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into Grade 9 and he picked her (Jean) out of the crowd. Not long after meeting her, she agreed to go out with him. “She was the only girlfriend I ever had,” he said, ex- plaining he never had any time for girls because of his work at the mill and weekends playing in the orchestra. Jean and Ted dated for about six years before he popped the question at her parents home one night. “It was noth- ing special, no getting on my knee,” he laughed. “We were sitting at the table and I pulled a ring out of my pocket and asked her to marry me.” Wedding bells rang in September 1951 and the young couple were married in the Seagrave United Church. Since then they’ ve raised three children, Debra, Paul and Ian, who all work in the family business. After finishing high school, Ted headed off to Toronto where he attended Ryerson Institute, graduating as an architect. He returned home to the family business and worked along side his father until he retired and turned the com- pany over to his son in 1970. During Ted’s tenure as owner, the business continued to expand and flourish, particularly the truss plant. Looking to the future the company invested more than $300,000 on an expansion and upgrading of the plant. This took place during the early 1990s, but no sooner had they expanded, than they were hit by one of the worst recessions in memory. “The banks were brutal with us. It seemed they just wanted us to close down,” Ted recalls. But the family refused to go down without a fight, scraping all the cash they could together. Ted and Jean used up their entire life savings and his sons mortgaged their homes to keep the company afloat. “It was the toughest time of my career. I never felt lower in my life,” he said, remembering the terrible feeling he endured when he had to lay off about 30 people, more than half of the company’s staff. But aside from that ‘bump’ in his career, Ted is extreme- ly pleased and balances the ‘downs’ with his love for the business and the community. He says he has always felt hs best when he was build- ing something. “It seems 7 bei in the Griffen’s genes - building and putting things together,” he smiles. And as for Port Perry, he can't say enough. “For me it’s the perfect place to live. I love the town and the people.” Then he smiles, admitting he’s never really lived anywhere else in his life. As would be expected, a man who loves his community this deeply is also a man who would try to ‘give back’ for the lifestyle it has provided him and his family. Modestly and reluctantly he described some of the or- ganizations and projects he’s worked diligently for over the past 60 years. In fact it’s hard to know where to start there are so many, but some of the groups who have enjoyed his energy include Community Memorial Hospital, the United Church, Masonic Lodge, Port Perry Businessmen’s Asso- ciation and Chamber of Commerce, curling club, scouting “We used up our entire life savings to keep the company afloat...” Ted Griffen time worked at the company. organization and the And even now, at 80 plus years, Ted is still actively involved in the fight for the re- tention of all services at the local hospital and the recruitment of doctors to the commu- nity. To that end it ap- pears as if his efforts have come full circle. Ted was on a similar committee back in the mid-1960s which was responsible for attract- ing and encouraging n Griffen, right, with his father Sam Dr. Bill Cohoon and other at the new plant in 1980, during their doctors to set up practice 50th anniversary celebration. in Port Perry. Today, Ted’s life is a little less hectic, but just as mean- ingful as ever. He is proud his children have taken over the family business. And speaking of family, his sister, brother- in-law, nephews, cousins and grandchildren have all at one No longer does he have to jump out of bed and head to the office. Now he and Jean, his wife of almost 60 years, enjoy breakfast together, read the paper and look out over Lake Scugog from their fourth story con- dominium. Later in the morning he'll drop by Lake Scugog “Ive never done anything great, but | always tried to be honest and fair to everyone” Ted Griffen Lumber and work a few hours putting away stock, before ambling down to a ‘secret hideaway’ to practice his trum- pet or work on his model of a Beaver airplane. And if that isn’t enough, he plans to continue play- ing golf a couple of times a week during the summer and maybe even meet up with his good friend Don Patterson for an afternoon of sailing on Lake Scugog. sked how he’d like to be remembered, he sat back in his chair and reflected for a few minutes before an- swering. He simply says he would like to be remembered for his honesty and integrity during his years in business. “I've never done anything great in my life, but I always tried to be honest and fair to everyone. I really think that is important,” he said. With such a simple philosophy, it’s no wonder Ted Griffen was able to earn the respect of his family, staff and community and successfully usher his company into the twenty-first cen We're sure Ted’s name sake, grandfather Edward Griffen, is proudly looking down with that familiar big, wide smile that is a Griffen trademark. By J. Peter Hvidsten Focus on Scugog FOCUS - MAY 2010 13