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7 Volume 73 Number 1
15 February 2021
My first job was brief, helping lay a railway spur We had motorbikes at this time and lived in a
line near the south foot of Argyle. It was heavy boarding house near 20th & Kingsway. The land-
work. My co-workers were mostly Greeks and Ital- lady, Mrs. Lexton, from Sweden, only spoke in
ians, burly men with bandy legs and no necks. I pronouns, with the result that we never knew
was obviously out of my depth and at noon the what the hell she was talking about.
second day the foreman In the Spring of 1959 I
came over, handed me got a job driving for
a $20 bill and said “We Nelson’s Laundry, yel-
won’t be needing you low painted Chevy panel
anymore.” So, back to delivery trucks, mostly
the labour exchange. dry cleaning in the sub-
This time, I selected an urbs, but I was getting
indoor job card, Clerk to know the city, which
Typist, in a candy and came in handy for my
chocolate wholesale next job – mail truck
warehouse near Ren- driver. George was al-
frew and Grandview ready driving for them,
Highway. The manager a sub-contracting outfit
interviewed me and called B.C. Pony Ex-
asked: “Did you do typ- press, bright red vans
ing while in the navy?” I with gold letters – Royal
answered in the affirma- Mail – and no French in
tive as I felt that was sight. The average pay
what he wanted to hear. was $2/hr. and all piece
It was technically true, work. (ask me about
as I had typed up the this).
occasional label for a So, for a while, in
bottle using the two fin- 1958/59, I had four
ger hunt and peck jobs at the same time:
method. I was hired and Nelson’s during the day;
stayed there for six mail trucks in evening
months till September, and weekends; Tuesday
1958. It was not difficult evenings, Naval Reserve
work, and the manager at HMCS Discovery in
and three middle-aged Stanley Park, and final-
women in the front of- ly, cleaning up and tidy-
fice were very patient ing a church on Satur-
and kind to me as my Len and Elsa Haffenden day morning. At this
typing skills gradually time I was a member of
improved. Twice a week Haffenden, Garthe & Co. the Fraserview Alliance
I attended John Oliver night school to upgrade my Church.
English and Math scores to Grade 12 level.
Soon, the mail trucks were my only source of in-
In September I enrolled full time at Surepass Pa- come, part time and full time while at UBC, and
cific College at 10th & Fir, a private prep school in later, overlapping with teacher’s pay for several
Vancouver, taking five courses, English, Math, years, till 1968. Meanwhile, Yvonne Galloway and
Psychology, Physics, and History, all 100 or first I were married in November, 1960.
year level. In September, 1959 I entered UBC as
a 2nd year student, referred to as a ‘mature’ stu- We used the mail trucks, without permission, for
dent. personal use, such as moving and doctors’ ap-
pointments. There was only one seat, for the driv-
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, things were hap- er; others had to sit on a pile of empty dusty mail
pening. Marylyn and I agreed to go our separate bags and hold on.
ways, and Brother George moved here from Cal-
gary. As well, I re-joined the Navy as a reservist. My employer from July, 1964 to June, 1989 was

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