The Story of Per and Lilly (née Christensen) Falkenberg-Andersen
Per and his buddies started for Vancouver, a challenge from the start. Instead of going through Jasper, they had to detour south to Fort Macleod. They made it nonstop to Vancouver, where they signed on to build tunnels for the Alcan Project in Kitimat.
First Flight
From Vancouver they flew to Prince George. Then they boarded a floatplane to head to the tunnel site. On the way they ran into a snowstorm. Visibility was poor but the pilot safely turned around between tall mountains to find another route.
Then there was a mechanical problem and the pilot had to land on a lake. He fixed the problem using a penny coin. The group finally reached their destination, a snow-capped lake in the middle of nowhere.
Christmas Trees
The site had very tall spruce trees and several were cut off near the top.
Per asked someone why they had been cut off. The man said, We cut them off last year for Christmas trees. Per thought the man was joking––how was that possible? Later that winter, he realized it was no joke.
To top the trees, they simply walked up the 57-foot banks of hard-packed snow.
Imminent Danger
Tunnel building is dangerous work. This was a heavy-duty tunnel with a six-foot thick concrete floor and a massive framework. There were many accidents and several fatalities. Five, then ten men died on the job. The workers painted crosses in their memory on the tunnel's inside walls.
Per was in imminent danger two or three times. One evening, about ten minutes after he had left the area, there was a massive rockslide that destroyed everything in its path. For Per, that was the last straw. He headed back to Edmonton and level ground.
Adapted from the 2007 Heritage Book,with permission from the Federation of Danish Associations in Canada
More Immigrant Stories:
• Still restless, our Per moves on. See Per goes Underground
