46
MOUNTAINLIFEBLUEMOUNTAINS
SPRING2016
WILLYWATERTON
W.A. “Bill”Watertonwasa RoyalAir ForceSquadronLeaderduring theSecond
WorldWar anda testpilot after thewar.With theanniversaryof the100
th
yearof
powered flight in2003, I knew thatmy fatherwasa likelycandidate for astory
alongwith the facthewas inhis87
th
year andhadn’t toldhisstorysincehis1956
memoir,
TheQuickand theDead
.Heagreed toaphotograph, providing theaircraft
propeller in thebackgroundhad threeblades—not twoason regularCessna152s
or172s. After a fewphonecalls I founda three-bladedaircraft at theBillyBishop
airport inOwenSound; theonlycatchwas theaircraftwasbehinda five-foot
snowdrift andBill at thispointwasn’t thesteadiestonhis feet. After I explained
thesituation, airportmanager JeffBeckett anda formerRCAFF18 fighterpilot
whohadseenaction in theGulfWarhappilyoffered toblowout thesnowdrift.
Bill and I droveup to thenoseof theplanewhere Jeffmetusandhelpedas I set
upa flashunit andstool forBill toposeon inhis flight jacket.
DuncanMoulton, the last commercial fisherman inOwenSound, August1980.
I cameacrossDuncwhilepokingaround theback roadsofGreyCounty. Heand
hiswifeEleanor spent summers inacottageat JohnsonHarbournear themouth
ofOwenSound. Dunchad fishedOwenSound sincehewasbigenough tohelp
his father Johnand twoolderbrothersWilliamand James. He toldmehewas
“around80”as I tried togainhis confidence.Oncehe learnedmy familyhad
settled theareacloseby in themid1840s, he softenedand soon Iwas following
him inmykayakashemotoredoffshoreacoupleofmiles tocheckhisnets. I
nearly flippedas I tooka long shotwitha telephoto lensashepullednets from
his cedar-strip runabout. Much laterwe foundoutweweredistantly relatedby
marriage. DuncanMoultondied in1988, “around88”.
MembersofCapeCroker andSaugeenFirstNationsmanoneof sevenbarriers
erectedacrossHighway6, 16km southeast of Tobermory, September1990.
Thebarrierswereerected toprotest a lackof actionon local landclaims. After
being informed thatHighway6wasbarricaded I rushedup theBruce to find
the roadwas indeedblocked just northof the JohnstonHarbour Sideroad.
HavingconnectionswithmembersofCapeCroker Iwasallowed freeaccess to
thisbarrier and I spentmost of thedayphotographing fromboth sides. Police
andFirstNationmembers treatedeachotherwith respect—though itwasa
serious situation, it never felt threatening. At onepointboth sidesescortedan
ambulance fromTobermory through their respectivebarriers. The landclaims
haveyet tobe resolved.
