Some events are so profound that everyone remembers where
they were and what they were doing when they occurred.
Every good Winnipegger of my generation remembers where they
were and what they were doing when the Beatles landed at Winnipeg International
Airport. I certainly do. I wasn’t there.
It was August 18, 1964. 2:05 pm. The entire episode was aired
on my favorite teen radio station. The Winnipeg Free Press carried a story
about it the next day. The Beatles! In Winnipeg! In our –nothing-ever-happens-here,
mid-Prairie Canadian city! The biggest music sensations in the world! At our
airport! This was a very big deal!
The Winnipeg Free Press ran a story this past weekend marking
the 49th anniversary of the Fab Four landing in Winnipeg. It brought
back a flood of memories for me.
Their plane came in for a routine refueling stop on its way from
England to Los Angeles where they were about to begin their first full North
American tour. Someone from the airline tipped off the press and a local DJ
ahead of time. Before you could say, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” a thousand or so
teens had turned up on the airport observation deck.
I listened to the entire broadcast from a cottage on the
shores of Lake Winnipeg in Sandy Hook, Manitoba where my family was vacationing,
55 miles away from the airport. I was 11 years old. It was hopeless. No one in
my family comprehended the importance of this monumental event. My Mom didn’t
drive. My Dad simply refused to drive the hour and ten minutes it would take to
get from the lake to the city. He just couldn’t see why I would want to “do something
so crazy,” and besides I was “only 11!” I was stuck. Miserable. Furious with my parents. How could they not
see my agony? I sulked for days afterward, just to show them.
I listened, totally depressed, as a reporter described the
scene. Paul, my fave Beatle, came down the aircraft stairs first. He waved to
the crowd and shouted, “Hello, Winnipeg!” He was calling directly to me!! I
knew it! “I LUV you, Paul!!” I called back to the radio. Oh, how could I not be
there?!?
Worse of all was that the newspaper the next day quoted a
girl three years older than me who lived two houses away from my house! Diane
Clear. She was there!! I wanted to DIE right there on the spot from envy! I could
hear her gushy 14-year old voice in the quote, “Oh, I wished they had stayed
longer!” she had said, “They are so cute!” Good one, DI-annnnne.
John was reported as being smart alecky. Ringo and George as
polite and congenial. Paul as being friendly. How long does it take to refuel a
plane? A half hour maybe? They were not in Winnipeg long enough to sing even one
chorus of “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” but I bet no kid that was there will ever forget
it.
The Beatles never did play Winnipeg. I never got to see them
anywhere. Paul McCartney did a concert in Winnipeg just about 10 days ago. From
all reports it was wonderful. He is still my fave.
I’ll tell you one thing for sure, though. If anyone is
planning a 50th anniversary in August of 2014 to commemorate the day
the Beatles landed in Winnipeg, I want to be there!
And wherever you are today, Diane, you lucky duck, I still wish it had been me quoted in the Winnipeg Free Press instead of you. Because that would mean that I hadn't missed the biggest day in a Beatlemaniac's life!
Read all about it: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/fab-moment-in-time-220083561.html
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