What do you remember most about the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Calgary? The collectible Olympic glassware available from Petro Canada? Figure skater Elizabeth Manley’s silver medal performance? British ski jumper Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards and his affable style? The on-ice battle of Brian Boitano and Brian Orser?
Emsdale resident Doug Potter remembers things on a more personal level. As in what it felt like to hold the 1988 Olympic Torch in his hands. And seeing crowds of people lining streets across the country in hopes of catching a glimpse of the torch — the 1988 version resembled the Calgary Tower. And hearing torchbearer after torchbearer talk of how proud they were to be Canadian; to be part of the exciting relay.
“It was amazing to see the amount of people that would come out to watch the relay. Way out in the country at a crossroads you’d suddenly come upon crowds of people lining both sides of the road,” recalls Potter. “I still get choked up about it today. You’d be going through a rural area with no one in sight, no house in sight, absolutely no one, and then suddenly you’d see people at intersections. They’d be waving little Lions Club torches in their hands. They were enjoying the moment and everyone was so proud to be Canadian.”
Potter’s brush with the Olympic flame happened thanks to his employment by Petro Canada, a major sponsor of the 1988 event.
“I was a long-term Petro Canada employee,” Potter explains. “The chance to apply to be part of some aspect of the 1988 Olympics was open to all Petro Canada employees.”
Living in Freeman at the time, now a part of Burlington, Potter applied. He was chosen to help out and thus began a string of meetings about his new responsibilities.
“Everything from no alcohol at all during your time with the event to committing to 20-hour days, they outlined everything,” Potter says. “We also got fitted for official outfits and such.”
The holder of an ABZ licence, Potter was legally able to drive any type of transport vehicle. That licence helped him land a coveted spot driving a motorhome as part of the Torch Relay.
“From 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. we’d drive,” he recalls. “Every day we had to take our vehicles in to a GM dealer for an oil change and to have the whole thing checked out for safety.”
GM, another major event sponsor, also donated the vans used to pick up torchbearers at various community centres along the route.
“The vans would pick up a load of athletes and would meet us out on the road. Once the person had run their portion of the relay they’d climb into our motorhome,” explains Potter. “We had a doctor on board and all the torchbearers would be checked out after their run. If they were okay they’d go back to the van and would drive along for awhile until there were enough athletes ready to head back to their community, where I’m sure a celebration was waiting.”
He remembers children as young as four holding the torch and those up to 80 years of age acting as torchbearer.
And Potter himself got to carry the torch. Twice, in fact.
“It happened by sheer accident,” he says with a laugh. “I’m not an athlete by any means, that’s for sure. But we were down in St. David’s (Niagara Peninsula) and it was about 7 p.m. I think it was Christmas Day. There was a bit of a lull and we didn’t have a runner, so the boss asked me, ‘Why don’t you run it? Why don’t you carry it?’”
A bit hesitant, Potter finally agreed.
“I grabbed the torch and off I toddled. Later, between Amherstburg and Windsor I carried it again at around 11 p.m.”
The torch made its journey across Canada not only by foot. Skidoos were used to get the flame across remote, snowy areas. In these cases, the torchbearer would sit behind the skidoo driver.
“But we still had to change our people up every kilometre, so we travelled with a few Ski-Doos,” recalls Potter.
He remembers the snow machines were specially equipped.
“Instead of having to run the skis on bare pavement, we had wheels underneath the skis. That way we could turn without damaging anything. If we got into heavy snow on the road they had a button you’d push and the wheels would pop up into the machine in no time.”
There was humour on the road, something Potter says was necessary since things could get monotonous.
“You’d crack jokes on the CB and tell stories. Oftentimes people shared the reasons why they’d signed up to carry the torch at all; why they felt they had to get involved.”
The tour took 88 days and Potter was on the road for about 95 per cent of it.
“My wife at the time, I sent her with the kids to Venezuela, so they had a holiday too. They loved being down in the sunny south but I wouldn’t have traded being on the route for anything,” he says.
In fact, he’d give anything to be a part of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay as it comes through Huntsville.
“I want to help out, but not as a runner,” he says. “I’d love to drive the motorcade or be part of it for a day or two as they’re going through this area. If I had the opportunity to do it from the start and be part of the whole thing, I’d do it right away. Here it is 22 years later, and if they need people I’d still be happy to help. I can still drive. My fiancée Doreen would love to go as well. She’s a Huntsville girl, always has and always will be, and she’d love to be a part of it, too.”
Potter moved north in 1997, taking over his brother’s landscaping business. He spent time working for Fowler as a float driver hauling asphalt and was with them until about four years ago.
He’s excited about the torch returning to the area, and news of the new run route and pictures of the new torch have brought up memories of his time spent with the 1988 relay.
“I’m still floored by the tremendous amount of people that I met back then,” he recalls. “Before their portion of the run, most of the torchbearers couldn’t wait to get out there and carry that torch, couldn’t wait to wave at everyone. After they’d run their portion they were still so excited.”
He remembers a young torchbearer who had a heart condition, and another with severe asthma. He recalls the training they went through and how they spoke of their hope to be chosen. He remembers driving down Yonge Street and the throngs of people who screamed and cheered.
“The people who brought that emotion out, they are the stars,” he says. “It was the idea of giving it your all for something bigger than you; for Canada. The Olympics are tremendous, but those everyday people who brought the torch across the country, they’re the real heroes.”
On October 30 the 2010 Olympic Flame will set out on its journey, leaving from Mile Zero of the Trans Canada Highway in Victoria, BC. Formally lit in Olympia, Greece, the flame will be carried 45,000 km by over 12,000 torchbearers. It will visit every province and every territory in its 106 day-trek, stopping twice a day for short celebrations.
The design of the 2010 Olympic Torch was influenced by “Canada’s open land, vast potential and smooth, fluid lines left in the snow and ice from winter sports,” reads the official torch press site. Made of stainless steel, aluminum and sheet moulding compound, it is 94.5 cm long and weighs 3.5 lbs.
It’s a weight that seems much easier to hoist than the 1988 version Potter remembers.
“It wasn’t light (the 1988 torch). The escorts would reach over and help young people keep their arms straight up,” says Potter. “It was tough to hold your right arm up in the air like that, and this wasn’t a normal run. Sometimes people needed a little assistance.”
This year’s flame will be helped across the country by snowmobiles, skis and even snowboards. It will journey 26,000 km by land, 18,000 by air and 1,000 by sea.
And Potter is sure the route will inspire millions.
“There’s something about holding that torch up that seems to give you more strength,” he says. “It’s an adrenaline rush. And it was one of the greatest times in my life.”
Save The Date!
Check out the torch as it passes through the region
Day 62 - Dec. 30, 2009
• Orillia
• Rama
• Gravenhurst
• Bracebridge
• Huntsville
• Wasauking
• Parry Sound
• Sundridge
• South River
• Powassan
• North Bay
In Huntsville a celebration will be held at River Mill Park where the torch will stop in for a few hours.
