Special Feature - Clarence Morris

Clarence Morris was born in Port Greville, Nova Scotia. When he was a young man he joined the Canadian Navy and served in World War II escorting convoys of ships across the Atlantic. He also served overseas on the destroyer Iroquois operating in the Bay of Biscay and North Sea to Murmansk, Russia. When the HMCS Rimouski was in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia for refit, Clarence met his wife Doris 64 years ago. Clarence says it was love at first sight. Following the refit, Clarence went overseas and corresponded with Doris. They agreed by mail to marry during a 3 month leave of absence. However to get 3 months off, Clarence had to volunteer to return to the war zone in the South Pacific. Fortunately the war ended and Clarence never had to go.

Following the war, Clarence went to Dalhousie University and to the Technical University of Nova Scotia to earn his Bachelor of Engineering under the Department of Veterans Affairs sponsorship. Most veterans had tough times on the DVA allowance of $108 a month for rent, food and living expenses. Following graduation he worked for Nova Scotia Light and Power and Defense Construction. In 1955 Clarence joined Imperial Oil in the Engineering Department where he worked for 27 years until retirement.

Clarence has many fond memories of working for Imperial Oil with colleagues Dieter Schroeder, Ron Anderson, Jamie MacKay and Russ Reynolds. One of Clarence's most memorable projects was the construction of the Newcastle Marine Terminal where Clarence had responsibility of all aspects of the project involving the building of the wharf, tank field, loading rack, office and warehouse.

One of Clarence's stories involves flying from Deer Lake to St. Anthony, Newfoundland with a new young engineer. It was a very windy day and it looked like it might be too dangerous to land. As they bumped along, Clarence caught the attention of the Newfoundland pilot and suggested that if it was too dangerous, they could return to Deer Lake since getting to the project was not a matter of life and death. The pilot stayed the course, hit the water and kept the small Beaver aircraft into the wind until they calmly came to a stop behind the breakwater. Clarence's heart was racing - hours later.

Clarence's passion remained with the sea and he spent many years sailing with his family on the Atlantic Ocean up and down the Nova Scotia coast. Clarence enjoyed remodeling boats. He fixed them up, used them for his vacations and frequent trips and then sold them. Other hobbies included gardening, oil painting and being a ham radio operator. Thirty seven years ago, Clarence built a cottage outside Bridgewater in a small place called Waterloo. Clarence and Doris still own the cottage. They have also lived in the same house for fifty years in Halifax. Doris and Clarence have 5 children, 6 grandchildren and are looking forward to the birth soon of their first great grandchild.