Shaun Newman Podcast - SNP Archives #28 - Bill Brownridge

Episode Date: September 1, 2021

Originally from Vawn SK. We discuss growing up with a disability, life as an artist, stories of the railroad, writing children's books & his adventures in painting. Let me know what you think Text me 587-217-8500

This is Glenn Healing. Hi, this is Braden Holby. This is Daryl Sutterin. Hi, this is Brian Burke. This is Jordan Tutu. This is Keith Morrison. This is Kelly Rudy. Hi, this is Scott Hartnell.

Hey, everybody. My name is Steele-Ferre. This is Tim McAuliffe of Sportsnet, and you're listening to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome to the podcast, folks. Happy Wednesday, Hump Day. Hope everybody's having a great week. It has been busy on all fronts, getting, you know, lots of email messages, text, phone calls, social media,

everything about the last couple episodes with the doctors. So if you haven't tuned into some of those, I highly suggest you go back and let me know what you think of them. Today we got another archive episode. I worked around Vaughn Saskatchewan for the last four years, and I've driven by this man's billboard or a sign there at Vaughn, Saskatchewan, you know, pretty much every day. and I always wondered, like, I wonder who this guy is.

So I actually get to sit down with him and hear his story was pretty cool. And so I'm, well, I'll get to it here. I appreciate you guys, tune in on this Wednesday. And I just want to let everybody know there will be another episode of Friday. I sat down with a lawyer. And so I want to get the information out as quickly as possible. And so with everything moving as fast as it seems to do right now, we got the archive today with a fantastic,

episode. Very interesting story about a very well off, not well off, a very accomplished artist. And then Friday, a lawyer hopping on. So regardless, let's get to today's episode sponsors, Jen Gilbert and the team for over 45 years since 1976. The Dedicate Reilers of Coval Bank or Cityside Realty have served. Lloyd Minster in the surrounding area. Star Power is what they're providing their clients with seven day a week access. They know big life decisions. are not made during office hours. That certainly happened. Sunday, Jen showed us a house. No worries, guys. Everybody's going to be selling, you buying, you, what are you doing? I was just looking. Anyways, called Jen up, and of course, good old Jen, the next day. She's like,

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Now let's get on that T-Barr 1, Tale of the Tate. Originally from Vaughn, Saskatchewan. He graduated from Alberta College of Art in 1957. He spent 30 years as a professional graphic designer. He's worked for the Calgary Flames. He's been commissioned by the Calgary Winter Olympic Committee and received a Canada Council grant to paint railroad architecture across the prairies. He has appeared in magazines,

his art is in galleries across North America, and has his own best-selling children's book series. He's a husband, father, and pillar of his community. I'm talking about Bill Brownridge. So buckle up. Here we go. Well, welcome to the Sean Newman podcast today. I'm joined by Bill Brownridge.

So first off, thanks for hopping on. Happy to be here. Well, Bill, I've driven by your sign in Vaughan, Saskatchewan, I don't know, a lot. And I've always wondered the story behind that sign. And now we're going to talk a little bit about it. So you grew up in Vaughn then? Yes, I was born in Rostown, but my dad was a station agent with the old CNR. And he finally bid on a little town called Vaughn.

And so I moved there when I was very young. And what do you, what do you, like when you go back to, you know, you're born in 1932. When you go back, what is, what is maybe one of your first memories you have, whether it's Rosetown or whether it's Vaughn? Oh, definitely. It's definitely Vaughn because I was just born there and I have no memories of Rose Town. So what do you remember about being around the train? And I mean, I can assume from some of the stuff you've written.

and painted and everything else that the life of the town at the time was the railroad. Absolutely. You know, all over Saskatchewan, even in the bigger cities, the railroad back then was like the airport is now. It was the hub of everything. You know, we got all kinds of messages coming in, telegraphs about weddings and deaths. and that was the real center of all the action.

How do you feel about now being able, me and you being able to do this? You know, those memories and now where we're sitting like this, you over in Victoria, me sitting here in Lloyd Minster, being able to have a conversation like this. Well, it's hard to believe, especially, you know, with my mindset, like I'm not exactly very swift with these devices. But you're doing just fine. Yeah, with the help, yeah.

Hey, believe it or not, we all needed help at one point in time. And then you start using it and you understand what you're supposed to do and walk and run and you go. You might be making more of these calls now, Bill. Yeah, yeah, probably. Now, like little town of Vaughn growing up on the rail, Road. What was your favorite memory from the trains or the train station? Well, I have so many memories. It's hard to pick them out. But, you know, for instance,

the sound, I still get chills at the sound of a train horn. You know, it's, it's, you don't hear many of them anymore, but once in a while I have heard a train whistle and it just, it's just brings back a host of memories. Well, and I have to assume on the prairies, there wouldn't be a whole lot of noise going on back then. No, it was very quiet, very quiet, except for, you know, the occasional coyote howling or crows calling. How far away could you hear that train coming?

you know miles miles because you know you could probably see it a couple of miles away what um i'd read there was the night train and vaughn was a big event maybe you could talk a little bit about that oh yeah well of course the train there's so many different kinds of trains back then there was a passenger train there was the uh you know the the grain train And then there was the baggage train. And then there was the section train where, you know, a whole crew of guys would come and stay in town and work on the railroad. So there was so many different kinds of trains. And of course, then we took the train a lot, you know, like, for instance, the train into North Battleford.

I don't know if you've read any of my book, The Iron Horse. I've read it all. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, you know, it's just, the train was just so central to everything. And the train to Battleford on Friday, we'd go in there in the morning, and then we'd come back at night, and we'd maybe have gone shopping, gone to a movie,

gone to a restaurant. And it was always a tremendous mixture of people from, you know, farmers and drunks and sometimes religious people, nuns. So it was always, and of course, indigenous people. It was a tremendous, exciting for a boy to go to North Battleford. And, you know, you've gotten to witness the high time of something like that. And then it's 1975, if we fast forward, you know, 40 years. And you're touring the Western landscape painting essentially the disappearance of the train.

Yes. Yeah, well, that was a very big event in my life. Because, you know, I felt lucky to have got a grant to do the trip for the summer. and I had a car that I could sleep in and have some of my supplies for painting. And then the challenge was starting out was I didn't have a chance to really set up any kind of contacts in any of these towns with the old railroaders. So, you know, it was just a case of driving across the prairie looking for the elevators, which of course stood out so tremendously in the landscape. And then sort of contacting some of the locals,

and they would tell me, oh, yeah, old Joe, you know, he's living over there in a house. And I'd go and wrap on the door, and I would tape our conversation. So it was all exciting. And then, of course, the painting, I was looking for, you know, there was a lot of similar old railway stations, but I was looking for the more unique, architectural unique stations. And then, of course, when I set up to paint, quite often I have people interrupting me, wanting to see what I was doing.

And, you know, I never have liked performance art. But, of course, I had to be nice to the people that came and asked me questions. but it did slow me down sometimes in trying to capture something with the fading light or the rain coming down or the wind blowing over my easel. I can just imagine. You know, reading that book and reading your interviews, I assumed you'd taken a tape recorder and I pondered to myself in reading them. I'd asked you on the phone about T.G. Griffiths, he was the World War I pilot. And I'd wondered to myself, I wondered, did you talk to him for an extended period of time or only what was in the book? Well, I talked to him for longer than I was able to write about it because he wasn't very loquacious, you know.

He was a man of few words, but he was very impressive. Did you ask him about World War I planes like? just everything about that at all? Like that is, that is from a different world, a different time. I know. And I did ask him some questions,

but we didn't, you know, I didn't, maybe I didn't know enough what questions to ask him, but I do have a, I had two brothers that were, you know,

pilots in the war. And so I was pretty fascinated, almost in awe of what he had been through. I forgot that your brothers flew in World War II? Well, yes, they were both pilots, RCAF pilots. And Bob just, he came back from New York.

He played for the New York Rovers. And he trained pilots here in Canada. Whereas Don, my older brother, he actually was over. He was a ferry pilot. And he was ferrying bombers from England to India and parts in between. yeah. When you say a ferry pilot, what do you mean? He was guarding them?

No, he was he was equipping. As bombers got shot down, they had to have new bombers come in. So he was ferrying bombers all over the place in the battle against the, you know, the Germans and the Japanese. So he was taking a brand new plane or a plane and flying it to where it needed to go and then hopping another plane back to Britain, say, to grab another bomber and take it wherever it needed to go. Yes, yes, exactly. Did you ever, with your brothers, did you ever talk to him much about those times?

Yeah, well, that's the one thing that I feel so sad about it. is that it's almost like, you know, when you lose somebody you love, and then you start thinking about, well, why didn't I ask him this? Why didn't ask them that? And that's the way it is with me, with my two brothers. Don had so many things that he could have told me about, but for some reason or other, I didn't, wasn't smart enough to ask him. I didn't, I didn't dig into it like you would have, you know, as a serious interviewer. And Bob, I used to, so many times now I've said to them, I've said to myself, well, what, why didn't ask them? Well, what was it like when, you know, the crowds in Madison Square Garden, you know, all the beautiful girls were, you know, champing at the bit to talk to you, you know? And what was it like to deal with the, the management of the rovers? And what was it like being with all the, all the, all the, guys, you know, when you traveled with them. Of course, in those days, it would by train or bus. Well, don't beat yourself up. I think if there's anything I've learned in doing this podcast,

is that even if you think you know somebody really well, if they sit down with me, or probably anyone, for that matter, Bill, and they have their life digged into and questions asked and followed up on, they're going to say something that probably not a lot of, lot of their close family or friends, no. And that's just taking the time to listen. And listen, I come from a family. I got four older siblings. And I like to think we do it enough or we, we talk to one another and know our thoughts and our experiences. But at the same time, I, just hearing you say that probably is reminding me, I should take the time to sit down with my siblings and really pick apart or pick their brains, so to speak, because they've done some pretty

cool things in their short time. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's just amazing the way you you get so involved with your immediate life where you could be sitting beside someone who could unlock a whole different world of knowledge

for you. Well, and for me, that's what this is. This is when Brad had mentioned you, A-O-N. oh man the guy on the the sign at vaughn i've drive by him like every second day yeah i want to do that and i just look at your story bill you've you've uh you've been all across you know our great country and probably more you've painted an awful lot you've had a lot of success that way uh and then on top of it you're uh you're no spring chicken anymore

which means you've seen a lot of life which is good because i for a man of your age it's good that you can still convey what you've lived and experienced. And I admire that because I look at you and I go like, man, he's going to have, even if you don't think you have tons of wisdom, I look at it and go, I'm 34. You got a lot more life on me than I do, right? And to share some of the stories and experiences you've seen, that's what I'm after. And I get to do this all the time. and it's a lot of fun to see what another person has experienced and seen in their lives. Yes. I don't know if you, if Brad told you or if he knew that I have a friend that put my name in to the Saskatchewan Sportsman's Hall of Fame for a Sportsman of the Year.

Yeah. And it's just amazing how he, when he started digging into my background, he dug up stuff that I had forgotten about. And of course, I was, I was never good at sort of documenting things that happened to me. So it was quite, quite amazing the things that he was able to find out about my life that I had forgotten about. well and when you start digging on somebody you can usually find a few things that stick out i'm you lived through a time that you know as a kid who loves history you live through the well you were born in the depression but you would have been awfully young is there anything you remember about the 30s the dirty 30s uh just just a few things uh of course

I was born, you know, with all kinds of physical problems. Yeah, spina bifida. Did I say that right? Bephita, yeah. And other neurological problems. But, you know, I can remember, you know, the station when we got there in the 30s, it didn't have any plumbing. And I remember the outhouse.

I'm sure you know guys that have experienced that from the early days. And then, of course, I remember my dad taking me on the crossbar of his bike, taking me to my first day of school. And things like that, you know, just certain flashes from the past. Well, let me ask you this. I've interviewed, I don't want to sit here and say a lot, but I'm starting to have interviewed enough that have lived back close to your time. Right. What was your housing accommodations like? and do you remember the cold? Oh, absolutely.

The station was quite spacious. You know, it had higher ceilings than ordinary houses. And it was a wonderful place to grow up because you were sort of at the center of all the activity for the town. You know, all the groceries came in, all of the cattle were shipped out, all the pigs and everything else. all the soldiers that came back from on leave from the war came in on the train there's nobody flying in and there wasn't a bus service until Tommy Douglas incorporated buses for all of Saskatchewan you know to me that was one of his great accomplishments but anyway living in the station was a marvelous place

to grow up. And then, of course, interacting with all the people that came in to do business at the counter. And then I would meet them in the waiting room around the pot belly stove. And so it wasn't only a crossroads of merchandising, but it was a crossroads of socializing. Around the warmest place in the building. Yeah. And as far as the cold is concerned, of course, the cold was.

It was a central part of my growing up because I spent so many hours on the rink. And, you know, Vaughn, most of my inspiration for children playing hockey comes from my experience growing up in Vaughn on the outdoor rink. And I, you know, I don't know he's had fun there, but I froze my feet there and had to be taken to the hospital a couple of times, too. Because I had no feeling in my feet. So I would wear, I wore moccasins and rubbers over them. And, you know, I would play until, you know, my feet were frozen. Well, the book I read of you when I was growing up was the, is it the moccasin goalie? Yeah, maugusin goalie.

And obviously that's directly from you. Yes, it was, you know, based loose. on an experience I had, which you probably heard of. I don't know if I should tell it, tell it to you. Sure. By all means. Well, you know, the team, I was in my teens, and by that time I had had my leg amputated and had an artificial limb. And I still, of course, would go out and play road hockey with,

and on the rink with the guys. but anyway the team they got into the playoffs against Miota which was a town you know 10 miles up the up the road and

I can't remember exactly what happened but if our goalie got sick or if they just wanted we got into the final game and they asked the league if I would have permission if they would have permission to play goal without skates on.

And of course, that would give us one more player to be able to play defense. And so the league, they thought it was impossible that we had any chance of winning. So they said, yes, yes, let them play. So in North Battlefield, in the final game, they put me in the goal in my moccasins and rubbers. and by gosh we beat them in that game. And two of the guys from the Miota team, they went and tried out for the Regina Pats. So it was hockey at a sea level,

but it was still organized hockey. And that's something that stayed with you for a long time. Oh, absolutely. I've got pictures of our team, you know. That was 1957, I think. 56, 57, yeah. I have to ask, you know, we talked just briefly about your brother's fighting in the war or being a part of the war effort, I should say. And what do you remember about those years, even maybe the couple of years after the war?

Do you remember things that changed in Vaughn or was there much change in Vaughn? No, there wasn't much change in Vaughn. of course my two brothers were my heroes Bob and Dawn not only because they were in the war as pilots but also because they had both played hockey at quite a high level especially Bob Bob played for the you know he played for in Rosedown with the I think no in Saskatoon with the Wesley's the junior Wesleyes

then he played with the Portage of Prairie Terriers and then he went to the training camp in Winnipeg and the rovers picked him up. And can you imagine a guy coming from a town like Vaughn and ending up playing hockey in Madison Square. And New York City, I can just imagine the culture shock. Yeah. Oh, boy. And of course, you know, I have memories of him like in the summer.

He'd come back and work. He tried to stay in shape. He worked on the section. I don't know if you know the section was, you know, there was a couple of really strong guys that worked at keeping the railroad, like the ties and the rails in good shape. You know, and they used to do burnings along the right away. And Bob would get a job on the section in the summer.

And he'd wear big hobnail boots and, you know, spend most of his time with a shovel and maybe a big hammer driving nails in the ties. But then sometimes at night he'd go to, there was a pavilion in Miota at the Jackfish Lake where they'd have dances Saturday night. And I remember one night when he came back, he came from New York, he brought a saxophone with them. And I remember waking up, I must have been 11 or 12 o'clock at night from my bedroom window in the station, they drove up in the car and I could hear Bob trying to play the saxophone. I guess maybe it had a few beers.

Well, was it the saxophone? Well, I mean, was a saxophone? new to the area or or i don't know i mean i guess i guess maybe that was he had bought one i think in in in in new york i guess he had gone to a few nightclubs or something you know and her jazz or something i see i didn't ask any questions anyway he met his girlfriend in meota anyway and married her and he met his girlfriend and Miota and then married her? Yep, yeah. And they had two great boys, yeah.

Isn't that fascinating? Go all the way across the world and come all the way back to 10 minutes down the road to marry a girl. Yeah, that's right. It was sort of crazy, yeah. You had written about your parents. I found this fascinating in one of your books. It might even been in the intro to, I can't remember now, and it doesn't matter, but you wrote that your parents in the summers would live like the Korean Indians in tents during the summer months.

Yes, well, that was when dad was on the spareboard. In the railway back in those days, the spare board was like you were on temporary call. Okay. And so he'd be somebody, some station agent in some town would get his holidays. and they'd send Bob or they'd send dad along with the family to fill in at the station for two weeks. And lots of times there wasn't really a proper station for a family. So they would use a tent and they would just sleep in the tent. And we have pictures of them.

Yeah. Do you remember that or were you born yet? No, I wasn't born yet. I think the pictures were first when they were just first married and then when they had one child, I think. See, Dad had a bad thing happen to him. He grew up on the farm in Manitoba and was quite fascinated with the fact that he wanted to learn the Morse Code. So he went and joined up at the railway and became quite good at the Morris Code. And then his brother, who was a farmer, talked him into leaving the railway and going farming.

And they had, you know, they bought purebred cattle and they were really going well. And then they had three or four crop failures. And so dad gave up and went back to the railroad. But of course, he had lost his seniority about eight years. so he was starting sort of at the bottom then and that's why he was on the spare board it's an interesting thought to go around the country in a tent especially with children

talk about living on the edge eh pretty much yeah absolutely and the only time of course they could do it would be in the summer I don't know what you maybe it never happened in the winter but one of the other things I wanted to ask you about You know, we live now in the age of while this, we can literally talk to anyone around the world.

We can see each other, which is probably fascinating all around to anyone. But I find what's fascinating is back then, with your dad being a telegrapher, a telegram was essentially the only communication to the outside world when you're in a small town. Yep. What do you recall about that?

Because, I mean, you look out, well, the sun's shining, guys. But then you get a telegram saying, I don't know, the war is over? Or the war is broken out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, it was, it was, again, I guess I was so young, I just took it for granted. But like I can remember, wealthy farmers coming in. And dad would plan their whole European tour, you know.

He was like a tour guide. he'd he arranged for their for their tickets on the big ship going across to Europe and it was just amazing all via telegram pardon all via the telegram yeah yeah he would he would arrange for their tickets you know so if a if a guy wanted to go on a ship from Vancouver across the Pacific yeah they would come to your father and he would have to send off a telegram for that? Yeah, well, he could send off a telegram that purchased the tickets for them. Oh, wow.

And they would have to hand the amount of money across the counter to him. And he had a great big safe, you know, the size of about four feet by five feet. And that's where he kept all the funds. but and then I can remember you know once a fellow that was in the army

being in the war they had a big funeral for him in Vaughn they brought his body back and you know we went and viewed the open casket and several times

some boys drowned in Meota Lake and you know they would be they would be telegraphing family from all over Saskatchewan to come to the funeral in Vaughn and so it was kind of a you know sort of everything from tourism to life and death yeah it's to me that's fascinating that is really it is it was fascinating only i didn't know it yeah you were young well that's okay yeah that happens to all of us when we were young kids you don't

realize what you're around and when you get a little older, you go, oh, geez, I guess, hey? I think as you get older, you become more interested in the past, whereas young people, you know, they think that a year ago is pretty much old times. Young people also think 30s old. Yes. Did you ever ride on box cars? I always heard the stories of the old of where guys would hitchhike race. rides on the train. Did you ever do that or did you know of people who did that?

No, I didn't know of them. Dad, dad had several experiences. I think I might have mentioned it in my book, but I never did, but I had a friend who was about 10 or 12 years old who was a French-Canadian boy. and he was kind of the wild boy of the town and he his his father you know was a heavy drinker and everything and so he would be all over the town doing all kinds of crazy things and one time he got up on a box car when the when the train was in box cars around and i'll never forget that when dad went after him to get down from the box car on these moving cars you know, but I never did see anybody hitchhiking on the railway, no. How about painting?

You're a guy who's made a living off of that. How did you or when did you find that passion? And was it a passion immediately? Well, of course, I always call myself the ultimate compensator. because, you know, with born with disabilities, you kind of are herded into a certain direction. And I used to have to do a lot of, you know, like I'd freeze my feet or something,

and I'd have to do a lot of sitting and watching the guys play out the window. What do you turn to? I turn to reading and painting. and drawing. And I remember we did a trip out to Vancouver when I was a boy on the train. And I met the first professional artist in Vancouver. And she painted with oils. And her name was Nan Cheney. And she was quite well-known artist. And my family bought me a pair of oil paints. And that was my first experience. And of course, I was thrilled and it just encouraged me to pursue more and more

painting. And then as I got to be, you know, as it got to be a teenager, I started worrying about, okay, back then, the first thing a teenager did was wanted to learn how to drive a vehicle and maybe drive a tractor or some implement on the farm. And, you know, that, you know, They were 16 and they were just raring to go. Whereas I had to start thinking about, okay, am I going to be, you know, am I going to be trying to find a job whenever I'm not able-bodied? And so I started thinking, well, maybe I'll have to try to learn how to draw for a living. And then I met a friend who, my good friend, I still know him, still living,

who came to Calgary and studied to become an electrician at the at SAIT, the Institute for Technology and Art. And he came back and he showed me their yearbook. And it had quite a nice description of the art college. So I went to the art college for four years. And of course, that really, it just opened my eyes. the whole world, not just art, but the whole world, because they taught you more about, you know, sort of liberal education than they did in high school. So that was a wonderful step for me. And I was able to earn my living at it from then on. We started our own graphic

design studio, my friend Ken Sam Wilson. He's still living, but with illness in a home in Calgary. but that was that was it was you know it became my passion and now it's I still you know if I don't feel quite normal when I wake up in the morning if I can make my way to the easel I start to feel pretty good after a while you still paint quite a bit every day then yeah you know depending on how I feel but usually in the mornings when I have the most energy I paint. And I have three, four galleries that I'm still represented in, Winnipeg and Toronto and Calgary and Banff.

And it's been, you know, it's stories like yours, Bill, where you stumble upon or maybe not stumble upon. I mean, it feels like you found painting early on. Yes. But it's something like that. that, how old are you today then? You are 80. 88 years old, 88 years young. Yeah. And you've been able to continue to do what you love all the way up until you're 88. That's a lot of years of

painting. And I look at what I'm doing, sorry, just to finish the thought of interviewing people and trying to capture their stories is something that I hope I can do for the same type of career span. Well, of course, and of course, you know, the electronic media, you know, you're your foot in the door, you could go a lot, a lot further if you keep at it. Well, that's that's the hope, right? Yeah, yeah. The first thing you got to do is find something you truly enjoy because then it just the time seems to whiz by. Absolutely. I mean, that's, you know, the old saying that adults used to tell children, you know, do something that's close to your heart. But I think, I think that, you know, do something that you feel a passion for.

Because that is something that drives you continuously. You know, I feel sorry for guys that, you know, that are accountants with companies, counting the money. and lifting one piece of paper and putting it someplace else and are bored stiff. And, you know, with myself, I think it's so wonderful if you could find a passion that keeps you driving forward. When you look back over your career, all that you've done, all you've painted, your books you've authored, Your career at graphic design, like, what's a highlight that always sticks out to you, a favorite story or memory? Oh, my goodness.

That's a good one. I think maybe, you know, when I, there's been several, like whenever I was accepted to the art college, I had to send in a portfolio from Vaughn. and I was accepted in the college. That was one of my biggest thrills. Another one was whenever I sent my first script to a publisher for the Moggs and Goley. I think that was a tremendous highlight. Was it accepted the first time? When you sent it the first time, Bill, did it get accepted?

Yes. Absolutely, yeah, yeah. It was the orca right here in Victoria, yeah. And they did two more books after that. That's, I don't know if that's rare or not. I always felt like in the bookmaking industry, you had to deal with a fair bit of failure before you had success. Yeah, well, I think it's maybe a bit easier in the children's book area than it is in the novel.

I could be wrong, but the thing is that what I was offering, of course, was not only a story that they liked, but also I could do the illustrations. Is that, is the Moxingoli, what is it maybe the crown jewel of your career? Do you have a painting or is it the book? I don't think there's one,

but I think the book is one because, you know, I, it was like a shot in the dark. I, I had the title for quite a couple of years. And I, because I, I love the title, you know, I already had the title. The Moggson goalie. I mean, everybody that, anybody that knows hockey, that's impossible. And so, and the girlfriend that I had, she was involved with books.

And she never couldn't see anything in the title, but I knew it was a good one. But then, of course, of course, one of the highlights of my career, oh, of course, was meeting a girl that could see something in me beyond my physical deficiencies. And I got, and we got married.

And what was, who, what was her name? Her name was Barbara Smith. Barbara Smith. Tell me about Barbara Smith. She was from a town in Saskatchewan near Weyburn. Okay. Called Holbright. And I met her in art college.

And so, you know, I belong to a quartet. I played the guitar, and we used to sing. at clubs and stuff. You were in rock band, Bill. No, it wasn't rock. It was like a... It was like, you know, a quartet where you sang sort of harmony, you know.

Absolutely. I'm teasing. Yeah. And so we got to know each other and then a few years later we got married. How many years were you married for, Bill? Oh, my gosh. Oh, I'm testing your memory now. That's a tough one.

Oh, probably 15 or so, 18. Now, how many kids did you have? Five. You had five kids? Yeah. Three girls and two boys. Yeah. You know, it's in today's lay.

I have three. I have three four and under. It's busy. And I always wonder, my parents had five. And I go, man, that had to have been some sort of insanity. I mean, fun, but that's busy. How was having five kids? Well, of course, you know, being handicapped,

I didn't do much carrying of the kids on your hip the way a lot of parents have to share. But I'd say that Barbara or Bobby, as we called her, we uh you know she had she took the brunt of uh of looking after them and i i just went to work and played with them afterwards you know you've you mentioned you know your disability and missing part of a limb like with the progression of technology up until this point have you had things that have made life easier well of course i did have an artificial limb for quite a few years.

But it started, because I didn't have any feeling in my stump, I was starting to have a lot of continuing sores and blisters. So finally, I just gave up. And aside from that, of course, the wonderful thing for me was being able to drive a car. and I guess I got wonderful medical tension because of Medicare from, again, Tommy Douglas. Tommy Douglas is my political hero because he brought revolutionary ideas to the prairies. Well, let's talk about Tommy Douglas for a little bit because here's a guy who grew up on the prairies and doesn't know a whole lot about Tommy Douglas. Share some of your insights about a favorite politician.

Well, you know, my parents both grew up quite religious, but Protestant. And we would drive to church every Sunday in Mioda. And so I grew up in that culture. When I got to be 16 or 17, I had several discussions with my parents, and I decided that I couldn't follow with the idea of the Holy Ghost. But for sure, I had bought into the whole idea of values coupled with government.

And so when Tommy Douglas came along, he brought in Medicare. He brought in, you know, all kind of electrifying rural, rural society. He brought in the northern airline to all of the outlying settlements in the north, which my brother flew for after he came back from the war. And also the bus, the bus is going, the Saskatchewan bus service that would go to all the small towns and villages. And of course, the whole idea of, you know, Christ's message, but instead of just a. talking about it from the pulpit, Tommy Douglas actually designed it to go into the streets and help the average person.

So that's been something that I felt strongly about all my life. And I don't quite understand why, apparently there's a small statue in Weyburn of Tommy Douglas, but I think that there should be a statue in Ottawa of Tommy Douglas because he's one of the heroes of the early Canadian history. A man who not only talked about things, but then went and did them and made sure they got done.

Yeah, like he actually brought the words of love your fellow man into the street. What do you think then about today? About today's world we're in? Well, I've written a new book. I should send you called the Stoneboat. Okay. And it's got a lot of my poetry and a few of my commentary papers at the back. And, you know, I just think that, you know, I think that the only path I had is one that combines business and humanitarian philosophy.

That seems reasonable. Yeah. So that's, I'll send it to you. Does what's going on in the world right now concern you? The fact that you got, I don't know, it seems like riots on top of, I don't know, it wasn't that long ago they were ripping the statue down out east, even in Canada, right? Pulling down John A. McDonald. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, of course, what's going on in the States does scare. me for sure because when you have when you have people the bearing arms and rioting I mean you've got you've got a terrible situation no I think that their society needs some major reform and in Canada well I think we're we're I think we're a bit our history is not like the American history I think that they've built their whole sort of psyche is full of the individual, you know, the strong individual. Whereas in Canada and Europe, I think we build a more of a unseen and sometimes

unexpressed, a psyche of, well, you know, we have to think about the group and what is good for the group. And I just think that the U.S. have gone off on a sort of an extreme where they've allowed everyone now to carry weapons that want to carry weapons. And they're suspicious of their government. Like, for instance, having been helped by Tommy Douglas all my life, I respect having the vote and having a government that, you know, does make mistakes just like business does. but I totally respect and I just am glad that I live in a country where we do put thinking about human values pretty high on the scale. Certainly.

I want to ask you about retirement. You're a guy that has never, well, you've retired from a full-time job, I believe, after 30-some years. Yep. Why didn't you just, I don't know, go lay on a beach somewhere, drink a daquery and go that way? Well, I guess one thing was that maybe I didn't accumulate enough wealth. But even if I would have been wealthier, I'm quite sure that I would have had a fancier studio, but I would have still been painting because again

it wasn't the I'm not, I've never been doing it for the money it certainly has been for you know the actual joy of coming up with a concept and then being able to give it actual shape on a piece of canvas who's your favorite painter?

Who inspired you? Van Gogh. Van Gogh? Van Gogh? The Dutch painter. painter, yeah. And what was it about Van Gogh that you just captured you? It was his spontaneity. He went for the essence of what he had in front of him. Instead of, you know, instead of the infinite detail that some painters try to go through, like the old

traditional painters, the way the folds on a silk tunic went. And, you know, they were wonderful at executing that sort of thing. Whereas I love the spontaneity of just responding to the landscape in front of them also. That he painted landscape and he painted people. And he just responded to what he was in front of him very spontaneously. And that's what I, you know, I admire the other techniques. but I love the spontaneity and the fact that he would find beauty in almost anything around him. I don't know if I heard that quite perfectly, but am I right?

No, no, you're, I'm, when you say spontaneity versus people who are devils in the details, so to speak. Yeah. Am I right in saying that they were chasing perfection and trying to capture an image or a building all the way down to its final crack? And spontaneity isn't about the exact details of the building, but more the feel? Exactly. That's exactly it. Like, you know, again, I don't want to disparage people that try to paint every blade of grass. but I'm just saying that my approach that I love and have always loved is that, well, since art school, is that I love the approach of trying to capture the essence of what you see as opposed to detailing it. And to me, that is more technique.

That's like, you know, sending hours and hours of performing or perfecting your technique. versus you're trying to pursue seeing past. Oh, oh. You're still there. There you are. Uh-oh. Yeah, it says a little battery. Okay.

But anyway, I've expounded enough on that. Well, a couple of things here before I lose you. And if I lose you, Bill, that's all right. I guess I've kept you too long. But from the hockey side of me and the sports side of me, you get invited to do a couple of different things that I found fascinating. One of them being helping get the 1988 Olympics, Winter Olympics in Calgary. Could you talk maybe a little bit about that? Yes, well, of course, most of my graphic life was spent with a large agency in Calgary.

and we had a lot of clients, you know, like government and industry. And we happened to get a large part of the advertising and graphics for the Olympics or for the Olympic bid. And of course, I was on the team. And when they came to putting together the bid book for Sarajevo, they wanted me to do a series of action figures that sort of captured some of the major sports that we were trying to gain the right to show. And so I did a series of action figures showing all of the winter sports. and that was a highlight for sure in my career because it turned out very well and they won the Olympic bid.

Did you go to the Olympics? Yes, for sure, I did. What's the highlight maybe from your time of watching Olympics in Calgary? Well, it was hard to get tickets. And of course, I wasn't big on going up in the mountains and standing in the cold in the snow. So I think probably a hockey game. I think I went to one hockey game.

How about this one? I found this. I got to be very, very forthright. I am not a Calgary Flames fan by any stretch imagination. Go Oilers go. But you did help design a Calgary Flames jersey at one point in time. Did you go when that came across your, like, hey, Bill, we want you to help design a Calgary Flames jersey. Were you like, you know, you're a guy who's mentioned how much you love watching kids play hockey and the lessons learned on the ice, etc, et cetera,

well, the Calgary Flames are in the biggest league that all of those kids chase. Was that like, wow, all right, yeah, let me sink my teeth into this. Oh, yeah, for sure. That was a big thrill for sure, definitely. And, you know, we designed the jersey and we had my, I had my, friend Gary, you know, he, we had had them actually produced and Gary dressed up and went out and skated and we did film him skating with the jersey and and we got approval from the, from the flames, you know. And that was it was a big thrill. Did they, how long did they use

those jerseys for? Not that long. I think they were a little disappointed after they approved it that we I had made the flaming sea a bit smaller than they like so I think that was a negative against it but I did use some diagonals that hadn't been used in jerseys before and I think that went over very well

and I see I see it cropping up again and again in in jerseys now well we'll do this we'll do the Crudemaster Final 5. Just five quick questions, Bill, before your phone dies and we go black. And if that happens, it happens. But we'll do the Crew Master Final 5. And just a couple of questions to finish us off. I greatly appreciate you hopping on with me today. If you could sit and talk with one person and do exactly what I've done to you. So you could sit and pick someone's brain. Who would you want? Well, I'm torn because would it be sport or would it be

philosophy, you know. I'm a pretty good friend with Bill Hay. I would like to talk to him. Well, you're going to have to fill me in. Who is Bill Hay? Oh, he was an all-star. He played with Chicago Blackhawks. Okay. And he lives in just outside of Calgary. And he's he's always been a supporter of mine. And he used to be head of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Oh, wow. Yeah. I bet you'd have some stories.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, he was a great hockey player. How about, oh, sorry. I think he was the first, the first NHL hockey player that came from, was an award winner in the American League or something. something way back. How about you mentioned one in sport?

How about philosophy? If you could pick somebody's brain about philosophy, who would you take? That's a good one. I'd have to think about that. That's more difficult. I do enjoy the philosophical conversations. They're some of the best. Yeah, they sure are.

And of course, all my friends tell me, well, you know, you can't change anything. or just talking. Maybe, but there's something that comes out of exploring the unknown and the possibility of the unknown that is can be quite enjoyable. Oh yeah, for sure, for sure. You know, places where they say, well, this is the way humans are, you can never change them. And I believe that you can change them. I would agree with that. I think you can change people.

Yep, yep, I do. Best piece of advice you could give? Well, again, I'd go back to, you've got to find something in life besides just earning a living. You've got to find something that even when you're at home that you find intriguing, fascinating, and will keep you exploring and thinking for the rest of your life. Like the saddest thing is when a guy retires and two years later, he's dead because he's tired of. of doing crossword puzzles. Fair. Bucket list.

If there's one thing left on your bucket list, what would it be? Wow. I guess it would be, go back to Saskatchew and visit where I came from and some of the people that are still living there. Well, Saskatchewan is awfully beautiful still. Yeah, sure is. and you know all my like I said all my inspiration comes from what I experienced there if you could take a course a one-day course by any painter who would you take a course from well you know I'm sort of I'm sort of

out of the contemporary art scene in a way you mean somebody that's still living I'll give you a If you want to go Van Gogh, you can do that. Well, absolutely. I mean, if old Van Gogh was still living, I would bow down to him and kiss his hand. Who's the most impressive person, your final one? Who's the most impressive, or not the most impressive person?

Who's the person who's impressed you the most? So maybe left, imparted you with some wisdom, so to speak, like really impressed upon you something. Well, I guess I have to go back to Tommy Douglas when he was giving speeches in Saskatchewan. You know, my family and went to hear him. And he really almost brought tears to my eyes. because he he combined practical problems with a vision

and that is a tremendous accomplishment you know I had someone I admire once tell me that politicians today lack vision and I didn't I don't know if I fully understood him but as I get going along and get a little bit older and hear people like yourself say statements like that, I think I understand what he was trying to tell me.

Yeah, I think that there's so many people get into politics and they are really good at expressing themselves, but they end up being just managers, not really visionary leaders. And there's something special about that, isn't there? Oh, yes. It's again, another word, I guess, is they are, you know, they're almost like geniuses, which are very rare. Well, I appreciate you hopping on and sitting and talking with me for a little bit, Bill. It's been quite enjoyable, and I now get to put a face to that sign in Vaughn, Saskatchewan. Yeah, well, I hope I haven't bored you with the getting off on.

politics but no no i certainly not you're a man who's lived a an awfully impressive life in my opinion and you've seen some things and you've done some things and a lot of it is um different from the common man so for you to sit here and and talk with me for an hour i've truly enjoyed it and i wish you nothing but the best thanks so much thanks bill okay okay hey folks thanks for joining us today If you just stumbled on the show, please click subscribe. Then scroll to the bottom and rate and leave a review. I promise it helps. Remember, every Monday and Wednesday, we will have a new guest sitting down to share their story.

The Sean Newman podcast is available for free on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you get your podcast fix. Until next time. Hey, Keeners. I still got the YouTube thing in there. I'm hoping to have it back up on YouTube here awfully quick. if you're curious about what I mean, I got a strike from YouTube and my stuff pulled off,

and a couple episodes pulled off, and also my ability to upload anything to YouTube was it was stripped of me here after episode 196 with Patrick McNulty. So I've since been off YouTube for a little bit here. I'm hoping once again that I get back up, but long term, I'm not sure what's going to happen there as they continue to censor and, you know, label things misinformation and medical misinformation,

nonetheless. So hopefully it'll be back up on YouTube here shortly. And then I just wanted to remind you Friday, I have James Kitchen, lawyer James Kitchen on the podcast. He's a constitutional lawyer. I thought with everything going on, it'd be why. to bring a guy like that on. He's got an interesting way about him.

I think you're going to enjoy what he talks about. And we're not going to stop. It's just heating up here. So I appreciate everybody tuning in. I certainly appreciate all the feedback. Man, there has been a ton over the last, you know, month, but for sure the last couple weeks. It has just really ratcheted up the amount of feedback coming back through,

whether the phone line texting me or social media. and I do appreciate hearing from you guys and your thoughts. And if you're wanting to hear certain guests or you have an idea, by all means, throw it at me. Some of the best guests have come from you guys. And ladies, for that matter. So have a great Wednesday moving into the rest of your week. No wake up Friday morning. I'm going to have a lawyer ready to roll and look forward to hearing what you guys think of that one.

And then certainly hope you enjoyed Mr. Bill Brownridge. Have a great week, guys.