*Pierre Fogal, VE3KTB, is now putting VY0RAC on the air from VY0ERC for the
RAC 150 award!*



*Non disponible en français*


To commemorate *Canada’s 150th birthday*, Radio Amateurs of Canada,
with
the assistance of a team of talented and dedicated volunteers, is pleased
to present the *RAC 150 Award http://wp.rac.ca/rac150/* program. Starting
with the RAC Canada Day Contest on July 1, the 14 special RAC call signs
are now being activated by volunteers throughout the second half of 2017.


RAC holds club call signs in all 14 of Canada's call areas. These a
VA2RAC, VA3RAC, VE1RAC, VE4RAC, VE5RAC, VE6RAC, VE7RAC, VE8RAC, VE9RAC,
VO1RAC, VO2RAC, VY0RAC, VY1RAC and VY2RAC. These call signs are used to
promote RAC and interest by Amateurs in RAC.


Contacts with stations using RAC call signs count towards certain RAC
awards such as the Worked All RAC Award and the RAC Canada 150 Award. In
certain contests, such as the RAC Canada Day Contest, the RAC Winter
Contest, the IARU HF Championship and the RSGB Commonwealth Contest, RAC
call signs designate HQ or bonus stations that may count for extra points
under the applicable contest rules.


For the RAC 150 Award, stations making contacts with a number of RAC
stations will have the opportunity to download an award corresponding to
the number of different stations worked.


Pierre will operate as VY0RAC from VY0ERC until *Saturday, July 22*.


*Background information about VY0ERC*


In early 2016, Alexey Tikhomirov, VE1RUS, became the trustee for VY0ERC and
with that the Eureka Amateur Radio Club (EARC) was formed with Alex, Pierre
Fogal, VE3KTB and John Gilbert, VE3CXL, as the club’s initial membe
rs and
Executive. The establishment of a radio club at Eureka was inspired by the
commemoration of Canada 150 and the 70th anniversary of the Eureka Weather
Station.


The Eureka Amateur Radio Club is located in the environs of the Eureka
Weather Station which is itself located at 79 degrees 59 minutes N, 85
degrees 56 minutes W on Ellesmere Island (IOTA NA-008). VY0ERC is currently
operating out of the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory
(PEARL) Ridge Laboratory (RidgeLab) located approximately 11 kilometres as
the crow flies from the weather station (http://www.candac.ca). The
RidgeLab is set on top of the hill at 80 degrees 3 minutes N and 86 degrees
25 minutes W at 600 m.a.s.l. The separation is significant as Eureka is in
grid square EQ79 and the RidgeLab is in grid square ER60, and as the
RidgeLab is above 80 degrees N, it is in ITU zone 75 rather than ITU zone
4. Both are located in CQ zone 2. Pierre is a Site Manager at PEARL. For
more information visit https://www.qrz.com/db/VY0ERC.


The 70th anniversary of the establishment of the original Amateur station
at Eureka, VE8MA, was featured in the May-June 2017 and July-August 2017
issues of The Canadian Amateur magazine. In the article Pierre provided the
following short bio:


“Pierre was first licensed in 2000, rather later in life than many
Amateurs, while living in Colorado. He still holds the Extra class licence
KC0IGY. He returned to Canada in late 2004 but it would be 10 years before
there was time to pass the Canadian exam to become VE3KTB. His interests
include chasing DX, contesting and just about anything else. Science and
Amateur Radio have always gone hand-in-hand for him, allowing him to
activate NA-008, NA-043 and operate from KC4AAA.�


Please visit the RAC 150 Award webpage at http://wp.rac.ca/rac150/ for
additional information and for a link to download your award.



*Alan GriffinRAC MarCom Director*


*wp.rac.ca* http://www.rac.ca/
720 Belfast Road, #217
Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z5
613-244-4367, 1- 877-273-8304

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017, wrote:

*Pierre Fogal, VE3KTB, is now putting VY0RAC on the air from VY0ERC for the
RAC 150 award!*



*Non disponible en fran??ais*


To commemorate *Canada???s 150th birthday*, Radio Amateurs of Canada,
with
the assistance of a team of talented and dedicated volunteers, is pleased
to present the *RAC 150 Award http://wp.rac.ca/rac150/* program. Starting
with the RAC Canada Day Contest on July 1, the 14 special RAC call signs
are now being activated by volunteers throughout the second half of 2017.


But it's not really Confederation until Manitoba joins.

SOme of my family has been on this continent since time immemorial.
My great, great, great grandmother Sara was born in 1798 in the Pacific
Northwest, no European control over that area yet. She lived to see that
area over run, a border in place so I can't go and meet the distant
cousins without crossing an international border, and she lived to see
Canada grow around Red River.

My great, great, great grandfather came over from Scotland, planning to
make some money and return, but he landed in the fur trade, met her and
stayed because of her and the children. A lot different scenario than
coming over to settle, especially since his staying here included
relationships with natives. He was probably the first European she saw.
I'd like to think that she was an explorer in her own way, not in awe of
Eruopeans, but curious about people who were different. How can people be
so different when they could live together?

But he retired to Red River, a place of "civilization" where native women
and children could fit in. It's not clear they were welcome further back
east. And as people from back east moved to Red River, that's where
discrimination set in. All the good fur trade families had native
relatives. So my great, great grandmother Henrietta's brother was James
Ross, chief justice in the provisional government. My great, great
grandather on another branch was in the provisional government too.

James Ross is apparently responsible for writing much of the terms of how
Manitoba came into COnfederation.

The "Rebellion" was really Louis Riel (who is a relative through marriage,
though it's not a close path) getting people involved. People had
differences with him, but they got on board. It was a small place, the
families large, so lots were related to some extent. And then the people
from the east came, and that's where the big difference was.

There were three casualties. Norbert Parisien was improsoned for reasons
that don't seem clear, though oddly enough my great, great grandfather's
church was used as a prison. And then he escaped, and shot Hugh
SUtherland, who died later. When Norbert Pariesien was recaptured, he was
badly beaten, Thomas Scott either involved or encouraging others. Some
accounts ay it was a lynching, I was just reading this week that
specificlaly a belt or rope around his neck, and then being pulled by a
horse.

My great, great grandfather John Black, the minister, stopped the beating,
though not in time to save Norbert's life.

My great, great grandmother Janet Sutherland (and apparently others) went
to Louis Riel urging him to avoid any more deaths. Which is probably why
Thomas Scott as the last of the casualties.

It's recent enough that my grandfather had a brother named Hugh, since his
mother was the sister of Hugh Sutherland.

Once the expeditionary force, including Sam Steele, got out there, there
was a lot of viciousness. James Ross's house was burned down, he'd made
himself absent because he expected repercussions. Someone was called out
at night on the claim that my great, great grandmother Henrietta was sick,
and he was beaten. The list is long, but those are the two related to my
family.

So at the very least, wait till 2020 for the 150th anniversary of Manitoba
joining confederation. But then my family has always been here.

Michael