Two Second World War vets turning 100 on same day
They've never met, but today both men celebrate a century of life
They were both born Feb. 11, one named John, one named Jack, in Ottawa and Vancouver, and went on to lead very different versions of the Canadian experience.
But today, though they've never met, they are one, in this extraordinary way: In retirement homes 10 kilometres apart, John Fripp and Jack Nakamoto turn 100, intact after a tumultuous century of war, peace and prosperity.
Fripp is the local boy who made a name for himself in sports and insurance and today is the oldest living alumni of both the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Canadian Football League.
A remarkable athlete, he is also a member of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame, largely for his decades of racing and teaching. Friends made a fuss over him last year, presenting him with a Redblacks jersey emblazoned with his name and the number 99 on the back.
They would have a big splash this year, too, but the pandemic spoiled a gathering for his milestone. But his friends didn't forget.
“He can't get out and we can't get in,” said Jeff Avery, a former Rough Rider and broadcaster who is a longtime leader with Ottawa's CFL alumni association.
Instead, they gathered a number of messages from friends and ex-players and assembled them in a special birthday card. After cake and balloons today — orchestrated by old friends Marie and Hugh Riopelle — Fripp will be treated to a special video message from CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie.
The eldest of three, Fripp was born in Ottawa. He played for the Riders right out of Glebe Collegiate, starting in 1941, an era with leather helmets and playing the “flying wing ” — and a time when players made $10 a game, always had other jobs and were scarcely considered professional.
Fripp's father, Herbert, established an insurance and real estate firm, H.D. Fripp & Son
Ltd., in 1923, and John took over in 1950, after his war service and football career were over.
He had four children with his first wife, Virginia, and adopted a daughter with his second wife, Liz. Sadly, two of Fripp's children have died, including David on Jan. 30, just shy of 71.
Nakamoto, meanwhile, had a tough early road in life. One of three born in Canada to Japanese parents, he would see his mother die young, then both his father, who ran a shoe repair shop, and brother placed in internment camps as “enemy aliens” during the Second World War.
He, however, was determined to serve his country. In a story he often told, Nakamoto was rejected for service when he tried to sign up in Vancouver at age 18.
“I was a Canadian with a Japanese face,” he once memorably said.
So he hopped on a train and headed east, trying recruiting centres in Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal until he landed in Quebec City, where he worked in a Sally Ann kitchen for eight months. Finally, in June 1940, he was able to enlist, later enduring ethnic taunts at boot camp and elsewhere.
“I just wanted to serve my country like my friends,” he told a Citizen reporter in 1995. “But I don't harbour any bitterness. That's the way it was.''
He would be sent overseas and had vivid memories of London during the blitz. A couple of years into his military service, his superiors decided to exploit his knowledge of Japanese, which he had learned at home and at night school in Vancouver.
One of only about 150 Japanese-Canadians in the armed forces, he was called upon to translate Japanese newspapers and military documents.
Back home, he settled in Ottawa, married Sadie (who died in 2013), and the couple had two children as he embarked on a long career (37 years) in the federal public service as a graphic designer.
His eldest child, Gayle, 58, said her father was always proud of his military service and wore his beret and service medals on public occasions all his life. He was active as an illustrator and writer for many years and was involved in Canada-Japan associations.
Because of COVID-19, the celebrations will be low-key. Gayle will drop off some of his favourite Japanese food today, have a virtual visit and return Sunday, when Nakamoto will be one of three centenarians fêted in a drive-by celebration at the home.
“He once told me he wants to live until 106,” she said Wednesday. “I said, `If anyone can do it Dad, it's you.'”
Happy birthday, John and
Jack, after an epic ride — born together, but apart, now ahead by a century.
The restaurateur who last month launched an online funding campaign to support restaurants in Kanata and Stittsville has closed one of his businesses, Central Bierhaus in the Kanata Centrum Shopping Centre.
On its Facebook page this week, the popular high-volume German-style eatery and pub that seats 250 people said it was “turning off its lights for good” after seven years in business. It had closed temporarily in October during last fall's lockdown.
The post said many staff from the Bierhaus would find work at a sister restaurant, Crazy Horse Stonegrill Steakhouse & Saloon, which is also in the Centrum shopping centre. The steak house also will honour Bierhaus gift cards when it reopens, the post said.
Mike Labreche, part-owner of the two Kanata restaurants, launched a GoFundMe campaign in January to support restaurants in Kanata and Stittsville struggling
because of the pandemic. The campaign's goal is to raise $50,000, to be shared equally among 10 restaurants. So far, the fund has raised more than $12,000 and given $5,000 to Kal's Place and Aperitivo.
“With everything going in the world today, it's beyond words what is going on in the hospitality industry,” said the Facebook post announcing Bierhaus's closure. “Please support local as they will
all need your help with so many unknowns to come in 2021.”
Earlier this year, Ottawa restaurateur Jon Svazas chose not to renew his rent on his celebrated bar in Hintonburg, Bar Laurel. Since the pandemic began, some have predicted that early 2021 would see a wave of Ottawa restaurants bow out, unable to withstand the financial pressure and uncertainty.