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Lots to do
But a lot of the time they spent doing regular patrolling and maintenance duties. Fire fighters worked 24 hours on, and 24 off, three shifts a week. There were about 40 men working on a shift at a time. Some were always on duty, but there were sleeping quarters where each had their turn getting some rest.
There were always two fire fighters patrolling on the east and west ramps. Others did 24 hour standby duties around refuelers. There were large portable fire extinguishers always out near the aircraft.
There were also constant inspections to do. For instance, every night they went with the O.D. (Officer of the Day) to inspect the various clubs on base. And there monthly inspections of all apartment buildings on base, and so on. There was hydrant maintenance in winter, flow tests, painting and a host of other duties.
"We were kept busy," says Mr. Andrews.
They operated eight major crash trucks which held 1,000 gallons of water as well as foam. They also had tankers, structural fire trucks and pickup trucks.
A happening place
But it wasn't all work on the Harmon Base in those days. Mr. Andrews says wages weren't high, but the recreational facilities and opportunities were second to none.
Many civilians were housed on the base in one of three barracks, or dorms. There were mess halls for the single civilians. The Loralie (now Razoolies night club) was one of them.
There was a lot of socializing among the diverse mix of people at Harmon: Air Force personnel, private contractors, marine engineers, civilians from western Newfoundland as well as the east coast, and some mainlanders and American civilians.
A lot of the leisure time activities revolved around the three main clubs on base: Officers, NCOs and airmen's. Each accepted civilians as associate members, depending on the status of their occupation.
Mr. Andrews says the NCO club was the most popular. All of the clubs were non-profit organizations that generated a lot of revenue from slot machines. They then had to put the money back into special low-cost benefits and activities for members.
Nice benefits
You could take your whole family into the NCO club for a wonderful meal and evening for just $5. Drinks were usually 10 cents but cost just 5 cents on certain nights.
There were baseball fields, skating and various recreational facilities. Hunting and fishing were also very popular.
The Air Force had six fishing camps alone on Grand Lake (called Able, Baker, Charlie, etc.) and two more on Glovers Island. There was a large cabin cruiser at Camp 33, fully supplied with a cook. Small planes, L-20s or Cessnas, would fly people back and forth.
"Any civilians with a guide licence (such as myself) were called on quite frequently. Some airmen would be flown up from the States. They'd call it a 'weekend maneuver' for the National Guard. This was a common thing. I met a lot of New York policemen and firefighters, some from Connecticut and so on."
Mr. Andrews says they would fly up on a Friday, go fishing or hunting on Saturday, and fly home on Sunday. Meanwhile guides like him were called upon to escort them.
Settling down
In 1953, he married Joyce Tucker, a nursing assistant originally from Elliston, near Cape Bonavista. She was working in the cottage hospital in Stephenville Crossing. The couple rented off base for a few months while Mr. Andrews built their own home. They eventually had three sons.
"Stephenville is made up of people from all over the island, and the mainland. They fell in love with it, and built homes here."
Everything was rolling along until the mid-1960s. The first word of trouble was that one of the U.S. Air Force bases would be closed, either at Goose Bay or Stephenville.
Mr. Andrews said he and others figured Stephenville would be the one to close, since it refuelled propeller planes while Goose Bay serviced jet aircraft. Still they hoped it would be otherwise.
But the dreaded announcement came that Harmon was closing.
Bad news
"It was pretty devastating at the time. It hit people hard. A lot of young families didn't know what was going to happen. We wondered about the standard of living we had all become accustomed to."
He says that after the initial shock, it was only a matter of a few months before you started to see visible effects of the phase-down. Things were down for a couple of years, although the politicians were promising great things for Stephenville.
Mr. Andrews didn't know what he was going to do himself, but soon three job opportunities opened up all at once, two in Stephenville. He and his family wanted to stay, and he ended up taking the job as chief of the town's fire department.
"The town wanted to expand and reorganize the fire department. They only had one truck and six fellows on staff."
Long-time chief
Mr. Andrews settled in and stayed on as chief for 30 years. By the time he retired in 1996, he had become one of the senior fire chiefs in Atlantic Canada. Then he served a four-year term on Stephenville Town Council.
One of the things he remembers about the old days was how well-kept properties were. He also recalls efforts to start new businesses in the old base buildings after its closure. Some succeeded but others were ill-suited to buildings designed for aircraft maintenance. He thinks too much government money went into ventures that didn't have a chance to succeed.
He has concerns about the future of the community and the Stephenville airport. He feels the base has never really been replaced in Stephenville.
He looks back at a good career or work life that he had, but says his sons have had to look elsewhere for employment. He wishes it could be different for his own family as well as others.
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This official United States Air Force photo was taken around 1954 or 55 at one of the two fire stations on the Harmon base in Stephenville. This was on the 'west ramp' near the present airport terminal. The building is still standing and is used by the federal ministry of transport. The base fire chief was John Cardoulis who later wrote The Friendly Invasion. Jim Andrews is near the middle of the photo. Photo courtesy of Florence Tobin.
This was one of the special trucks used by the base fire and rescue department. Jim Andrews was employed as a civilian with the department from 1952 until the base closed in 1966.
The fire department of the town of Stephenville was not very large or well-equipped in its early days. This was the town's first fire truck. When the Harmon base closed, Jim Andrews was hired as chief to expand and reorganize the department for its increased responsibilities.