Here’s a bizarre axiom for you: if you want an airport in Canada named after you, don’t have anything to do with aviation.
Out of all the Canadian airports that have adopted titles with aviators in mind, there are only seven … and two are named for the same person (that being World War I ace pilot Billy Bishop.)
Consequently, do you think this post will be about one of those six folks? Ahaaa, not quite.
Brockville, Ontario sits across the St. Lawrence River from Morristown, New York. It’s a small industrial city with a unique place in Canadian history: it is home to the Brockville Railway Tunnel, the oldest rail tunnel in the country.
More relevant to this article, it’s also home to G. Tackaberry and Sons, a construction company that was established in 1957. Is it likely that you’ve heard of them if you aren’t involved in real estate or construction in that region? No. Therein lies the beauty of knowledge.
Brockville Airport, also known as Brockville – 1000 Islands Tackaberry Regional Airport, was named after George Tackaberry, the very same patriarch of the aforementioned company. You see, the airport has two runways, a seasonal one composed of grass, and a longer, paved runway for private jets.
George Tackaberry’s team repaved the asphalt in 2004, and for that, the airport was named in their honor.
What’s the moral of this story? If you know your way around bitumen, get yourself to the nearest Canadian airport.
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