Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star, 8 Aug 1984, p. 21

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PORT PERRY STAR -- Wed. August 8, 1984 -- 21 A carpenter he will never be The following is te third in the Port Perry summer series of what it's like to switch jobs for a short while. Last Friday morning, Star editor John B. McClelland got out from behind his desk and 'typewriter, and joined contractor Nick Rensink and his gang as they are working on major renovations and expan- sion to a house on Scugog Island. This is his report. Let me say at the outset that while I had my fair share of heavy labour jobs while a younger man in my teens and early twenties, the last few years of "soft of- fice work" have left me in less than top condition. Thus, I was slightly ap- prehensive about work- ing with Nick, his son Jan, Harry Piersma, Nick Jr., and Dave Hall. I figured Nick would like nothing better than to hand me a real plum of a job first thing in the mor- 8 ning: like lugging unloading lumber, or (my worst fear) carry- ing bags of cement. I was supposed to be on the job just before 8:00 A.M. and frankly, I wasn't too unhappy to Port Perry Star editor John McClelland traded in his typewriter for a hammer and nails last Friday morning and went to work for contractor Nick Rensink. John managed to get through the ex- perience with thumbs and fingers intact, and gained a better ap- see rain coming down at preciation for the work of contractors. (See story) thai crazy hour of the y.. CERTIFIED Make Your Best Deal ... New or Used ... Here! 1981 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX Dark fern metallic, loaded, sharp unit. Stock No. 4-1278B. *8,850. BUICK PARK AVENUE Dark maroon metal- lic, immaculate. Stock No. 4-130A. 1980 OLDS TORONADO Midnight black, loaded, extra clean. Only 80,895 km. Stock No. 4-124A. *8,969. 268 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY "NOBODY DOES IT BETTER" DENNIS PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Telephone: 985-8401 (SERVICE 985-9273) That gave me the ex- cuse for a second cup of coffee and a trip to the of- fice (just to check that there were no important messages), before I finally mustered up enough courage to make it to the job site shortly after 9:00 A.M. I was half hoping Nick would fire me on the spot for being late. No such luck. In fact, Nick was nowhere to be found when I arrived. He was in town getting sup- plies or material or something. But Jan and Harry greeted me warm- ly and welcomed me to the second floor of the house where they were busy framing walls for the bedrooms. For any person (like myself) who doesn't list carpentry as a hobby or pass-time, stepping onto the site of a house renovation is confusing and intimidating. Framing may be routine for guys who have been doing it for years, but for me, well, I didn't exactly do cart- wheels to get my hands on the skill saw. I watched as Harry and Jan went about their work, quickly and quiet- ly, measuring, marking, cutting lumber, ham- mering nails, and for the first little while I was content just to observe and stay out of the way. Nick soon arrived with some coffee for everyone. I felt a little guilty since I hadn't real- ly done anything. But the coffee tasted darn good, anyway. Just after coffee break, the guys started measuring and cutting the studs for an interior wall. Suddenly, Jan handed me a hammer and a handful of spikes and pointed to where I should start hammering. My moment of truth had arrived. Nick had a grin on his face from ear to ear. I gulped as visions of a smashed thumb danced through my head. Carefully, I took a spike in my left hand, knelt down and tapped it into the studs. Not bad for the first effort, and surprise, I only missed the nail once (maybe twice). But more impor- tant, I managed to miss my thumb. Hammering became a little easier as I gained confidence, but I was still very cautious and mind- ful that I only have one thumb on each hand and would sure hate to lose one. A short while later, I got a scare as a lumber truck pulled into the yard with a load of shingles and I was sure that Nick would send me out to help unload those heavy bundles. But Nick Jr. and Dave took care of that in short order. Actually, as the morn- ing moved along, | real- ly didn't have all that much work to do. | was happy with the hammenr- ing, but felt there was no way I would push my luck by tackling the skill saw. But I did get a chance to have a good chat with Nick and appreciate that contracting keeps a per- son on his toes, all the time. Nick has a couple of jobs on the go right now, and while he doesn't do too much heavy work anymore, just co- ordinating the projects keeps him busy enough. He's a baker by trade who arrived in Canada from Holland in the ear- ly 1950's. After working at Oshawa General Hospital as a baker, then Star editor fears for thumbs on this job a four year stint at GM in maintenance, he got into 'contracting full time in 1956. It is a business he obviously enjoys and had worked hard at it over the years. He admits he has slow- ed down a little in recent years and now talks of retiring to a workshop where he'll putter about making cabinets and pine furniture as a hobby. Of course a person like myself doesn't learn much from spending a few hours on a job site, but one does quickly get a sense of appreciation - for the skills and talent of people who can build a home from the founda- tion to the roof. Got adream What do you want to be when you grow up? The Great Summer Switcheroo will feature two working stiffs ---- (the Star's Cathy and John), ---- who will try a different job each week all summer long. And then at the end of the summer, we'll be drawing a name out of a hat and sending one lucky person to the job of his or her choice for a day. IF it can be arranged. We can't guarantee anything. Send your name, phone number and job of your dreams to- The Port Perry Star, 235 Queen St., P.O. Box 90, Port Perry, Ontario. LOB INO. And don't forget to enclose your imagination! SCUGOG ISLAND MARINE OPENING _ SPECIALS EB *850 Ib. Boat Trailer *15' FG Boat - 50 h.p. Evinrude *16' FG Boat - 60 h.p. Johnson *1200 Ib. EZ Loader Trailer *12' Aluminum Boat *12' Fibreglass Boat *5 h.p. Johnson *2 h.p. Johnson (1983) ---------- 985-8200 5 Year Annual Interest 32% MEMBER CANADA DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORP bb family Trust APPLY TO DON FORDER INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. 30 WATER ST., PORT PERRY - 985-8471 RATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

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