(snow crunching underfoot) I just seen it on Kijiji. I was very curious about it. I went to see it, and like,
I was just looking at it and I was just thinking like,
"This is too cool." Like, "I have to have it." It's kind of like a half
camping experience for people. It has, like, a... like a smart TV and Wi-Fi
and I got a little bar fridge. (TV turning on) There it is. It's pretty cool. I do find it's a lot of
young women that are actually very
interested in the bomb shelter. I think it's something people
like to tell other people about. ♪ (fire crackling) I had seen in the news yesterday that the U.S. was preparing
for war with North Korea. I think people are kind of
concerned that, you know, if there was
like a nuclear war that we would be one of
the targets, you know? Although we are Canada, there's not much population
here, you wouldn't think it would be
much of a target but because of the... that, you know,
that underground military base or complex or whatever. I don't even know what the
official story is about it. Like, I don't know
if they're saying it's totally decommissioned, but there is a big military
presence here. You're always seeing jets
and military cargo planes and helicopters. Even if they said it was
decommissioned, I don't know that I would
believe that. Filmstrip narrator:
Four miles from the peaceful
gossip of North Bay, there's a prominent hump
on the rugged terrain. Once it was known as
Reservoir Hill. Now, it's called The Hole. Man:
After two world wars
and so many casualties, all the countries said, "That's it, we've had enough.
Let's go home." The whole world was back
at peace. The only problem was
the Soviet Union. North of us is the Soviet Union, and down south
is the United States. They were the two biggest
adversaries in the Cold War. If there was going to be a war, these two guys were going
to go at it. We were going to be a major
battleground in the Third World War,
whether we liked it or not. What we need is a place that will survive
a nuclear attack. ♪ I can remember when they made
the announcement. North Bay would have a hole
in the ground, okay? At this briefing, we had no idea
what they meant by that. It was total granite
that was augured out over here on Trout Lake. It's the oldest rock
in the world, part of the
two-billion-year-old Precambrian shield. The local newspaper was on it like a pack of wolves
on a piece of meat. They said, "This is like the set of
a War of the Worlds movie." Narrator:
Every day, 700 people say goodbye
to the wild blue yonder to come down to work
in The Hole. (man talking, indistinct) I assume that to be the position
of Juliet 092. The men call it "the blue room" because of the eerie blue light
that fills it. It's in here that the strategic
buttons are pushed. (button blinking) So, imagine sitting at these
radar screens overnight, staying up really, really late and you need to know what every single airplane
in the sky is doing. Where they're going,
who they are. Does that sound like fun? Girl:
This one's way, way, way
too old for kids! This one is like a thousand
kajillion years old. Does it work? It doesn't work
anymore. Why? That'd be kind of cool. It doesn't work because
it's just old equipment. But it did
a long time ago? Did it a long time ago? That why it doesn't work? It doesn't work because
it was used a long time ago. (indistinct chatter) I was embarrassed when I showed
kids, "This is where I work," and meanwhile, you know, they said they've got this
little iPod thing that was more powerful
than what we're using. But that, in 1963, for the air
defence of the continent, was something special. Anybody know about the
underground complex here? The history of NORAD
and all that, the Cold War? A couple of the students
from years ago, they knew, but yeah,
I used to work down there, but I'm a relic like the old
underground complex. (man laughing) You know, I'm a relic of --
what are you laughing about? (others laughing) Because we all are!
I am, too. It's hard to be too critical
of them. You can fill volumes with stuff I didn't know
when I was their age. It was just a different time. Back in the day,
they called it MAD. "Mutual assured destruction." Woman in filmstrip:
Just how strong is the threat
of an attack? Well, certainly, the possible aggressor
possesses such a force, and with the potential
of that kind in existence, there isn't any question that there should be
a defence against it. And then, came the announcement
that North Bay would have a Bomarc
missile site. Missiles with a nuclear warhead. When that news story broke, wow! (laughing) We just had, you know... The whole country was in
a frenzy. (children talking, indistinct) ♪ Our underground complex was designed to seal up
completely airtight to withstand a four-megaton
nuclear strike. North Bay,
the city would vanish, but underground, we would
carry on like normal. Well, sort of like normal. It was always in the back
of your mind. If all of our families
on the outside have been exposed
to a nuclear weapon, even if you lasted the 30 days
you were supposed to be able to, what were you going to do, then? You might survive a couple of
hours or a couple of days longer than everybody else, but eventually, you're, you
know, you won't exist, either. Man on filmstrip:
I do not anticipate war, but an enemy in desperation
or in sheer idiocy could push the wrong button. The very existence of this
threat makes it imperative that we prepare our defences. The Cold War era
is an interesting time in humanity's evolution. News reporter:
For 38 minutes yesterday, people in Hawaii feared that a
nuclear missile attack was imminent. State officials say
all of this panic was caused by someone hitting
the wrong button. There's no doubt we were on
the brink of self-destruction for 40 years there. But by the same token, there were people that were
smart enough to get us through it. Talk about adventures. It was just unbelievable
the stuff that North Bay had gone through in those days. It was just a bustling affair. Unfortunately, North Bay has got
a little stigma by calling it "north." And everybody thought,
"Oh, north, oh, my goodness!" This is the gateway
to the north! It's no longer a baby town, it's a retirement town. Knowing that things never last
forever, the realization kind of sunk in
that the Cold War was over, supposedly. The question was what are they
going to do with it? And it still sits there. Mother Nature's pretty well
doing its job by covering up its scars. (chuckling) Have you been down? No. Interviewer:
We were filming at the base
on Monday. Oh.
But we didn't go down. No, you didn't, no. Yeah, because they said
there's falling rock. Asbestos and falling rock. That's what they're worried
about, and I imagine there is
some sort of storage, secret stuff there. Like what? Like I don't know! The imagination can run wild. Daniel Couchie:
Even if it's not being used for what they originally used
it for, I'm sure that they're --
they have something in there. Like, why would you waste
that space, or the engineering that went
into it, the money? Like, I can't see it
that it's just empty, you know? Like, I imagine that there'd be
something going on in there! (buzzer sounding) ♪ This is Major Everett,
getting control... (voices echoing indistinctly) ♪ Now, it's just... it's like an empty derelict
factory in a way. Walk in here,
you can hear your voice echo. I notice there's some sticks
and leaves above there. I don't know whether something
was building a nest. I remember the days when this place
was a beehive of activities. Buses coming and going,
people going in and out. You had a sense of adventure
in the underground complex. You knew when you're getting on
the bus and going underground, you're going to do
something special. Sitting at your console,
watching the defence of Canada. There was nothing like it. So, now it's... Now it's, uh... So now, this is owned
by the bats and the pigeons, and foxes and the occasional
deer, and there you go. And groundhogs! ♪
400 for a month.
not bad but i prefer a whole planet for everyone, forever.
We went to the "Diefenbunker" outside Ottawa last year; It's the government nuclear bunker Canada built during the cold war where they planned to relocate and set up the government in case the Russkies nuked us on their way to nuking the US. It was an actual military site until a few years back when they made it into a museum. Its super fascinating, like time capsule back to 1960 or right out of Dr Strangelove or something.
“I have no mouth and I must scream” is filling my head.
They don't really show 'why' you can't go deeper in there. Like is there a locked door? They show the big door working in the past, is it just closed?