This was the front of the scrap yard, at various states of accumulation. Dad was clever at turning one thing into another when it came to lifting cars. Like the character in the Red Green show, he sometimes got unexpected results! He never made a lot of money in his scrap metal business, but we never went hungry.

Playing in life-sized cars sure was a fun way to grow up! My dad got away with a lot in those days, except when a the odd tire would go astray! My mom was smart for staying in the house. I can still remember the dynamite caps my dad used - I think he had a guardian angel watching out for him. As kids, we were very fortunate to never have gotten hurt by the flying shrapnel!! 

The posters that you see on this page and the one previous, I found in the Hamilton library while I was researching this book. My dad must have seen many of them during the war years - maybe they influenced him to start his scrap metal business? Working in a munitions factory was not a bad job...surrounded by women all day - he must have loved that!

SO, THAT'S THAT! Continued every friday...


I just noticed a misplaced modifier in my dad's quote - oops! Anyway, I always wondered why my dad got into the scrap metal business. I'm thinking he was influenced in some way by the scrap metal drives during the war years, so maybe we can thank the war for bringing us recycling!

SO, THAT'S THAT! Continued...

A coat is just a coat, until it saves your life. Luckily for my dad, his warm personality could charm anyone, including the engineer. The chicken story was told to me when he was 98 - the description of that meal was delicious, it was like he was tasting it all over again.

 The Great Depression taught my dad a few things - mostly how to survive with very little. He loved to tell stories of his hobo days which, to him, was an adventure - if you made it out alive! They used to call it the "the jungle" for a reason... I believe the experience made my dad a stronger person - it certainly toughened him up for real life!

My dad's life was filled with the usual mix of tragedy and comedy. As a wise guy once said "All humour is based on grievance" and is a mechanism that helps us cope with life. Sometimes when my dad told me a funny story, he would burst into laughter and not be able to finish the story. I would then laugh at his laughter and we'd both crack up!!