Jack of All Trades and Master of None: An Inventory of My Life and Times
By Robert D. and Gregory W. McClinchey
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About this ebook
ROBERT D. McCLINCHEY looks back at a long and fruitful life in this memoir, beginning with his birth on the family farm in 1926.
Growing up in East Wawanosh Township in Ontario, he found plenty of adventureoften getting into mischief with his six siblings. The family worked together, struggled together and had fun together.
From an early age, one of the keys to Roberts life was music, which the family enjoyed playing together. Whenever he played the fiddle, he was at peace with himself and others. It also led him to his late wife of 58 years, Frances. In 1950, the two were married.
In this candid look back at his long life, Robert remembers his varied careers, including fisherman, pool hustler, machinist, mechanic, ice-road trucker, gasoline station attendant, road-builder, snowplow operator, bus driver, farmer and syrup maker. More importantly, he explores what it means to be a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather while being a Jack of All Trades and Master of None.
Robert D.
Robert D. McClinchey is a fifth-generation Huron County, Ontario, resident who has spent a lifetime adding unique, one-of-a-kind experiences to his personal biography. Whether playing the violin, watching baseball, or listening to music, his sense of humor and genuine personality are apparent. He lives with his son and daughter-in-law and enjoys spending time with his extended family and friends. Gregory W. McClinchey began his public career at the age of sixteen as a federal political aide; today, after twenty years of experience on Parliament Hill, in media broadcasting, and in elected politics, that community service continues. His educational background includes media, communications and alternative dispute resolution, and he is the author of the 2007 political biography Stickin’ to His Guns. McClinchey now makes his home in Ottawa with his wife and their two children.
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Jack of All Trades and Master of None - Robert D.
Jack of All Trades
and Master of None
an inventory of my life and times
Cover_Untitled03_20120314021816.jpgiUniverse, Inc.
Bloomington
Jack of All Tradesand Master of None
An Inventory of My Life and Times
Copyright © 2012 Robert D. McClinchey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
All photographs used in this book have been provided to the publisher for use in this publication by Robert McClinchey, unless otherwise specified. Ownership outside of this document of the said photographs is retained by Robert McClinchey or the original photographer, when appropriate.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
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ISBN: 978-1-4759-4024-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4759-4026-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4759-4025-1 (e)
iUniverse rev. date: 8/9/2012
Contents
Author’s Note
Foreword
A Fall off the Mangel Wagon
A Trip to the Cellar
Poor Pete
Fiddling to the Mill
A Pox on the House
Wilf, Harvey and Me
A Smelly Lesson Learned
Teeswater Fair
An Apple in the Eye
Fire in the Belly
Fowl Tempered
Stompin’ Bob
The War at Home
Memories and Milford’s Tow
Eighteen Wheels … of Cheese
My Door Was Always Open
Miss Frances
Setting the Date and the Course
Fifty Acres of Near Poverty
Building a Future
A Super Test
The Grand View from Here
Back to Bus-ness
Wednesday Night Class
One Last Home Together
Epilogue
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
To Miss Frances
Author’s Note
When first approached with the idea of writing my memoirs, I was a little apprehensive as to whether I had the literary skills required to put together an interesting and readable collection. Despite my initial misgivings and armed with the encouragement of my friends and family, I decided to give it a try.
The following pages contain the fruits of my labours, something I have intended for the enjoyment of my family, relatives, friends and acquaintances. These pages contain my recollections as they relate to specific, real-life events, reminiscences and conversations that span the time period between my birth in 1926 and the present day. In essence, these pages contain a collection of stories that outline selected facets of my life, my numerous occupations and the countless people whom I have had the privilege to know and interact with.
Without my now-departed wife and soul mate, and without the ongoing support of my family, I would never have had my memories, both good and bad, generated as a result of our time together. And without those memories, this book would never have been possible.
With this in mind, I am indebted to several people for their friendship, advice and assistance, and in particular I would like to mention my son, Wayne, for his willingness to share his musical talent over the years. I would also like to thank my grandson, Greg, for his expert advice and for his many hours spent writing and formulating these memoirs.
I truly hope and trust that my efforts will meet with your approval and that the pages to follow will cause fond remembrances and perhaps even a smile or two. If this is the case, then my efforts will have been richly rewarded.
Thanks for the memories,
Robert D. McClinchey
Foreword
Greg McClinchey, grandson
I first met Robert McClinchey in April 1976, and while I have no recollection of that initial encounter, it touched off a lasting personal association that has spanned nearly 37 years.
In 2012 Robert McClinchey turned 86, and in doing so he began yet another chapter in a life that has, thus far, been colourful, diverse and worthy of note, to say the least. Whether he was a farmer; a bus driver; a mechanic; a musician; or a restaurateur, Robert McClinchey has lived his life in a style that has clearly earned him the respect and esteem of all those he encountered.
Although he is not a man of traditional wealth, political influence or excessive formal education, Robert McClinchey has, as a student of life, proven an aptitude for real-world adaptability, problem solving and people management. He is, in every sense of the word, a true polymath.
His impact has been felt by many over the years, but to me, Bob McClinchey is an example, a mentor and a teacher of things. He taught me how to play the spoons; how to make a whistle out of a willow branch; and how a person can deal with difficulty and adversity while maintaining a definitive sense of humour and inner calm. He has shown me that age is nothing more than a number, something to be worn as a decoration rather than as an albatross. He exemplifies experience and know-how; he exudes acceptance and hospitality; and he is the epitome of what every grandfather should be.
I say this because, for as long as I can remember, Robert McClinchey has embodied everything I have aspired to become. He was and is a hardworking, goodhearted and productive member of his community; a respected and trusted confidant; and a loving and devoted son, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
While I may not have known him in his earliest of days, I am confident that I know Robert McClinchey in his most refined and complete incarnation. Despite this, there are still large gaps in my knowledge of the life and times of this man—a man who happens to be a fifth-generation Canadian and the patriarch of the McClinchey family. For those with whom his path has crossed over the past 86 years, the pages of this book will help shed a new light on this complex person. Details of his childhood, his personal relationships, his employment history, his aspirations and even his regrets are, for the first time ever, chronicled in the pages to follow. And although he is not someone who has radically altered the course of history, his grasp of the human condition makes this account well worth the read.
Whether you know him as Robert, Bob, Pa, Grandpa or even as Cactus Mack, there is no mistaking his infectious laugh, his calm demeanour or his indelible expression as he deliberately draws a bow across his well-tuned Stainer or Louis Lowendall. After a life that has been, in many ways, stylistically analogous to the fictional accountings of Tom Sawyer, Robert McClinchey is now adding the title of author to his accomplished pedigree.
I am truly honoured to have been part of the chapters spanning the past 37 years and am as eager to learn about the details contained in those prior to that as I am to help write the chapters yet to come.
A Fall off the Mangel Wagon
When you look back at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.
—Dr. Joyce Brothers
I was born quite young on a frosty Tuesday, January 19, 1926. As was the custom at the time, I was born at home on the farm rather than in a hospital, as commonly happens today. My father, Edward Gordon McClinchey (1899–1989), was the second-youngest son of John McClinchey and his wife, Julia Daer, of Irish/German descent. On the other side of the family tree, my mother, Lillian Dell Anderson (1904–1988), was the daughter of William Anderson and Florence Patterson, who were of English and Scottish ancestry, respectively. Together, through the Great Depression and WWII, my father and mother raised a happy and healthy family of five boys and two girls. In addition to me, the McClinchey family eventually consisted of Eileen Florence (July 22, 1927), William John (May 25, 1929), Lillian Jewel (March 25, 1933), Norman Gordon (July 14, 1935), David Edward (April 25, 1940) and John Currie (November 7, 1944).
Image1.jpgIn my