GRANDPA’S WORK

“GRAMPA’S WORK”

It is with great pride that I tell you of my interest in the last painting in the Southland Series by Ronald Suchiu. It is not often that a person is able to truly honor the people who so deeply touch their lives. Ronald has given my family this opportunity, and for that I thank him.

This painting which is titled “Grampa’s Work”, has been painted to honor all grandparents, for without them, where would we be? It is due to their hard work and strong morals that we are where we are today. When you look at this piece, I hope it brings back many pleasant memories of your own grandparents.

The reason behind this work is to honor the memory of my father-in-law, Ernest Edmond Poisson, and all he stood for. Although I did not know him very long, he was to be a kind, wonderful man of great principle. The only bad thing about his life was that it ended far too soon. Father to five and now many grandchildren, he cared more for his family than he did life itself.

His death came a mere two months after the birth of his first granddaughter and grandson. He had only a wink of an opportunity to play with his grandson but, I feel confident that he would have spoiled each and everyone with his great love.

Dad worked in the automotive industry for more than twenty years. He believed in working hard for what you wanted and even taught himself how to repair TVs by reading books from the local library.

In this painting I hope you see not only Dad with his first grandchildren, sneaking a peek in the window of that mysterious place he called “work”, but also your own memories of a time forgotten.

In the background of the painting is my grandmother Sara Hugert Tapson McEnteer. To me, she was much like Dad and worked very hard as a seamstress while raising two children alone. I can remember her telling me how at eighteen, she had worked to save enough money to buy the hat she wears so proudly in this painting.

The historic representation of this painting is that of the earliest automobile factory in Canada, Ford’s Wagon Works Building which was located in Windsor at Drouillard Road and Riverside Drive in the very early 1900s.

Principle, honor, morals, and the determination and values of all our grandfathers, regardless of which “Big Three” they strived for, is the concrete force behind today’s technology.