My Grandfather's Watch

I didn't get to know either one of my grandfathers. On my dad's side, my grandfather lived in British Columbia and I only met him once, when my father took me for a visit in 1966. I was four years old, and he passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack later that year. He was only 61.

On my mom's side, my grandfather lived in Toronto, and while we visited once or twice a year, he also passed away very young.

I have only one very vague memory of him. My mother had put me on a bus (alone!) from Ottawa to Toronto so I could visit my grandmother. I was six years old, so this would have been in 1968. My grandfather had Alzheimer's, and had been put in a care facility of some kind. So one day, my grandmother took me to visit him, and I distinctly remember her telling him "Bob, this is your grandson" as he struggled to recognize me. Funny, the things that stick in your mind.

Less than a year later, he also passed away from a heart attack. He was 69.

I only have one picture of him on my computer, although I'm sure my mother has more. 

Taken in the late 1950's. My grandmother, grandfather, and my Mom!

My grandparents never had a lot of money. He had been born in Yorkshire, England and emigrated to Toronto, Canada in the 1920's. He got himself a job at a warehouse there, and met my grandmother who had also emigrated, although she was from Scotland. 

He was still working at the warehouse when they got married in 1933, and then in 1937 they bought themselves a house, walking distance from the corner of Bloor and Yonge. For those of you who don't know Toronto, this is a pretty busy area nowadays!

They paid $1,400 for their house. (As a side note, my grandmother sold the house in 1972 for $24,000. That property is likely worth around $800,000 now!)

But they never owned a car. Apparently my grandfather said that he could afford to buy a car, but he couldn't afford to own one!

He became a long time employee of that warehouse, a division of a company that still exists today. Now it's called Howell Logistics. He retired in 1963 at the age of 64...having spent 37 years working at the same company.

People had a different work ethic back then. In the entire 37 years that he worked for the company, he never took a day off sick. He said that if he was going to be sick, he would do it on his own time!

When he retired, they gave him a watch. I guess that was the standard in those days.

Retire at 64, and die at 69. Not a great retirement, but that's the hand he was dealt.

My mother was an only child, so when he passed away the watch ended up on my father's wrist. I know my dad had some work done to the watch at some point in time, but it's an expensive timepiece and was worth spending some money on.

My mother passed the watch on to me, and it still keeps perfect time. I hardly ever wear it because I'm afraid of damaging it. Plus, it needs a new strap. Going to have to make a point of getting that done.

Notice the date... he worked for the same company from 1926-1963 and never took a day off sick!

(Edit: A note from my mother this morning says... "Actually he took time off work when he had his tonsils out other than that he was always sick on the weekend!  He ended up being a bookkeeper at Howell Warehouses.  I don't remember if Tippet Richardson ( the movers) owned Howell Warehouses or the other way round.  I remember going to a company picnic on Centre Island and meeting Mr. Tippet..")

Here's our Amazon deal of the day...

We know there are a lot of birders out there and we certainly became more interested in birds when we were in Africa. One of the things we'd like to get some day is a decent pair of binoculars. A deal like this doesn't come along every day, and if we lived in the U.S., we would probably buy these...

They're regular $429, and on sale for $189!

(Edit: You missed the great deal at $189 because the price has now gone up to $269. Still a good deal, but you'll have to be quicker next time!)

Vanguard 10x42 Binocular with ED Glass (Black)

This is a great deal. For comparison, Cabela's also has them on sale, but for $349.