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- Editor’s
Note:
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- This
column is a regular feature in the Wayback Times in which my
husband takes interesting people out to lunch … and sends
me the bill.
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- (It's
a tough job, but someone has to do it!)
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- Send
us an e-mail if you have someone in mind for one of Peter Neilly's
interviews over lunch.
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- Peter Neilly is Out
to Lunch
- Breaking bread with
interesting people
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- Out to Lunch!
with Peter Neilly
- Today's Out To Lunch guests
are Eilean and Harold Carlaw. Harold, with the
enthusiastic support of his wife, operates the Campbellford Memorial
Military Museum. It is one of the most impressive, privately
owned collections of military memorabilia in Ontario. Harold
has never taken government funding or grants to support this
museum and has never charged admission. It is his passion and
lifelong dedication to preserve the memory of our veterans and
the men and women who have lost their lives for our freedom.
Harold doesn't just have a collection of photographs and medals,
he has important military machinery, a personnel carrier, jeeps
and more than a dozen airplanes in his museum. We have chosen
well-known Capers Restaurant in Campbellford for lunch.
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- Peter: Harold, I can't believe how much military memorabilia
you have amassed for your museum on your own. What got you started
collecting? Were you ever in the military?
Harold: I was never in the military. By the time I was
old enough to enlist, the war was over. But I've been collecting
since I was a kid. My uncle served in the Canadian Navy and when
he got out of the service in 1945, he gave me his uniform. That
got me started and it's been an on going process ever since.
Peter: Why would you start a museum with your own money
and why don't you charge admission?
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- Harold: I was fortunate enough when I retired 27 years
ago to be able to do what I loved. To hold money in your hand,
you have nothing. I spend it to preserve history. If we don't
preserve the past, we will have nothing left to show the younger
generation how we kept our freedom. I can't charge money to showcase
someone else's sacrifices for that freedom, so admission is free.
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- Peter: Eilean, this husband of yours likes to show up
at the door with jet planes for his collection. Have you ever
told him you think he has enough stuff?
Eilean: I tell him that all the time, but it doesn't do
any good. If he wants it, he buys it. I think it keeps him young
to be so busy all the time and Harold enjoys meeting people and
talking about the collection.
Peter: You run special tours for senior groups, heritage
organizations and school children at you museum throughout the
year and I've heard you will even let visitors sit in the cockpit
of one of the jets on display.
Harold: I enjoy watching peoples’ reactions.We get
really nice letters and thank you notes from visitors. When the
people arrive at the museum, I usually ask them if they had any
family members that served in the military and most will answer
yes, whether it's an uncle or grandfather or even a great grandfather.
Many of these people know the cost of war. The school kids really
enjoy the museum and I think it makes history much more interesting
for them than sitting in a classroom.
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- Peter: I noticed that on the museum grounds, among the
planes, you have a pair of Jeeps and an old Indian Motorcycle
with a sidecar. Does the Indian still run?
Harold: The Indian Motorcycle is a 1942 from WW11 and
yes, it is fully functional. I've been riding an Indian since
I was sixteen but I had to sell my first when we got married.
If you bring Sandy over I'll take her for a spin. The one Jeep
is a 1942 Willys and the other is a 1952 from the Korean war.
The personnel carrier is like the ones used in the D Day invasion.
Peter: What are some of the planes you have on display?
Harold: We have a T-33 Shooting Star which is an early
jet fighter built by Canadair and a CF-5 Freedom Fighter, officially
known as the CF-116.We also display a Canadian built all-weather
interceptor CF-100 built by Avro before the Arrow, and a CL-14
Tutor used by the Snowbirds aerobatics team in the 70s.
Eilean: A man came in one day on a motorcycle from Belleville
and looked at that plane and said to Harold, "That's my
old plane", and he was right. He's retired now, but he used
to fly that particular plane with the Snowbirds. He even brought
the logbook up to show us. He flew that plane for a whole year.
Peter: How and where does one actually buy an airplane
or jet fighter?
Harold: That's done through a government process. Not
just anybody can purchase a fighter jet. I bought my first plane
back in 1955. Back then you could pick up planes for the price
of scrap, but now it's more difficult and a lot more expensive.
I get calls from people all the time who know what I collect
and sometimes I will go to auctions if they have something I
might be interested in.
Peter: You folks seem to know everybody seated in this
restaurant.You must have a lot of friends here in Campbellford.
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- Eilean: You should see when we go to Tim Hortons. It's
hard to leave. We are lucky. We have a lot of good friends and
neighbours and a great family. Fifteen grandchildren and four
great grandchildren.
Peter: I have really enjoyed meeting with both of you
today. Your passion for what you do is amazing. Is there anything
you would like to add about the museum?
Harold: I would just like to add that the purpose of this
museum is not to glorify
violence or war in any way, but rather to preserve the past and
pay homage to the
Canadian men and women who gave their lives so we could live
in peace and freedom. I feel strongly that it's important to
keep this history alive in the minds of our young. Thank you
for a very nice lunch. Can we pay the bill?
Peter: No, Harold. Many thanks, but Sandy (the warden)
gets the bill.
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- (Capers is one of Trent Hills’
best restaurants and is located at 25 Bridge St. W. . They have
an excellent lunch and dinner menu and a casual, yet gracious,
atmosphere in an old Victorian house. Chef Ron delights the taste
buds with his sumptuous meals while his wife Diane, an artist,
delights the eye with her vivid and intriguing works of art.)
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 Post
notes:
- It was an enormous pleasure
to meet the Carlaws to discuss the museum over lunch. The pride
and respect they have in our Canadian heritage is contagious
and their devotion to preserve it is humbling. It is not at all
surprising that they have so many friends and are so well thought
of. The small town of Campbellford is truly blessed to have such
remarkable people living there and sharing their passion. You
are guaranteed a warm welcome as a visitor and you will probably
leave as a friend.
The inside of Harold’s museum is filled to the rafters with
military memorabilia and
interesting artifacts.Harold is bursting at the seams with knowledge
that he loves to share with visitors. You can tell that (next
to Eilean) it's the love of his life. This museum isn't the ROM.
but you may find it every bit as interesting.
The Campbellford Military Museum is tucked away in a residential
area directly in Campbellford at 230 Albert Lane. It can be a
little difficult to find the lane, but just go one block south
of Tim Hortons on Hwy 30, keep your eyes open for the sign and
turn right ... or ask anybody in town for directions. They all
know Harold and Eilean. The museum is open six days a week 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sundays by appointment), There is no charge for
admission. Phone: 1-705-653-4848 or
Fax:1-705-653-4800.
Photo 1: Peter pretending to land a CL14 Snowbird Jet,
one small part of Harold’s collection of military memorabilia.
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- Photo 2: Editor Sandy and Harold take a spin on a 1942
Indian Motorcycle and sidecar.
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