FINISH THE DRIVE BY ‘65 A TRIP TO NEWFOUNDLAND IN 1964 I just came across a CN envelope containing the receipts for passage from North Sidney to Port Aux Basques dated June 18, 1964. The cost of the tickets for 2 adults, 1 child (the 2 year old was free) and a car was $51.50 roundtrip. We were living in California at the time and had decided to make the trip to visit my wife’s home – she was a Blackwood from Brookfield, Bonavista Bay. We decided to drive so we packed the car, a 1960 Corvair, tossed the two kids in the back –who had ever heard of seat belts- and took off. After a few stops along the way, and a few days on the road, we made it to North Sydney and boarded the MV Wm. Carson right on time. When we reached Newfoundland after a day crossing we found out the meaning of the slogan “Finish the drive by ‘65”. It seems that the goal was to finish the last leg of the Trans-Canada Highway across the island by the next year. After staying the first night in Stevensville, we drove to Brookfield the next day. It seems that in order to complete the construction by the next year the 600 miles was divided into several stretches and many contractors were all at work on their part at the same time. All in all, it was a good trip and we made it across and back with no real problems. We also made a side trip to St. John’s to visit more family and friends and most important to visit Alice’s father. He was Cpt. Jim Blackwood of the Bell Island ferry. It also was our first time to ride on the John Guy – The old Kipowa had been retired. It was a fun trip and we made it back home after driving a total of 10857 miles. Of all our many trips to Newfoundland both by car and by air, this trip stands out as the most memorable. The picture is our two sons on board the MV Carson. Jim and Alice (Blackwood) Oty Socorro, NM jimoty@sdc.orG   Submitted By: Jim Oty