Delta pioneer Arne Knudsen, 1909-2007
Tom Zytaruk
Arne Knudsen spent a lifetime cheating death until it finally caught up
with him on March 7, two months shy of his 98th birthday.
The North Delta pioneer, who last May received Delta's Freedom of the
Municipality Award, the highest award the municipality can bestow, died
peacefully after living a life Errol Flynn couldn't match.
Born in Denmark, Knudsen served in the Danish Navy before landing in
Halifax during the Great Depression. He rode the rails, living in hobo
jungles and relief camps before volunteering to fight Franco in the
Spanish Civil War, in an anti-tank unit with La Guardia Roja, in the
1930s. After that, he settled in Port Kells for a spell but became
restless and signed on to fight Hitler in Italy and Holland. In Italy,
he escaped from a POW camp and in Holland, killed a Nazi SS officer in a
me-or-him showdown during battle. He carried a photo of the man in his
wallet well into his senior years, to remind him how precious life is.
After the Second World War, Arne settled in North Delta in 1946, under
the Veterans Land Act, and started a chicken farm on Hellings Road. He
and a handful of neighbours formed the North Delta Ratepayers
Association that same year and despite considerable resistance from the
Ladner-centric council - who referred to his group as the "Radical
Veterans from Poverty Hill" - managed to secure water service for North
Delta and formed its first volunteer fire brigade, after nicking a hose
from the municipality on one moonless night.
In the 1950s, Knudsen volunteered to fight in what would have been his
third war, the Korean war, but wasn't accepted because of a war wound
he'd received during the last one.
Knudsen's memorial service was held at 10 a.m. today at the Fraser
Heights Chapel. Former NDP premier Dave Barrett delivered the eulogy.
Predeceased by his wife Paulina and son Ron, he is survived by his son
Bob, daughter-in-law Margaret, granddaughters Shelley and Shannon
(Dave), and great-grandson Nathan.
published on 03/14/2007
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