WESLEVILLE – GANDER’S OUTPOST

Tucked away in a remote corner of northwest Newfoundland in the little fishing village of Wesleyville, a tiny handful of AACS and weather men have been sweating it out in one of those isolated outposts about which few people hear.  Less than 50 miles from Gander, as the C-54 flies, Wesleyville, a radio range and weather station, is an important cog in the machinery that has helped thousands of ATC and tactical aircraft span the North Atlantic.

Soldiers usually flinch when they hear the word “outpost”, but the set-up at Wesleyville is the G.I. Heaven to which every lad in khaki has dreamed of being assigned.  There is no gate or guard to check passes.  (Passes aren’t necessary). No saluting (there is no one to salute); none of the disciplinary regulations annoying to average soldier; in fact, the boys at Wesleyville can almost forget they are in the army.

Back in the days when the station at Wesleyville was in the stages of infancy; back in the month of February, 1943, when S/Sgt. Raymond Miehle (Then Cpl) of the old 8th AACS region arrived to set up the station, things were pretty rough.  The site chosen for the station was on a ridge located about a mile from the village over treacherous marsh and bog, and all the supplies and equipment that came by boat from Fort Pepperell, St. John’s, had to be carried to the station on the men’s backs.  Water was obtained by melting snow, the men lived on K-rations and did their own cooking in addition to their regular duties, sanitary conditions were poor and often the men went for weeks without shaving or enjoying the luxury of a bath in a makeshift old washtub.  In short, Miehle and his two man crew worked day and night keeping the place going.

Today, however, it is a different story.  The “Ridge” as the station is appropriately nicknamed, has all the comforts of home.  There is a modern hot and cold water system, oil heat, a well-furnished, comfortable dayroom, a good road to the dock and there is a regular cook who turns out real chow.  The cook is also assisted by a young Newfoundland boy who lives at the station and is paid by the men themselves.

In spite of the fact that Wesleyville is accessible only by boat in the summer and dogsled in the winter, mail comes in regularly once each week.  Through an arrangement with the Newfoundland Government, the G.I. mail is shipped to Gambo from St. John’s by train.  There it is picked up with the Newfoundland mail by the coastal mail boat which makes the trip weekly from Wesleyville.  In the winter, a dogsled meets the train and carries the mail. 

The Ridge has its own 16 millimetre movie projector and the Red Cross includes two movies each week in the mail bag.  The boys on the ridge always invite some of the townspeople out for the movies and it was there on the base that many of the people of Wesleyville saw their first modern movie.

The local people have accepted the Yanks as sons and have shown them every possible bit of hospitality.  Practically every home in the village is open to the Yanks at any time and although the natives refer jokingly to them as “brazen Americans”, many lasting friendships have sprung up between the two peoples.  Whenever one of the fellows on the Ridge has a birthday, he is sure to be presented with a cake or gift from some of the villagers and many gifts are exchanged at Christmas.

Recreation a an outpost such as this is limited but when a social event of any kind is held, a special invitation is always sent out to the Ridge.  These social functions include teas, dances, concerts and suppers.  The Yanks attend the village churches regularly and special sections were reserved for them for the services on V-E Day. 

Even with all the modern improvements, there is still much extra work involved in keeping such an outpost running.  When the supply boat comes in, the boys must act as stevedores and dock hands.  During the winter and spring there is a lot of work shovelling snow and digging the two trucks out of the ditches and marshes.  An unexpected breakdown of equipment often causes many hours of extra work and more often than, this labour goes unrewarded except of the satisfaction the men obtain in knowing that they are doing a job well.

During the winter, bad weather confines the meet indoors quite a bit of the time but usually they can get outdoors sometime during the day.  On nice winter days, there are winter sports such as, skiing and skating.  When the ice floe moves in, seal hunting is both good spot and profitable.  On winter evenings, the fellows often gather in the kitchen and bake cakes, make ice cream or turn out other equally delectable midnight snacks.

Recreation is more varied in the summer.  In Addition to the regular sports such as baseball, swimming and fishing, there is boating.  The boys rent boats from the Newfoundlanders for the summer and have become quite skilled at navigating the rocky waters.  They often take trips to other towns on the coast.  Codfish-jigging, a craft learned from the old town fishermen, results in many meals of fresh cod on the Ridge.  (Cod fishing is an art.  First, a likely spot for a school of cod must be found.  Then a line with a large empty hook on the end is lowered almost to the bottom of the ocean.  Then it is jerked up and down until a cod is snagged.)

Yes, like very few spots in the world, Wesleyville is a bit of G.I. Heaven and in later years, the boys who were stationed there will look back on their stay in Newfoundland with pleasant memories.