A story of craftsmanship and community mindedness has found its wings again and continues a long-lasting legacy of a Girvin farmer. Ross Fawell was a jack-of-all trades but his passion for wood- working continues to take flight to this day as his hand carved airplane returns to his family. Born at the end of March 1927, Fawell grew up on the farm his grandfather homesteaded in 1904. Resourcefulness was a necessity of that generation, but Fawell took it to a higher level finding utility in everything and being able to fix anything.

He did electrical wiring, carpentry, plumbing, mechanics, and welding. He had redone many houses during his life but in later years he leaned more heavily into his artistic skills and carved detailed models. “The first things that he was making were horses with buggies and grain carts and little stagecoaches and things like that,” said his daughter Colleen Spelliscy, who lives in Davidson. “So, he would carve the horses from hand and make the harness, the leather harness from hand. And he did all that work himself.” Then, seemingly out of the blue, Fawell started carving planes out of old telephone poles. He constructed 1:25 scale airplanes like the Avro Lancaster and the Vickers Wellington, two Second World War bombers with strong Canadian history. He would spend anywhere from 20 to 50 hours etching out a replica based solely on pictures and whatever limited information was readily available. Being colour blind, Fawell would pass off the finished piece to his wife, Marie, to complete the painting. “A lot of them became weathervanes out in people’s yards,” said Spelliscy. “And he donated them to the auctions, and they would sell for $400 to $1,000 every year to raise money to help build the new rink or whatever was going on in town.”

When Sandra Zoerb was cleaning out her garage, she came across a model Lancaster that Fawell had built many years ago. Recognizing the historic value of the piece but unsure of what to do with it, she gave it to Gordon McRae to help the plane find its way. McRae, a member of the Royal Canadian Royal, remembered Fawell and his airplanes fondly. “I’d be ashamed to throw it away and not give it back to the family,” said McRae. “It’s just one of those things where I felt it’s a good idea to restore it and give it back to the family.” The Lancaster had suffered some damage during its life with a broken wing and missing engine. McRae set about getting some cedar from Saska- toon to replace one of its four engines, patch the wing, and other cleanup. As McRae was carving a new motor for the craft, it became readily apparent how much effort Fawell put into his work. “And I just thought, wow. That’s a lot of work because he built all those airplanes and a lot of passion went into it. “I give Ross a lot of credit for it,” he continued. “It was a hobby he took on and he enjoyed it.” April 2, McRae reunited the airplane to the maker’s daughter. “I think I always appreciate seeing my dad’s work come back because that just shows that other people appreciated it very much as well,” Spelliscy said.

Spelliscy plans to give the plane to their grandson, saying he’s “very interested in war memorabilia and all kinds of things that went on in the war. It’s a generational thing. It gives the young people appreciation for what he did.” Fawell passed away 84 years to the day he was born, but his memory, passion, and work lives on for generations to come.