Al writes:
I ventured in there to take ground photos with my fishing outfitter/pilot who maintains a large shipping container at the base of one of the search towers containing business band tx/rx/repeaters for all the outfitters at Mattice Lake/Armstrong. He had about two hours worth of PM to do in the radios so I had a good walk through the Tech Site and Cantonement areas.

Not much left up there. At the entrance to the Cantonement/Administrative area, after jumping the chain-bar across the road, sits the AN/FPS-26 sail, turned on its side, with faded painting welcoming whoever to the "914th AC&W Squadron, The Host of the North."

Most of the buildings have been gutted out and have been I am told, for a long, long time. I thought the RCAF ran the site after our departure, but I may be mistaken. I tried to identify the buildings as I walked, however, there not being much left I could have mis-identified some of them.

One can make out the Entry/Guard Sentry House, later Canadian Security/Caretaker and what is left a a soft easy chair out front; Next the BoQ, Airman Barracks (several), followed by BMP inside/outside parking areas all on the left side of the squadron street. On the right side of the steet coming back up is BMP/Repair facility, then a Dayroom/Recreation building (two separate buildings, however one may have been built after the USAF deactivated and when whoever took over [RCAF?] during or slightly after their departure. Maybe a Dining Hall that had a semi-attached breeze-way type walkthrough (although I can`t imagine that type of thing in the winter there!).

CE building and "Poop" Plant still stands as well as the HQ building going up the road to the Tech Site, on the left; on the right is "Parking Lot #1" (sign still standing), as well on the right is what looked like the Supply Building and another building I could not recognize (perhaps the Power Generation/Heating Plant).

Further up the road to the Tech Site, after the switch-back, are the rusted fuel tanks (think everything worked on "gravity" up there) and a little further to the top came the two search antenna bases separated with the Ops Building and then the HRI Base. Atop the #1 Search Base ia a tall CAA (Canadian Aviation Administration) beacon/tower as a nav-aide for the area. At the base grounf level is the large, weatherproof shipping container I spoke about containing the business-band Rx/Tx/Repeaters my outfitter had to PM belonging to the local hunting/fishing fly-in people at Mattise Lake. Don flies us out to whatever lake/cabin we may be fishing at. CAA/CCC inspection was coming and he was the "go-to" guy for that. There were other small buildings up there I could not ID.

The Canadian Government had leased space in some of the buildings up and down after decommissioning but whoever had them eventually folded, went away and are tumbling down. The government tried to open housing and tribal business space but the indians wanted nothing to do with the radar site. Wonder if it may have been a "spiritual place" that my have been disturbed in the beginning?

The rail-head is still operating for freight, however, due to the economic down-turn, all logging operations have ceased. We saw "0" 28 wheelers (like the Ax Men on TV) on the road to and from Thunder Bay/Armstrong in both directions. In past years we`ed have them in front and in back of us for 4 1/2 hours on that road. People are really hurting up there, especially the tribal people. Our outfitter/pilot says his business is off more than 25%; putting one of his four aircraft in storage for the year and let go two of his pilots, one of which was his son-in-law who then went to Thunder Bay to become a firefighter.

When we arrived at Mattice Lake/Outfitters, it was after 1500 and policy is "no flights out after 1500 hours", so we had to take a cabin over at Mackenzi Lake untill the next morning. Now some people may know that the 914th assignment was a "NO Dependants" gig, but many families did accompany and they had to live over at Mackenzi in the cabins. I`m telling you, that was a pretty meager, hard existance in those days; outside hand pumps for water and if frozen, to the lake, chop a hole and carry water back to the cabin. Out-houses for sanitary needs, chop wood for heat and heating hot water. Can`t imagine what it must have been like out there at Mackenzi in the middle of the winter, let alone at the radar site. Sure glad I didn`t get that gig!

Al writes:
I go fishing near the Armstrong site each year. I have walked through the site and nothing seems to be going on there. The Indian tribal people want nothing to do with the place. As I understand it, it was offered to them for housing, business space, etc., and no one wants it. What a shame.