.  Radar stations made up the majority of those locations.

*IIRC, the PMQs at Alsask were mobile homes.

Guess my parents went against the norm.  CFS Yorkton was the first posting my Dad had where I didn't get a new brother or sister.    However, Winnipeg was another story........Is Winnipeg considered an "isolated" posting?    ;D 

 

[George Wallace]

*IIRC, the PMQs at Alsask were mobile homes.

Most of the Radar Stations were "Temporary" structures.  Most had PMQs that were made up of the two module mobile home trailers. 

Foymount, south of Eganville, ON, had permanent PMQs and quarters, a serviced Trailer park, a ski hill and an Olympic sized swimming pool that was used by Canada's Olympic atheletes for training.  All pretty much gone now.  The Gym burned down.  The company that bought the Base on closure, didn't see the potential of the place, and stripped it of its powerful generators and any other equipment they though was of value.  Like Falconbridge, it is a real shame to see this Base in its current condition. 

Some people from Pet may have gone out there for the sales that sporting goods/camping manufacturer used to have.  (Golden Valley?)

 

[medicineman]

Is Winnipeg considered an "isolated" posting?    ;D

No, just cold and miserable  ;D.

MM

 

[Old Sweat]

Ahh, conceived in the trailer park*!  I remember a paper presented, years ago, by an MO (or maybe NO?) about the higher than average birth rate in military families posted to isolated and semi-isolated locations.  Radar stations made up the majority of those locations.

*IIRC, the PMQs at Alsask were mobile homes.

This is not about radar stations, but it has a link. Local lore or urban legend had it that the number of births spiked in 4 CIBG in the 1960s nine months after the end of the annual fall exercises, with smaller local jumps (no pun intended, not) after the end of various unit exercises such as gun, practice and bridge camps. Births were published in The Beaver, which was the weekly Canadian Army National Force Europe newspaper, and seemed to peak at times that corresponded to that theory.

 

[George Wallace]

This is not about radar stations, but it has a link. Local lore or urban legend had it that the number of births spiked in 4 CIBG in the 1960s nine months after the end of the annual fall exercises, with smaller local jumps (no pun intended, not) after the end of various unit exercises such as gun, practice and bridge camps. Births were published in The Beaver, which was the weekly Canadian Army National Force Europe newspaper, and seemed to peak at times that corresponded to that theory.

Good thing that they weren't peaking during times that the Bde was away.

 

[Blackadder1916]

This is not about radar stations, but it has a link. Local lore or urban legend had it that the number of births spiked in 4 CIBG in the 1960s nine months after the end of the annual fall exercises, with smaller local jumps (no pun intended, not) after the end of various unit exercises such as gun, practice and bridge camps. Births were published in The Beaver, which was the weekly Canadian Army National Force Europe newspaper, and seemed to peak at times that corresponded to that theory.

When we were closing CFHE (and before that  Baden BHosp). I had occasion to review some of the old records.  I did notice a similar trend of clusters of increased births that seemed to correlate with FALLEX.  However, the types and quality of contraception improved considerably from the 60s to the 90s.

Good thing that they weren't peaking during times that the Bde was away.

Whether one could determine the exact date of conception absolutely is another matter.  There was always the question whether sales of "OMA" detergent went up when the brigade was away.