Harold Madden
Great-grandfather, fisherman, mechanic, veteran. Born on Dec. 30, 1920, in Calgary; died on Feb. 8, 2015, in Edmonton, of heart failure, aged 94.
Harold grew up in Saskatchewan and by the time he was in his teens he was managing one of his family businesses, the Waskesiu Lake Lodge in Prince Albert National Park. At that time, it was a two-day trip to the lodge from the city of Prince Albert, rather than today's two-hour drive, and he loved fishing, canoeing and exploring in the remote park.
In June, 1942, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and became an aircraft mechanic in the 438 "Wildcat" Squadron, which integrated with the British 2nd Tactical Air Force. He served in Great Britain and Europe until he was injured on Jan. 1, 1945, in an all-out Luftwaffe offensive on the airfield in Eindhoven, Holland.
He experienced D-Day first-hand and swore you could have crossed the English Channel by stepping from one boat to another. When the Allied forces liberated Paris, he was part of a group that went to a bar and were treated to celebratory free drinks. Warned that the shore patrol was on the way, they hopped into their jeep to get back to the airfield. The fellow in the driver's seat operated the accelerator, brake, gear shift and clutch. The guy in the passenger seat gave directions, and Harold did the steering – while sitting on the hood, facing inward, legs straddling the wheel. The shore patrol was catching up to them when they crossed a tiny bridge with just a few centimetres to spare on each side of the jeep. The other vehicle, driven by sober soldiers, wasn't able to squeeze through.
After the war ended, Harold went home to Alberta. He met Anelise (Lee) Gronlund while he was living at the Edmonton YMCA; to save money, he bought food at the grocery store where she worked as a cashier. Food wasn't allowed in the Y rooms so she wrapped his purchases as parcels to hide the contents. They married in November, 1946, and raised three children, Brenda, Wayne and Judy.
Harold worked for Northwest Industries in a variety of locations, mothballing aircraft no longer needed by the RCAF. He also worked for the federal parks department as a mechanic, helping to build the road through Wood Buffalo National Park, and doing other work in the north when he was loaned out to other departments. Eventually he settled in Edmonton, working as a master mechanic, 30 years of which were with one GM dealership. Customers came from as far as Fort St. John, B.C., to have him take care of their vehicles.
Harold and Lee were firm believers in family vacations, and our family spent many weekends fishing in the Lac la Biche area. Dad cherished fishing trips with his extended family and was thrilled to show his youngest granddaughter how to fish. His tackle box had many lures, including red-and-white spoons. "The only hook you need is a red-and-white," he would say. "The others are there to fill the rest of the space in the box."
Dad had a great sense of humour and loved to spin a tale, often ending with an exaggerated twist that would elicit gales of laughter. He was most fond of recalling a time when he was working up north, where the mosquitoes were large and legendary, and ran out of gas while out on the river. He grabbed a five-gallon can of gasoline and began to pour it into the outboard motor's two-gallon tank. He had nearly emptied the full five gallons, he would say, when he realized he was pouring the gas into a big mosquito.
Judy Madden is Harold's daughter.