Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 30, 1950, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free tuesday May 30, 1950 Page 7 Mobe about Blackboy continued from Page 6 to be largely composed of civilians. His staff of necessity must be made up of key civilians who had an intimate knowledge of food Stock in the City Hospital Capaci ties gasoline reserves maximum transportation facilities to be provided by bus companies and the railways As Well As real estate men who had a detailed knowledge of buildings suitable for emergency shelters and other civilians with accurate information at t h e it fingertips on facilities within the City. Premier d. L. Campbell gave . To the creation of this group and Ite of reference at o clock one evening. Be fore the next morning a staff of nearly 80 key Citi Ieni had been termed. The rep resented All phases of Burnem trades and professions. Reserve staff officers of Winni Peg s Reserve. Infantry brigade Headquarters were called out on service to consolidate and shape the plans of this committee into the form executive military orders. Included in the group of staf officers were maj. R. B. Macneil of Canada packers maj. Stanley Laing of the firm of Millar Mac Donald maj. G. Graham of Graham cleaners capt. H. Robson of Pelis sirs brewery capt. Frank Ottley of the t. Eaton company most of these staff officers wer staff College graduates with Over seas experience. Groups in full swing within 24 hours before 24 hours had passed larg Lub committees were in full swing covering each of the fallowing aspects of the operation food gasoline medical Emer gency distribution and depots emergency shelter Central control of fire and police forces evacuation committee general stores and clothing engineering the pooling of truck and cartage companies communications Legal and Public information and the forma Tion of a manpower Pool utilizing available manpower in Winni Peg. As an example of the detail in Mittee Laing there s nothing pm for All the family 5 your shoe repairer i expert on making old new looking. Hell Tell you nothing like live rubber cat s Paw and for greatest Comfort Wear. Always on cat the uppermost underfoot solved in drafting of the plan the communications group even made Rovision for utilizing two Way radios in taxis. Operation Blackboy to go nto effect instantly on the orders of Brig. Morton should a wholesale Evacula of greater Winnipeg be required if the water level reached Between 32 and 32.5 feet above Datum and the major portion of the City became uninhabitable and 2. If the Normal services of the City Telephone Light heat sew age Gas etc., broke Down. Where necessary the planning staff was Given authority to take immediate action in such precautionary Steps As freezing and Stor no stocks of food. It was also Given authority to draw up the Legal requirements necessary to make the plan function such As the right to trespass requisition of buildings billeting compulsory evacuation Clearing of highways detention of undesirables and the appointment of special constables pure Gold revealed among businessmen it was surprising to discover the amount of pure Gold that was discovered when the ground was scratched in said one official working on the plan. The latent reserves of Energy and initiative that could be so quickly mustered among the businessmen of the City was extremely Gratifying to the authorities charged with the dairies responsibility of developing the dairies he said. Without a single exception every key Man contacted by Tele phone dropped what he was doing and reported without a moment s he said. Railway and bus companies for example forgot Competition and worked together under a single chairman of their each sub chair Nan As he was briefed went to the Telephone and called into being his own sub com Mittee with the same despatch and they set about their respective tasks. Their orders were to com plete a workable plan in the Short est possible time. The first draft of operation Blackboy was coordinated and consolidated into one single order before 48 hours had passed. It was an amazing Effort that astonished All those concerned. Three Hundred copies of an improved and streamlined draft of the order was ready to replace the original draft by 8 o clock the Fol lowing evening. The master plan As com plete with Large scale Over Lay maps showing the proposed locations of Lone Headquarters emergency loading areas for railways temporary Shel ters Supply depots alternate Sites for firefighting equip ment and All the other essential Workings. The Large map with color Over Lay was produced in record time to the Stovel press. Approximate y 18 girls in the provincial depart ment of education were hastily set o work under a former staff ser Geant clerk to Type and mimeograph the Many sections of the order. When completed the Docu ment was a thick volume Complete with maps and diagrams. One of the first duties of the Blackboy planning head quarters was to determine at approximately what Point the master plan would have to be ordered into operation. The Point of operation should not be left too late otherwise essential Public utilities might be useless and main escape highways might be under water. Experts Check and re Check details expert advice and opinions were checked and Cross checked with such sources As d. M. Stephens engineering Section planning committee allocation to Gui cent i col. Akin . Ante bring v. Is. Adjutant senior engineering m require a Orno up sect Solis i 1 roads i 1 1. 1 e i Pant t i 1 1 Elm Trinity 1 d. Schiller Morenz j. T. Butler Bulbul of Encl using officer Shu Caton 1 1 1 direction of Brig. W. Megill of defence Headquarters in Ottawa. Brig. Megill was detailed along Vith it. Col. Scott Murdoch to Arry on the work of Brig. Original planning group. Fortunately for greater Winni leg and its people operation Black toy never had to be implemented and operation Rainbow has now got under Way. Winnipeg was within slightly More Ihan two feet of compulsory total evacuation but he authorities were prepared with i practical plan that would have prevented unnecessary loss of life. Collection i. Storset j n 1. Kim operations Field foot areas and to their Sites of. All emergency installations and storage depots beyond this line. As an illustration the work involved in this undertaking the activities of the committee show the myriad Ile tyls that had to be worked out. Chairmanship of the was allocate a food Corn to j. D. R..f. Iterman now with the t. company. To As Sist him he called on the services of j. W. Speirs of the modern representing All j. M. Sinclair represent no the wholesale grocers a. E. Longstaffe bakeries representing the bakeries of the City c. E. Bishop of Canada packers or. E. C. Chamberlayne of the provincial department of Public health and j. K. Dewolfe formerly o the canal Ian Pacific railway catering department. Ai a Start they a pertained that there wire adequate stocks of food already in Winnipeg to More than carry through the term of the emergency. It was recognized the problem would be one of distribution should warehouses become isolated pc Cordingly the committee that Large if Ood be moved at once to held in depots and railway i diffs out engines and the enormous require ments of the air Force. Gasoline coordinators were As signed to each of the nine zones which the City would be divided into should it become necessary to implement the master plan. The huge trucking Pool was headed up by d. I. Macdonald of the Winnipeg electric. The Pool was organized to enable the flood control authorities to draw on the resources of All truck operators in greater Winnipeg. On the coordinating staff of the trucking Pool were a. D. Boulton of City Dray c. Gordon Harris Security Highway storage t. Terminals e. Norquay f. Hales Side Winnipeg. One hour after Thisbe Commanda Tion was made it had Feen initialled for action by Premier Campbell and Carload lots of on route to the City were lice tracked Anc Frozen on the of the food committee chair Nari the ship ments were taken regardless i of who they were consigned to 01 the original shippers this covered such essential Anc Winnipeg electric j. Veitch Mani Toba automotive transportation association and it. Cmdr. F. H Pinfold Royal Canadian Navy Reserve who is with Highland motors in Winnipeg. Doctors and Nurien in the City were assigned to Eccl duties under the emergency scheme drawn up by the medi Cal committee. Chairman of that committee was or. Roy Richardson. It operated in close consultation with the Manitoba medical association and col. Morgan Smith com Mand medical officer. Advance Steps taken by this committee included the immediate shipment to Winnipeg of hundreds of stretchers and a Fleet of army ambulances. Immediate evacuation of hospitals was also started example included the appoint ment and briefing of Tome 15 conducting alone apart from actual and the real estate men of the City combined under s. Price Rattray of Enderton and company to plan emergency shelters. Overall scheme covers manpower All manpower of the City was to be mobilized under an Overall scheme whereby Able bodied men would be assigned to essential tasks. This manpower committee was headed by r. S. Carey of Hud son s Bay company a former colonel in the Canadian army with special training along these lines with him were maj. M. B. New ton Hibbard Mckelvie j. R Stewart g. T. Mclntosh a. Mac Donnell d. Harry Young and w Elliott Wilson Deputy minister of labor. Officers of the army signal corp combined with representative of the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Tele graphs the Canadian Broad casting corporation and the Manitoba Telephone system to work out an emergency communications plan. The authorities recognized tha it was essential the Public be Kep informed if confusion bordering on panic was to be prevented. To in and a Survey was made of Avail Able Hospital Beds in nearby cities Ousby a committee was forme sure that information would b furnished to the Public continue non perishable dried and canned milk pinned meat sugar flour biscuits land fruit. Food stockpiled to feed objective of the Fod committee was to stockpile sufficient food to feed people five Days from the emergency depots. Beyond that it was of petted that certain Normal sources could be tapped and additional quantities rushed in from Reg a and other Points. I provision for arrive supplies of bread had to the made. A Survey of the potential of out Side bakeries which could be called upon to Supply bread within 24 hours n As made. One Complete Ilay i Supply of bread was baked in Advance and placed in Sto Refe freezers to guarantee Art unfailing sup ply j the above facts Aone Are sufficient to illustrate the scope and responsibilities confronting each in relation to possible increased air lifts by the r..f. Fire and police committee organized the joint fire and police com Mittee under inspector j. B. Harris of the police Royal Canadian mounted a Veteran of 2nd div. Deputy natural infers minister of mines and rum comply. Ltd. _ gats Paw Muhi hrs 4 sous resources the chief in of both the Canadian Pacific railway and the Canadian i National railways and w. D. Hurst Winnipeg City Engineer. The Independent opinions of professional engineers were also obtained through the engineering chairman col. E. Aikins. Contour maps of the City were studied and River slopes and cur rents came into the calculations. From All this expert know ledge it was estimated that All Normal would Start deterioration at approximately is feet above Datum. At approximately s2.5 feet the order that would Blackboy in motion would have to be Given. A line was traced on the contour maps showing the approximate areas which would be inundated at Between 32 and 32.5 feet above a second line was traced on the map outlining the areas on the outskirts of the City and beyond which might be considered relatively Safe up to 35 feet. Historical records were examined to deter mine the areas left dry in the great flood of 1826. The sub committees were advised to prepare for progressive withdrawals right Back to the 35 committee Field. In its o we re Back Home again with the re occupation of our downtown freight Yard and feeds the former Telephone Are now in me 925 161 for . Pickup and delivery and Pool car shipments 902 416 for general enquiry at the freight office Canadian National in particular the joint cd Aimei of the Gen ral stores committed g. F. Klein and w. T. Were drawn from the Hudson s Bay company assisted by w. ,7. Mckeag of the t. Eaton company. The committee responsible for planning the emerge icy distribution of All the commodities was headed by Maitland Steinkopf a former colonel in ordnance corps. With him Tere George Keates of Manitoba cartage Dud Ley Roberts of tip top tailors a. D. Waddell of family fair w a. Hastings of Lake the Wood milling company and c. W. Fill More to look after Kcal tangles. Staff advisor to the above three sub committees was col. Eric Bell a Reserve Oil Nance corps officer. A n o to h p. R Exa file of fast action was the engine Erin committee headed by col. E. Aikins a former c Lonel in the Royal Canadian Eiri neers. Be fore the first a s work on Blackboy was f listed his committee had elected the. Roads to be nit As exit arteries should it become necessary to order evacuation. These roads and Bridges designated top priority arteries and orders were ii used to main Tain them at All c St. A staff of about 40 in jeers at once established a cons int patrol on hese top priority it is and Bridges of give Early warning when Emer gency repairs were required. As in the Case it food require ment Here again Uick authority was obtained from he Premier to carry out Advance pairs on these vital life lines. Heavy equipment 3f City lined up the engineering committee was also responsible of formulating a plan to and impress All the heavy in peering equip ment if to ensure its Safe removal Jcj emergency de pots where it coid be allocated to priority tasks. Tie same applied to Mobile lighting plants arid re serves of gravel sind Cement and other engineering . A committee to safeguard resources of in line and Oil was also Estam shed. It was also made Respi Isible for rationing fuel she id that move become it was set up uner h. C. Barker of the Parkhill balding company. With him were of. S. Woodman and w. H. Of the British american Oil j. L Hinds and j. L. Davy of Imp fial of w. R. Mcarthur of Noah Star and d. D. Martin of Mcdill Frontenac. These men poo id their know How and companies resources in formulating thei part of the Provost corps included representatives of the army Provost corps Winnipeg and St. Boniface police forces and capt. C. Leckie As Liaison officer for the fire departments. Stickers to be attached to wind Shields and to be issued Only to top priority vehicles were printed. Special truck passes for the Essen tial trucking pools and for restricted areas were prepared Anc printed. The work was carried out on Short notice by such firms As saults arid Pollard and advocate printers. It would require much More space to record All the ramifications of the enormous master plan that was Blackboy or to name in full let alone pay proper credit to the Large number of civilians who played an Active part in the preparation of this operation. No attempt can be made either to explain in detail the tremendous resources brought into action by such organizations As the re d Cross. It was to co ordinate the compulsory evacuation plan through a committee composed of 3. L. Knight Midland railway h. Chester Canadian Pacific railway w. A a. Mcsparron Canadian National railways c. Leach of the municipal and Public Utility Board j. A Sandgathe. Trans Canada air lines and d. B. Shaw of Ames and company. E. Gurney Evans of san Ford Evans service was acting for under Jack Gordon representing party which is the strongest bloc in the rational Assembly but does not control a majority will be called on by chief of state Hachem Bey Al Alassi to form a new government. Khaled Bey was an inde pendent. Syrian Cabinet resigns Damascus Syria May 29 a Khaled Bey Azzem s Cabinet resigned monday after six months in office. Observers believe the populist 3000 . Pump Only attach your own motor Complete units with heavy duty . Meter Bay Bronze co. 1520 Wall St. Winnipeg Ealing with food and policing or ther operations might be brought nto action at different stages. Each of the nine zones in the Ity to ensure immediate and effect Ive control would have it s in control Point linked directly to Minto armouries. Each one control Point was earmarked n Advance and the Headquarters f specified army units were de ailed to Man these control Point Complete with army wireless Sot intelligence sections transportation and other equipment. Large buildings in each of the nine zones were designated emergency shelters and collecting Points for evacuees should the Day arrive for compulsory evacuation of alternate Sites were surveyed in addition to the location each emergency shelter would move to As the withdrawal developed. School Yards and other areas in each zone were allocated for the zone transport pools All connected separately to the evacuation com Mittee at Minto armouries. On orders from Blackboy head quarters zone commanders should Clear priority areas and draw on their own Pool transport to move them to emergency collect ing Points where the evacuees would be screened by the red Cross into such priorities classifications As the sick the aged women with children and women. As in the Case of a sinking ship it was to be the sick the aged the women and children first. Abie bodied men you will be delighted Witti this fragrant Tea Salada you will Benefit by this great food in your diet he Winnipeg newspapers maj. R. I. Bower of the provincial govern ment and j. R. Finlay representing he Winnipeg radio stations. Had the red risen so High that newspapers were put out of com Mission in Winnipeg the plans of the committee called for the news papers moving to nearby cities. Newspaper reporting staffs would have continued to cover the flood in Winnipeg and their reports would have been printed in a tabloid newspaper outside the flooded area. The papers would have been Distri buted to those remaining in the flood beleaguered City. Sound unit trucks would have cruised around the still habitable areas relaying important announce to the workers. Flood Headquarters move prepared provision was also made for the. Possible move of flood control head of Call for duty Able bodied men were not. To be evacuated but directed to Safe areas for billeting on the outskirts of the City on Call for duty to the manpower control. Zone commanders were to he told to which emergency embarkation area the evacuees were to be moved either by rail air or motor coach. If it was accessory to provide a meal at any of the shelters arrangements were available to set up emergency soup kitchens with Field cookers. Some of these soup kitchens were to be staffed and equipped by women s auxiliaries of safely located in High areas in the City. The Survey and organization of these tasks for certain churches was undertaken by capt. J. O. Anderson Dean of St. John s Cath Edral who acted As Liaison officer for churches of All denominations. The foregoing description of operation Blackboy of necessity to 1 Upcott Llull i. Quarters itself out of the a the huge lion build my As the Waters of the the red Cross in the arrangements As an Assiniboine and red Rivers advanced to inundate and isolate the legislative building area. Alternative site for flood control head quarters would have been Minto armouries with Stevenson Airfield another alternative site. The Manitoba Telephone sys ten following through on its network of emergency instal lations carried out special Wir ing for in All rooms it the Minto armouries to be prepared should it be required Headquarters. The master plan. Blackboy was purposely left flexible. It could be operated for either a few of the nine City zones or the entire City As required. In addition certain sections of Blackboy could be made operative progressively. Orders dealing with evacuation might be activated alone and then sections Effort involved. It indicates however How the businessmen of the City working with the army were fully prepared to meet the worst. It. Is an illustration of what is possible in the Way of fast co ordination of the civic re sources in the face of a catastrophe. A secondary task of the planning committee was he outline for operation this was the operation involved in cleaning up and rehabilitating flooded Arras. While it was hint he rehabilitation would be placed under control of Normal civic agencies Ami a special commission As Early pos sible the planning committee undertook the development of an interim plan to be started in motion by the army in the Early stages. This planning Samc under ii you can t afford to Rule health so Don t miss this great food dietitians say we need whole wheat. It contains it Tel food elements. And Nabisco shredded wheat i from 100% to holc try tit to Morrow Start eating fresh Nabisco shredded wheat and milk. Tastes do lie tout served so Many Way we much prefer Black cat so enjoyable so Cork tipped thin natural Cork Ftp Odds to your ten Komg w o Terp roof and hygienic Blackboy order. In addition to Normal Mortor Fiel they had to plan on supplies f r diesels Marine the cigarette which never varies in Quality is always ;