I DO REMEMBER!

It was at the time of the industrial revolution and it was heading right for me full steam. How was I to know that it would be maturing and that a new age was dawning. I was born in 1936 in July on a warm evening in my grandmother’s house on 82 Monarch Park in the front bedroom attended by my aunt Marian.

She was a nurse who traveled from Detroit to Toronto so she could be with us on this special day. We were lucky as she was the head nurse at the hospital and had delivered more babies than most doctors. I was the first grandchild and nephew to a gang of great Irish Catholics. They made me feel very special even if my father was English. My mother’s brothers would give him a bad time but they loved and respected him as if he was their brother. I was named James Richard Mason. I think that James came from my uncle Jim but I don’t know where the Richard came from. Anyhow it was a great beginning.

I do remember this house and the times so well. It was a three story house where three families lived. The first floor was Granny’s. She had a large living room, bedroom, kitchen and of course the basement. Mom and Dad had the second floor which had a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom. The attic was mine at least part of it. It was divided into 2 large rooms where my grandfather and my uncle Ross shared it with me. I had some of the best years of my life here. I would sit on the porch and watch the milkman with his white horse drawn wagon bring our milk. He would walk right past me and into the downstairs kitchen and put it into the ice box. In those days we did not have a refrigerator and our iceman with his brown horse drawn cart would deliver our ice block 3 times a week. Our breadman would come daily with his little pony and a small cart. My favorite was the Lipton Tea man as his cart was the smallest and his horse was sleek and pranced but he only came once a month. Our small street was very busy in those days. My granny would go out after breakfast every day and sweep the sidewalk clean. What a wonderful time to grow up. We were all busy and I had my jobs too. On Saturday it was bath night and of course getting hot water was not as easy as today. We were luckier than most as we had a water heater in the basement and it had to be hand fed with papers and wood to keep the fire burning to heat the water. So I spent most of my Saturday evenings along with my granny making water hot so all could enjoy a hot bath in the cold Canadian climate. It was here that I learned to appreciate tropical fish as I was allowed to set up my aquarium

And enjoy the fish while I did my work. As I got older I would take my radio to the basement to listen to the hockey games and to the hot stove league as the Canadians called their announcers. Saturday was truly hockey night in Canada. The winters were cold and unlike today heating the house was not automatic. We had a coal man who had a black horse deliver coal twice a year. It was difficult getting the coal into our bin as the basement window was small and had to be hand shoveled into the bin. My uncle Ross would get up early in the morning and start the fire and before he went to bed at night he would bank the fire. It kept the house comfortable but not like we know it today. Winter was a fun time in Canada. We had a park at the end of the street where I could toboggan and ski. There was two ice rinks also and one was for pleasure skating and the other was for hockey. I spent most of my time on the hockey rink. In the summer we played baseball and football there. We had a large immigration from Scotland and England at that time so the Canadian kids taught the newcomers how to play football and they taught us how to play soccer. Life was so much fun and all the marvelous changes that were happening around me. At the end of the park there was a railroad track where the trains would take away the bricks made at the foundry which was next to the park. This year was exciting for us as the train engines which were normally run on coal were being replaced by steam engines. When the train would go by the engineer would release a burst of steam and we would all cheer. Lots of changes were going on and we even got a phone. Just think this fall I would be starting school. Toronto was close enough to Niagara Falls so electricity was no problem and even cheap. The city had trolley cars run on electricity and not drawn by horses like St. Louis. We could get the trolley car at the end of the street and it would take us past my school and go all the way down town. Some cars were starting to appear on the streets but only the rich people could afford them. Life got easier as our ice box was replaced by the refrigerator and we could now make and keep our own ice cream. I did miss our ice man though, as he was very nice to me. The world was changing too as they were talking about building highways all the way to Detroit. My uncle said that someday this would put the trains out of business. But for now we would still ride the train to Detroit. The trolley was cheap and it would cost me three cents to ride it all the way to the lake and with a transfer I could go to center Island for a fun time and a swim. It was fall and time for me to start school. I had to go to the catholic school St. Bridget’s along with one of my neighbors while the rest of my friends went to the province school Earl Haig.My School was about two miles away and so to make it easier for me my dad designed a scooter. We took an old orange crate (a box which held oranges from the produce store) turned it on its side and nailed a small 2x4 board to its bottom. We put the wheels from an old pair of roller skates on the board. The box itself had a shelf which could hold my books. This was considered real cool and I now had transportation to school. It was time in my life to consider how to earn some money. I first started off collecting boxes (fruit boxes from stores which required a two cent deposit) from my neighbors. My sales pitch was “do you have any boxes for the red cross” I would get plenty and take them to the store for the Two cent refund. I really thought I had hit the big time. My dad upon hearing how I had come into all this money called me in and told me it was not right to ask for boxes for the Red Cross unless I was going to give the money to the Red Cross. He said I should give what I have left to the Red Cross and in future should say “do you have any boxes for Jimmy Mason”. I tried it but my business fell off drastically. My next job was selling Liberty Magazines door to door and that was not too profitable. My granny knew the butcher very well and she talked to him about hiring me. He said when I had a bike he would do it. I was starting the second grade at school and I became sick. The doctor told my mother that I had a pituitary gland disturbance as I was gaining weight rapidly and it was out of control. He put me to bed and would not let me get out even to go to the bathroom forcing my mother to carry me there when needed. This went on for over a year. I had a radio where I learned to enjoy the lone ranger and Stella Dallas and sergeant Preston and many other good programs. I think during this confinement that I did learn to listen. I was in the front bedroom and could hear the kids playing in the street. My mother would read me many books and I began reading on my own in Ernest. My father decided that something had to be done with me as all this resting in bed was not helping my weight control. He had heard about a doctor at the sick children’s hospital in downtown Toronto who was a specialist in gland disturbances. So I was bundled up and taken there. After two weeks of testing my family was called in by the doctor who said she was more concerned about my heart as she discovered a murmer than anything else. She recommended that I return to normal activity as soon as possible. She would continue to monitor me weekly. Can you imagine that after more than a year in bed I was going to be able to get up? What a difference as the world had really changed during that year. We no longer had a bread man as we bought our bread at the grocery store. The tea man also had disappeared but I was glad that the milkman and his horse still delivered our milk. There were more cars on the road and even my dad had one. It was time to go back to school but I found that I tired easily and needed a nap to handle the routine. Upon returning to school my principal Mother St. Winniferd decided that I was smart enough to take two grades at once so I was placed with the smart kids combining grades two and three. At recess I was required to take a nap in her office. She did take a special interest in me. When I went into grade four I felt like my old self and was jogging to school. I even got so good at it that I could jog home for lunch every day. I had lost all my weight and was in pretty good shape. My doctor declared I was cured. The world was also changing as the milkman was gone and could you imagine television was invented where you could see movies right in your own home. We were the first on the street to get a TV. I enjoyed programs like howdy doody while the old folks liked uncle miltie(milton bearle). New highways were springing up all over and there was even talk about airplanes flying to Detroit. It was time for me to go to work and for Christmas my dad bought me a bike. I needed to get a large metal basket to attach so that I could carry parcels. The butcher remembered his promise to my granny and I was hired as a butcher boy. I would work after school and on Saturdays for ten cents an hour. I would begin each day grinding cow meat into hamburger and learned how to make sausage. By the time I finished this task the butcher would have enough orders that I would deliver them on my bike. This was great but it took up all my spare time. I was developing an interest in sports as I played on the school hockey team and baseball team and work was getting in the way. So I found a way to do both I started to deliver the morning papers called the Globe & Mail as that way I could have money and play too. The war had long been over and there was talk of replacing some of the trolleys with a subway WOW. We were really getting modern. The Canadian army was selling its left over equipment from the war and I was able to buy a Corgi. This was a cross between a motor cycle and a scooter. The parachute Corps had used them when they invaded Italy. It would go about 30 miles an hour and get about 50 miles to the gallon. It was perfect for my paper route. I was getting to be a pretty good hockey player and was practicing at Maple Leaf Gardens with my team. The only problem was that practices were at four o’clock in the morning. This was a problem with my morning newspaper route so I changed to the afternoon delivering the Toronto Star. Mom got a new washing machine that was automatic and she did not have to hang ring out the clothes anymore. Dad got an electric typewriter and I have a radio which plays on batteries. It doesn’t get any more hi-tech than this. It’s time to say goodbye to grade school and hello to high school. To get into high school in Canada you must take a test and pass. I did pretty well and was accepted at Saint Michaels College prep school. This was a very desirable school to be accepted at. I was excited to go there as they had the best hockey team in the area. I continued my studies there for a year but the long commute got to me as it took up all my time and I could not work. The following year I decided to go to Riverdale High school which was close by and allowed me to work evenings at Bonds drug store delivering prescriptions. This was a sad year as Granny got sick and died. The Pope sent a special blessing to her from Rome as she had visited Rome in her younger years. This helped. My Aunts and Uncles all came. They had a meeting and decided to sell the house. But this was my HOME and nobody asked me. School was finishing up for the year so I joined the Canadian Army Cadet Corps. They sent young Canadians to boot camp for the summer. I did not want to stick around and see the house sold. So I packed up and went to the shores of Lake Huron for my summer training.

Goodbye old friend!

Upon my return at the end of the summer I went directly to my parent’s new home and prepared for the new school year at a new high school which was named Scarborough High School. It was a fresh start with new friends and challenges. I was there briefly as in December Dad announced we were going to Detroit for his new job. I was upset and did not want to go. This would be my fourth high school in two years. He said if I would try real hard when we got to Detroit he would help buy me a car. This was unheard of in Canada for a 15 year old boy to have a car and so I agreed. Imagine a 15 year old arriving in MO-TOWN in 1952. I did not realize it but I was starting the greatest adventure of my life but this is another story for another time.