More Money Podcast - 029 What a Real Success Story Sounds Like - Jacques Hardy, My Grandpa

Episode Date: December 2, 2015

I interview my grandpa, Jacques Hardy, in his home in Chilliwack, BC for this podcast episode because his story is the ultimate success story. He describes his family as "poverty stricken" growing up, he had 8 siblings and had to start paying his own way at 17. Although the odds were against him (he failed grade 7 twice and was fired from a number of jobs), he was able to find a successful career in the military to help support his young family and eventually move across the country for a better life. Long episode description: This episode is why I’m so glad I have a podcast. Finally, I have a medium to share my grandpa’s incredible story. He literally started out dirt poor. Poverty stricken was actually the term he used. He was born in Saint-Sylvère, Quebec, had 8 siblings and had to start paying his own way at 17. If you think that sounds hard, his dad was orphaned at 5 years old and started working at 11! He eventually became a butcher and sold his meat door-to-door. But still, when he got married, all he had to his name was $20 in his pocket and a horse and buggy. He even had to declare bankruptcy at one point in his life. You really do need to listen to the episode to fully grasp the trials and tribulations my grandpa had to overcome. It sure makes me feel grateful for how I was brought up. I mean, I complain that I had to work a part-time job in high school to afford university (poor me), while my grandpa literally had no options when it came to post-secondary. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the military I don’t know if he would have been able to afford starting a family and eventually uprooting them across the country to live in Chilliwack, BC. What I loved most about our conversation together was finding out how money savvy he was. Even without any good financial role models in his life, my grandpa was smart enough to save a good part of his pay cheque and buy some Canada Savings Bonds that eventually helped him pay off his mortgage (on the house he still lives in by the way), right before interest rates skyrocketed in the 1980s. I still can’t believe he was able to put more than 50% down for a down-payment and his mortgage was only $83/month! A big thank you to my grandpa for recording this episode with me (I can’t wait to share it with him). This will be a recording I cherish for years to come. And since I haven’t mentioned it on my podcast or on the blog yet, next Wednesday’s episode will be my last for the year. It’ll be my 30th episode and I definitely need a break to ramp up my website redesign before the New Year. As always, thanks for listening and make sure to tell me what you think by leaving me a review on iTunes, Stitcher or tweeting me. Shownotes: jessicamoorhouse.com/29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to episode 29 of the Mo Money Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Morehouse, and today's episode is a very special episode because I interview my grandpa. He is my grandpa. He's my mom's dad. He's French-Canadian. He's originally from Quebec. He's been living in BC for decades. And he has an incredible story. And honestly, I don't think I knew the depth of kind of what he went through in his life to get to where he is until this podcast. So I'm really excited to share his story with you. It honestly is an incredible story of literally coming from nothing to being able to, you know, move from Quebec to British Columbia and start a new life to support his family. So I'm very excited to share today's episode with you all today. Well, thank you,

Grandpa, for joining me on the program today. I appreciate you talking to me about your life story. It's a pleasure to answer whatever question you may have in mind regarding my past life or any other things. Oh, well, thank you very much. Okay, so let's start from the beginning. I want to know, let's dive into where you came from, where are you from, and what was your childhood like? I was born in a rural area called Saint-Sylvaire, Comte-Nicolette, province of Quebec. And it was kind of a small, I won't go into that detail. Yeah, that's where I was born.

And how many siblings did you have? You came from a big family. Yeah, well, in my family, there was nine children. Wow, because we spoke earlier before we started recording about your dad being a butcher, and know, providing for the family, right? You're interested in my butcher. Yes, I like the business. Okay, ask me the question.

Yeah, okay. So, yeah. As specific as possible. Okay, okay. So, your father was a butcher and we kind of talked earlier about how your mom kind of had the business savvy. I met that at the beginning. Sure. He was an orphan at five years old.

Oh, was he? Yeah. Wow. He works. He was adopted by an uncle who had no children. And he stayed there until he turned 11 years old. And then for a reason unknown, he left them and started working on his own, offering himself as a worker. Right. And then he worked at a different job until he got married. And I think before he got married, his uncle called, his name was Cyril.

He was an uncle, and he showed him how to butcher animals. Is that right? And that's why he started his trade as a butcher. And for 14, and when he start, he got married, and all he had was $25 in his pocket. Wow. And a horse and a buggy. Wow. And that was in September, in September. and at Christmas

he still had his buggy and his horse and $400 in his bargain. So he made wealth. Yeah, he did. And for 14 years

he sold meat from house to house. Really? He went house to house and sold it himself? Pardon? He sold meat from house to house. Really? Yeah. So he... He was a butcher to the animal. And then he went house to house and sold it himself? Yeah. Pardon?

He sold it himself? He like went door to door and sold it? That's right. Oh, yeah. He was a salesman himself. He sold his own meat. Is that right? Butcher to meat.

And then he would, with his horse and buggy or trailer or whatever he had, then he would go house to house and he said piece of meat that he had cut, pre-cut all the day or sometimes he cut them in front of them. What they wanted, how much they wanted. Yeah. That's how they did it. And so, but you were never interested

in following in his footsteps and becoming a butcher yourself. No, I wasn't called to that. My father always called me. Oh, he says, well, this one, he says, you're going to be a lawyer. Oh. Yeah, but.

No. A lawyer, no education, no. Yeah. But I don't think I would have been a good lawyer because I'm too sensitive. You know? I like to take on, I take the other guy's case under my skin. And that's not. So you didn't want to become a lawyer.

You, did you choose... I never said yes or no. Oh, it just wasn't an option? It was a mention by my dad to other people. Who's going to do with this little no good for nothing? Oh! Anyway. Oh! No, no, he didn't say that. No, no. He didn't say that, but I mean,

they always called me Petit Jacques, because I was small. You are small, but so am I. We're all small. Well, a woman is considered to be small most of the time. Not a man. A man is... You know, in my days, when I was young, a man was not

5'4". A man was supposed to be 5'10", 5'11". Oh, wow. Okay. But so your career was in the military. So how did you fall into that? See, that's another story. Now, since I was a very serious-minded lad, I was thinking about my future.

And my dad, getting older and older, he left the big butcher business. Yeah. And I didn't see any future. And me, at home. The house that we were living in didn't belong to us. Oh, no. If the house burned down, we could not rebuild it. And we were paying $5 a year for the ground where the house was built.

It belonged to the neighbor. Really? So we were, that's how poor we were. Wow. The reason why my dad could not own the house because of his bankruptcy that happened in 1930 or 1931. Bankruptcy. So he could not own the house.

Okay. So the reason we weren't in that house, so we finally bought the house. The man sold the house to us, but he had to put it under the name of my sister, Inidin, who was the oldest living, well, she wasn't actually living at home, but she was working outside, but she was the oldest, and she could be the owner of the house.

Okay. And after that, when she got married, then it shift to, Tatin Gilbert was in Quebec, she was away, it shift to my brother, Roger was in Quebec, she was away. It shift to my brother Roger. Got to him. But my brother Roger, he became the owner of the house. Yeah. And then in 19, I joined and then, oh.

So during that time, all that time, then I went to, I wrote to my sister Gilbert that I hadn't seen for two years. She would pay eight pounds, help a board for me to go to be with the brothers, Christian brothers. Like to become a monk? No, no, no, a brother. It was a teaching institute. Oh, okay. Yeah. So she answered me back. She said, sure, go ahead.

So I wrote the brothers. I said, okay, I'm accepting. Now, I had been, I was 14 years old. I had failed my grade seven twice. Oh. And then I was not discouraged, but I was, I said, well, if I go to the brothers, I can make a fresh start. Yeah.

I didn't use those words at the time, but I'm saying the brothers, I can make a fresh start. Yeah. I didn't use those words at the time, but I'm saying that today. I can make a fresh start. So the brother accepted me, and on 14 September 1944, they came and picked me up at home and had given me a list, what I should have, clothing, socks and everything. And then I went there. So that was two weeks into the school year. So I went there and I worked hard.

And I passed my grade seven, which was a government test. Yeah. With 67%. I got it. I got it. Yeah. With 6% to 7%. Mm-hmm. Ah. Mm-hmm. I got it. I got it.

Mm-hmm. So I was with the brothers for three and a half years. Yeah. Three years as a student and eight months as a novice. Yeah. And then I was let go. Oh. Because they said, they figured I was not the type to be there. Okay.

So they said, the brother says, the brother director says, well, you go and help your parents. Huh. What am I doing helping my parents? They got to help me because I'm, you know, I'm out of here. They're poor. And then I'll be more or less half a homeless by leaving this place. Yeah.

But all this got into my head. Yeah. When he told me that, I look at the window, it was dark at night, and he noticed, he said, you are scared. Of course I was scared, right? In a way, I was scared. He said, I'm leaving here. I am in the streets leaving here. I am the street. Yeah.

You know? So he said, you're going to leave the 5th of, so you're going to leave the 5th of April, 1948. So it was 1948 when I left there. He took me to the train, and I took the train, and I went home. I arrived home, and my father, I always remember, he came to the bus and he greeted me. And I went to see my mom, who was somewhere in the stable there, or the slaughterhouse.

And he greeted me, I was happy. in the stable there or the slaughterhouse and he greeted me. I was happy. And during the summer, I worked at little jobs. And so I was looking for work. And of course, in those days, a lot of people around you, they're jealous of you.

They don't want you to succeed. Even if they're related to you. So don't want you to succeed. Oh. Even if they're related to you. So I wanted to go walk in the woods. Right. So the help I was looking for, they just ran away from me. So I went on my own anyway.

And I got a little job. The guy got me a job. A jobber in KC and La Hote-Mauricie pass, about 300 miles from Trois-Rivières.

And I worked there for about three weeks. I worked there about three weeks and I left because it was too hard for me. Yeah. They used to call it,

the type of a job was showboy outside. I would have liked to be showboy inside. But you know when the door closes on you, there is not a one that opens. Yeah. So I left there. So I had enough money to take the train coming back. Instead of going home, I said, I'm not going home.

So I went to Nicolette, where my aunt was a religious. She was a retired teacher with the Sister of the Assumption. And I went to see her, and I said, look, don't search in a store. There is a story behind that. I'll tell you later.

I said, I'm looking for a job. She said, would you pray for me? Prayer is powerful. So she says, yeah. So I stopped, look around.

It took the same day. I went actually to two establishments. One, it was a furniture manufacturer. And the other one was where they were buying wool from the farmers. And they had a shop to turn that tool into a ready for knitting yeah for knitting business so i worked there for about three months and i said oh i said i was going it was just before christmas i went i went home and i uh from the beginning of the uh de I said, well, I'm not going to stay here very long. So I had an uncle in Drummondville, Quebec.

So I went there. It was January. So my aunt took me. She charged me $10 for about a week that I stayed there. And my uncle found me a job in a hardware store. I worked there for about three months at $14 a week. I was paying $10.50 for food and $3 for a room, which was another place.

So all I had left was 50 cents. Wow. Yeah. That's not a lot. And then I went to see the boss and then the boss says, you're fired. We don't keep you.

I went back to my uncle and I was eating at his daughter's restaurant. I said, I said, no, I don't have any job. Oh, he said, I got one for you. I said, no, I don't have any job. Oh, he said, I got one

for you. He said, there's an electrician who is looking for a clerk. There's a girl there and he wants to replace her. Oh, okay. So I went. He made an appointment. I went to see this electrician

contractor. And he I went to see this electrician contractor, and he did not understand what I was talking about, and I didn't want to be too clear, because the woman I was going to replace was right there. Oh, yeah. So it was not a closed door meeting. Yeah. So I went back to my uncle.

I said, I don't think he understood what I was trying to say because I was not clear enough because that young lady there. Oh, he said, I'll talk to him. So he shut the door at that closing there. Oh, he said, I'll talk to him. So, he shut the door at that closing there. The Lord had a plan for me. And

the following week, I was working in the store because I was staying there until the 31st of March. The guy a friend of mine he was washing dishes

in that restaurant where I ate. He came to the store puffing like he said Jacques Jacques

I said what? He said your uncle I just died. Oh no. Oh. I said, what? He said, your uncle had just died. Oh, no. Oh. I said, my uncle died, and that was my job. Oh, no. See, the one who was going to give me a job died.

Yeah. You see? And he died on, I think, the 30th or the 31st of March, 1949. Mm-hmm. I was still 18 years of age then. And okay, well, I said I'm going to go home. As I didn't know, I couldn't figure out, figure all the other places I could, you know, who could help me. So I went home.

So it was April, May. Of course, I was not doing nothing. And of course, this is kind of, in the spring, it's kind of dull time there. Farmers are not starting. Everything is closed. So while I was sitting there, I stopped to look at the newspaper

and we didn't have any newspapers I was going to the neighbor they had a newspaper and they were looking for jobs normally in the ad there there was hundreds of jobs in stores and things like that in Montreal

so while I was looking at that I saw a little lad that they were asking stores, anything like that, in Montreal. So while I was looking at that, I saw a little lad that they were asking, that was placed by the army, that they were asking for young people to join the forces. And I always liked to wear a uniform because while I was in college, we belonged to the cadets, and once a year,

we were allowed to wear a little uniform. And I had great respect for the soldiers that had fought for Canada during the last World War, Second World War. Oh, okay. So I cut this little piece, that ad, off the paper, put that in a envelope with a stamp,

and I put my address, and I sent that to the depot defective number three in Quebec City. Oh, a week later, I got an answer. I said, sure enough. He said, you come over. He said, we included a train ticket for you to come. Wow. So that was nice.

Okay. So I was, I went there, and I decided that I was there in Quebec City. Oh, I said, I'm not going to join the army. No. So I went back home, and about a week later, I received another letter from the army.

How come you didn't show up? Yeah. And I didn't have any money to go back there. Yeah. So my brother told me, he says, so he says, cousin, little cousin Paul, he says, once a week, he goes to Quebec City bringing cattle for the slaughterhouse in Quebec City. He says, he'll take you.

You know, just jump with him, he'll take you. So I met, oh, sure. He says, come with me. So I got him. And about just before we got in the close, it was the depot effective, close to the plant d'Abraham. So I got off the truck, thank you, goodbye. I don't think I ever see him after that.

Really? I saw him maybe when my mom died. Anyway, so I went to the Port Effective there. Oh, I see, here you are finally. So the sergeant there, he was limping a little bit, one leg. Oh, gosh. Well, he said, sit down. He says, I have a little test for you.

So he gave me the paper, passed the test, and he came back. He says, you're okay. We'll keep you. Oh. He says, you're okay. We'll keep you. He says, you go downstairs. He says, we're going to give you bedding and everything that you sleep with us tonight. Oh, I said, well, I have a

place to sleep tonight. Yeah, that's good. So I sleep there and slept there in the morning, and then from then on,, until he said, we'll call you when you need and we're on. So when I knew that I had a free time, then I would go and walk, sleep in the Abraham. I never had such a beautiful time there.

And anyway, I think I was at the Poe de Fectier for three weeks. And then, oh, I went to the hospital for a medical check. And they said, oh, you got me on the scale. 108 pounds. Oh, this guy is light. I said, well, you can't take a guy that light in the army. But there was a guy there who said, never mind that.

He says, well, he's young. He's going to grow up. Exactly. No problem. We'll keep him. So I passed that. Yay. When it came to give me the needle, well, I fainted.

Oh, no. A guy who was doing the army is scared of a needle. But anyway, so I heard from during, so I said to the guy, oh, I'm going to stay. Shark, you stay with us. Don't go away. Everything will be fine. No problem.

So I was not serious when I said that. I said, I'll stay. The guy ended up to be in my squad in the center. Anyway, so guys were talking. He said, after you sang, he says, you're allowed to have a week to go home and see your parents and settle your things that you had to settle at home so i asked for a weekly yeah so she said now i said you go to the to the paymaster and then i went

to the paymaster and he gave me 30 dollars oh oh i was rich. $30 doing nothing. So I went, I took the train, went home for a week, and I came back. I came back for the date that he wanted me to be back. And then they gave me another ticket, a meal ticket, to go to Saint-Jean, Quebec for my basic training. So there you go. So, I had just turned 19 years of age when I got to the base camp. Mm-hmm.

To the base camp, yeah, to St. John, which is the base there. And, oh, the major said, oh, he said, we should give you a day off. He said, celebrate your birthday. I didn't say that. I said, that's okay, never mind. I'll stay here.

Anyway, yeah. So I went there for about three weeks because they needed enough guys to start a new squad, a new platoon. Yes. So I did my basic training for, oh, by the way, when I was in Quebec, see, God, God, it was on my side. Before I signed in Quebec, because I had to sign,

I signed on 28th of June, 1949. So the sergeant, I had never seen, he had a rough face, never seen, never talked to. He brought my paper to the captain and the captain says, well, his test on the typewriter is kind of weak, he says. Oh yeah, but he says

they're going to give him courses and the forces. He says, that's no problem. He says, sir, sign here. So he helped me. Yeah. You see? And so at the end of my basic training,

my corporal told me that he also talked on my behalf to keep me going. So on the 20th of October, my basic learning was completed four months and I was sent to Long Point the school of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps and then also to attend a course. So, in the meantime, they made me work on moving tables and beddings from one hut to the other and things like that.

And at other times, you could go in your room and do whatever you want or lay down. So that lasted for about... And then, they put me on a storming course all the courses were English so I got on that

course for about a week and then I said well I don't understand what this guy is talking about you know in the front there the instructor I said it's all English and I couldn't understand English I couldn't understand but I could hear a few words,

but I couldn't match everything together. So I told the administration, I said, well, I can't go on. I said, my English is not good enough. Okay. So they took me off. And then about a month later, there was a captain,

he came to me, and in front of a major, he was English, but the captain was bilingual. He said, we have an offer for you. He says, we have a course, we want to send you to Bays Borden, Ontario for an administration course

of six weeks. I said, I take it. Get groceries delivered across the GTA from Real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points.

Visit superstore.ca to get started. So I went there. And at the end of the course, of course, my English was poor again. And I kind of failed the course. And two of us, there are two other guys or three other guys, failed also the course, maybe for different reasons, but me, because my English was too poor. But didn't say that,

because my English was too poor. It's just because myself, I knew that that was the reason. But the captain said, Captain Hainaut, I still remember his name, very nice man, fully bilingual.

You couldn't say if he was speaking French or English. He was so good at both. And he said, we're going to give you three days to study, and then we're going to give you a test. If you pass the test, you pass the course. And after three days of study, I did my best, and I passed the course. Good for you. I was so happy. I just stand up in front of

him. I was so happy ah because that he me get it one yeah and also a six dollars a month increase. Oh look at you! So I know so I know I felt I belong. See I was not because if you have no trade in the forces, you're kind of labor, you're a labor. Yeah. Okay. Okay. What did you do in the forces, actually, and how long were you in the military for? I was in the military for 23 years.

I joined the 28th of June, 1949, and I left the forces on the 13th of January, 1973. That would include my terminal leave. Okay. It was my last day in the forces, 13th of January, 1973. Is that right? And so you left the forces, and is that when you decided to move from Quebec to British Columbia? Well, it started that way. In 1971, I received a card from Claude saying that he was getting married.

And Claude was your cousin? Claude is my nephew. Nephew, okay. He's the son of Tata Antonezen. He's my nephew. And he, okay. He's the son of Tata Antonezen. He's my nephew. And he sent me a card if I want to go to his wedding. I talked to Grandma

Colom and I said, I'm going. I said, not only me, but I said, I'll bring his dad and his mom also along with me. So in the week following that I received the card, I told, I phoned my sister, I said, look, I said, I'm going to see to Claude's wedding, if you want to come, I say, I'll be your port parole,

because it's all English here. They don't know how to speak English. She said, okay, we'll think about it. And I think they had come to visit us the weekend, and then during the week, I phoned her. She said, yeah. I said, okay, I'll get the ticket. So on Labor Day,

Friday night of Labor Day 1971, we took the aircraft in Quebec City and then we changed aircraft in Montreal and we came here. We arrived here on Saturday afternoon

on Saturday noon we were picked up by Claude and Geraldine his wife-to-be and Claude didn't know I think his future wife knew but Claude didn't know

so we surprised him and he was so happy so we stayed here But Clyde didn't know. Oh. So we surprised him. Oh, that's nice. And he was so happy. You know this? Yeah. Anyway. So we stayed here three days. And we left in the morning or on the, yeah, in the morning, the following Monday, which was Labor Day.

And we came back to Quebec City. I left them in... Yeah, I left them in Montreal. Somebody picked them up in Montreal and then I carried on by myself to Quebec City. By myself. And I arrived at night.

It was about Quebec City, 8 o'clock. The reason was a little bit late because one of the pilots got sick in the middle of the flight from Quebec City, from Montreal to Quebec City, and they had to come back

and have somebody else. And so it was retarded by about an hour or so. Anyway, so we got back to Quebec City. We got back on Labor Day. So the following week, Colombe said, how do you like it over there?

And we talked about it. Oh, I said, I like it. The weather was nice. And well, it was like this morning. It's beautiful. Yeah. So I said, would you like to move there? She was not happy when we were in the valley of Saint-Michel

she was not happy around there we had to make a move whether I stay in the army or we had to move out find another place to live whether in the same place so

we yeah I said if you want to go whether in the same place or so we yeah I said if you want to go I said I'll leave the forces I said I got to tell them

in February that would be on the 8th of February when we got to that date I told them that I was leaving the forces and I'm moving away so what do you

want to move? Chilliwack, British Columbia? Yeah. I'm going to Chilliwack, British Columbia. The weather is nice there. No shoveling of snow. All that goes with it. And my family was

young. Uncle Gail was 13. Eddie was eight and a half. Oh, wow. So I had four young children. Carmen was 11 years old. Martin was eight, I guess. Yeah, so four.

So short enough, when it came June, so I went to the station in Quebec City. I said, I want to ship my car by train. Well, he said, you've got to go to Montreal. So I got a proper time. They gave me the paper. So I went to Montreal to the yard, and they put my car in the boxcar,

and he says, it will be in Vancouver about that time. I said, okay. And then when it came time for us to move, they gave us a ticket. We took a taxi from Val Saint-Michel, right to Quebec City, and then we slept in a hotel. And in the morning, we took another taxi.

We went to the railroad station, and we changed train in Montreal, and for three days, we crossed. I didn't know you took the train to move here you trained all the way across Canada and it took three days Montreal to

Chilliwack is 2500 miles wow at that time it took three days in train we took the train in the afternoon, and we arrived on Saturday noon at about 11.30.

Then Claude with his wife and a friend of Geraldine, they came to meet us. And then the army was paying me 10 days in a motel. So while I was in the motel, then I started to look for houses. We left Quebec City the 19th of July. And we arrived here on the 22nd of July. And then we looked for houses. We stayed at a cloud- Cloud Place on Lewis Avenue here

for about three days because we had to get out after 10 days. The army was, I don't want to pay myself. Cloud said, come stay home. And in the meantime, I was looking for a house. So we found a house. We found this house. And the eight of bogus will move in, we found this house. And the year it abog us, we move in.

We move in the house. And the whole family, mom was happy. Yeah. We have a home, quiet, quiet area and things like that. And then we start living. And how, I'm just curious, how much did you pay for this house when you bought it? $20,500. Oh, that's so cheap, Grandpa.

We paid $13,000 cash. You had that much saved up? You had that much saved up? Wow. I've been serving since the first year I was in the Army. You're very frugal, just like me. Oh, yeah.

I took a mortgage for $7,500. Oh, my gosh. My mortgage for $7,500. Oh, my gosh. My mortgage was $83 a month. Oh, my gosh. And then I was paid full salary until the 13th of January, 1973. Yeah. From then on, I started getting my pension.

It was $290 a month. So that $90 a month paid for the mortgage. Yeah. So I had $200 to pay for different little things and a little bit of food. But I didn't stay sitting until the sun was going to come out. So I look around. I wanted to go to school. So I went to the

unemployment insurance office and said I'd like to go to school. I said yeah, okay. So he said we have a four month course that gets you up to grade 10. Because I was getting that. That's right. Before that,

I got a job at the base as a laborer. I was being paid $250 or $350 an hour. So I had to quit that in order to go to school for four months. Now, the school were paying me $88 a week for a living.

So with a little bit of my pension, $8 a week, I was okay. So it lasts four months. And then I applied to sell insurance. I sold insurance for two years. And I can't believe I never knew that you sold insurance. I never knew that. No? No.

Okay. I sold insurance for two years. Yeah. Did you like it? Oh, yeah. But the thing that I was always away from home, and the children were small, so I decided to look for another job.

In the meantime, I applied at the base. The Army base. At the Army base, but my name had been put at the bottom of the list. Oh. So I had to wait again. I couldn't drop back to where I was. Yeah. So finally, after a few, so, you know, I sold, oh, before I sell insurance, I went to work for the provincial government.

Oh, really? Yeah, at a research station in Abbotsford, which doesn't exist anymore. Yeah. It's closed. And while over there, I worked for about four months, I guess, and the job I had, agricultural one, I had to look after the chickens and things like that, and then every day we had to clear the stall

where the little chicks were, and there was a lot of dust. Yeah. I said, I'm not going to stay here, breathe that dust. After 10 years, I won't be able to breathe. So I said, I'm not going to stay here. Leave that dust. After 10 years, I won't be able to breathe. So I said, I'm going to look for another job. That's where I started to look for life insurance. I was accepted. I worked for

Sun Life for about six months. I left them. I took Paul Revere, that's an American company, and other life insurance. I worked them. But in the meantime, I said, I'm not Paul Revere, that's an American company, and other life insurance. I worked them. But in the meantime,

I said, I'm not going to do all that because it takes too long. Yeah. So I applied at the base and asked, and mom was here. I said,

if you watch for a telephone, if you receive a phone call, they want me at the base. I'm going to go. Yeah. So I did that. Yeah. So it was

19... It was in 1976. In 1976, it was, you know, in the spring, in May, I guess. I worked for a few months, but being a casual laborer,

it was just some kind of little contract. Right. When you finish, you're gone. And then in October, he said, oh, he said, oh, you're going to work until the end of September. And all of a sudden, they said, oh, we have no more money. We'll have to let you go.

And at that particular time, I guess it was in August or September I was coughing I was coughing so I went to see the doctor the guy said you have a little touch of pneumonia oh no

so he gave me pills and I took those pills for 10 days coughing, left my pneumonia gone and then so they called me back pill for 10 days, coughing, left, pneumonia, gone. And then, so they called me back because I had my other name inscribed somewhere else

at the base itself. Now it was with the engineers. So I start in October there, and up to, yeah, and then we pass an examination I think

or I had already passed the examination you know the interview and then a guy quit for some reason, permanent guy so there was an opening for me. Oh nice. So there was an opening in October because on the interview,

I arrived second out of 14 or something. So the first one got his first job, and I got a second job when the opening came on the 6th of January. And I worked there for 17 years. 17 years. 17 years I worked there. Wow. So with the salary I had, and my army pension,

then I was able to live comfortably. Yeah. So how long did it take you to pay off this house, since it was kind of a tiny mortgage? Well, the house was being by itself. Yeah. Because my army pension was coming. Yeah. Did I receive a check? I'm not sure. But anyway, there was, I know that that money was slated only for $83 a month. Yeah. So I paid that for 1973,

72 until year 2000. 1972. Oh, yeah. No, no. Until 1980. And at that time, the interest rate got up to 22%. That's crazy. 22% interest rate. Yeah.

So I went to them. I said, can you lower that a little bit? No, they refused. Yeah. But in the meantime, I had bought some Canada saving balance. Yeah. And I had about $3,000 left on my mortgage. Yeah.

And my Canada saving balance was due. Yeah. Maybe two weeks, two, three weeks after. So, okay. So I paid 22% for, three weeks after. So, okay. So, I paid 22% for about three weeks. And after that, when my cannot save in bonds came due,

I went to the state. I said, I'll pay my mortgage. I gave them $3,000 and that's it. And that's it. So, 1980, my house was paid. Good for you. I wonder how much it's worth now. It's probably gone up in value

like 500%. 225, 250. That's not bad. And you paid only 20,000 for it. That's a good... You did well, Grandpa. See, the captain, the young captain, when I left the forces, he said, you stay another two years, make 25 years.

So I had a 5% penalty, which is about $16 a month. Yeah. But I gained a lot because if I had stayed one year or two years, more, to come here,

my house, I would have paid not $20,000, I would have paid $35,000. Exactly. And it kept going up. Exactly. The reason,

1972, we had the election year. The NDP came over and they froze all the farmlands. Oh. So what we call Fairfield Island here, the people were building there. So the building stopped. So they had less house. So the price of the house that was already here kept going up

because there was so anyway yeah that is so interesting I put everything in the hands of God so I'm leaving four children and without a job coming here

in a strange place. It's a big risk, Grandpa. The little plus I had, there was no problem for my children because I was in Valcarce. They went to English school. Yeah. So when they arrived here, it's just no problem. Yeah.

No problem with the language. Yeah. Because when Gil started to go to school in Bays Board in Ontario, there was no French school there. Oh, really? So he started grade, not kindergarten, grade one in English. Oh, really? Wow. And at first

before we moved in the Bays, we were in a small place called Everett, outside of Everett. Everett, yeah. I remember and then Gilbert was at the school, and then the teacher would say, okay, teach such a book. He didn't understand what was going on,

what she was saying. So he was looking at the other guy, the book that he would put off on this desk to use, you know. So that's how he was acting. Another time, he said he went to he was at school I guess he misunderstood the teacher

so at noon he came back home what are you doing here oh he said we have a holiday for afternoon but he had misunderstood he should have been at school oh no but he was at that school for about

a month and a half. Then we moved on the base. Also there, there was old friend's school there. The teacher there, she was in about her fourth grade. She knew how to handle little kids. She said, don't worry about it. She said, by Christmas

he'll be okay. He was okay. He was. He passes. There you go. And then playing with the kids outside. Yeah. He listened to them, what they were saying. And try to figure it out.

That's how he learned to speak English. The same with Martin. Martin was on the curve. When we moved to Quebec City, Martin was, I guess he was too young for kindergarten there, but he had been accepted in Bates-Borden, so he had to stay home. But the following year when he got there, so there were little girls there in the class that didn't speak French. So the teacher asked Martin, what is she saying?

Tell her what I'm saying. Martin, can you imagine a small kid sleeping with what she was saying? Oh, gosh. So that's where all these kind of little things were.

Problem of the family. Well, they're not problems. were... Yeah. Problem of the family. Well, they're not problems. There's something that happened in the family. Yeah. You might see when you have kids, and when you have kids, you know there's all kinds of development that's unforeseen that you're going to have.

So was that, I guess... Well, I think it's a great thing that you moved from Quebec to BC because... Yes. You know. Because Colombe said it's heaven here. It's beautiful here. I love it here. She really likes here. And I always think, I'm like, well, if Grandma and Grandpa didn't move here, and then my mom

wouldn't have met my dad, then I wouldn't have gotten born, you know. And then I wouldn't have met Josh. You know. Oh, yeah. It was meant to be. You see, the action that you make will influence the future. Absolutely. And it influenced the future.

It did. Without me knowing, I don't know if the other side, I'll find out, but without me doing the the extend, the extension that what it caused, you know? Yeah. Moved by one, what it caused. You know, moved by one person

what it does to the others. Another thing too, when we moved here, and mom said she likes it very much. We didn't go anywhere else. And we stayed here

for 43 years. We're still here. Yeah. Same house. And mom, when Eddie started to go to school in grade one, she says, well, I'd like to work. Oh, yeah.

So she worked as a homemaker for 12 years. Yeah. And until 1992, she started in 1980. And then with that little bit of money, we could help your mom go to BCIT. That's right. Although I would have been able to pay, but wouldn't have saved any money. Yeah.

But we kept saving any money, just the same. And mom covered all your mother expense at BCIT for two years. Mm-hmm. And then we lost her when she got married. You lost her when she got married. Well, in a way, it's a way to save. Yeah. And then we lost her when she got married. You lost her when she got married. Well, in a way, it's a way to say it. Yeah. Except she's got a daughter.

Yeah. And thanks again for listening to today's episode. It was episode 29. And for the show notes, you can check out momoneymohouses.com slash 29, where I'm going to put a few more details in there about our conversation and some important links as well thanks again for listening and remember next week next Wednesday is

going to be episode 30 and it will be my last episode for I guess this season if you will I'm going to take a little bit of a break in December and come back in January where I will be relaunching my website. So it will no longer be Mo Money Mo Houses, but it will be now known as jessicamorehouse.com. So I'm very excited to unveil that and reveal some cool details about some super secret but totally awesome projects I'm working on. So make sure to check out next week's episode. And I will see you next Wednesday. This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.