CFS Masset, B.C.
Jessica MacLean
Islands, in northern BC. To get there, you have to get to Prince
Rupert, then take a 6 hour ferry ride. There are less than 6 thousand
people on the Islands, and about 1800 in the Masset area. The base
itself had 500, including dependents, when we were there (late 80s,
early 90s).
The military stopped sending families with teenagers there while we were
there, so I was one of the oldest brats on the base at 14. Mess
activities were very frequent, and I babysat a lot. There were lots of
family events organized at the rec centre and with the messes, too. My
favorite mess event was the yearly Raindrop Festival, where the 3 messes
chose a theme and had all sorts of crazy contests, such as blind
volleyball, tricycle races, "baby" races, egg toss, and more. It lasted
for about a week, and was broadcast on local tv. The messes also had
contests for decorating the mess according to the theme, and for making
up a skit and song that were put on at a large, all messes dinner that
wrapped up the week.
The hunting, fishing, diving, camping and hiking were incredible. The
Islands are on the grey whale migration route, so we saw whales every
year. There were also a lot of bald eagles, ravens, and black bears.
My family did so much outdoors while we were there. We almost never
bought meat while we were there, as we caught so many types of fish and
there were so many deer there that they were a road hazard. The limit
on deer was 10/year/person (they were small deer-about the size of a
great dane).
The full freezer was good, because one of the downsides to living 6
hours from the middle of nowhere is that groceries were only shipped in
once a week, were not in good condition when they arrived, and were very
expensive. The ferry arrived Tuesday, shelves were stocked for
Wednesday, and by Thursday it was impossible to buy milk or fresh
vegtables.
The only other downside to Masset was the schools. Even though my
sister and I were ahead in our math, english, and sciences when we moved
to Ottawa, we got very behind in French, history, and technology.
Classes were small, but there was a lot of behaviour problems and
learning disabilities as a result of fetal alcohol syndrome in the local
community. The halucinogenic mushrooms growing on the high school
soccer field didn't help. There were very few courses to choose from,
and most students did not want to be at school. They stopped posting
families with teenagers to Masset while we were there, so at 14 I was
one of the oldest brats on the base.
I did enjoy Masset a lot, though. There was a rocky beach 5 km out of
town, just past the base operations site, that my friends and I could
bike to. There was also the bird sanctuary, and lots of nearby trails
through the woods. In the winter, the sanctuary sometime froze enough
to skate on and we would skate all night. We only did this in the 2
years that were unusually cold and one of those years the weather
reached a record low of -4 C in mid Jan. Usually, winter was marked by
incredible and wonderful rain and wind storms; base CE stopped replacing
the screen door to our PMQ after it blew off for the third time in one
winter. In summer, my curfew was "before dark", and we were so far
north that that meant almost 2300. I also started swimming
competitively there. The swim team had to take 5 day trips off Islands
to attend 3 day meets. I had so much fun while we were there.
Jessica MacLean
hooky
Jessica MacLean <s22...@rmc.ca> wrote in message
news:38C09A00...@rmc.ca...
> Anyone heard of Masset, or been there? It is on the Queen Charlotte
> Islands, in northern BC. To get there, you have to get to Prince
> Rupert, then take a 6 hour ferry ride. There are less than 6 thousand
> people on the Islands, and about 1800 in the Masset area. The base
> itself had 500, including dependents, when we were there (late 80s,
> early 90s).
>
>
Jessica
Yes I remember Masset well! my ship was parked off it often enough (HMCS
Yukon) although
we didnt get ashore it was nice to know you lot were there.Remember some
pretty crazy nights in Rupert though!
Oooga Mooga Mushka which means that I love you, If you'll Oooga Mooga Mushka
me, I'll Oooga Mooga Mushka you! Squaws along the YUKON are good enough for
me! (politically incorrect these days I should think) That was sung in the
Prince Rupert Legion at full voice by a horde of us ! ( I blame it on the
heidelburg ...remember that?)
Regards
David A. Smith
David A. Smith
