Along the Shore Line

Schreiber Women's Institute Scrapbook 1, p. 32

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NO INCIDENTS Security Tight For Royal Visit THUNDER BAY -- Security for the royal visit Tuesday was certainly tight and gave pause to wonder just how tight precautions would have been had Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip stayed her one or two days, rather than the slightly more than two hours spent in the city and environs. Regardless, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Thunder Bay police department, in uniform and plainclothes, did a tremendous job. They kept the thousands of persons and traffic at the sites visited by the royal couple at a distance. Policemen were stationed at intervals along the route taken by the entourage. Peraps the poilce were more noticeable along the route from Arthur Street along the Expressway to the site of Old Fort William. There, OPP officers were stationed about a quarter mile apart. Two OPP were even stationed on th railway overpass on the Expressway near the airport. At least one had a camera. Police were more obvious at the old fort site . . . several RCMP officers were wearing their scarlet uniforms. While the federal, provincal and municipal policemen may have been persprng somewhat n the 80-degree-plus heat of the day, in their uniforms, the thousands of area citizens, dressed for the most part in quite casual wear, appeared to enjoy the wind-swept fort site. Newsmen, international, national and local, had a little more freedom to roam about at the fort site to take pictures, while uniformed and plainclothes officers kept a close eye on them. One photographer, 'who dared' to venture a little too close to where Ontario's minister of natural resources Leo Bernier was presenting dignitaries to the royal couple, was asked to move a few feet away . . . with a gentle hand o n his shoulder. The photographer complied. In another incident, a photographer was about 10 feet away from Prince Philip and a uniformed RCMP constable remarked: "That's how it should be ... some of the guys try to get right on top of them." The photographer then took it upon himself to get a little closer to the prince. This drew a remark from the RCMP office that the photographer could be escorted from the grounds. No other cautionary note was needed as the photographer quietly retreated. Other than the words of caution to photographers and a few cases where the crowd was asked to move back there were no obvious incidents, not even a fainting spell during the hot afternoon. A Final Goodbye To Thunder Bay THUNDER BAY -- Prince Philip was about to follow the Queen up the ramp to her plane Tuesday afternoon when he suddenly stopped to engage Mayor Waiter Assef in con-versation. They were - fingering the mayor's chain of office. The prince asked the mayor why the chain only held the medal of the City of Fort Willjam. Mayor Assef's face registered serious concern about the missing Port Arthur medal, as he explained to Prince Philip that it had fallen off during the tour of the city. The two medals are apparently welded one below the other on the chain of office. By the time the royal couple came to leave the airport the crowd had thinned to about one hundred, but it was a warm gathering. One Legionnaire was seen dancing on her way to her post before the Queen arrived, to the music of the Thunder Bay City Band. The plane, flying a royal flag, was late leaving as the Queen did not arrive back at the airport from Mt. McKay until after 4:30 p.m. Premier William Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Andras, and Mayor and Mrs. Assef were there to give the official farewell. She climbed the gangway, listened while the band played God Save The Queen, and waved goodbye to Thunder Bay. Windy There, Too Queen Elizabeth was taken by surprise as she arrived at Hotel Saskachewan, Regina, Tuesday afternoon, from Thunder Bay. She and Prince Philip had a windy reception in Thunder Bay as well.

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