More Money Podcast - From the Archives: Relistening to My Grandpa and His Story Financial Journey

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

I'm so glad I started this podcast back in 2015 because it gave me the perfect opportunity to get a recording of my maternal grandpa, Jacques Hardy, before he passed away a few years later. And it's because of this recording I was able to more accurately share his financial journey in my book "Everything but Money." To say my grandpa came from humble beginnings is an understatement. Throughout childhood, scarcity was common place, but he was able to find a way out, get married, and make sure his children never had to experience going without like he did. He's always had such an optimistic nature, I think that must helped him along the way. I feel so lucky to share his story with you. This episode originally aired on December 1, 2015.To find the original show notes for this episode visit, jessicamoorhouse.com/29Follow meInstagram @jessicaimoorhouseThreads @jessicaimoorhouseTikTok @jessicaimoorhouseFacebook @jessicaimoorhouseYouTube @jessicamoorhouseLinkedIn - Jessica MoorhouseFinancial resourcesMy websiteMy bestselling book Everything but MoneyFree resource libraryBudget spreadsheetWealth Building Blueprint for Canadians course Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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of my favorite episodes, some of your favorite episodes, but for this week we're doing one of my favorites. It holds a very, very special place in my heart because it is the only interview I ever did with my grandpa, my maternal grandpa. And not only is it so special because it brings a lot of comfort to my family who wants to hear his voice. He's no longer with us, unfortunately. He passed away about a year or a year and a half after the recording. But you know, this was the first time I actually had a really lengthy one-on-one conversation

about his life. Because you know, when you're around family, you know, it's usually around like the holidays or a big family event. And he sometimes don't get time for these really precious, important moments to be like, ask them questions about their life. And he was so, so happy. And man, did he have a good memory. Like some of the facts and years that he remembered, like I barely remember 2010, you know? So it's pretty amazing.

And so this is with my grandpa, Jacques Hardy. And it, you know, again, like I mentioned, not only a special episode for me, but was really important. You know, it's so funny how things work out. When I was doing research for my book, as I share a little bit about my family history in there, and I had to listen to this episode to do research and to take notes and a lot of it got into the book. So that's pretty cool. And speaking of my book,

part of the reason we're doing a relist is because I'm busy promoting my book and and doing, you know, all the things I can to, to get the word out there. It's called Everything But Money, The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom. It's on bookshelves now, came out December 31st, 2024, near as Eve. And now it's available, paperback, ebook, audiobook narrated by myself. So you can grab a copy wherever you can find books

because it's pretty much everywhere. Or I can just direct you to jessicamorehouse.com slash book to learn more. But with that, I want you to hear this episode and I hope you like it. 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, 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 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 Little Parish called Saint-Sylvier-contre-Nicollette, province of Quebec. It was kind of a small, I won't go into that detail. That's where I was born.

How many siblings did you have? You came from a big family. Yeah, well, in my family, there were nine children. Wow, because we spoke earlier before we started recording about your dad being a butcher and he was 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 you were a butcher As specific as possible. Okay. 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. Yeah. He works.

He was adopted by an uncle with no children. And he stayed there until he returned 11 years old. And then for a reason unknown, he left them and started working on his own, offering himself as a worker. 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. 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 and a horse and a buggy. And that was in September, in September. And at Christmas, he still had his buggy and his horse and $400 and his bargain. Okay.

So he made wealth. Yeah, he did. Wow. Yeah. And for 14 years, he sold meat from house to house. Really? Yeah. He was butcher 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 by himself.

He sold his own meat. Is that right? Butcher the 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 me that he had cut, pre-cut all day or sometime he cut them in front of them. What do you want that? 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 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 a lawyer, no education though. But I don't think I would have been a good lawyer because I'm too sensitive.

I like to take the other guy's case under my skin. So you didn't want to become a lawyer? Did you choose... I never said yes or no. It was a mention by my dad to other people. Who's going to do with this little no good for nothing? Anyway. He didn't say he didn't say that. 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 five foot four, a man

was supposed to be five, ten, five, you know. Oh, wow. 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. My dad getting older and older, he left the big butcher business and I didn't see any future and me at home. The house that we were living in didn't belong to us. 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. So we were, that's how poor we were. 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. So the reason we weren't 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 in it then, 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. And after that, when she got married, then it shift to, Tatan Gilbert 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. 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, pension, help a board for me to go to be with the brothers, Christian brothers. Like to become a monk? No, no, no, brother. It was a teaching institute. Oh, okay. 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. And then I was not this good age, but I was, I said, well, if I good the brothers, I can make a fresh start. I didn't use those words at the time, but I'm saying that today. So the brother accepted me, and on 14 September 1944, he came and picked me up at home and had given me a list what I should have, clothing, socks and everything, and 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 with six to seven percent. Ah, I got it, I got it. So I was with the brothers for three and a half years, three years as a student and eight months as a novice. And then I was let go. Because they said they figured I was not the type to be there. So they said, the broader director says, well, you go and help your parents.

What am I doing helping my parents? They've got to help me because I'm you know, I'm out of here therefore 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 And he noticed she said you are scared Of course, I was scared right now. I was scared, right away I was scared. He said, I'm leaving here. I am the street.

Yeah. So he said, 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 I was very... 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 greeted me. I was happy. And during the summer, our work had little jobs. And so I was looking for work. And of course, when you, 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 I wanted to go work in the woods. 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. The job was in KC in the old Morissi. It was about 300 miles from Thuoribierre. 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 job was showboy outside. I would have liked to be showboy inside. But you know when the door close on you, there is not a one that opens. 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 Nicollet, 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, Tante, Tante searched in a store, there is a story behind that, I'll tell you later. Tante said, I said, I'm looking for a job. I said, would you pray for me? Prayer are powerful. So she says, yeah. So I stopped to 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 wool into a ready for knitting, for knitting business. So I worked there for about three months and I said, oh, I said I was going to, it was just before Christmas, I went home. And I, from the beginning of December, and 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 I found a job, 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. 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.

Okay. So I went back to my uncle and I was eating at his daughter's restaurant. I said, no I don't have any job. 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. So I went, he made an appointment, 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. So I went back to my own color and 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 stood the door at that closing there the Lord has a plan for me and the following week I was working in the store because I would be staying there until the 31st, the end of March. The guy, a friend of mine, he was washing dishes in the restaurant where I ate. He came to the store, poor thing, like, he said, Jacques, Jacques, I said what? He said,

your uncle just died. Oh no. Oh, I said, my uncle died and I lost 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 18, I was still 18 years of age then. And okay, well, I said I'm gonna go home. Mm-hmm. As I didn't know, I couldn't figure out, figure out 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, the spring, kind of dull time there.

The farmers are not starting, you know, everything is closed. So while I was sitting there, I started to look at the newspaper. 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 was hundreds of jobs, you know, in stores, anything like that, in Montreal. So, while I was looking at that, I saw a little lab that they were asking, that was placed by the Army, that they were asking for young people to join the forces. And I always like to wear a uniform.

Because whilst 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 fought for Canada during the last World War, Second World War. Oh, okay. So I cut this little piece of that ad off the paper, put that in 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, you come over. We included a train ticket for you to come.

Wow. So that was nice. Okay. So I went there and I decided that I was there in Quebec City. 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?

And I didn't have any money to go back there. So my brother told me, he says, little cousin Paul, he says, once a week he goes to Quebec City bringing cattle for the slaughterhouse in Quebec City. He says, he said, he'll take you. You know, just jump with him and he'll take you. So I met Paul, he said, sure. He said, come with me. So I got him and about just before we got in the clothes that was, the depot effectif

were close to the Plaine 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 got back. 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. I said, yeah. 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 and says, "'You're okay. We'll keep you." He says, "'You go downstairs.

We're going to give you bedding and everything that you sleep with us tonight.'" I said, "'Well, I have a place to sleep tonight. Yeah, that's good. So I sleep there and I slept there in the morning and then from then on until he said, we'll call you when you need and be around. So when I knew that I had a free time, then I would go and walk, sleep in Abraham. I never had such a beautiful time there. And anyway, I think I was at the post of effective number three for three weeks. And then, oh, I went to the hospital for a medical check and he says, oh, you got me on the bar and you can be on the scale. 108 pounds, oh, this guy is light. He says, well, you can't take a guy lighter than that light on the scale. 108 pounds. Oh, this guy is light.

He says, well, we can't take a guy that light in the army. But there was a guy there. He said, never mind that. He says, well, he's young. He's going to grow up. No problem. We'll keep him. So I know it.

So I passed that. But when it came to give me the needle, what I think... Oh, no. to give me the needle, when I think… Oh no! A guy who was doing the army is scared of a needle. But anyway, so I heard from… So I said to the guys, oh no, I'm going to stay. Shack, you stay with us. Don't go away. Everything is going to 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. Anyway, so guys were talking, he said, after you sign, he says, you're allowed to have a week to go home and see your parents and settle your things that you have to settle at home. So I asked for a weekly. Yeah. So she said, no, I said, you go to the paymaster.

And I went to the paymaster and he gave me $30. Oh, I was rich. $30 doing nothing. So I went, I took the train, went home for a week and then came back. I came back for a 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 I had just turned 19 years of age when I got to the base camp, to Saint-Je John, which is the base there. And the major said, oh, we should give you a day off.

He said, you celebrate your birthday. I didn't say anything. I said, that's OK. 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.

So I did my basic training for, oh by the way, when I was in Quebec, see God, God, it was on my side. It was before I signed in Quebec because I had to sign. I signed on the 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 stress 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, 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 1949, 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 make 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 lasts for about, and then they put me on the Stormen 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, told English. And I couldn't, I can't understand English. I couldn't understand. But I could, I could hear a few words but you know,

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 baseboard in Ontario for an administration course of six weeks. I said, I take it. 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 not 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 Haino, I still remember his name, very nice man, fully violent, well, you couldn't see if he was speaking French or English. He was so good at both. And he said, we're gonna give you three days to study,

and then we're gonna give you a test. If you pass the test, you pass the course. 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.

Because that he made me get one, and also a $6 a month increase. Oh, look at you. No, I felt I belonged. 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. It was my last day in the forces, 13th of January 1973. That's all 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. Yeah, he is the son of Tatat and Azen. Tatat and Azen is my nephew. And he sent me a card if I want to go to his wedding and I talked to Grandma Colombe 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 car, I told my sister, I said,

look, I said, I'm going to see to Claude's wedding. If you want to come, I'll be your par 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 and she said, yeah. I said, okay, I'll get a ticket. And so on a Labor Day, Friday night of the 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 a Saturday afternoon. 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. Oh, that's nice. And he was so happy. So we stayed here three days and we left in the morning or on the yeah in the morning and I have the following Monday which was a Labor Day and we came back to Quebec City. I left them in Montreal. Somebody will pick them up in Montreal and then I carry on by myself to Quebec City. By myself to Quebec City. And I arrive at night.

It was about, Quebec City, eight o'clock. The reason it was a little bit late, because one of the pilot got sick in the middle of the flight from Montreal to Quebec City and they had to come back and have somebody else. And so it was a target by about an hour or so. Anyway, so we got back to Quebec City. So the following week, Colombe, I 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 where we were in the Valley of St. Michelle. She wasn't happy around there.

We had to make a move. Yeah. But we had to make a move. Whether I stay in the army or we had to move out to find another place to live. Whether 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? Chilowac, British Columbia. Yeah, I'm moving to Ch up with some yeah, yeah, whether it's nice there No, no shoveling of snow. Mm-hmm. You know and all that, you know all that goes with it and my family was young Uncle girls was was it 13 Eddie was a year and a half. Oh, wow So I had four young children Carmen was 11 years old. Mm-hmm Martin was eight, I guess Yeah so four. So sure 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 got to go to Montreal. So I got a proper time to give me the paper. So I went to Montreal to the yard and I put my card in the boxcar and he

says it will be in Vancouver about that time. He said, okay. So and then when it came time for us to move, they gave us a ticket. We took a taxi from Quebec, from, from Valle 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? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it took three days? Montreal to Chilowacvoix, 2500 miles. Wow.

So at that time, it was faster today, but at that time it took about three days in train. We took the train in the afternoon and we arrived on Saturday noon at about at 1130. Then Claude with his wife and a friend of Geraldine, he came to meet us. And then the army was paying me 10 days in a motel. So while I was in the motel, I started to look for houses. We left Quebec City on the 19th of July and we arrived here on the 22nd of July. And then we looked for houses. We stayed at Claude Place on the Lewis Avenue here for about three days because we had to get out of the... after 10 days, you know. The army was not... I don't want to pay myself, Claudia, she come stay home and in the meantime was looking for a house.

So we found a house, we found this house and the earth abarges, we move in, move in the house. And the whole family, mom was happy, we have a home, quiet, quiet area and things like that and then we start living. We have a home, quiet, quiet area and things like that. And then we start living here. I'm just curious, how much did you pay for this house when you bought it? $20,500. 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 saving since the first year I was in the army. Yeah, you're very frugal, just like me. And I took a mortgage for $7,500. My mortgage was $83 a month. Oh my gosh. And then I was paid full salary until the 13th January 1973.

From then on, I start getting my pension. It was $290 a month. So that $90 a month pay for the mortgage. 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 is going to come out. So I look around, so 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 grade nine. That's right. So I took, oh, before that, I got a job at a base as a laborer. I was being paid $250.50 or $3.50 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, I ate all the weeks, 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 for the base. And then- The army base.

And at the army base, but my name had been put at the bottom of the list. So I had to wait again. I couldn't drop back to where I was. So finally after a few... So I sold... Oh, before I sell insurance, I went to work for the provincial government. Oh really? Yeah, at the research station in Abbotsford, which doesn't exist anymore, it's closed. And while over there I worked for about four months, I guess. And the job I had in 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. I said, I'm not going to stay here. Believe that dust, after 10 years, I won't be able to breathe. So I said, I'm gonna look for another job. That's where I start to look for life insurance.

I was accepted. I worked for Sun Life for about six months. I left them and took 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. So I applied at the base and asked, and mum was here, I said watch for a telephone, if you receive a phone call, you want me at the base, I'm not going to go. So I did that. So it was, we were in 1976, in 1976, it was 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.

When you finish, you're gone. And then in October, he said, oh, you're going to work until the end of September. And all of a sudden, he said, oh, we have no more money. We have to let you go. And at that particular time, it was in August or September. I was coughing, I was coughing, I was coughing. So I went to see the doctor.

The guy said, you have a little touch pneumonia. So he gave me pills and I took those pills for ten days, coughing left, my pneumonia gone. And then, so they called me back because I had my other name inscribed somewhere else Because I had my other name inscribed somewhere else to work at the base itself. I 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 passedi examination, 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 its first job and I got a second job when you open income in January 6th. I worked there for 17 years. So with the salary I had and my army pension, then I was able to live comfortably. So how long did it take you to pay off this house? It was kind of a tiny mortgage.

Well, the house was being by itself because my army pension was coming. Did I receive a check? I'm not sure. Anyway, I knew that that money was slated only for $3 a month. So I paid that for 1973, 72 until year 2002, until 1982. Oh yeah, no, no, until 1980. And at that time, the interest rate was up to 22%. That's crazy. 22% interest rate. So I went to them and said, can you lower that a little bit?

No, they refused. But in the meantime, I had bought some Canada saving balance. And I had about 3,000 left on my mortgage. And my Canada saving balance was due maybe two weeks, two, three weeks after. So, okay. So, I paid 22% for about three weeks. And after that, when my Canada saving balance came due, I went to the site. I said, I'll pay my mortgage. I gave them $3,000 and that's it. So in 1980, my house was paid. Good for you. I wonder how much it's worth now. It's probably gone up in value 500%.

It's not bad. And you paid only $20,000 for it. That's a good... You did well, grandpa. See, 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. But I gained a lot because if I had stayed one year or two years, I would 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 election year. The NDP came over and they froze all the farmland. 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 had gone up because it was... So anyway, Saint Joseph helped me. Yeah, that is so interesting.

I put everything in the hands of God. I said, I'm leaving four children and without a job, coming here in a strange place. It's a big risk, grandpa. The plus, the little plus I had, there was no problem for my children because I was in Valcarci. They went to English school. So when they arrived here, it was no problem. But I'm over the language. Because when Gil started to go to school in Bates Board in Ontario, there was no French school there.

So he started a grade, not kindergarten, grade one in English. And, really? At first, before we move in the base, we were at a small place called Everett, outside the base. Everett, yeah. I remember. Then Gilbert was at the school. The teacher would say, okay, teach such a book. He didn't understand what was going on, what she was saying. He was looking at the other guy, the book

that he would put off on this desk to use. So that's how he was acting. Another time he said he went to school. I guess he misunderstood the teacher. So at noon he came back home. I said, 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 the school for about a month and a half, then we move on the base. Also there, there was old friend's school there.

But the teacher there, she was in about her fourth grade. She knew how to handle a little kid. So she said, don't worry about it. She said, by Christmas, he'll be okay. He was okay. He passed his grade. And then playing with the kids outside, he listened to them, what they were saying. And tried to figure it out. He learned to them, what they were saying and things like that. And tried to be credible.

That's how he learned to speak English. It's 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 Bay's Borden, so he had to stay at 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-

Being a translator? Can you imagine a small kid translating what she was saying? Oh my gosh. So that's where all these kind of little things were. Problems of the fa- well, they're not problems. There's something that happened in the family. You might see when you have kids and when you have kids, there's all kinds of development that 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, because Colom 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 Josh, you know, it wouldn't be...

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's 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 extension that what it caused, you know, move by one person what it does to the others. Another thing too, when we move here, and mom said she liked 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 she started to go to school, grade one, she said, well, I'd like to work. She worked as a homemaker for 12 years. And until 1992, she started 1980. And then with that little bit of money, we could help your mom to go to BCIT.

That's right. Although I would have been able to pay, but wouldn't have saved any money. But we kept saving any money just the same. And mom cover all your mother expense at BCIT for two years. 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. It's not lost a daughter. And thanks again for listening to today's episode. It was episode 29.

And for the show notes, you can check out mo money, mo houses.com slash 29. Well, there you go. That was my episode with my grandpa, Jacques Hardy. That was originally episode 29, which aired December 1st, 2015. Isn't that crazy? That's crazy. Oh my gosh. So I hope you enjoyed it. And if you want to learn more or how I kind of put some of this story of my grandpa into

context for me and how his money story impacted mine and my mom's, you can find that out in my book, Everything But Money, The Hidden Barriers Between You and Financial Freedom out now. Jessica Moorehouse.com.com is where you can grab your copy or go to your library if you don't want to buy it. I don't care. It's okay. You don't have to buy it. You can, you can rent it. That's totally fine by me. But yeah, it's, I'm so glad. It's one of those things that, man, I wish I did more. I wish I recorded my maternal grandma and unfortunately she passed a few years before this recording, but I'm so glad I was able to record my grandpa and I'm so glad I was

able to record my grandma, which will be a future re-listen episode, my paternal grandmother. So yeah, with that, I'm going to leave you there. I hope you really enjoy this and I'm going to see you back here next week with another Re-Listen episode. So take care of yourself and I'll see you soon. would not be possible without the amazing talents of podcast producer Matt Rideout who you can find at mravcanada.com Getting dressed should be simple. If you're like me you want to look good, feel comfortable, and be ready for anything. That's why I love Dürer. It's not active wear, but it's not just fashion. It's the best of both worlds, where performance meets style.

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