April 8, 1954, was a tragic day in the city of Moose Jaw. 

Thirty-seven people lost their lives shortly after 10 a.m. as a Trans-Canada Airlines (TCA) passenger plane and Harvard aircraft collided. 

Fuselage from the crash fell to the city. While it narrowly missed Ross School, it hit the Hume residence, resulting in the death of their housekeeper, Martha Hadwen. Hadwen left behind her husband, Steve and three children. 

The Humes were not home at the time of the crash – Gordon was working, his wife Betty was at the dentist, and their two children were being watched by a caregiver. 

No blame was definitively placed for the mid-air collision, though several investigations took place. 

The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery has had an exhibit for the plane crash since the 50th anniversary in 2004, called “Like a Falling Leaf”. It got its name from descriptions of eyewitnesses to the crash. 

The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery will be marking the 70th Anniversary of the incident on Monday, April 8, holding a public memorial with doors opening a 9:30 a.m. and opening remarks starting at 9:45 a.m. Local poet Robert Currie will deliver a poem, and there will be a moment of silence at 10:02 a.m. to coincide with the time that the crash took place in 1954.

Anyone who would like to lay flowers in the exhibit is welcome to do so.  

Christy Schweiger, education coordinator at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery, spoke about the crash and its aftermath. "There were many women in 1954 who were hanging clothes. It was a warm day, and a number of witnesses actually saw it, especially over in the area near where the Town N Country Mall currently is.” 

“The emergency crews were in full force, but they couldn’t get through because of all the traffic that was blocking the way.”

Schweiger added that the base had to change their flight patterns after the incident. 

She said that interest in the exhibit continues to this day. “Not only from the community, but from family members of the deceased.” 

You can find the exhibit online here. Schweiger said with the attention to the online exhibit, they received donations of items recovered from the crash over the years, including damaged mail from airmail bags on the TCA flight and a Brownie camera with film of a family’s vacation to Disneyland. 

She noted that they also received a plane piece. “One interesting note about the pieces of the airplanes – everything was collected. People were obligated to return everything so they could piece together what happened. If people didn’t hand them in, they would get ticketed or fined for not cooperating with the investigation team.” 

Schweiger shared some thoughts on the importance of the exhibit’s continuation. “We need to continue to share those stories from our past, somehow, or we lose it.” 

Several books have been published containing history and accounts of the crash, including Bruce Fairman's "Moose Jaw Murders and Other Deaths," and Larry Shaak's "Mid-Air Moose Jaw."