Fidel Castro’s Christmas Eve Toboggan Ride
At the dawn of transatlantic aviation, the Gander could legitimately call itself the ‘crossroads of the world’. Aircraft travelling between mainland North America and Europe used the runways of the town’s airport to refuel.
It brought thousands of passengers, from around the world to Gander.
These visitors were able to leave their planes and explore the airport. Among these travellers were some of most famous (and infamous) people on the planet. Occasionally, locals got to meet these celebrities.
Pan American World Airlines advert featuring Gander — the Crossroads of 4 Continents
Royals, rock stars and world leaders were familiar faces in town. Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe spent time in Gander and, stories are still told about a time when Frank Sinatra was sent to the back of the line at a local bar.
It’s also said that The Beatles first stop in North America was at Gander, when en route to New York and Ed Sullivan’s stage.
Photo of a collage at Gander International Airport depicting some famous visitors. How many do you recognize?
For all the celebrity sightings, one stop-over caught people’s attention in a way few others had; on Christmas Eve 1972 Fidel Castro came to town.
Fidel Castro’s Christmas Eve in Gander
Fidel Castro, 1950s, photographer unknown, Wikimedia Commons.
Fidel Castro was the longtime political leader of Cuba. He oversaw the transformation of Cuba to the first communist state in the western hemisphere and held power in the nation from 1959 until 2008. As a communist revolutionary, he was often at odds with the United States and much of the western world.
By 1972, little more than a decade had passed since the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis — Castro was an infamous figure, with world-wide renown.
On December 24th, 1972 Fidel Castro was leaving Moscow to return to Havana. At the time, an aircraft couldn’t make the flight without a refuelling stop. Castro’s team had selected Montreal.
-
The story of Fidel Castro’s tobogganing excursion in Gander has been told many times. I’ve found sources saying it happened in the 1960s and 1976.
I’m saying 1972 because a series of articles in the Western Star published in late December 1972 refer to the incident as having happened ‘last week.’
Mother Nature had other plans.
As Castro’s plane approached Canada, Montreal was in the midst of a blizzard.
The airport closed.
Castro’s crew weighed their options, and set their sights on Gander, NL.
Gander International Airport, International Lounge, 2023
A short while later the Cuban Premier touched down in Central Newfoundland.
It was a beautiful day — a postcard-perfect winter wonderland. Gander had just been blanketed by more than 30cm of fresh, white snow.
Castro left his plane and made his way to the airport dining room. It wasn’t long before word spread that an interesting VIP was in town.
Gerald Vokey, who worked for the local newspaper The Gander Beacon, made a request to speak with Castro. Before long the two men were face-to-face in the airport dining room.
Castro answered Vokey’s questions and, reportedly, was curious about Gander.
The two men left the dining room, and stepped outside the airport doors. Castro looked about at the snow-covered evergreens and decided he’d like to see more of the town.
A hasty tour was planned.
Castro and Vokey (along with Beacon photographer, Ian Blackmore) set out to explore Gander, accompanied by Castro’s security and the RCMP.
The motorcade drove through town, stopping at the James Paton Memorial Hospital. Just outside, Castro spotted children playing on a hillside.
Castro was intrigued. He stepped from his car and joined the children in throwing snowballs. Then, in a move that made the security team nervous, he borrowed a toboggan.
At the top of the hill, Castro climbed on the sled and disappeared down the slope.
It was a successful ride, mostly.
Near the bottom of the hill, Castro tumbled from the toboggan. His security detail raced toward him, sinking knee-deep into the snow drifts.
They needn’t have worried — he was fine.
Fidel Castro Tobogganing in Gander, Western Star, 1972. Ian Blackmore
Before leaving the hillside, Castro paused to chat with locals and even helped shovel out a car that was stuck in a snowdrift.
Then almost as quickly as it began, Castro’s winter adventure was over.
The Premier headed back to his plane, and barely three hours after arriving in Gander he was gone again.
Some 50-years later, the story of Castro’s toboggan ride remains a popular anecdote in Gander — one people might be inclined to think of as tall tale, were it not for the photos.
Thanks to Gander Beacon photographer, Ian Blackmore the entire incident was documented on film.
You can check out more images at the Gander Airport Historical Society.
Gander, Cuba and the World
Castro stopped in Gander several times over the years, as did many other Cuban, Russian and eastern European citizens.
In the 1980s, Aeroflot (Russia), Cubana (Cuba), and many other airlines from eastern Europe made daily use of Gander as a re-fueling stop when flying to and from the Americas.
Stop-overs at Gander lead the airport to become a destination for potential political refugees. Over the years there were so many defections, locals began to refer to Gander as ‘The Hole in the Iron Curtain,’
but that’s another story.
-
Cuban Premier Rides Toboggan at Gander Stop, Western Star, Dec 27, 1972
Photo, Western Star December 29, 1972
Castro Makes Brief Stop in Gander, December 30, 1972
Fidel Castro's Unscheduled Stop In Gander, Bryan Hayward, Gander Beacon via Gander Airport Historical Society
Our History, Gander International Airport
Iconic Gander airport lounge aims to reopen as hub for community, tourists, CBC
