Monday, September 4, 2023
Well was very sorry to hear about Alex. I had been trying to contact him over the summer, and am sorry I didn't get in touch. Alex and I were very close friends in the 60s and 70s. There was never a sad moment when we got together. Alex and I went job hunting in 1973, hitchhiking to Canal Flats to try to get on in the mill there. We had no luck, so we stuck out our thumbs and continued on, getting a ride to Fort McMurray where we ended up working on drilling rigs in the tar sands till breakup, when that work ceased. Alex decided to head back to Cranbrook, while I kept my thumb out and ended up in Hay River, NWT, and eventually Inuvik. Alex would later on follow me up to Inuvik, and worked for a few different employers up there, before leaving back to Cranbrook. I stayed in the north and am still there, but visited with Alex when I made it back to Cranbrook on a number of occasions. I had been trying to contact him over the summer, as I did every couple of years, but had no luck this time. I contacted a mutual friend of ours, David Schade, but he had no leads to contact Alex. David kindly shared the sad news with me, and I am sorry I never had a chance to have another conversation with Alex. My condolences to the family. I miss Alex.
