"I'm just going to do a 'walkaround' before we get going," Pat called to me from the other side of the mustard yellow single prop airplane.
PAT FAHY is the Director of Research and Development at the Alberta Vocational College in Edmonton and is also under contract with the LCA to act as the evaluator of the Regional Resource People Project. He is an avid flyer and was planning a flight to Whitecourt, Barrhead and Westlock to conduct interviews with volunteer tutors for his evaluation. He had agreed to let me tag along to interview the coordinators of each of the programs he'd be visiting.
Standing on the open tarmac, I crossed my arms against the early morning chill and watched with anticipation as Pat checked the fuel, the landing gear and the propeller. When everything was ready, I climbed into one of the two sears in the plane and buckled myself In.
Pat gave me a set of headphones and right away I could hear chatter from the Edmonton Municipal Airport Control Tower. We taxied out to the runway and Pat said, "This is Gulf-Julliet-Bravo-Foxtrot, ready for take off." It was a busy time at the airport; I could see a number of other aircraft, most much bigger than ours, positioning themselves on the runways.
A faceless voice responded. "Julliet-Bravo-Foxtrot, in the right turn contact Advisory 1-18 decimal eight. Winds 2-6-0 at 12. Cleared take off, runway 3-0."
It was clear and calm at 8:00 am as we flew over Namao, gaining altitude and setting our course northwest to Whitecourt. Pat relaxed then, and looked over at me. "Nice take-off," I said into the mouthpiece of my headphones. He smiled, raising his eyebrows in a question of "What did you expect?" He told me our flying time would be about 45 minutes.
The early October countryside beneath us was brown and barren, except for the occasional patch of unmelted snow. As we flew northward, the flat, squared-off sections of agricultural land became hillier and more tree-covered. When we turned in our final approach into Whitecourt, a flight serviceman let us know our party was waiting for us at the terminal office. When we were on the ground, Pat locked up the airplane while I went to say hello to KAREN MANWEILLER, the coordinator of the Write Soon Literacy Project.
Karen took us on a quick tour of Whitecourt, a forest industry and oil-patch town of 6700 people, built at the confluence of the Athabasca and McLeod Rivers. Whitecourt was originally called "Sagitawah", an Indian word meaning "place where the two rivers meet."
The Write Soon Literacy Project is housed in a spacious and comfortable office on the second floor of the Whitecourt Provincial Building. There is a reception area, a coffee room and library, Karen's office and an office used by a fellow who works with Alberta Environment. When we came in the door, we were greeted by the bright faces of the two tutors waiting to talk to Pat.
Karen and I made some tea and settled into a couple of chairs in her tidy office. "I used to sell real estate," Karen told me when I asked her how she was enjoying her job, "so I'm used to being my own boss. I liked (and needed) the flexibility of the hours when I was raising my family. This job is the same that way. If my husband is going to the city one day and I don't have anything pressing, I can go and make that time up another day. I like that." Karen smiled, then added, "I think about going back to selling real estate once in a while (I certainly made more money in real estate!) but I like this job better."