Honouring Charlie Leake

By Andrea Arnold

The life of longtime McBride resident and airport namesake, Charlie Leake was honoured by friends and family on Sunday May 18th.

A gathering was held at the airport where Leake’s wife Patricia accepted a ride in her husband’s former bi-plane, the yellow Tiger Moth, a familiar plane to many in McBride. Now owned by another former valley resident, Chris Baldwin, the plane made several flights over the valley during the event. Leake’s daughter Kim McNaughton and granddaughter Kerry McNaughton also accompanied Baldwin. 

One of the flights included the missing man formation, as Baldwin veered right out of the flight path in honour of Leake.