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Winnipeg Free Press

Restored Manitoba fallout shelter exemplifies existential angst, paranoia of early Cold War era

MIAMI — The shadow of history lingers beneath the quiet streets of this southern Manitoba town. Amid the rolling hills and fertile farm fields in the Pembina Valley, a relic of a lost era has emerged from obscurity: a bunker buried by time, unearthed by one man's determination to revive a forgotten chapter of Canada's Cold War history. Gilles Messier never set out to become a conservator of apocalyptic infrastructure. But four years ago, he stumbled upon a puzzle that demanded investigation: the Nuclear Detonation and Fallout Reporting System (NDFRS). At the height of the Cold War in the early 1960s, the Canadian government began construction on a national network of Fallout Reporting Posts, or FRPs, manned by volunteers trained to track and report radiation levels in the wake of a nuclear attack. With the system, they hoped to protect citizens who manage to escape devastated Canadian cities in the event of nuclear war. 'It was a colossal endeavour — but one doomed to failure,' Messier, an amateur historian, playwright, novelist, YouTuber, science and history educator, and former aerospace engineer, tells a visiting reporter inside the reconstructed FRP. Gilles Messier outside the Fallout Reporting System in Miami, which will have a grand opening ceremony on July 5. (Supplied) Messier's fascination with Canada's forgotten Cold War defences isn't just scholarly — it's become personal. He embodies the era, from his thrifted vintage 1960s suit, (self-tied) bowtie and hummingbird lapel pin. 'The pin represents me flitting from project to project,' Messier says with a smile. 'All the bunker contents were acquired by me, but either donated to/paid for by the Miami Museum.' The Nuclear Detonation and Fallout Reporting System was plagued by logistical failures. Every reporting post was to include remote radiation-detection equipment that would allow occupants to monitor outside fallout safely from inside the shelter. However, due to equipment shortages, most reporting posts were instead issued handheld radiation meters, that would have forced occupants to exit the shelter every hour to take readings. This, in turn, would have exposed them to radiation and tracked radioactive fallout back into the shelters. The Nuclear Detonation and Fallout Reporting System was plagued by logistical failures. Every reporting post was to include remote radiation-detection equipment that would allow occupants to monitor outside fallout safely from inside the shelter. However, due to equipment shortages, most reporting posts were instead issued handheld radiation meters, that would have forced occupants to exit the shelter every hour to take readings. This, in turn, would have exposed them to radiation and tracked radioactive fallout back into the shelters. The shelters included makeshift decontamination chambers, separated from the interior by an asbestos curtain, where occupants would wash off radioactive dust before entering. But eventually either their limited water supply would have run out, or the volunteers would have succumbed to radiation poisoning. Initially, volunteers were not allowed to bring their families with them into the shelters. As a result, few signed up for Fallout Reporting Post duty. The government eventually relented on excluding accompanying family members, however, the cramped quarters and limited supplies would have made survival unlikely. This scenario inspired the plot of Gilles Messier's 2024 Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival play, Nuclear Family, a dark comedy set in 1961. The play imagines a Canadian family who volunteers for the NDFRS program, only to face the grim realities of atomic survival when the bomb actually drops. The Diefenbunker The Diefenbunker was a massive underground bunker built during the Cold War to serve as Canada's emergency government headquarters in the event of a nuclear attack. Located in Carp, Ont., about 30 kilometres west of Ottawa, it was constructed between 1959 and 1961 under the leadership of prime minister John Diefenbaker — hence its nickname. The four-storey, reinforced concrete structure was designed to withstand a nuclear blast and house key government and military personnel to ensure the continuity of government operations. It was never used for its intended purpose, though plans were made to retreat there during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. And while the Carp bunker was the most famous, it was not the only one: six other similar shelters were built across Canada, including at Canadian Forces Base Shilo. After being decommissioned in 1994, the site was transformed into the Diefenbunker: Canada's Cold War Museum, offering visitors a look into our Cold War history, complete with exhibitions, tours and even an escape-room experience. — sources: Gilles Messier He's bringing the past to life in every way possible — whether through Fringe festival shows based on history, an Etsy store selling art deco posters, his YouTube channel focused on mid-century technology or a house decorated in vintage 1920s style. Lacking the resources to complete the system, the government quietly shelved the NDFRS in 1963, leaving its structures to rot away in basements and forests across the country, largely forgotten relics of an obscure chapter of Canadian history. Messier first learned of this megaproject after stumbling upon an abandoned Fallout Reporting Post at Victoria Beach. Intrigued, he went online to learn more — only to find there was little to be found. 'Aside from a single article by Andrew Burtch, a historian from the Canadian War Museum, almost nothing had been written about the NDFRS,' Messier says. And when he turned to the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, he discovered nearly every document on the NDFRS was still classified from when the project was cancelled. Information previously only available to those with security access was finally open for public perusal. 'I was the first person to set eyes on those documents in 60 years,' he says. 'I suddenly realized I had a golden opportunity; how many people have a whole, unexplored chapter of history all to themselves?' This realization led Messier on an epic quest to track down all that remained of the NDFRS — a program that dotted 200 FRPs across Manitoba along with three nuclear detention posts, a quest that has led him to the remotest corners of the province. The Railway Station Museum in Miami was once home to an NDFRS Fallout Reporting Post, but that shelter was demolished sometime in the 1970s. Teaming up with museum curator Joan Driedger, Messier hatched a bold plan: acquire an intact shelter, restore it and open it to the public. Driedger recalls hearing about a fallout shelter having been buried on the museum's property, but a ground-penetrating radar scan confirmed its demolition. Instead, Messier suggested, why not replace the lost shelter with a surviving one from elsewhere in the province, and turn it into a tourist attraction? After scouring Manitoba, he secured a bunker from Moose Lake Provincial Park, that had been buried on the site of a demolished fire watch tower. With provincial grant funding, the bunker was excavated, relocated and re-'buried' in an above-ground mound, and a new visitor entrance was added for greater accessibility. The interior was also completely refurbished and dressed with authentic period artifacts either sourced or recreated by Messier himself. Gilles Messier at the radio transmitting desk inside the FRP. (Supplied) Much of the research into the equipment and related materials was aided by Gord Crossley, Heritage Officer at 17 Wing CFB Winnipeg and curator of the Fort Garry Horse Museum. Messier credits Crossley's 'encyclopedic knowledge' of Canada's military history as instrumental in identifying and restoring key artifacts. After three years of work, The Miami Bunker has been painstakingly restored to its original condition. Inside, the shelves are stocked with survival essentials, echoing the grim preparations that once accompanied fears of nuclear war. Ration packs, kerosene lanterns and vintage radiation-monitoring devices line the narrow walls. 'The bunker offers visitors an immersive look into Cold War survival strategies, where two individuals, trapped underground for weeks, would rely on limited resources and fragile hope,' Messier says. A grand opening will be held on July 5 — 'a celebration of survival and remembrance' — Messier says. It will include live music, a barbecue, classic car and military equipment displays, along with science demonstrations. For Messier, while the grand opening is the rewarding culmination of three years of hard work, there is still much to be done. 'My research is far from over,' he says. 'I've found most of Manitoba's shelters, but I want to expand my search across Canada and write the definitive book on the NDFRS. If anyone knows where all these other shelters are, I hope they'll reach out.' In a world where the fear of nuclear war looms once more, Messier reminds us that history's shadows can still be touched. Beneath quiet fields and forests, remnants of Cold War paranoia and resilience lie waiting — forgotten, but not lost.