Ian Wallin and three of his coworkers finished a busy shift at an area sawmill one Friday in 1963, then pushed a hospital bed from Vanderhoof to Prince George.
It took 17 hours.
Wallin said he and Bowron Park Sawmill owner Jim Smith were joined by Karl Weisbrod and Bud Prockiw for the journey, which came together as they were listening to music at work. The CKPG radio show was hosted by Smith's daughter Helen, known as CKPG's "Rockin' Redhead," when the March of Dimes came up and she mentioned that the Prince George campaign was still working to meet its quota.
Before long they had lined up a wheeled hospital bed and set out, aimed east on Highway 16. They left at about 7 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 1963.
"We'd just gotten going when it was wet snow," Wallin recalled. "It was a hell of a night."
They took turns in 45-minute shifts, switching off as they went. And, Wallin noted, the task grew tougher as the trek continued, as the basket they were using to collect donations grew heavier with coins as they went.
"It was pretty heavy by the end," he said.
They rolled the bed into downtown Prince George around noon the next day.
Wallin was reminded of the adventure while going through old photos recently. He brought two of them down to The Citizen to share the story.
One picture shows Smith pushing the bed down the highway, while the other shows the four of them after they arrived at the CKPG studio on Third Avenue, big smiles on their exhausted faces, surrounded by a happy crowd.
While they were making their way east in the dark, CKPG announcer Mike Thornthwaite was fast asleep in the window of the Sweet 16 shop on Third Avenue in Prince Georgen for another part of the March of Dimes fundraiser. He later ate his breakfast in full view of the public as part of the stunt.
Thornthwaite had a full night's sleep, but the sawmill guys were beat.
"We'd already worked all day Friday," said Wallin, "and we had to get back to work Monday, so Sunday was time to rest."
