Most people are aware of certain medals awarded for acts of valour, but not everyone knows about handmade quilts presented to Canadian Armed Forces veterans – even in the South Cariboo.
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) veteran Gordon Thorsteinson, 97, is the first local recipient of a Quilt of Valour crafted by the Cariboo Calico Quilters (CCQ) guild – and he is pleased to have it.
“I use it every day and every night. It’s the warmest blanket I’ve ever had – it’s wonderfully warm.
“I don’t know how they managed to pick me out as No. 1.”
Now residing in long-term care at Mill Site Lodge, Gordon served in the Second World War as a leading aircraft mechanic in Darlington, England, where he serviced and repaired bombers between flight missions.
He enlisted on New Year’s Day in 1943 – the day after his 27th birthday. The local veteran completed his service after two years, although he immediately volunteered for the war effort in Japan, which ended just before he departed.
As a founder of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #260-100 Mile House, Gordon explains that in its early days just after the war, members met in each other’s homes or at the Lone Butte Community Hall.
Before too long, the local veterans purchased a former hardware store building on 99 Mile Hill in 100 Mile House and renovated it.
“It was a big part of my life in the early part. We rebuilt the building, the Legion, and it is still the same way today that it was when I left.”
Gordon says he was 12 years old when he first came to the area in 1928 with his family from Whonnock B.C., where they ran a shingle mill.
“They pre-empted a place in Buffalo Creek.”
The 20- by 24-foot cabin they built had upright logs, he recalls, with one- by 12-inch boards that had been cut green, so they soon shrunk to leave big cracks the wind whistled through.
The old homestead still stands today on what is now known as Thorsteinson Road.
Gordon and his younger brother, Charles Jr., slept outside in a tent on a walled, wooden platform, so they had their own chilly nights to deal with.
His father, Charles, and mother, Bjorg (who Gordon says came from Iceland), had also taken in a couple of children as boarders, who stayed inside the cabin.
Bjorg cooked for them in a small kitchen addition, he adds.
After the requisite 10 years of annual $500 property improvements, his family owned the land outright, he notes.
Around that time, Gordon moved on to other adventures in his quest to find a job.
After he got word of work opportunities north in Atlin, the young man needed to find a way to get there, but he didn’t have money for the flight.
“It took me three days to get there. I started out in Lac la Hache. I stopped there and got a ride in an airplane, and we had lots of trouble.”
After convincing a pilot he had a paying job in Atlin, Gordon arranged the flight on a $90 airline credit, which he later paid back promptly by borrowing cash from one of his sisters.
The first difficulty in the journey happened when the plane took off with a part missing that was out for an overhaul, so the plane could not taxi straight forward.
A doctor returning to Williams Lake was also on the plane, along with his nurse, Gordon explains.
“The damned doctor got sick and threw up.
“Then we landed in Williams Lake. It took us all night to get in his yard, but it wasn’t bad.”
After another stop in Fort Nelson, they landed in Whitehorse, he says, where weather took a turn for the worse and the plane could not take off.
“I was stuck in Whitehorse for three days. The airline company paid for my hotel room [and meals].”
From there, he went to Carcross, Yukon and switched to another plane and proceeded to Atlin.
The second pilot had much worse trouble, he notes, but not until Gordon had safely disembarked at his destination.
“The guy that I flew with was taking off out of Fairbanks, Alaska the next day, and he cracked up [the plane] and killed a girl and himself, too.”
Gordon returned from RCAF war service in 1945 and went to Victoria, followed shortly afterward by his new bride, Pat, who he’d met in England.
After a couple of years, he partnered with some of his family members to operate a restaurant, hunting camp and Chevron gas station at 93 Mile in 1947, until burned down in 1958.
The veteran later ran G&C Equipment, an industrial service and repair business in 100 Mile House, with Charles Jr.
After almost a lifetime in the South Cariboo, Gordon was a great choice as its first local veteran recipient of a Quilt of Valour, says CCQ guild member Nancy Meville.
The CCQ ladies have previously made and sent out about 30 quilts through a Vancouver counterpart and another 15 to Oliver, where Nancy says there has been a big focus on local veterans. Through those locations, they are redirected to Canadian soldiers and veterans.
To bring it closer to home, the local quilters decided to also give them to local veterans, and chose Gordon as their initial recipient, since Nancy knows him and he is living in long-term care.
The lovely, brightly-coloured quilt is personalized with his name and veteran information in the stitching.
Gordon’s daughter, Valerie Brickely, and son, Brian Thorsteinson, both express their gratitude to the guild, and especially to CCQ member Jessie McCormick, who made the quilt.
“She did a beautiful job,” says Brian. “I’m sure there were many hours of love and labour that went into its creation.”
Originally started for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, the Quilts of Valour Canada program has distributed 4,642 of these cozy comforters to date, Nancy says, adding each one of them is a unique and hand-stitched work of art.
CCQ member Marilynne Brager says the guild members really enjoy making and sending out quilts for the program. They get a good feeling knowing their efforts are appreciated, she says, adding they get some “wonderful” thank-you cards and heartfelt messages received from past recipients.
“Several of us in the group have fathers or relatives who have served in the armed forces … so, we have a heart for the vets.”
