Furrows in the Sky: The Adventures of Gerry Andrews

Gerry Andrews (19032005) had many adventures in his 102 years. He was a rural school teacher, a forester, a soldier and a surveyor. His developments in aerial photography dramatically changed forestry in BC in the late 1930s and assisted the Allies in the D-Day landings. He referred to the process of mapping the landscape in an airplane as ploughing photographic furrows up and down the sky at 16,000 feet. As BCs surveyor-general from 1951 to 1968, he supervised the mapping of the provinces large construction projects, often usual aerial photography.

During all this time, he saw most of BC and made many friends along the way. Surveyors in the field looked forward to his visits because he always had a kind word, a genuine interest in their work, and a red flannel sock containing a bottle of hooch.

In Furrows in the Sky, historian Jay Sherwood tells the story of this mans remarkable life, based on his personal correspondence, unpublished manuscripts and diaries, interviews with people who knew him, and published articles by and about him. The book includes a selection of the many photographs that Andrews took during his adventures.