View from the Whaleback -
Last week, I marched up to the wicket at Indianhead Co-op to inquire about a charge on our ski club account and there, standing over me was a portrait of Percy Pieroway.
Yes, there was Percy casting a quizzical eye, making sure that I was attending to the best interests of the ski club. I am sad to say that Percy, the 'Father of Skiing' in the Bay St George area, passed away last June at the mature age of 92.
Percy was the dominant founding member of the Stephenville Ski Club back in 1968. For over 35 years, he kept a very close eye on the club's finances in his role as treasurer. It was once said, that during his tenure, the ski club was out three cents. But upon further investigation, Percy reported, "It was due to a bank error and the wayward funds would soon be re-deposited."
Percy was not only a clever bean counter, he was also the driving force behind the establishment of a downhill ski operation near Maryland Drive in the early 70s.
When that operation closed down, he immersed himself in the development of an elaborate network of ski trails that stretched from the Port au Port Peninsula to Gallants. It was Percy's dream to develop a trail from Stephenville to Deer Lake, which he fondly referred to as the 'Airport-to-Airport' trail.
Throughout the 70s, 80s and into the 90s, I spent many days cutting trails with Percy. While developing trails was his passion, his greatest delight was derived from grooming trails for the Jackrabbits and sticking around after each session to make sure there was a well-stoked bonfire for the boil-up.
If Whaleback was hosting a marathon, Percy would head out well in advance to set up his brightly coloured parachute and be prepared to hand out warm drinks and cookies to the participants.
Percy's plethora of lifetime achievements is indeed overwhelming. He was an inter nationally acclaimed folk artist who was featured in Maclean's magazine and his paintings have toured Ireland as part of a travelling exhibit.
Percy designed and brought to fruition a system of walking trails that extends all along Blanche Brook and continues along the beach out to Percy's Anchors.
He was the mastermind and oversaw the construction of the Mayfield soccer pitch and Pieroway Park baseball field and was the founding president of the Indianhead Co-op.
When the Harmon Air Base closed in 1966, Percy convened a meeting with Premier Joseph Smallwood and implored the premier to create the Adult Learning Centre, the precursor of the Bay St. George Community College. And his list of accomplishments goes on.
Refused to take 'no' for an answer
In 2002, I had the privilege of successfully nominating Percy for the prestigious Citizen of the Half Century Award. In preparing the nomination, I was afforded the opportunity to glance into the history of this humble man. At times my eyes glazed over in admiration as he told me about his life growing up in St. George's, about trying ever so hard to get into the action of the Second World War, only to be rejected because of his scoliosis. But Percy refused to take 'no' for an answer and joined the forestry unit and went overseas to work in the forests of Scotland. When he finished his service in Scotland, he was determined that he would get into battle.
So he took a train to London and went to a British recruiting office in hopes of being accepted. Once again he was denied. Still refusing to accept defeat, he told the recruiting officer: "If the British wouldn't accept me, then I'm catching the next ship to Halifax and joining the Canadian Navy and the Canadians will ship me right back overseas to the war!" The recruiting officer looked him in the eye, hauled open the desk drawer and said, "We need telegraphers! Are you interested?"
Telegraphers were always in demand - they were usually the first ones shot in the heat of battle because they relayed communications from the front lines. If you shot the telegrapher then you literally shot the messenger. There were always openings for telegraphers.
Percy was thrilled to be accepted and off he marched into the heat of the battle. I can still remember sitting in his kitchen, Olga knitting in her chair, and listening in solemn silence as he described being pinned down for hours in a small village during the Battle of Dieppe.
Percy was one of 6,000 Canadian troops who were landed in small boats on the beach and then all hell broke lose as they were under tremendous fire with no cover and no backup air support.
Finally, after enduring hours of heavy fire, the command came that they were to retreat to the beach and then swim out to the small boats waiting offshore.
Percy ran toward the shoreline under a hail of bullets with comrades dropping all around him. After jumping down off the three-metre high seawall to the beach below, Percy sprinted across the beach and as he ran, he was smashed face first down into the landwash by a tremendous blow to the head.
But Percy got up and continued to run until he reached the water and then began swimming for the boats waiting more than a kilometre offshore. When his rescuer finally pulled him over the gunnels he said to Percy: "You're a lucky man, soldier! Look at your helmet." The tremendous blow that had knocked him face first into the landwash was caused by a bullet that passed through his helmet and grazed his scalp.
Worked tirelessly
A few days later I chatted with Monsignor White, who had grown up with Percy in St. George's. Monsignor White talked of Percy's heroism at Dieppe, Percy who was renown in his youth for being a great swimmer.
He told of how Percy was cited in Dispatches for his bravery at Dieppe and how he was awarded a special medal by the French government for his valour.
The article in Dispatches told of how Percy Pieroway, who after taking a brief time to recover after making it to the rescue boat in the Battle of Dieppe, dove into the water time and again to rescue one comrade after another without considering his own peril.
Seldom in our lives do we have the distinct privilege to meet a person of such character and integrity as Percy Pieroway; a person who works tirelessly for the betterment of society, who lives a life of humility and diligence and even after he passes on to another world, he stands over you at the Indianhead Co-op and ensures that the financial statement for Whaleback Nordic is accurate.
Doug Fowlow suggested a few of us should go down and paint Percy's Anchors at Port Harmon this summer. Percy would like that!
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