YLW Connection - Winter 2010 - (Page 9)

Imagination leads to | B Y D O ROT H Y B R OT H E RT ON Gord on J ns’ enne perso nal co llectio n t age six Gordon Jennens built his first airplane. Today, at 86, his eyes light up as he remembers. “I loved airplanes and I loved making things,” said Jennens. He started with birdhouses and kayaks at age five, but dreamed of airplanes. An engine didn’t matter. He would fly it with his imagination. The opportunity came unexpectedly. Gordon had been climbing on the carport rafters, fell and landed on his shoulder. The doctor had to set it three times. Little Gordon missed his entire Grade One while the shoulder healed. Bored and sitting indoors, he noticed his mother’s ironing board. “It looked like the fuselage of an airplane.” To keep him busy, his mother let him play with the old ironing board. He gathered bits of scrap wood and metal and worked on the project for months. His plane sported a propeller that really turned. He could crank it, climb into the seat and imagine the wings taking him soaring into the air. Within the boy a love for aircraft was born that never died. He often biked from his home near Okanagan Lake to the old Rutland airstrip hoping for a chance to fly with the Barnstormers. “These were flyers from the First World War. They’d go across Canada and take people for rides. It cost one cent a pound and I weighed 60 pounds,” said Gordon with a chuckle. His pocket quickly produced 60 cents. “The plane had an open cockpit. I had a thrill.” His dad looked into training opportunities. His dad’s fishing buddy, Bill Boeing, invited 14-year-old Gordon to Seattle to meet his chief engineer at the Boeing plant. The war speeded things up. At 16 Gordon plunged into a wartime crash course in aeronautical engineering in California. At graduation he was grabbed by Boeing’s Sea Island operation near Vancouver. Mainly they built PBYs, planes used by every branch of the U.S. military and most allies. After Pearl Harbor, things really geared up. Jennens and an Australian architect breakfasted one morning with defense department and airplane company officials on Lulu Island. They were told to build a new plant--fast. “We went out in the rain at 5 a.m. and staked it out. In 10 days we had it up.” The Lulu Island operation became Canada Pacific Airlines and soon employed 2,000 people. Jennens joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as a flight engineer. He trained all across Canada. When ready for discharge, he transferred to the British Fleet Air Arm and went overseas. One evening in England after a social gathering, he escorted home a dishwasher named Sylvia. With no buses running at this late hour, he stuck out his thumb to get back to base. A man driving with only light slits (because of blackouts) pulled over. In the back seat was his daughter, another girl named Sylvia. Today, the second Sylvia says, “My father never picked up another hitchhiker. We never got rid of this one.” She married Jennens in 1946. His career brought him back to Kelowna, where he built rowing shells, including those used by the 1952 Canadian Olympic athletes. In retirement with his four children, he built a 60-foot replica Viking ship, which has been in educational exhibits in 26 Canadian cities and Norway. Pictures of young Jennens and his ironing board airplane are part of a photo mural by Kelowna Museums on a wall in the departure area at Kelowna Airport to commemorate the one hundredth year of powered flight in Canada. As Jennens looks back over a colourful career, perhaps his smile was never broader than when he built his first airplane from his mother’s ironing board. ,900 38S99225106 $ L® M 21- 6400 Spencer Road Panoramic Views • Large Corner Lot Close to Kelowna Airport Spacious Rancher with basement Quiet, 19+ Strata Kelowna Betty Anne Tarini #100-1553 Harvey Ave. Kelowna, BC V1Y 6G1 C: (778) 821-0129 P: (250) 717-5000 E: BettyAnne@Kelowna.Remax.ca www.BettyAnneTarini.com WINTER 2010 Dorothy Brotherton career in aviation http://www.BettyAnneTarini.com http://www.BettyAnneTarini.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of YLW Connection - Winter 2010

YLW Connection - Winter 2010
Contents
Airport Services
Taking Care of Business in Extreme Travel Conditions
Imagination Leads to Career in Aviation
Hitting the Slopes
Boeing Boeing Gone - But When?
Safety Equals Security at YWL - Airport Watch Program
Mexico Fiesta at YLW
Be Merry and Pack Smart This Holiday Season
Okanagan Impact on 2010 Olympics
From Vineyard to Jungle
Aloha!
Okanagan Estate Wine Shoppe
YLW News
Trivia & Games

YLW Connection - Winter 2010

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