I'm curious....

[Taylor Bastien]

Hi,

My name is Taylor and I am curious to know the average age of the Brats
in this Group... I'm 23 now and already I have the nostalgia bug for
those good old days on base, bumming around by the Canex. I feel really
bad about losing track of my friends from Lahr but I have no idea how to
find them again. I figure the sooner I try to find them, the more likely
I'll be to getting a hold of them before their name changes, they move
to another planet or drop dead.

(It's kind of funny, I always resented the title of "Military Brat",
just because I've never been much of a brat, I guess....)

Well have a great day

[E. Ann Desormeaux]

Gee Darryl Stoner,
I was beginning to think I was the only other "brat" here over
40-something!

I keep looking for people here, but no one ever appears. I have a hard
time believing that maybe there aren't many of us "more than
40-something" who actually use computers and the Internet! I have met up
with a few "old" friends, but that was at a high school reunion.
(Petawawa) We have kept in pretty close contact since.

If there are more 50-somethings out there, let's hear from you.

I have to admit, I was over 20 before I ever heard the term "military"
or "army" brat and it sort of took me by surprise! I just presumed it
was an "air force" thing. Guess I led a sheltered life!

And Taylor, like Darryl said, if you want to find your old friends,
better do it now..they'll be gone before you know it!.

A.

[Taylor Bastien]

> So Can Ex (Canadian Exchange) was spawned. We were overseas when it
> happened. The PX went from a place to be duty free French perfume,
> crystal, jewelry, Irish linen, German and Czech mouth blown glass etc > to having overpriced toothbrushes, towels, and toothpaste (but these
> came from Canada, and people want Canadian goods!) You could still > > get the odd "classy" items, but more and more of the mundane everyday > things showed up to accomodate people who weren't willing to do battle > on the "economy".

I lived in Lahr for five years, and was there when Lahr Senior and
Vanier were shut down, the year before the lowering of the flag. I went
back just before that fateful day to visit friends, the whole thing was
depressing. I lived in Geilenkirchen for three years after leaving Lahr.
Geilenkirchen is the home of the NATO AWACS E-3A airbase and the CFSU(E)
i.e. Canadian Forces Support Unit (Europe) that has taken over the job
of CFE, supporting all of our remaining members in Europe.

On the GK (that stands for Geilenkirchen) base, they have what is called
a NATEX (NATO exchange) that, funny enough, belongs to CANEX. It used to
be run by the people at CFXE in Lahr but now has become the only remnant
of the Canadian Exchange in Europe. The president of the NATEX was the
CXO in Lahr before retiring, a really friendly called Pérusse, who has
done wonders in that place. His business sence is astounding, and he has
changed the whole operation around, pulling in huge profits. NATEX still
makes most of its money selling luxury items (Rolexes, Mont Blanc pens,
stereos and perfume) only now the prices have been jacked and they sell
their wares mostly to the Italians. The alcohol is still quite
inexpensive and the members of the other contingents (From Germany,
Holland, Norway, the US, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, amongst others)
stock up big time. Canadian whiskey, you know the deal... (remember
Apple Korn and Peach Schnapps?)

Anyway, I have to go. You know you're in trouble when you're just out of
teengehood and you're reminiscing. Don't look back, they say!

Have a great one!
______________________
Taylor "Tibu" Bastien

P.S. Did someone mention a Lahr reunion? Could someone tell me about
that? Thanks.

[Darryl Stoner]

On Fri, 11 Jul 1997 07:16:23 -0700, "Kelly McEwen (nee Bulmer)"
<kmc...@telusplanet.net> wrote:

snip
>
>Darryl, I think I'm correct is saying "Canex" stands for Canadian
>Exchange, our "made in Canada" version of the American Post Exchange
>(PX). I know in Germany, Canex had an unfair monopoly on anything
>remotely related to making money, i.e..grocery, department, sports
>stores, theatre consessions, snack bars and school cafeteria, hair
>dresser, video rental, gas stations...and on and on it goes.
>
>On the weekends, the Canex stores were packed with French soldiers
>buying Canadian things like peanut butter.
>
>Any overseas brats remember the good old ration cards? Curious, do they
>use ration cards on bases in Canada for the purchase of alcohol and
>smokes?
>
> Kelly McEwen (18 years at CFB's in Germany and PURE BRAT!)

Thanks Kelly

Guess this was after my time over in France and Germany ('57-'61). We
called it a PX then as I believe did the Americans. We could shop at
U.S. PX's and vice-versa. There were major differences, which is why
we shopped at both - I seem to recall the Canadian ones actually sold
mostly European goods duty free, while the U.S. ones sold mostly U.S.
goods. So when the Americans (and Canadians of course) wanted to buy
German cameras, radios, and binoculars, or Swiss watches, they bought
them at the Canadian PX. When we wanted to buy groceries, we went to
the U.S. bases. We weren't competing to sell the same goods.

Don't remember ration cards, but do remember scrip (we were paid in
scrip - U.S. nickels, dimes, quarters, and various dollar value
denominations all printed on little banknote paper - before they
converted to real U.S. currency)

Holly gave an interesting response to this also, and indicated that
the change to Canex came at unification. That would be about the time
my dad left the Air Force in the mid 60's I think.

Hmmm - :) Video rentals? We didn't even have a TV in Germany in those
days let alone videos. I think the odd family had a TV, but the only
English program they could get was a weekly half hour of "Perry Como"
on German TV. Mostly listened to the radio on our PX-bought Grundigs
- AFN, Radio Luxembourg, and later CFN. (Also heard Voice of America,
Radio Free Europe if it wasn't being blocked by the Soviet National
Anthem, and Moscow Molly on Radio Moscow).

Here's a tidbit about Moscow Molly - one night she broadcast that a
specific runway light was out on a certain Canadian base in the Black
Forest. Also, that the clock in the Officers Mess on the same base
was something like 3 minutes slow. Surprise! By some odd coincidence
this matched Baden exactly - so the next day the guards were out
patrolling the base perimeter with the dogs. Never heard that they
caught anyone related to this incident though.