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Bush pilot memoir takes flight

There's an old saying by E. Hamilton Lee that goes, "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old, bold pilots!” And now there's a book called No Old, Bold Pilots, a memoir by Svend Serup and Sheila C. Serup.
bush pilots setup book

There's an old saying by E. Hamilton Lee that goes, "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old, bold pilots!”

And now there's a book called No Old, Bold Pilots, a memoir by Svend Serup and Sheila C. Serup.

Svend was a longtime Prince George resident who died in April 2018 and his daughter Sheila helped put the book together to showcase her father's memoirs. 

It was published this year and included an honour roll of Cessna 185 pilots who flew their planes throughout northern BC. The list includes Carl Ernie Bodin, Don Flynn, Billy Kordyban, Wilfred Leboe, Dean Shaw, Bob Sindia, Arthur "Short" Tompkins and Erik Withers.

The book started because there was a lot of life experience Svend had that he wanted to share, Sheila said.

"I think going through the occupation in Denmark of the Germans and not having the voice to be able to have that freedom my father felt compelled to speak up and share his life and share the journey he was on," Sheila said. "The opportunities that Canada gave him, especially what northern BC gave him - the ability to make an amazing life - I think he just wanted to capture it and realized the significance of his career - having started with horse logging to using Swede saws, hand saws to chain saws and the evolution of equipment - I think he just wanted to capture that. 

It's important to note how float planes opened up northern BC for people to discover how beautiful and wild it is."

Sheila said Svend's writing was quite raw and unscripted and when she was putting together the book she tried to link his stories to the changing history of BC.

"I have a tremendous appreciation for the men and the families who built northern BC," Sheila said.

"Their lifestyle, their sacrifices and their incredible spirit of adventure and how they overcame all these obstacles - I think the honour roll of Cessna pilots in particular - they all just overcame so much," she said. "They embody the spirit of the people of Northern BC."

No Old, Bold Pilots, a memoir, is available at Books & Co., 1685 Third Avenue and at the Mackenzie District Museum.