Word: ganders
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...Stratocruiser on the first leg of their record (30,000-mile) royal tour, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh winged through the night across the North Atlantic, touched down at Gander, Newfoundland for fuel, then skipped south to Bermuda, Britain's oldest colony. Landing at U.S.-leased Kindley Air Force Base, the Duke, technically the airport commander's landlord, graciously thanked him for the courtesy of his runway. That afternoon, during a round of nine parishes and two towns, the Duke lost his equerries at a garden party, asked in mock dismay: "Where the devil...
...postwar air age, Gander Airport in northeastern Newfoundland has replaced the seaport of Halifax as Canada's front door. More than 300,000 transatlantic air travelers landed there in 1952; many get their first and only impression of Canada at the field. Gander's 8,600-ft. main runway, its instrument-landing equipment, and the high-intensity runway lights now being installed make it technically one of the world's most up-to-date airports. But in the creature comforts by which most tourists form their opinions of a port of call, Gander Airport is as outmoded...
Arriving at Gander, passengers are herded off their planes through long, wooden ramps appropriately called "sheep runs." The ramps lead to a vast, gloomy hangar built in 1941, when Gander was expanded to serve as a bomber ferry base. Grounded travelers, hung up in Gander for periods varying from an hour or two for refueling to several days for bad weather, have little choice but to haunt the airport's brawling, barnlike waiting room in a bedlam of children's cries and squawking announcements by 20-odd airlines. Grand Falls (pop. 16,059), the nearest town...
Realizing that Gander's grim aspect is the worst kind of advertising for Canada's tourist trade, the Department of Transport recently flew a group of government officials into Gander to see what could be done about improving the place. Last week some of the experts' proposed changes began to take shape. A new catering firm was signed up to improve the dining service. Architects went to work on plans to brighten the interior of the hangar waiting room, to tear down the sheep runs and replace them with paved walks. The raucous confusion of airline announcements...
World War II temporarily ended Newfoundland's financial troubles. The cod market revived. In 1940, when the Battle of the Atlantic was heating up, Britain gave the U.S. an outright gift of 99-year leases for defense bases on Newfoundland. The big Gander airport was enlarged, and U.S. money began pouring into other defense installations; that gave work to thousands of Newfoundlanders. After the war, Newfoundland had a $29 million cash surplus, and Britain gave the Newfoundlanders three choices: to continue with commission government (which few Newfies wanted), to return to dominion status, or to join Canada...