By Tara de Ryk
Jan. 15, 2010

Days after he carried the Olympic Torch 300 metres down High Street West in Moose Jaw, Frank Watkins was still riding high from this experience of a lifetime.
"Well, I'll tell you," Watkins said during an interview Wednesday from his house in Aylesbury, "in my 91 years I've done a lot of things, but I think this one beats them all."

He still can't shake the excitement and the feelings of national pride sparked within him by carrying the Olympic flame.

"You come down very slowly and you don't sleep. You wake up and want to do something. It doesn't seem like a minute goes by that I don't think of it."

The Olympic Torch Relay began Oct. 30, 2009 and has been making its way across Canada. Since he learned he was chosen to carry the torch, Watkins has eagerly anticipated his big day. It arrived Jan. 10 when the relay came through Moose Jaw, SK and Watkins joined the thousands of Canadians who have carried the torch, helping it get to Vancouver in time for the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games.

Foberta Fonger (née Rands) carries the Olympic Torch through Moose Jaw.

It was a perfect day Watkins says.

"There was hardly any wind and a bright blue sky. I was dressed for the cold weather because I know what the weather can be in Saskatchewan, but it felt like you wanted to go for a walk. That's the kind of day it was."

So he walked and then "I loped, I ran and I jogged. I decided to do it all."
Four generations of Watkins were there to witness the event.

Watkins says hearing his entire family cheer "Go Granddad Go!" meant more to him than anything else that day.
At the end of his run, Watkins lit the torch of Roberta Fonger, passing on the eternal flame.

The moment was special to Fonger, who grew up in Davidson and is the daughter of the late Jack and Jean Rands.

Fonger met Watkins on the shuttle bus that transported torchbearers along the relay route and pointed out to him that she was from the same region of Saskatchewan. Watkins knew Jack, both men served in the Second World War.

Fonger says it was wonderful for her to receive the flame from a veteran and from someone who had a connection to her family.

Fonger says Watkins was popular on the shuttle bus because of his age and his outgoing, positive personality. She recalled an encounter that Watkins had with a Snowbird pilot, who thanked Watkins for his service in the Air Force during the Second World War.

"The pilot sat beside him (Watkins) and said, 'I'm so honoured to meet you.' It was very touching," Fonger said.
As for her experience bearing the torch, Fonger says being a torchbearer was a once in a lifetime opportunity she will always treasure.

"It's exciting because the Olympic flame and the Olympics bring the whole world together. In my lifetime I will never get another opportunity to carry the perpetual flame."
Fonger, who has worked for relay sponsor RBC for nearly 40 years, had the opportunity to carry the torch as an incentive RBC offered staffers as the torch passed through their area.

She said there was a big cheering section along the route and organizers made sure torchbearers were dropped off at their designated spots with ample time to interact with the crowd.

"It was a wonderful celebration with people of all ages. It was a shared experience that transcended age and race," Fonger said.
She says she thought of her mom, dad and late brother Ian, but she had her sister and Erral there cheering her on. (Her husband Merv, who coaches the Amber Holland rink, was in Eston at the provincial curling championships. Holland won, so it was a good day for the Fonger family.)

Watkins, too, noticed the variety of people who'd come to watch the relay.

"There were young people and old people waving flags and hollering. You never forget that."
All torchbearers come back with similar tales of their experience.

Elbow's Paul Ganes had nothing but praise for the reception and treatment he received by event organizers and the community of Moose Jaw.
"It was a great atmosphere," Ganes said.

He noted that relay organizers have the event down to a science. While torchbearers are on the shuttle bus, relay personnel inspire them by telling them about the significance of the Olympic flame.

"They jack you up on the bus," Ganes said.
Then they drop torchbearers off at the spot on the relay and then the crowd takes over, further adding to the excitement.

Ganes ran his 300m with the torch.

The time and the distance flew by he says. He couldn't help his speedy progress. Ganes said the excitement and adrenaline took over.
He was happy to see many friends from Elbow among the crowd. His family were there too, and having people he knew there to cheer only added to the excitement. 

Ganes kept his torch and has it on display in his food store. Coca Cola, a co-sponsor of the relay, bought the torch for him. He's also got his torchbearer uniform on display.

Watkins, too, kept his torch.

"I'm looking right at it. It's going to be in the Watkins family for a long time. It will be something we'll cherish. Not every family can say a member of our family was an Olympic Torchbearer."
It's in a special box and bears the black soot created by the flame. Watkins said he told organizers not to wipe the torch clean when they gave it to him to keep.

He wants the soot to remain, a legacy for his family that will remind them of the time when on a beautiful Saskatchewan winter's day, Frank Watkins, 91, of Aylesbury bore the Olympic flame.

The leaderonline is a division of The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada.