The Fort Vermilion Airport will have a new name this coming weekend.
Effective on Saturday, July 15, 2017, will be called the Wop May Memorial Airport.
But, who was Wop May?
Fort Vermilion Airport will be renamed to the Wop May Memorial Airport this weekend. (Photo/Darian Froese/airliners.net)
The Trending 55 Newsroom spoke with Mackenzie Country Planner Hayley Gavin, and she gave us a bit of a history around the man.
“His name was Wilfred Reid May,” said Gavin. “But for short, they simply called him Wop May. In January 3, 1929, he completed a mercy flight from Edmonton to Fort Vermilion. A break-out of some type of disease had broken out, so he had to fly up in pretty treacherous conditions in order to bring some vaccinations to the people of the community.”
The original idea came out in the winter of 2015.
“The Fort Vermilion Board of Trade approached the Mackenzie County council to see if the airport’s four-letter identification code could be changed to honour Wop’s memory,” said Gavin. “But when we asked federal airline officials, they said it wasn’t possible, as we don’t have passenger airlines going through there. So they suggested the name change instead.”
After a few months of ideas bouncing round, it was decided in December 2016 to use the name Wop May Memorial Airport.
“There will be a new sign going up at the airport,” she said. “There will also be a model of the airplane May used during his flight put up beside the sign itself.”
A free-to-attend dedication ceremony is to take place with the renaming on Saturday, with the festivities at the airport to start at 1 PM.
The guest speaker at the event is Wop’s son, Denny May.
“He’s in his eighties now,” said Gavin. “But he and his wife are being flown up by his friend in Edmonton, and he’ll be on hand to cut the ribbon for the event. And Denny will also be donating some books on his father’s efforts, which will be going to some of the libraries in the area.”
Other activities includes some air shows, including some flower-dropping contests, as well as some Airplane Target Drop games, as well as a Candy Drop. Also available at the event includes a barbecue, a concession stand, as well as some beverage refreshments.
Anyone who would like some more information can contact Hayley at Mackenzie County’s La Crete office at (780) 928-3983, or by email at hgavin@mackenziecounty.com.
– Posted by BET
