Who remembers the protesters that blocked the border crossing in 1972? I seem to remember it being in the summer. I remember my parents instructing me to stay in the house that day because there was a fear that the protest could turn violent. My father, Burl Beane, who was Port Director at the Customs office was totally disgusted when a school teacher from Canada brought his students to the demonstration as a learning experience. There was concern that the situation was going to be volatile and Burl felt that it was irresponsible of a school teacher to put his students in harm way.
The protesters were demonstrating against the Amchitka nuclear testing in Alaska that took place from 1971 - 1972.
I was only about 6 months old. I don't remember this story from Grandpa (Burl Beane)... How long did it last did he say?
ReplyDeleteAccording to the newspaper article in the next posting, they started about noon and stayed till about 6:00 p.m. It seems that they left for a short time about 3:30 but then returned.
DeleteIt seems strange that there was so little gunfire/injuries. It was a quiet enough protest by the Canadians expressing their displeasure. I did wonder, though if the protest did have an positive impact and if the protest did continue into the next day?
ReplyDeleteI don't remember if there was anymore border protest over the nuclear testing. There were demonstrations held in Vancouver and other cities but I am not certain when they were.
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