Publishing stories of fascinating Prairie People and Unsung Heroes

Welcome to the blog of Deana Driver - author, editor, and publisher of DriverWorks Ink, a book publishing company based in Saskatchewan. We publish stories of inspiring, fascinating Prairie people and unsung Canadian heroes - written by Prairie authors including Deana Driver. We also publish genres of healing and wellness, rural humour, and children's historical fiction. Visit our website to learn more about our books.

Friday, October 18, 2024

Unique Reenactment and Memoir Celebrate 80th Anniversary of Canadian Liberation of French Town

Guest blog post by Calgary author Romie Christie:


In September 2024, I travelled to Le Touquet in northern France. This is a place I hold dear in my heart. It’s my mother’s hometown, where we vacationed several times when I was young, twice staying in her family home, Rosemary Cottage. Le Touquet is where my parents, Sandy and Dorothy MacPherson, met and where they were laid to rest after almost 60 years of marriage and a good life in Saskatchewan, Canada. Their ashes are buried under a beautiful marble angel in Le Touquet’s cemetery alongside my maternal grandparents.

When I began writing about my parents’ dramatic and romantic World War II story in what became a published book, See You in Le Touquet: A Memoir of War and Destiny, I was not expecting it would lead me to participate in a memorable celebration in France. Using the word “memorable” hardly does justice to what transpired during the days leading up to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Le Touquet and the very special day itself, September 4th, 2024.

Last December, I sent a handful of copies of my newly published See You in Le Touquet book to Le Touquet – to the mayor, Daniel Fasquelle, to his office at the town hall, and to the historian Alain Holuigue, who’d lent me his support as I researched and wrote my parents story.
Author Romie Christie and Le Touquet historian Alain Holuigue in the Le Touquet Musee grounds, Sept 2024

Alain and his Le Touquet academic committee were thrilled to see the book. Their chairperson was able to read the book in English and immediately called a meeting with the mayor, suggesting the town host an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Le Touquet’s liberation during World War II and, most importantly, that the event should spotlight my parents and their history as told in my new book. And just like that, planning for the event began.

My sister and her husband, Alexandra and Don Young, committed to attending with me, as did a cousin from Vancouver, Sharon Gove. I stayed in close touch with Alain, who told me the town wished to do a reenactment of my parents’ meeting. I’d been there when my mom and dad performed a reenactment at the 40th anniversary celebration and I knew who should do it this time. I quickly responded to Alain, suggesting Alex and Don. I even sent pictures of them so the planners could see they would do a great job. Alex looks a lot like our mother Dorothy and Don, similar in size to our father Sandy, promised to obtain a Canadian WWII uniform for his part in the drama.

Author Romie Christie (left) with her sister Alexandra Young in front of Rosemary Cottage, their mother's home in Le Touquet, France

We knew before our arrival that on September 4th, 2024 - the day of the 80th anniversary - the reenactment would take place and I would read a segment from my book in English. Then Alain would read a translation. Even so, we all thought it would be a modest occasion. I never imagined how enormous the event itself and our entire week in Le Touquet would be!

On our first day, we met the mayor and his committee at the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) and then visited the cemetery where our parents were laid to rest.

Another day, we returned to Le Touquet's City Hall and reenacted our parents’ wedding photos, complete with a hat we fashioned to look like the one our mom had worn. Mayor Fasquelle handed us copies of their original marriage certificate from 1945. No added touch seemed too much.

Alexandra and Don Young reenact the wedding photo of Romie and Alexandra's parents, Le Touquet, France

Bright and early on September 4th, we were chauffeured in genuine WWII Jeeps to the traffic circle where the Avenue des Canadiens begins. At the town’s 40th anniversary celebration, our mother had unveiled the street sign which honours the nation that liberated them.

For the 80th celebration, over 20 Jeeps with Canadian, American, and French "soldiers" in period military dress paraded the streets. After Mayor Fasquelle delivered a somber message detailing the loss and devastation that occurred in Le Touquet, we were transported - by Jeep again, of course - to another traffic circle about a kilometer away, at the corner where my mother’s childhood home, Rosemary Cottage, still stands. She lived there with her parents throughout the war years. The town had reached out to the present owners of Rosemary Cottage, who allowed their home and garden to play an authentic role in the reenactment of our parents' first meeting.

As the story goes, my mom vowed early in the war that she would kiss the first Allied soldier she saw. She told her plan to the female political prisoners who were in jail with her in 1942. And after five long years of wartime occupation of Le Touquet, the day after German forces fled the town, my mother heard a Jeep on the road... and the rest is history, told in my book.

It was right here where Alex and Don went into action, much to the delight of the several hundred Touquetois who had come to watch.


Alexandra and Don Young reenact Romie's parents' first meeting

Alexandra and Don Young reenact the first kiss of Romie's and Alex's parents

Driving through Le Touquet during the 80th anniversary liberation celebration, Sept. 4, 2024

Alex walks Don to Rosemary Cottage, Le Touquet, 2024, just as her mother, Dorothy, walked Sandy to her home in 1944.

Across the street, on the grounds of the town’s museum, a series of large signs were filled with photographs from my book. The front book cover was on the first panel. I was both touched and thrilled.


Panels commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Le Touquet

Romie Christie's book See You in Le Touquet is on the first panel


The panels in Le Touquet commemorate the meeting of Romie's parents, recognized as the town's liberation moment!

My parents’ history was marked by a new plaque in the centre of town, at the traffic circle where my mother had jumped up and down, waving her arms to flag down my father’s Jeep on September 4, 1944. It is now named “Rond-Point de la Rencontre.” The meeting place, or place of the encounter. (The town is still searching for the best English translation of ‘rencontre’.)

Alexandra, Romie, and Le Touquet's Mayor Fasquelle unveil the new plaque honouring the historic encounter



Alain Holuigue and Romie Christie address the crowd while Alexandra and Don Young look on, Sept. 4, 2024



Mayor Fasquelle presents a commemorative coin to Romie and Alexandra

The French government representative, Isabelle Fradin-Thirode from Arras, said in her presentation, “The couple’s love symbolizes the rebirth and hope that blossomed after the war.” A photo of Alex and Don’s reenactment, shown in local papers the next day, said the hundreds of people in attendance were moved by the opportunity to revisit this part of their past.

The town’s bookstore had ordered 64 books from my publisher in Regina. After the speeches, I sat at the store’s table on the museum grounds to sign books for a long line of locals. I did my best in French! Many of them thanked me for writing the book that tells part of their history that must not be forgotten. In short order, there were no books left.

Romie Christie signs copies of her book See You in Le Touquet in Le Touquet, France
Sept. 4/24


Alex and Don ride in the parade of Jeeps, touring through Le Touquet


I am filled with gratitude for Alain Holuigue, the wonderful historian who played such a vital part in the 80th-anniversary events; to Le Touquet’s mayor Daniel Fasquelle, who, once he gets behind an idea makes sure it is done better than anyone might imagine; to everyone who works for the town, who came up with the plan for the day and made it all happen; to the Faire association who drove their Jeeps and lent such authenticity to the day. And to the hundreds of people who call Le Touquet home, who came to experience and honour my parents and their story. You will always be in my heart!


Author Romie Christie (right) with her sister Alexandra Young and Don Young,
Sept. 4, 2024, Le Touquet, France

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Buy Romie's inspiring book: https://driverworks.ca/

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France’s media coverage of the celebration:



 



     





                          


See the video of the 80th liberation anniversary celebration on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNTXO0aYfZU

See the print story, Mayor Fasquelle's speech, and photos: 4 September - Le Touquet celebrates the 80th anniversary of the meeting between Dorothy Borutti and Sandy MacPherson and celebrates the Liberation - Touquet Info












Monday, September 23, 2024

Warm Welcome to Carlyle Homespun Craft Show

Each fall since 2009, I've showcased and sold my books at craft shows and trade shows in Saskatchewan and other Prairie communities. That's 15 years of setting up tables, chairs, books, brochures, and posters in exhibition halls, schools, museums, hockey rinks, and more to sell the books I edit, publish, and sometimes write. And it's been great!

These venues enable me to meet customers and learn what they like about the books I create and what they want to see more of in future publications. I hear accolades about my writing and that of my authors, and it's heartwarming to talk to people who have bought our books and come back for more.

The organizers of these shows are awesome humans too, and a recent event in Carlyle, SK proved it once again.

Upon arrival, I was met by Nicole Currie, one of the organizers of the 38th annual Carlyle Homespun Craft & Quilt Show. Alongside Nicole was her young grandson, Kitt, who quickly endeared himself to me with his choice of T-shirt.


Nicole Currie, an organizer of Carlyle Homespun 2024
Nicole's grandson Kitt with his "red wings" T-shirt
       

(The Detroit Red Wings was my late husband Al's favorite team, so any red wings that pop up since Al's death is a gentle sign of Al's spirit visiting us.)

Young Kitt then went on to endear himself to all the vendors by running from booth to booth as we were setting up our tables. Carrying a stack of sticky notes, Kitt enthusiastically told me, "You're working really hardly, so I want to give you three checkmarks. If you work really hard, you get 10."

That cracked me up!

Kitt handing out checkmarks to vendor Deana Driver of DriverWorks Ink, at Carlyle Homespun 2024
(Photo by Nicole Currie)

He then went to another booth down the aisle, where the vendor asked for a star on his note as well.

"If he gets a star, I want a star!" I called out to Kitt, who immediately came running back to my booth. He carefully added a star - which is "really hard to draw" - to my sticky note. I asked him to write his name too. He complied.

3 checkmarks and a star from Kitt

How much fun is that?

Nicole informed her grandson, "When your dad was little, I bought some books from this lady and her husband. I asked your dad, 'Will you read them?' I said, 'If you read them, I will buy them."

So that adds another wonderful memory for me of why I do what I do with our Prairie stories.

Thanks, Nicole and Kitt for putting a smile on my face at my first craft show of the 2024 fall season!

DriverWorks Ink books booth at Carlyle Homespun 2024





Monday, August 12, 2024

Buried Treasure in the Backyard

While I was working in my new backyard transplanting peonies, my new neighbour Patty brought me a bowl of gluten-free spaghetti and meat sauce. What a great neighbour! 


I've hired Patty to repaint the main floor of my house, so we've been spending a lot of time together. I told her that I had hit something solid with my shovel when I was digging in the backyard. It was a strange light blue colour and it made a strange noise when the shovel hit it. I had no idea what it was. "Come, I'll show you," I told her.

"Maybe it's buried treasure," Patty said hopefully.

"If it is, we'll split it," I replied.

So we started digging ... and digging.

I had a feeling this might be an important moment, so Patty kept digging while I went to grab my phone camera.

We hoped we wouldn't uncover a dead animal, like a beloved family pet. Mostly we hoped it wasn't a buried power line that was about to zap us or cause chaos in the neighbourhood because of our curiosity.

We dug and dug and the light blue surface kept getting bigger and bigger.


I sent a photo of it to a contractor friend and asked if he had any idea what it might be. "It sounds like porcelain, " I told him. 

"Very strange," he replied. 

Meanwhile, Patty kept digging and we discovered that this thing was rectangular and had rounded corners.

With one last turn of the shovel, Patty flipped our buried treasure up out of its resting place. 

We laughed and laughed! 

Wow. It is Porcelain! 

It's the top of a toilet tank!

Why was it buried? No idea. It doesn't really matter to me. "I'm keeping it for its story," I laughed as I hauled this blue treasure to its new spot in my yard - above ground!


"We're not any richer, but we've got a great story," I told Patty, who replied with a hilarious comment...

"We're still splitting it! One week it will be in your yard, and the next week it will be in mine." 

We laughed and laughed some more at our new bonding backyard adventure. 



Monday, July 22, 2024

101-year-old WW2 pilot views Lancaster bomber during RCAF's 100th anniversary flight

Canada's only Avro Lancaster bomber in flying condition made a special stop in Saskatoon on July 18th to honour Reginald "Crash" Harrison, who flew Lancasters in the Second World War. And I, as the author and publisher of the book about Reg's intriguing life (Crash Harrison: Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death), was privileged to have a front-row seat at the event. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, unforgettable experience!

More than 7,300 Avro Lancasters were in use at the end of the Second World War. Today, only two are flightworthy - one in the United Kingdom and this one, named after Andrew Mynarski, a mid-upper gunner from Winnipeg who died in service and was the first RCAF member to receive the Victoria Cross.

The Mynarski Memorial Lancaster left its home at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope, Ontario, to fly across Canada in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the RCAF. The Lancaster made a fuel stop in Saskatoon as part of a special tribute to war veteran Reg "Crash" Harrison.

The Mynarski Memorial Lancaster arrived at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum in Saskatoon on July 18, 2024

In 1944, at age 22, Reg Harrison flew Halifax and Lancaster bombers in the Royal Canadian Air Force from Croft Air Base in England. He completed 19 missions over France and Germany. He received credit for serving a full tour, being released from duty after he survived four aircraft crashes - none of which were his fault - including one in which he had to land a Lancaster on one wheel. His commanding officer did not want to risk that Reg would survive a Crash #5.

Reg Harrison landed this Lancaster in England in November 1944, after bullets from another plane caused one of the Lancaster's wheels to not come down. It was his 4th and final crash in the war.

The last time Reg Harrison flew a Lancaster was in December 1944, just after he was told he was released from service. Before he was sent back to Canada, he wanted to take the plane up one more time, and he was granted permission to do so with an engineer beside him. Reg flew a Lancaster for about 15 minutes that day, his Pilot's Flying Log Book records.

Reg will be 102 years old in mid-August. He has been looking forward to celebrating the 100th anniversary of the RCAF ever since I met him in 2019, when I was interviewing him for Volume 1 of the series Flight: Stories of Canadian Aviation.

Reg had hoped to see this Lancaster in the RCAF celebration air show at Cold Lake, Alberta on July 20th. Unfortunately, Reg caught a strange virus a couple weeks before the event, which left him weak and unable to make the trip to Cold Lake.

Fortunately, some fine folks in Saskatchewan's aviation community were making arrangements with the Warplane Heritage Museum to see if the Lancaster could stop in Saskatoon on its way to Cold Lake. A generous local donor paid for aviation fuel, ensuring that the Lancaster stopped for refuelling and a public viewing in Saskatoon, and a burger lunch contributed to a successful fundraiser for the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum as well.

Even more fortunately, Reg Harrison is a tough human being, and we wasn't going to let a virus keep him away from seeing the bomber. With the help of his daughters Marion and Laurie and his sister Sylvia, plus a huge amount of determination and a little stubbornness, Reg rebounded remarkably well and was at the aviation museum to see the Lancaster arrive.

The Saskatoon Airport Authority drove Reg, Laurie, and Sylvia out to the runway area so Reg could enjoy watching the aircraft land. Then their vehicle followed the plane in.

What a sight it was to see that big, loud aircraft taxi in toward the museum

As a retired journalist and the author of the book about Reg's life story, I couldn't just stand back and watch from the sidelines. Reg and I formed a strong bond during my interviews and writing process, and I wanted to stay close to him and the action during this day's events. (I am grateful to my author friend (who is also Reg's friend) Mary Harelkin Bishop, for handling my book sales table as I did things like run out onto the tarmac and convince the guard to allow me to join the family and working media members under the airplane's wing. Sometimes I just have to call on my extroverted ex-journalist persona to do what I need to do.)

At one point, I saw Reg standing alone under the airplane's wing. I was moved by the scene and I snapped these special photos.

Reg had tears in his eyes. So did his daughter and sister.

Fl. Lt. (Retired) Reginald "Crash" Harrison recalls his wartime experiences as he looks up at the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster bomber in Saskatoon, SK, July 18/24


Fl. Lt. (Retired) Reginald "Crash" Harrison gets emotional as he remembers wartime while viewing the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster in Saskatoon, SK, July 18/24

In general, it was a fantastic event for Reg Harrison. He was spry enough to spend 5 hours at the museum that day, including that long walk out to the aircraft and answering questions from journalists and others in the 35-degree Celsius heat. He did this all while wearing his uniform too! Reg cheerfully chatted with numerous visitors, including people who had a connection to his farming community and family, and he told many stories of his time in the service.

Reginald "Crash" Harrison speaks with media under the wing of a WWII Lancaster bomber in Saskatoon, July 18, 2024

Reg was delighted by this special day. He said this was an early birthday gift that topped all the surprises he's had in his life!

Come along and enjoy these photos of a terrific event that was designed to honour the people who served and their sacrifices in the Second World War.

As Reg Harrison says, he is grateful to be one of the lucky ones. Let us not forget those who served, especially those who did not come back. I thank Reg and all those who served. We must endeavour to never forget.

Author-publisher Deana J. Driver with Reginald "Crash" Harrison and the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum's Brian Eikel, July 18/24 

Reg Harrison chats with the Mynarski Lancaster pilots


Reg Harrison with the crew of the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster, July 18/14

Media scrum with Reg Harrison under the wing of the Lancaster

Reg "Crash" Harrison with author-publisher Deana J. Driver, Saskatoon, SK, July 18/24

Reg Harrison with Greg Yuel and Brian Swidrovich, who were instrumental in getting the Lancaster to stop in Saskatoon, July 18/24

Reg Harrison with his daughter Laurie Harrison (left) and sister Sylvia (Harrison) Acton

Walking back to the hangar and out of the sun

Author Deana Driver standing under the bomb bay of the Mynarski Lancaster

The cockpit of the Mynarski Lancaster with undercarriage open

The four-engine Avro Lancaster has a 31-metre wingspan

Reg "Crash" Harrison with the Mynarski Lancaster in the background, July 18, 2024, at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum, Saskatoon, SK