APPARENTLY, THE TABOO SUBJECT OF VOLUNTEERING - AS A MEANS OF ATTAINING EXPERIENCE - AND HONING SKILLS - BEST NOT SPOKEN ABOUT
GRUMBLING ASIDE, UNPAID APPRENTICESHIPS, ARE IMPORTANT MORAL BOOSTERS WITH LONG TERM DIVIDENDS
LAST EVENING, I WAS SO PLEASED WITH MYSELF, FOR HAVING FOUND MY POSTAL COVER, AND COMPANION LETTER, REGARDING THE FIRST AIR MAIL FLIGHT BETWEEN MONTREAL AND RAMOUSKE, QUEBEC, IN 1928 (FOUND IN A BOX OF OLD COINS. MAKES SENSE DOESN'T IT?), AND THE FACT I GOT ONE HALF OF THE HOUSE GUTTERS CLEANED YESTERDAY, THAT I TOOK THE NIGHT OFF. I DEDICATED THE FREE HOURS TO SORTING MY COLLECTION OF STAMPS. I'M JUST STARTING-OUT AND I'M A LONG WAY FROM ACTUALLY KNOWING WHAT IT ALL MEANS. I'M INNOCENTLY IMPRESSED BY BOTH AGE AND THE KIND OF GRAPHICS THAT MADE IT ONTO STAMPS, COMMEMORATING ALL KINDS OF EVENTS AND INDIVIDUALS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. TONIGHT, I'M GOING TO STEAL AWAY ANOTHER FEW HOURS FROM DOMESTIC CHORES, BECAUSE I GOT THE GUTTERS ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE HOUSE CLEANED OUT, AND SUZANNE PROMISED TO LIGHTEN-UP ON THE ASSIGNMENT LIST. SHE DID FIX MY PANTS FROM YESTERDAY'S DEBACLE, EXPERIENCED WHILE UP THE LADDER, SO TODAY, THERE WERE NO CLOTHING MALFUNCTIONS. THE ONLY REAL PROBLEM, WAS THAT MY NEIGHBOR'S TWO TOWERING PINE TREES, ARE COVERING MY NEW SHINGLES, WITH CAST-OFF NEEDLES, WHICH I THINK MAY CONTRIBUTE TO SHINGLE-ROT. I MUST HAVE CLEARED TWENTY POUNDS OF HIS PINE NEEDLES OUT OF MY GUTTER. NOW BY WEIGHT ALONE, THAT'S A HELL OF A LOT OF PINE NEEDLES. I LOVE TREES, AND I WILL DO ALMOST ANYTHING TO SPARE THEM FROM THE WOODSMAN'S AXE, BUT THERE MAY COME A TIME FAIRLY SOON, WHEN I SUGGEST MY FRIEND COME OVER AND TAKE HIS DEBRIS OFF MY ROOF. SEEING AS WE DON'T TALK TO ONE ANOTHER, I MAY HAVE TO EMAIL HIM MY WARNING INSTEAD.
YESTERDAY, WHEN THE HEAD OF THE BANK OF CANADA, AT A REGULARLY SCHEDULED PRESS CONFERENCE, SUGGESTED RATHER POIGNANTLY, AND I THOUGHT, QUITE ASTUTELY, THAT OUT-OF-WORK YOUNG CANADIANS, OF WHICH THERE ARE MANY THOUSANDS, SHOULD CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING IN THE AREAS OF THEIR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE, IN THE PROFESSION THE THEY WISH TO PURSUE, THERE WAS AN ANGRY OUTCRY - ABOUT THE VERY IDEA OF "GIVING IT AWAY." EVERYTHING HAS A DOLLAR VALUE RIGHT? FREE ENTERPRISE IS EVEN TRYING TO ASSUME COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP OF NATURAL ENTITIES OF THE HUMAN BODY, FOR GOSH SAKES. COULD THERE BE AN ANTI-VOLUNTEERING BACKLASH COMING? WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION, WHEN SUCH A HIGH RANKING CENTRAL BANK OFFICIAL, MAKES A COMMENT LIKE THIS, THAT IS TAKEN, ALMOST AS AN ACT OF WAR AGAINST UNIONS AROUND THE GLOBE, I ACTUALLY FOUND THE SUGGESTION RATHER SENSIBLE AND TIMELY. UNEMPLOYMENT AMONGST THE YOUTH OF THIS COUNTRY IS HIGH. MANY GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE FINDING IT NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO GET THE JOBS IN THEIR FIELD OF EXPERTISE. IT MIGHT NOT BE A POLITICALLY CORRECT STATEMENT, BUT THAT'S TOO BAD FOR THOSE WHO LOCKED THEMSELVES INTO THIS BOX OF STANDARDS. THE REAL WORLD FUNCTIONS ON DIFFERENT RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. I THINK THERE COULD BE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, MADE BY THE HEAD OF THE BANK, IN THE COMING DAYS, THAT WILL SOFTEN, OR AT LEAST MORE FULLY CLARIFY, WHAT SEEMED, AT FIRST, LIKE A PRECARIOUS GENERALIZATION; POSSIBLY RE-DIRECTING THE FOCUS TOWARD PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIPS. VERSUS FOR EXAMPLE, VOLUNTEERING, AT THE COST OF PAID STAFF, AS POTENTIAL PIZZA DELIVERY DRIVERS. USING VOLUNTEERS INSTEAD OF EMPLOYEES. THERE ARE BUSINESSES THAT WOULD DO THAT, IN A HEARTBEAT, BUT THIS ISN'T WHAT WAS MEANT, AT LEAST, AS I HEARD THE STATEMENT. IN MY INTERPRETATION, OF WHAT HE SAID, THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION, OF THIS KIND OF UNPAID INTERNSHIP (VOLUNTARY COMMITMENT), OF WHICH HE HAD REFERRED, IS THAT UNEMPLOYED YOUTH GAIN EXPERIENCE ON-THE-JOB, TO MAINTAIN AND EVEN BOLSTER THEIR FAITH, GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT, IS LIKELY TO STEM FROM A POSITIVE APPRENTICESHIP. WE MIGHT DRAW A LITTLE ON HISTORY, TO CLARIFY WHAT APPRENTICESHIPS USED TO BE, AND FOR HOW LONG, AND WITH WHAT ATTACHED DEGREE OF HARDSHIP. IT WAS A COMMONPLACE PART OF OUR ANCESTORS' WORKING LIVES, WHETHER THE COBBLER'S APPRENTICE, OR THE HELPER IN THE PRINT SHOP. APPRENTICES WERE OFTEN PAID WITH FOOD AND SHELTER, AND NOT MUCH MORE. THEY WERE GLAD TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN THE TRADE, BECAUSE EVENTUALLY, THEY WOULD PROFIT FROM THIS DEEP IMMERSION WITH A TRADESMAN. WHILE WE DON'T WANT TO GO BACK IN HISTORY, BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF ABUSES, IN THIS AREA OF APPRENTICESHIPS, THE IDEA OF LEARNING ON THE JOB IS THE CENTRAL ISSUE. SACRIFICE, TO GET WHAT IS MOST DESIRED, IS NECESSARY. IT WAS NECESSARY FOR OUR GREAT GRANDPARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, AND ALL THE KIN FOLK WHO LED THE WAY FOR US. SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? THE DANGER, OF COURSE, IS THE POTENTIAL ABUSE BY COMPANIES, TO TAKE THE VOLUNTEER AS MEANING THEY CAN UNLOAD PAID STAFF, TO GET THE JOB DONE FOR FREE. IN THE REAL WORLD, THIS IS HAPPENING NOW FOR MILLIONS OF WORKERS, WHO HAVE UNWRITTEN ARRANGEMENTS WITH EMPLOYERS, THAT TREAT THEM AS CONTRACTORS AND NOT EMPLOYEES, TO AVOID PAYING BENEFITS; AND THE CASH RETURN IS LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE. THAT'S HOW DESPERATE SOME FOLKS ARE TO HAVE ANY KIND OF JOB WHATSOEVER. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS WORSE THAN SUGGESTING, THAT UNEMPLOYED AND EDUCATED YOUTH, INTEGRATE INTO THE PROFESSIONAL FORUM, BY WORKING AS UNPAID INTERNS UNTIL SUCH A TIME, THAT THEY CAN PROVE TO EMPLOYERS, THEIR WORTH TO THE COMPANY; OR TO A COMPETITOR. IT'S BEING DONE THIS WAY ALREADY, IN THOUSANDS OF CASES, PRESENTLY UNKOWN TO US, AND THERE ARE SUCCESS STORIES ATTACHED TO THESE EMPLOYMENT BIOGRAPHIES.
TO GET A JOB, WHEN THERE WERE NONE, IN TORONTO, AT THE START OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, MY FATHER AND HIS UNEMPLOYED MATES, FROM CABBAGETOWN, ENLISTED TO GET A PAY CHEQUE, CLOTHES, FOOD, HOUSING AND SOME ADVENTURE. THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE GETTING INTO, AND MY FATHER ADMITTED THIS MANY TIMES WHEN DISCUSSING THEIR ENLISTMENT. IMAGINE THAT? THEY WENT TO WAR, RISKING THEIR LIVES, TO GET A JOB, AND A SMALL AMOUNT OF PAY? SOME OF MY DAD'S SHIPMATES DIDN'T RETURN HOME. AND WE'RE GETTING ALL HOT AND BOTHERED, BECAUSE A SENIOR BANK OFFICIAL, SUGGESTS UNEMPLOYED YOUTH SHOULD TO DO WHAT EVERY THEY CAN, TO START THEIR CAREERS; EVEN IF IT MEANS GETTING EXPERIENCE AS A VOLUNTEER STAFFER. IN OTHER WORDS, INSTEAD OF SITTING AROUND, WHINING ABOUT THERE BEING NO JOBS, IN A CHOSEN PROFESSION, GET OUT THERE, AND BE PART OF THE STREAM OF ENERGY AND PROGRESSION, THAT HAS TO LEAD SOMEWHERE; AN INFINITELY BETTER PLAN, THAN WASTING PRECIOUS TIME, WORRYING ABOUT WHEN THE TIDE WILL TURN. IT MAY NOT FOR SOME TIME TO COME. JUST BECAUSE YOU ACHIEVE PROFESSIONAL STATUS, NOTED IN THIS REGARD, BY A DEGREE FRAMED ON THE BEDROOM WALL, DOESN'T MEAN A GUARANTEED JOB AFTER GRADUATION.
IF MEMORY SERVES, CANADIAN BROADCASTER, GORDON SINCLAIR, DURING ONE OF HIS RADIO INTERVIEWS, WAS SPEAKING TO A WELL EDUCATED YOUNG MAN, BACK IN THE 1970'S, (AROUND THAT TIME), ABOUT HIS WOES, NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND EMPLOYMENT IN HIS FIELD OF EXPERTISE. SINCLAIR ASKED HIM TO NAME OFF THE UNIVERSITY DEGREES HE POSSESSED AT PRESENT, AND THERE WERE AT LEAST THREE, IF NOT FOUR IMPRESSIVE TITLES, EACH A SIGNIFICANT CREDIT FOR A GRADUATE STUDENT TO POSSESS. SINCLAIR CLEARED HIS THROAT, AND SAID SOMETHING LIKE, WELL THAT'S JUST GREAT. SO YOU'VE GOT A B.A., M.A., M.B.A. AND A PHD, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A "J.O.B." THE POINT BEING, THE YOUNG MAN HAD DONE EVERYTHING RIGHT ON THE PATH TOWARD HIGHER EDUCATION, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION OF ALL, WAS ACTUALLY HAVING A JOB TO TIE IT ALL TOGETHER. ME THINKS HE WAS POKING FUN AT THE INDIVIDUAL, FOR NOT HAVING PAID MORE ATTENTION TO ACQUIRING THE KIND OF PRACTICAL EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE DESIRABLE TO MORE THAN JUST A FEW EMPLOYERS. ALL THE TIME AND MONEY SPENT ON EDUCATIONAL UPGRADES, WASN'T PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE. THESE ISSUES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR LONG AND LONG. I HEARD THEM WHEN I GRADUATED UNIVERSITY, IN THE LATE 1970'S. "YOU HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH EXPERIENCE," BECAME THE MOST OFTEN HEARD REJECTION, WHEN EMPLOYERS LIFTED THEIR EYES FROM MY RESUME. THEIR EYES ALONE ASKED THE QUESTION, "SO WHERE'S THE BEEF?" MY GIRLFRIEND, GAIL, AT THE TIME, WAS IN HER FINAL YEARS OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY COURSES, AT UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, AND WAS ACTUALLY RECRUITED, LIKE A FOOTBALL STAR, BY SOME OF THE BIGGEST CORPORATIONS IN THE COUNTRY. I WAS A GRADUATE OF CANADIAN HISTORY, WHO COULD WRITE WELL ENOUGH TO GET PUBLISHED. BUT AGAIN, I FELT GORDON SINCLAIR WAS DIRECTING HIS CRITICISM AT ME PERSONALLY; AND BELIEVE ME, IT WAS SPOT-ON. AND I HAD BEEN THE ARCHITECT OF MY OWN IRRELEVANCE TO THE WORK PLACE. THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THE BOX I HAD BUILT FOR MYSELF, WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS, WAS TO PUT WHAT EVER RESOURCES I COULD MUSTER, INTO BOTH FREE ENTERPRISE AND "FREE" SERVICES TO ANY EMPLOYER WHO WOULD GIVE ME A BREAK. I OPENED AN ANTIQUE SHOP, ON A TINY WEE BUDGET, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MY PARENTS, AND I WROTE A COLUMN FOR THE FLEDGLING BRACEBRIDGE EXAMINER, ON ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES, WITHOUT A PENNY OF RETURN. YET, IT WAS THIS SHORT STINT AS A COLUMNIST, THAT HELPED ME LAND A JOB THAT WOULD PROFOUNDLY CHANGE MY LIFE. DUE TO THE FACT I WAS ABLE TO SHOW THE EDITOR OF THE MUSKOKA LAKES-GEORGIAN BAY BEACON, THAT I HAD BEEN PUBLISHED IN A COMPETING NEWSPAPER, IN THE SAME REGION, AND THAT IT WAS BOTH READABLE, AND COMPENETLY COMPOSED, IT GAVE ME A STEP UP TO BECOMING A PAID REPORTER IN JANUARY 1979. I HAD ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO NUMEROUS OTHER PUBLICATIONS DURING THIS TIME, AND TOOK A PART TIME JOB AS A HERITAGE PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR, WITH THE MUSKOKA BOARD OF EDUCATION, FOR TWO MONTHS, JUST TO SAY I DID. MY VOLUNTEER WORK WITH THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE SOON TO BE OPENED, WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSUEM, ALSO LOOKED REAL GOOD ON MY RESUME, AND IN PART, CONVINCED THE NEWSPAPER'S PUBLISHER, AND EDITOR, TO GIVE ME A HAND-UP. I BECAME NEWS EDITOR A YEAR LATER, AND THEN EDITOR OF THE SISTER PUBLICATION, THE HERALD-GAZETTE, JUST OVER A YEAR AFTER THIS; ALL BECAUSE I WAS WILLING TO APPRENTICE AND VOLUNTEER FOR EXPERIENCE, BEYOND A PAY CHEQUE. IT WASN'T A LONG INTERNSHIP BUT A VALUABLE ONE.
WHEN I WAS CAST-OFF AS A PAID NEWSPAPER STAFFER, I PINED, WHINED, HATED MYSELF, AND THEN, WENT BACK TO WORK FOR FREE
In the fall of 1989, after many years of service to Muskoka Publications, and after just buying a new house in Gravenhurst, the supreme editor, or "big giant head", at the time, who I loathed, approached me with a new plan he thought I'd have to take, because there was no other job opportunities, except with the dreaded competition down the road. His logic was a tad askew. It involved a massive cut-back of hours per week, and a lowering of the money I was to be paid. It would have been an occasional part-time position, and it was both insulting and disastrous; I really couldn't absorb the loss of revenue, and I suppose management knew I would probably have to suck-it-up, and live with the demotion. At the time, I was a full time Mr. Mom, looking after our two boys, while Suzanne taught at the Bracebridge High School. I had a home office, and because I'm a work-aholic, when it comes to writing volumes, I was out performing, in terms of usable editorial copy, all of my contemporaries; and even working on special business promotions, without shortchanging my kids, my wife, or my employer. I was proving that I could work at home, and keep up a high standard of editorial competence, with increased volume, and the publication would be getting a lot more than they were paying for every week. When this stooge informed me how it was going to be in the future, there were all kinds of actions and reactions I contemplated, but all I could offer in return, was a deep, resonating, final statement, "take a drag." This was a catch-all saying my colleague Brant Scott, and I had created, to let off steam, when management did something stupid that irritated us, in the front line of reporting. When the publisher phoned me later on, to carry on the discussion, about my future employment, I eventually told him to "take a drag" as well. I made a phone call to the competing newspaper, an hour later, and had a job within twenty four hours. It wasn't a great job either, with a lot of the same old, same old, but with a different commanding officer, and eventually, well, it was just better to work freelance thereafter. I had been seriously tainted by the original experience, and I didn't want to work for the competition, that I had been fighting ever since I'd joined up with Muskoka Publications. Suzanne respected my decision, and we put all our emphasis on raising our kids, and our antique enterprise, struggling in its first five years since opening; and then there was the real angst, about keeping a roof over our heads. Why is this relevant to volunteering, as this blog commenced today? Try this on for size!
It wasn't long before I began to seriously miss my writing outlets of the community press. I craved being published. There were no jobs available, especially during the brutal years of the 1989 to 1993 recession. We were able to navigate through these years by the thinnest of margins, but I needed the moral boost of being "in-print." It's a strange professional obsession. I lived daily with the fear, that being on the outside of the publishing industry, was the commencement of my own death knell as a writer. If I didn't keep up my skills, I'd begin to falter as a writer generally. I needed motivation. After a brief period of withdrawal, which lasted most of a year, circa 1990-91, Suzanne convinced me to start writing again, even, God forbid, if it was a work of fiction; gads, "a novel." Reluctantly, I did play around with some creative writing projects. They went better than expected. Then a few history projects bumped into me, by happenstance, and one day, talking to a newspaper advertising representative, who had been trying to sell me a spot in the paper for our antique shop, I inquired whether or not, the publisher would entertain a for-free column, for a sister paper I had once been editor of, known as "The Muskoka Advance;" a free weekend paper delivered door to door around Muskoka on Saturday evenings (for the Sunday reading market). I realized the circulation numbers were excellent, and it was a way for me to hit the marketplace, and possibly get some advertising spin-off for our business. The publisher working on a tight recessionary budget, did, to my surprise, offer editorial space to me, and I think we negotiated for a small advertisement to be placed at the bottom of the weekly column, which was entitled "Sketches of Historic Bracebridge," a feature piece that morphed years later, into "Muskoka History Notes," or something like that, and then it became more of a personal opinion column, when I finally concluded it, early in the new century. At this time, I became a major "for free," contributor, to the summer season publication, "The Muskoka Sun," after once being its feature editor. Just because the publisher wouldn't pay me, for our later relationship in copy preparation, I wasn't going to miss the big picture, about what the paper could do for me as a writer and business owner. I was never really working for free at any time in our relationship, because there was always a silver lining of exposure and experience gained.
If I had quit writing and dropped my historical services, just because I wasn't working in a salaried position, at a newspaper or museum, I would have died of a broken heart; we had enough money to survive from the small antique shop and my wife's salary. In my year hiatus, from active publishing, I got our business up to a higher level, which was critical, and learned how to benefit from what, on the surface, appeared to be a raging, wild, and unfettered case of extreme volunteerism. "You work for nothing," my writing colleagues used to ask, but always with the worry, I was setting a dangerous precedent in the industry. What if there were twenty "Ted Curries" out there, willing to work for the exposure, with no remuneration, even enough to pay for a bottle of beer at the local press club? There weren't twenty Ted Curries, so they didn't have anything to worry about. I wasn't being told what to write, or what I had to cover, because I was hip to their needs, and very much tuned to my own desires, of the outcome that would best serve my idea of upward mobility. Suzanne had got it right, when she observed me losing interest in what gave me so much enjoyment in life, other than family times. She gave me encouragement and the time, to work on speculative projects for the local press, all of which paid off in many, many ways. But as for the nuts and bolts of the situation, I was working without pay, to improve my skills, and increase my exposure to the readers of the publications, in which I was boldly printed. There were many more positives to remaining in the public eye, and getting some extra advertising, via what was know in our day, as sweat equity. There times, in this period, without anything more than a small advertisement in return for my editorial submissions, that my circulation, from May to October, each week, was within a whisker of sixty thousand. Just like this blog, I was able to connect with newspaper readers, and it led to freelance writing jobs.
When I left the local papers, circa 2000, I joined several other regional Ontario publications, including an antique trade magazine. During this time, I wrote and published four small books, one biography and three local histories, plus numerous other heritage projects I was co-ordinating. The best outlet I could have attached myself, was a feature publication known as "Curious; The Tourist Guide," published by the Gervais family, and I've been "free" lancing for these nice folks, longer than any other paper I've ever been associated; and they kindly give me an advertisement in return for my submissions. I have also been a part of the three year adventure. of a swell little publication covering the near north, known as "The Great North Arrow," which we hope to offer from our Gravenhurst shop in the near future. I love these editors and publishers, because they have allowed me enormous freedom to write what I like, and have never once in our relationship, told me a piece was too long, or not suitable for their publication. I will follow them to the ends of the earth, for their kindnesses bestowed. "But Ted, you're working for free? What kind of message are you sending to young writers, starting out on their careers?" Well, I guess the message is, you can't give up on aspirations, just because your original mission statement is dashed by the smack-down of harsh realities. Possibly, the problem is more with the propagation, of unrealistic expectation, than by the fact employment opportunities are greatly reduced after graduation. Stuff like this happens. The only way I could remain as an in-print writer, was to seize every opportunity to cover open editorial space, in whatever magazine or newspaper showed interest; because it's the means to get exposure, which is the most important consideration.
By the end of this week, I will finally hit the magic number, at least being important for me, of "250,000" views of my blog, a figure that has taken three years of daily writing to attain. I haven't earned one penny writing these blogs. As far as experience and adventure, it has been a remarkable journey, and I've enjoyed all the contacts, made via the site, during these action-packed years. All gained by the willingness to engage a revenue neutral position, to get the most out of the writing experience, especially as it exists in this province. It has helped me in so many other ways, that in reality, there has been no financial disadvantage whatsoever. Should young people do roughly the same. It's up to the individual, but I can tell you from experience, the worse part of being unemployed, like a scene from "Death of a Salesman," is feeling worthless, and the job search hopeless. Suzanne got me to appreciate just how much damage I was inflicting on myself, by remaining steadfast to the mistaken notion, that you can only be successful in a chosen profession, if it is partnered by appropriate remuneration. We can't have a volunteer workforce to fill every position. Young people however, as one group in the spectrum of the unemployed, have to bulk up on experience, and gumption plays into this equation. A degree doesn't always guarantee a job. So get on with life. Look at all the options, and all the spin-offs that are potential, just being connected to a business or profession. Apprenticeships in antiquity, lasted years, for little return, except what was most important. The intimate knowledge of what the trade or profession was all about. Ultimately you have to be true to yourself, and if you're fed up with rejections, and want to work, then get in there any way possible, even as a volunteer, and get on-the-job experience, that will fill in the white space of a resume.
As for old farts like me, I will never give up questing for the holy grail of professional accomplishment; even if I have to give it all the way to get what I want. "Death of a Salesman," was one of the most influential movies I ever watched, and the message was pretty clear. Either don't get old, or better stated, make sure you prepare for those who wish to cast you out because of elder age; knowing that employment opportunities diminish the older you get, build out-riggers in advance. Ours was an antique business. So if you want to stay relevant, then you have to play hardball, as they say, to guarantee a longer shelf life. It works the same for the youth of today, frustrated by the limited job market. Having a defeatest attitude, guarantees failure. The positive approach is the only way, to maintain the competitive edge; and it has to be pretty sharp these days, with so many folks applying for one job.
I don't consider myself a role model in this regard. I won't be going out on the lecture circuit to preach my point of view. But I am writing every day, and I'm glad to say there is a small but significant demand for my columns. For a fellow, who, a quarter century ago, thought I was done as a writer, after only ten years in the profession, it is a little bit pleasing to pick up a feature publication, and see that I am still at least marginally relevant.
I don't really like the word "volunteer," especially when looking at "unpaid" work, as the Bank of Canada official referenced on Tuesday. I prefer the overview of "internship," and "apprenticeship," instead.
Just my opinion. A fellow who cleans out his own gutters, writes for the fun of it, and offers historical tutoring, because it's an enjoyable service to my community, and my friends. Yet despite what Suzanne and I offer for free, and as volunteers, we never sacrifice our standard of living, as a direct result. We just have to be creative and resourceful. It's our suggestion to today's youth. And as the old bards offer as sage advice, "where there is a will, there is a way!"
From The Archives
IN QUEST OF TOM THOMSON - THE CONCLUSION, AS WRITTEN BY ARTIST ALBERT H. ROBINSON, CIRCA 1937
A BOOK ON THOMSON I JUST COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT -
WHAT AN AMAZINGLY BRIGHT AND CHEERFUL LATE WINTER DAY, HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. I HAVE JUST TAKEN A LITTLE JAUNT THROUGH THE WOODLANDS ABOVE THE BOG, AND THE SUNLIGHT IS DAZZLING ON THE NEW SNOW, SCULPTED AROUND THE TRUNKS OF HARDWOODS AND VENERABLE OLD PINES, FROM THE WEEKEND'S STORM. THE PATH IS ICE-COVERED ALREADY, THE SLIDING WORK OF MANY FEET OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. IT IS LIKE WALKING INTO A TOM THOMSON PAINTING, WITHOUT CAUSING ANY DAMAGE. THE PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW OF HARDWOOD AND EVERGREEN, IS SPECTACULAR, AND FROM SO MANY VANTAGE POINTS, I CAN FRAME A HALF DOZEN PAINTINGS I'D LOVE TO OWN…..DEPICTING THE PLACE I LOVE TO ESCAPE. I HAVE BEEN WRITING ALL MORNING, TRYING TO GET A START ON THE BIOGRAPHY OF MUSKOKA ARTIST, RICHARD KARON, AND CAN ADMIT HAPPILY, I HAVE GOTTEN PAST THAT FIRST HURDLE MOST WRITERS DREAD……"CHAPTER ONE." IT WILL TAKE A FEW WEEKS YET TO COMPOSE THE "ON-LINE" BIOGRAPHY, I INTEND TO PRESENT ON THIS BLOG-SITE, LATER IN MARCH. ADMITTEDLY I WAS THINKING ABOUT MR. KARON, WHILE WALKING THROUGH THESE SUNLIT WOODS, WONDERING HOW HE MIGHT HAVE PAINTED THIS GRANDLY ILLUMINATED SCENE. I WAS ALSO THINKING ABOUT TOM THOMSON, THE NEXT PROJECT FOR ME, AFTER RETURNING HOME TO BIRCH HOLLOW. IT IS THE CONTINUATION OF THE REVIEW OF MY NEWLY ACQUIRED, ALBERT ROBINSON BOOK, (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1937), WHICH IS A BRIEF BUT HIGHLY REGARDED THOMSON BIOGRAPHY…..A BOOK I NEEDED MANY YEARS AGO, BUT EITHER COULDN'T AFFORD, WHEN I DID FIND A COPY, OR ONE THAT WAS MISSING PAGES OR EVEN THE FULL COLOR IMAGES IN THE BACK. I FOUND A FINE CONDITION COPY THAT HAS ALL OF ITS PAGES, AND A NICE CLEAN GREEN CLOTH WRAPPING ON PERFECT BOARDS (COVER STOCK). NOT ONE DOG EARRED PAGE IN THE BOOK. AS AN ENTHUSIASTIC THOMSON RESEARCHER, AND COLLECTOR OF RELATED MOMENTOS (CAN'T AFFORD HIS ORIGINAL ART), IT WAS THE FIND OF 2012. IT'S LOOKING LIKE A GOOD YEAR OUT ON THE ANTIQUE HUSTINGS.
WHILE THE PICTURES HE PRODUCED BETWEEN 1913 AND 1917 REPRESENT HIS MAJOR CONTRIBUTION, THE BACKGROUND AND TRAINING FOR THIS MAGNIFICENT OUTPOURING EXPLAINS TO SOME EXTENT THE QUALITY OF HIS WORK. THOMSON LIVED AS A BOY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF GEORGIAN BAY, AND HERE HIS INBORN LOVE OF THE LAKES, WOODS AND STREAMS WAS NOURISHED THROUGHOUT HIS CHILDHOOD. HE WAS PASSIONATELY FOND OF FISHING, AND IN LATER YEARS ATTAINED AN ENVIABLE REPUTATION AS AN ANGLER EVEN AMONG THE PROFESSIONAL GUIDES OF THE (ALGONQUIN) PARK. IN THE EARLY SPRING, BEFORE THE ICE BROKE FROM THE STREAMS AND RIVERS, HE MADE HIS OWN TACKLE FROM BEADS, FEATHERS AND PIECES OF METAL, WITH THE LOVING HANDS OF A TRUE ENTHUSIAST."
The above passage was written by Canadian Artist, Albert H. Robinson, in a 1937 "Canadian Artist Series" booklet, entitled simply "Tom Thomson." Robinson had known Thomson from the graphic arts business in Toronto. He was a friend and traveling companion of painter A.Y. Jackson, and he was familiar with the other artists of the Group of Seven. It is a small but important book in the study of the early life and work of this Canadian landscape painter. The book, which has evaded me for about a dozen years, was found in the used books offered by the Gravenhurst Book Store, located on Muskoka Road. I am grateful to the book shop proprietor, for offering this wonderful piece of Canadiana. Thanks to them, I have now acquired this missing component of Thomson biography. In reality, I've been trying to acquire a "fine condition" copy of the Robinson book, but most of the books I found, in the past five years, were badly damaged, and seriously over-priced. I've been rustling-up Thomson reference material, since the mid 1990's. My personal "Thomson archives," built-up one book, one article, one document at a time, has been used extensively in four previous feature series, which have run in regional publications, primarily in the examination of the artist's mysterious death in July 1917, while traversing Algonquin Park's Canoe Lake. The little booklet was published by The Ryerson Press, of Toronto, and designed and printed by one of the best known graphics company, in Canada at the time…….Rous & Mann Limited, where many of Canada's painters got their start in the art profession. Both Thomson and Robinson came to work for Rous & Mann by 1912, leaving the Grip Co.
In 1937 when Robinson published the brief biographical text, on Thomson, accompanied by full color reproductions of the artist's best known creations, there had only been a few books and articles written about his life and art, following his sudden death. Only several months after Thomson's death, his biggest supporter, Dr. J.M. McCallum had contributed an article on his friend, to the Canadian Magazine, dated October 1917. F.B. Housser made mention of Thomson in his book, Canadian Art Movement, in 1926. In 1927, O.J. Stevenson wrote about Thomson in a text entitled "A People's Best," and in the same year, Newton MacTavish mentioned him in the book, "The Fine Arts in Canada." Blodwen Davies came next, with one of two pieces on Thomson, the first being "Paddle and Palette," in 1930, and then "Tom Thomson," in 1935. Robinson had begun the Canadian Landscape Painters in 1932. I'm still missing several of these early Thomson references, but I'm forever hopeful I can fill these in before the 100th anniversary of his death, in July 2017, when I hope to launch another series of articles on his art career in Canada.
"My first meeting with Thomson was about 1908. A tall, lanky young man in a dark blue serge suit and gray flannel shirt applied for a position in the art department of Grip Limited, where I was art director. He was clean cut, almost classical in features, with a mop of black hair combed down over his right forehead. There was something intriguing about Thomson, a quiet reserve, a reticence almost approaching bashfulness. There was no bombast or assertiveness as he handed me a bundle of his work and asked if there was an opening in the art department."
Robinson writes, "His samples consisted mostly of lettering and decorative designs applied to booklet covers and some labels. A quick glance at his drawings revealed something more than mechanical and technical proficiency; there was feeling for spacing and arrangement, an over-tone of intellectual as well as aesthetic approach to his work, and we quickly closed arrangements for him to join the staff. Shortly after hiring him, I received a gratuitous and unsolicited telephone call from his previous employer, belittling Thomson as an erratic and difficult man in a department. This was as absurd as it was untrue. Thomson was a most diligent, reliable and capable craftsman. Nothing seemed to disturb the even tenor of his way. Only once did I see him lose his temper and that was in 1912. A man under the influence of liquor got into the studio and made himself as objectionable as possible. Tom tried to continue his work, but when the visitor became personally abusive, Tom's slow temper finally rose. He took off his coat and threw the visitor out of the building. The noise of overturning chairs and tables attracted my attention, but by the time I got there, Tom was brushing imaginary dust off his hands and settling back in to finish his drawing."
"Tom Thomson possessed a complete and satisfactory world within himself." wrote Albert Robinson, adding, "He apparently did not feel any great need for human companionship, and so made friends slowly. When he joined "Grip" (graphic company in Toronto), it was some time before he found common interests with other members of the art staff. Among his fellow workers in the department, were such men as J.E.H. MacDonald, F. Horsman Varley, Frank Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, William Broadhead, Frank (Franz) Johnston, T.W. McLean, Ben Jackson, Ivor Lewis and many others. These men sketched and painted in their spare time and during their holidays. Ben Jackson was an enthusiastic fisherman who arranged his sketching trips with angling opportunities. Thomson and Jackson were soon planning trips together, lunge fishing in Scugog Lake, or trout fishing in some favorite stream known to Tom. Jackson took his paints along as a mild diversion from fishing, and on one of these trips made a sketch of Tom which now hangs in the National Gallery, Ottawa. Jackson who had fished the streams of New Brunswick, with crack fishermen from the New England states, said that he never saw anyone who could cast a fly with the ease and precision of Thomson. On some of these trips Tom began making the casual sketch, and occasionally joined other members of the staff on their sketching trips round Toronto."
There is a well known black and white photograph of Thomson fly fishing below the Tea Lake Dam, just west of Tea Lake, and Canoe Lake where Thomson resided when not on a fishing or sketching trip. Our family always stopped in at the Tea Lake dam, on our camping or day trips to the park. We have stood on those same rocks as Thomson did, in the early 1900's, and where he anchored himself, to sketch the original dam. It is a beautiful and quiet little place, that afforded him a perfect campsite to both fish and paint.
Robinson points out that, "William Broadhead, a brilliant young English artist, after listening all winter to McLean's stories of canoeing and camping in the wilds, was fired with a desire to see the country himself, and in the summer of 1911, Broadhead and Thomson set out on a canoe trip through the Mississauga Reserve, leaving the rails at Biscotasing. This was, I believe, Thomson's first experience on an extended camping trip in the north. It was also Thomson's first serious sketching trip. He brought back a number of sketches although he lost some in a canoe upset. These sketches were timid and self conscious in execution, but had caught the real northern character. I recall one in particular of drowned land which impressed me as having the weird loneliness of the country. It was on this trip also, that Thomson met Grey Owl, (before he was exposed as englishman, Archie Belaney) now known in America and Europe as author and lecturer, who visited him in Toronto the following winter."
The artist Robinson, writes of his friend Thomson, by noting a change in employment status in the Ontario printing industry. "In 1912 I became associated with Rous & Mann Limited, and several of the artists, including Thomson, followed to the new art department, where he worked until the spring of 1914. In the summer of 1912, Thomson took his first extended vacation in Algonquin Park, and brought back a series of sketches which showed a tremendous advance in technical power and purity of color. Strolling up from the station (in Toronto) in his woodsman outfit and carrying the bundle of sketches, he reported his return to work and left the sketches for inspection. We urged him to paint one of his sketches upon a large canvas. So 'A Northern Lake' came into being in 1913, his first attempt on a large canvas. It attracted the admiration of his fellow artists, and to his astonishment was purchased by the Government of Canada."
"J.E.H. MacDonald told Dr. J.M. McCallum of Toronto, about Thomson's north country sketches. The genial doctor soon looked him up and persuaded him to devote his entire time to painting. His art training had been and continued to be the association with competent painters. The few remaining years of his life he devoted whole-heartedly to painting, sketching in the spring, summer and fall, and returning to his studio "Shack" on Severn Street to work on large canvases during the winter months." wrote Robinson, adding, "The basic knowledge of design obtained through his commercial art training explains the decorative beauty of composition and arrangement which so marks his painting. In this respect, there is a common bond between Thomson and J.E.H. MacDonald. Both were eminent and capable designers, and both approached the problem of landscape painting with a finely discriminating knowledge of form and arrangement. MacDonald, however, felt the appeal of a greater variety of subject matter, while Thomson concentrated with intensity on the Northern Ontario wilderness which claimed his whole devotion. Both of these men made important contributions to Canadian painting, evolving technics which were personal and adequate and unclouded either by convention or tradition. The work of each was alive with charm of design and beauty of color."
Robinson suggested that "From year to year Thomson grew in ability to summarize, in the beauty of his color arrangements, in confidence, and brilliancy of technique. His paintings are frank and beautiful statements of the moods and inner meanings of the scenes freed of all extraneous and distracting detail. His sense of design and color wove enchantment into a sketch, never cluttering or confusing it, but rather adding a richer and more subtle significance. Thomson left probably more than four hundred sketches, perhaps twenty important canvases, with as many slighter or experimental pictures. His tragic and untimely death on Canoe Lake robbed our Dominion of a great interpreter of the Canadian wilderness - a faithful student whose sincerity, unresting passion for true and swift insight into the heart of all that was beautiful, gave him skill and power to isolate essentials, which lifted his landscapes from the purely representative to the realms of personal creative art."
It was Thomson's friend, J.E.H. MacDonald, who penned the inscription, on the plaque of the memorial cairn, on Canoe Lake's Hayhurst Point, that reads, "To the memory of Tom Thomson, artist, woodsman, and guide, who was drowned in Canoe Lake, July 8th, 1917. He lived humbly but passionately with the wild. It made him brother to all untamed things in nature. It drew him apart and revealed itself wonderfully to him. It sent him out from the woods only to show these revelations and it too him to itself at last."
For a wee bit more on Tom Thomson, please join me for tomorrow's blog. Thanks for visiting today.
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