After the crash I began collecting stories of Bob’s younger life incase the family wasn’t able to give Bob’s life sketch during the funeral. Bob’s sister, Verna Roberts Canaday wrote this tribute to her “little” brother the day after the crash. I’ve asked her for permission to be a guest on my blog by letting me publish her story in full. Thank you Verna for allowing the rest of the world to peek into your life as big sister to Bob. Darron
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Memories of my Brother, Bob
(By Verna Canaday)
Bob (1) and Verna
My first memory of my brother was standing outside Walla Walla General Hospital looking up at the 3rd story window where my mother was with my new baby brother. Big sisters were not allowed in hospitals in those days. (June 14, 1951)
Bob held in his mothers arms with big sister Verna
When Bob was 1 we moved to 128 SE 12th street where our parents lived until February 2010.
Bob Age 1
Bob was 4 when he pulled his highchair out from the dining room table. The chair had been helping support 60 quarts of newly canned peaches. Believe it or not there were jars in tack when Mother finished wiping away her tears and checked on the damage. Bob had been hungry and wanted to eat. He thought that if he got in his chair the food would appear. After he saw the mess he had caused, he high tailed it to Grandma’s just 3 houses down the street where he knew he could get some supper. Just recently I reminded our mom of that incident. She chuckles about it now because the memory of all that work has faded.
Bob Age 3
My mother often told the story of a camping trip at Langdon Lake in the Blue Mountains when Bob was fairly young. He was probably about 4 or 5. It was dusk and just about bedtime. Bob needed to use the outhouse but was very scared to do it on his own. He clung tightly to Mom’s hand. As they walked to the facility, he reminded her, “You’re responsible for me.” He was fearful of falling in the hole.
Bob with his sister and Mom and Dad
I was not always the kindest big sister. One time I locked both the front and back doors so he couldn’t get in the house. The reason for doing such a thing escapes me now, but I remember the act of doing it! My mother would remind me that Bob would grow and get bigger than I was someday. She was right, that happened. Thankfully we put away childish squabbles and became best friends about the time we were teenagers.
Bob had a flair for making money when we were kids. One of our money making adventures was the collection of night crawlers. We were going to get rich! Armed with a flashlight and small shovel we took to looking in the dark for the worms. We may have found one or two but we quickly realized we were not going to bring in money on that venture.
4th Grade
Bob had lawn mowing jobs for elderly ladies who were only too happy to have him work for them. I was jealous that he got paid to work while I slaved in the hot kitchen helping Mom can apricots, cherries, peaches, and pears. To me it seemed like most of the summer was spent canning.
My brother was generous though. When it was time to buy a gift for Mom, I’d ask if we could do it together. I would pick it out, if he’d pay for it. He was willing.
Bob’s first work with aviation was making markers for spray pilots to drop to designate the portion of the field just sprayed. He was about 12 when he was employed doing that work at Walla Walla Airport for Dale Tillay. Later he did night flagging for spray planes.
Bob was 13 when I came home from UCA (Upper Columbia Academy) for a home leave. My boyfriend, Steve, came to visit on Sabbath evening. I heard Bob on the phone telling one of his friends that he couldn’t go over to the friend’s house because he had “company.” Of course as a teenage sister, I wanted him to go visit his buddy, but I was stuck with my younger brother helping to entertain “my” company.
Showing off with his dad.
His freshman year at Upper Columbia Academy he spent his early morning hours baking bread in the cafeteria. Before the school year was over he’d earned enough to pay all of his tuition. He asked that the business office credit his sister’s account with the excess. They told him “no.” The next morning he didn’t show up to do his usual bread making, he slept in. The cafeteria ladies were very upset and called him to come and work. He told them that since he wasn’t going to be paid, he wasn’t going to work. Some quick phone calls from the cafeteria bosses got the business office people straightened out. Bob was back to making bread and the credit was going on sister’s bill.
Bob had big plans in June of 1968 just after his sophomore year at UCA to drive to PUC, buy a plane, then fly it home. I was part of his plan, as the assistant driver in our dad’s 1956 Chev stationwagon. After he purchased the plane, I would have to drive the car. We spent the first weekend at Uncle Ralph and Aunt Rita’s house in Rio Dell, California. We wanted a little sight-seeing so drove to San Francisco which was way too busy with traffic for two kids from College Place. Back up the road to PUC. I heaved a big sigh of relief when there was no plane in his price range available for Bob to buy. I was not excited about driving 650 miles home by myself. I’m hazy on the details about what my folks knew about the purpose of the trip. They trusted Bob’s driving and didn’t seem to have a problem lending the car for that long excursion.
In the summer of 1969, Bob became the proud owner of a metal wing yellow Cessna 140. The price tag was $2,500. He purchased it from a farmer up in the prairie land near Grangeville, Idaho. That was just before his senior year at UCA. At that period in history no students were allowed to bring cars to the academy campus. There was nothing in the rule book that stated that airplanes weren’t allowed. Some of the faculty members turned grayer that school year over the Roberts’ flying machine and the teenager who pointed out there was nothing stated in writing that said he couldn’t have a plane on campus. He put his airplane to good use by flying certain staff members low over the surrounding wheat fields on Sabbath afternoon to check up on students’ clandestine meetings.
Bob (right) with his first plane
One of the first uses of that little Cessna was the evening of my wedding. After Steve and I made our get-a-way in his parents’ car so we wouldn’t have to deal with his car being decorated, brother Bob and cousin Bob Davidson took off in the two seater plane. They followed us to Pendleton where our car was stored safely in the Canaday garage. As we rolled down the long dusty quarter mile driveway, the little yellow plane flew over us dropping rolls of toilet paper. We were royally chased as we left on our honeymoon to the Wallowa Mountains!
Upper Columbia Academy Senior 1970
After graduation in June 1970, Bob and a friend flew in the Cessna to Alaska to find a job on the Alaska pipeline. One of the requirements to fly in the bush was to have a gun and survival food. The price of food was way out of line to Bob’s thinking. He bought a 50 bag of dog food in case he crashed and needed to survive. The boys quickly found out that finding a job on the pipeline was not going to be easy so they headed for home much to their parents’ relief.
When Steve and I lived in Fortuna, California where Steve was teaching at Fortuna Junior Academy, Bob sometimes would fly down for a weekend adventure with us. Northern California is noted for foggy weather. One Sunday when he needed to return north, the fog was right “down on the deck.” It was too foggy for him to fly but he was young and crazy. He flew over the ocean trying to make it past the Arcata airport (which was up on a cliff) without being detected since he didn’t want to file a flight plan. When the fog and the ocean waves met, he had to return to us and fly out through the mountains. We were very thankful he made it safely home that time. He did grow up and mature in his flying decisions!
Bob the Mechanic (Left) with his dad
Two months ago our mother had a stroke. Bob called every day that week to check on her progress. His care and concern for our mom and me is a precious memory.
I love this.
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