Page 19 - Book Eleven Havelock

DOOR to DOOR Written February 5 2010 Page 17
Many years after my time in Havelock I was the superintendent of the junior high department in the Sunday school of Christian Fellowship Church in Hammond Indiana in the 􏰀􏰁􏰂􏰃􏰄s. Many Saturdays were spent visiting the homes of the students especially the absentees and looking for prospects to invite onto the church bus. I usually took Michael and maybe one or more of the other kids along with me to relieve Momma􏰄s ver􏰅 bus􏰅 Saturda􏰅 at home􏰆 Serendipitously I found it helped break down barriers in homes, particularly for the girl prospects and for the single-Mom homes, many in the government-assisted welfare housing areas.
I seemed somehow to get onto the visitation committee of my church everywhere I lived until I got too old to do it regularly.
But it was right in Havelock where my interest in visitation began when I was about 13. We went to church at the Havelock Gospel Mission. The population of Havelock wasn􏰄t exactl􏰅 booming at a stead􏰅 􏰀􏰀􏰃􏰃 or so􏰇 but ever􏰅 so often a new bo􏰅 moved into town􏰆 When a new boy arrived at our school I usually seized the opportunity to invite him to my Sunday school class. I was pretty persistent and would go right to a gu􏰅􏰄s home Sunda􏰅 after Sunday morning, even waking him up sometimes. My success rate was pretty poor and I usually walked a couple of miles, sometimes on a very cold winter Sunday morning, only usually to come to Sunday school alone. I don􏰄t recall an􏰅 negative effects of my pressure on the friendships that ensued with Bob Jones, Bob Baines, Jim McMillan, Lawrence Gerow and the Melville brothers Bruce and Gerr􏰅􏰆 I noticed Lawrence􏰄s name listed as an usher in the United Church many years later and I do know that Bruce was an active member years later at a Baptist church in Sarnia. Most of the guys became my friends and we welcomed them into the 􏰈good gu􏰅s􏰄 group around town where Bob Watson had more positive influence on them than I ever did.
I also went door-to-door in Havelock as a milkman, working for Mr. Smith􏰄s Dair􏰅 for a dollar a day. Much later I was delivering milk again to help pay for my education in a door-to-door milk delivery dairy in Illinois called Guernsey Farm Dairy. In Havelock, Mr􏰆 Smith􏰄s horse pulled the wagon in summer and the sleigh in winter. His horse knew all our stops􏰆 We would run up to a customer􏰄s door to see what tickets the􏰅 left in their empt􏰅 bottles for toda􏰅􏰄s order. Meanwhile the horse would walk slowl􏰅 ahead and stop exactl􏰅 at the next customer􏰄s house􏰆 That saved us a lot of time and whole lot of walking. When I later delivered milk in Illinois , I wished m􏰅 truck were as smart as Mr􏰆 Smith􏰄s horse back in Havelock.
My son Joel had some door-to-door experience at an even younger age than I did. My daughter Miriam, a shrewd entrepreneur even then, had found an activity that looked to her like a can􏰄t-miss opportunity. She entered into a contract with a greeting card company to sell their Christmas cards and earn some real profit. Unfortunately she found out early that door-to-door is a tough sell. Undaunted, and like it is in any business success story she figured out a way to make a profit and not have to tramp around in the snow plying her products. So she hired her little brother Joel. It was strictly a commission-only agreement. Joel went out in the cold and did the door-to-door selling and Miriam kept the books and managed the operation. As Joel looks back on this arrangement now he feels that his share of the profits fell a bit short of fair. I think he realized 20􏰉 and middleman Miriam􏰄s share of the profit was 80%.
Joel subsequently became a good salesman and Miriam, now a successful business person, still feels Joel was fairly compensated.