Lyle R. Grant Motors

I simply knew him as Uncle Lyle.

He was my parent’s brother-in-law, married to my dad’s sister, my Aunt Madge. About 5’10”, red hair, freckles associated with a true ginger and as I recall, one of those quiet, cerebral personalities. Lyle was reserved, but yet a fiercely determined and competitive adversary when it came to conquering any task.

Growing up in the village of Straffordville Ontario, just a few miles south of Tillsonburg, he had an inherent gift.

Father Harry (Tink) Grant, had earlier purchased an old barn on the outskirts of the village and set up shop as a “tinkerer” (mechanic). Hence, the moniker Tink.

One of five children, Lyle was most mechanically inclined, inheriting his natural skills from his father.

Born a gifted mechanic, the locals claimed he could pull an engine in the morning, rebuild it in the afternoon and have it back in the vehicle, purring like a kitten by dinner – a true urban legend!

But unseen to many in his early years, he had a drive to be so much more than “just a mechanic”.

High school was a distant eight miles away and the only transportation was an old Willys Knight Roadster that he had cobbled together with spit and binder twine. While attending Tillsonburg High School, his formal education abruptly came to an end, when father Harry came down with undulant (Brucellosis) fever. Often associated at the time with under pasteurized dairy, or undercooked meat, it was debilitating, and Harry was unable to work.

Family Responsibilities

It had fallen to Lyle to become a full-time mechanic to keep his parents and three siblings afloat – a heavy burden for an eighteen year old. It went well at first, with the excitement of it all, but soon the pressure to be the sole bread winner. became too much. A nervous breakdown crushed his spirit and self confidence.

Incapacitated, the family roles changed once again. Harry was once again thrust into supporting his family, despite his recent illness. While convalescing, Lyle determined he wanted more out of life. Adversity often makes us look deep inside our souls after all. With new determination, he enrolled in a trades school in Toronto where he learned how to weld. Now brimming with confidence, this new trade would become a turning point in his life.

While still recuperating and unable to yet hold a full time job, he took yet another bold step.

With time on his hands and after much thought, Lyle reasoned that since cars were changing significantly, he needed a better way of getting at hard to reach parts. After careful consideration, a pit was dug in Tink’s old barn to allow access under the car for repairs. It proved to be a game changer.

The winters proved to be very cold working in the old unheated barn. So cold that there were times frozen fingers would not allow enough dexterity to thread a nut on a bolt. To make matters worse, there was scant money coming into the business during the winter months.

Something had to change.

Ingenuity – The Mother of Invention.

To earn more income during the down period he devised something to generate income and simultaneously create a niche market for himself.

This was tobacco country after all, and tobacco farmers were plentiful. At the time they used cumbersome steam engines to kill bacteria in the soil in their greenhouses and allow for spring seedlings to flourish – in a few short weeks becoming young plants, ready to be transplanted into the fields in late May and early June.

These steam engines broke down frequently. They were used only for a few days in the spring, remaining idle and neglected much of the year. As a result they often needed repairs; the boilers often requiring restorative welding.

These repairs came with a two-fold problem – the engines were too big and slow to drive to town and were difficult for farmers to repair at home.

Ever the entrepreneur, Lyle manufactured a device to mount these big steamers on skids, wait for winter to arrive and then skid them into his shop over the snow and ice using a primitive wrecker he had made just for this purpose. The pit became a natural resting place, allowing easy access to the underside and thus the boiler.

With repairs completed, the process was reversed, towing the behemoth back to the farmer, collect payment and move to the neighbouring farm to repeat the operation. A steady line of steamers and income and an invaluable service to the local farmers. It was genius!

Call to Serve

September 1, 1939 was the day Germany invaded Poland, thus beginning what would become World War II.

Lyle had to put his growing business on pause, as he was conscripted into service. At 24 years old, he understood his obligation and was prepared to serve his country.

He passed the required physical even though he was colour blind and was mentally preparing to leave his family behind, not knowing what the future might hold, or if he would ever see them again.

In a twist of fate, local farmers petitioned the government pleading that Lyle was the only resource for miles around that could weld. They argued that his absence would negatively impact a large number of families in general and the village proper in particular.

After careful consideration, the government of the day agreed that his community needed him more than the country did.

Doing Shots

Subsequent to the last minute reprieve, some of the local townsfolk, including Lyle, celebrated a little exuberantly and in so doing he inadvertently shot out someone’s back porch light! Unimpressed, an annoyed neighbour laid charges with the local authorities for careless use of a firearm! A sympathetic judge however, dismissed all charges and life soon got back to normal.

Business was booming, and soon a new shop was built just up the street from the old barn. Boasting heat, and a hydraulic hoist rather than simply a pit, it was state of the art and was soon paid for.

Lyle was making a name for himself and soon others were noticing.

A General Motors dealer in nearby Aylmer offered to sponsor Lyle in the purchase of a Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealership – Lyle R Grant Motors Limited was born! Telephone number – 57W! He was now mechanic, salesman AND dealer. The economy was booming, tobacco farmers were flush with money and new cars were in demand.

Ambition, persistence and ingenuity had been justly rewarded.

Still More to the Man

A few years later, Lyle had married Madge Wolfe, a local girl and sister of my father Merlyn. Dad had recently married what was to become my mother, Jean. They were struggling to get a start in life and Merlyn was determined to change their fortunes.

He approached his brother-in-law Lyle, and made a deal to purchase a one ton stake truck. He would pay Lyle over time.

Merlyn, armed with a single truck with no hoist, brute strength and a fear of failure, proceeded to take on the world. He approached local farmers and persuaded them to allow him to haul “muck” (deep rich soil) for their tobacco seedling greenhouses, fertilizer for their crops and their bales of tobacco to the local warehouse to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

All this without a hoist initially. Meaning he had to shovel muck and gravel by hand from the ground to the truck bed, 4 feet higher. Tobacco bales were heavy and awkward, so had to be physically lifted onto the truck – and in all cases, later unloaded the same way.

Back breaking work. Dad, about 5’8″, was not a big physically, but had forearms like Popeye. No wonder!

Lyle was a benevolent man, and helped many others like dad, when they needed assistance.

He had many interests and talents. Never one to take half measures, he was determined to master whatever he undertook.

Lyle took up checkers as a hobby, and became so skilled that he entered and won many high profile tournaments.

The Big Flood

The village of Vienna, my hometown, was established on a flood plain. No doubt to take advantage of the Otter Creek’s access to Lake Erie at the time. Though hard to imagine today, there were several lumber mills build on its shores, requiring access to larger markets. I have written previously that Vienna was at one time being considered to become the capital of Ontario. It was a boom town many years ago.

In the spring of 1937, weather conditions conspired to melt the winter ice faster than the banks of Otter Creek could contain the runoff.

Small towns are known for helping each other in times of need. This would be one of those times.

Lyle and several other able bodied men from neighbouring Straffordville, were called to help a community in distress. Commandeering a local’s tin boat he and his fellow volunteers patrolled the streets looking for people and families in distress.

The water was rising fast too fast to escape in some cases. They came upon a home as the inhabitants were hanging onto their kitchen table; water rising inside the meagre dwelling within feet of the ceiling.

In a stoke of good fortune, the table was floating or they probably couldn’t have stayed above the water. Lyle took one of the oars and smashed out a kitchen window, loaded the family in the boat and saving the family in the nick of time.

On another occasion, he was instrumental in rescuing some men caught in a Lake Erie storm off the shores of Pt. Burwell. Braving the elements and rough seas, they returned safely to shore, with no casualties. Disaster averted.

A Proud Moment

Uncle Lyle and Aunt Madge owned a cottage overlooking Long Point Bay. Always gracious in sharing their good fortune, our family was able to share the cottage from time to time as a family getaway.

I recall a picture hanging proudly on the wall, of a hockey team, with Uncle Lyle in the front row. He was not a player, but as a sponsor. Wearing his fedora and top coat, beaming like a Cheshire cat.

It wasn’t until recently that I became aware of the significance of that picture. Perhaps one of his proudest moments – of many proud moments in his life.

In 1953, Lyle sponsored an Intermediate “B” hockey team, and appropriately named the Straffordville Rockets – a reference to the Oldsmobile Rocket 88, a popular vehicle at the time.

One of the players – Frank Reiser, was a sniper and had made it to one of the final cuts with the Montreal Junior Canadiens. Captain Howard Rodduck, who at one time had lived in Bolton, later went on to establish Rodduck’s garage in Vienna.

In a twist of fate, the Rockets played Bolton for the Ontario championship. The final game was on neutral ice in the Waterloo Arena. It was an incredible accomplishment for a village the size of Straffordville and one of Lyle’s proudest moment.

Frank Reiser went on to work as a mechanic and salesman for Lyle for many years to come and I’m certain that Howard Rodduck and Lyle made many deals together in the ensuing years. After all, that’s how sports work, in creating life long relationships.

What an exciting year – the entire village seemed to be involved.

I can see the twinkle in Uncle Lyle’s eyes even today when I think of him. I always say everyone has a story and his was full of kindness, benevolence, ingenuity and sense of community and family.

A quiet legacy that lives on through his family today.

A Small Personal Anecdote

In closing this story, I will share a personal “snapshot in time”.

My father took me with him to Grant Motors, to accompany him in the purchase of a new car. I sat with him, across from the salesman (I think Frank Reiser), as he negotiated the deal.

Dad was a tough negotiator and I was a little embarrassed as a fourteen year old. But he came away with a brand new 1969 Chevrolet Impala, green with black cloth interior. I learned to drive in that car. In retrospect, I suspect dad took me to introduce me to the how the world negotiates.

My first experience with “The Art of the Deal”, and one that has served me well throughout my life.