My Father's Wallet: Special Father's Day Episode

For this special Father's Day episode of the Great Canadian Aftermarket Podcast, host Andrew Ross examines an artifact from one of his main inspirations for his life's path in the automotive industry- his late father. For many in this industry, the road to an automotive career are paved within a paternal line (although the maternal lineage is certainly strong for some as well!). Today, our host will be going down memory lane through his father's own wallet and the preserved possessions that give us a glimpse into his father's life and impact. From all of us at CHAT Integrated Media, Happy Father's Day weekend. Also on our YouTube channel

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Welcome to the podcast. Uh stage Ross. A little different view from the chat media studio here. I'm on the on the blue couch that you see in the background usually when I have guests on, but something a little different. Again, uh today, uh with Father's Day just around the corner. Uh I thought I'd uh do a special mini edition. Now, for a lot of uh folks in this industry, uh the passion for it comes down through uh their uh paternal lines. I mean, there's certainly nothing to be uh said against uh you know those who've uh taken their inspiration from their moms. Uh and there's certainly lots of uh uh women in the industry who uh have uh you know joined and brought their passion to it as well, but often it still has come through their fatherly lines, as it were. Um I'm no different. Uh if it weren't for my dad, there's uh absolutely no question I would not be involved in this industry. Uh so as a mini uh episode, uh I thought I would uh do something uh very personal uh and uh uh go through um my dad's wallet. Now, my dad passed in uh 1987. Uh so uh you know it's been a long time since I've looked at this. Uh a shout out to my sister Carol Ann, who is the keeper of all things, keeper of all memories, and keeper or keeper of all things that that last. Uh so thanks for for making sure that this stayed intact. Uh so if uh if you will uh indulge me, uh we're just gonna take a look and see what's what's inside. Um and a little context. Um my father died in in 1987, as I mentioned, uh July 1987, most nitty weekend, uh as it were. Um I remember uh helping out with uh uh carting a colleague with his Formula 2000 car on the Saturday. My dad passed on the uh overnight on Saturday, and so on. I didn't show up for uh to crew on on Sunday. They they all knew something was wrong, and and that was before cell phones and all that too. So uh uh but uh shout out to uh David Nevin too, uh who like is uh retired as uh one of Toronto's finest uh some time ago now. Um so here's uh just going through this uh very quickly, just some some phone numbers. These are totally carting people, totally go-karting people, um cart sport people, if you want, if you will, uh that that my dad was uh was was connecting with. Um and and and uh this is my dad. My father's my father's business card. Uh so uh Eric Ross. Uh you can see, oops. Uh E R Y K, unusual spelling, and and uh he was uh uh plant engineer for Echo Canada. Uh, don't know if it's still operating on Mac Avenue in Toronto. Uh this, oh this this is telling. This this was my first business card when I joined uh joined the media uh for a couple of years, was uh with uh some industrial publications. So uh uh the fact that he uh hung on to this wasn't too terribly long after I started in the business. So um I guess he was probably proud of me. Uh this is a card from the Holiday Inn um in Jacksonville, uh, where we uh attended uh the World Carding Championship in 1986, so that was still in his wallet, and somebody else emailed uh there uh uh from uh from Columbia. Uh now this this is something. Uh this is a track side uh credential uh from the uh from the Rothman's 200 weekend in uh in June of 87. Um my dad and I were uh trying to put together an effort for the Porsche Turbo Cup at the time. Um and uh obviously that didn't uh didn't happen. Uh a few other business cards here. Uh oh, this is definitely a carding, this is uh Ken Bentham's phone number. So I think that's Lee Bentham's dad. Um some other kind of personal stuff kicking around in here. Uh something about uh this is this is crazy. This is this is from uh uh Paris, I think. Uh and and some contact information of somebody in Brussels um completely must be related to carding. I don't recall it uh at this time. Uh you know, there's a there's a pay stub in here, uh, which you know we won't get into, but it I think you'd be all surprised that you could live on it. Um parking paddock from the Rothman's 200 weekend, as we mentioned. Um some other personal cards and things like that. You know, his he had just recently retired, uh, so there were some uh documents there on that. Uh uh, you know, Royal Bank Visa social insurance card, you know. Uh won't get into that. We don't want anybody uh taking his identity. But a lot of things like that. Uh you know, his corporate card from American Home Corporation. Um and then what do we have here? What is this? Oh boy. Um so this is uh his handwritten notes from uh for himself. Uh he was the uh C A S E, which uh isn't quite there anymore, uh Ontario Region Director for Carting. Uh and he was the you know lead organizer, um I guess he was the steward or scheduled to be the steward for the 1987 Canadian Carting Championships at Goodwood, which I know is still vibrant and and happening. Um, sometime between when he made this note and when uh the event was he passed. Uh so I have very clear memories of uh uh going to inform the folks at the event that my dad had passed. And they just looked at me and said, Well then you do it. Just on the spot like that. I was uh kind of taken aback. And um, I mean I did. Uh I I think it I think we ran on time, so but uh very clear memories of that. That's that's quite something for me personally. Um and it's probably that's really kind of about it. It's as I mean in the episode. My dad was not a pack rat. Uh all the things in here, I mean, maybe they mean nothing to you. Um so thank you for indulging me uh in this. But uh, you know, my dad had a real pivotal role and and uh is particularly poignant right now as I've just gotten involved back in uh cart racing again up here in Sudbury, Ontario, uh having a great time as uh probably the oldest rookie technically that they've ever had. Uh because it's been 40 years since I since I raced carts. So uh uh, you know, as they said, they there are no records because it all happened before the internet, so they can't even search anything. Uh but having a great time. It's a great sport, um, great way to get uh young people involved uh on the mechanical uh pursuit of uh of competition. And I see lots of uh dads and their uh their kids out there, uh sons and daughters uh out there racing now, which uh you know uh is is uh amazing and fantastic. Um anyway, uh thanks for indulging me. Uh happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there and uh thanks to all the fathers for uh passing along their passion uh for the automotive uh business and for all things mechanical. Um it's really special, uh special to me. Um and uh thanks to everyone for for again indulging me in listening to this. Have a great Father's Day with you.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

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