Johann Gutenberg: Family

Eric Dept: With his own family Eric cultivated a gentler persuasiveness. But he was never more proud of his career choice than at the turn of the century, when the Time-Life magazine list of men and inventions that shook the world in the last millennium was topped by none other than Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of moveable type. Although never having met Marshall McLuhan, Eric nonetheless shared the same high opinion of the importance of the printing press, according to Globe and Mail. Upon arrival in Toronto, Eric was out of work less than five days. Through hard work and natural leadership talent he ultimately found his way to management at Southam News, Alliance Press, Post Paper Box and, finally, Windsor Print and Litho. Working everything from old-style letterpress to four-colour offset, Eric had an unfailing sense of business integrity, frequently noting that competitors usually did not know how to play cricket and right from the start he knew he had found his calling because his father had told him so. He was always a little sad that his older brother Ken, a superb draftsman with a keen eye for design, was unfortunately directed to become an auto mechanic. An authoritarian father coupled with the cutthroat trades apprenticeships of the time was an unforgiving combination. Eric, new wife Jean and newborn daughter Gillian visited Canada House one day then sat in Trafalgar Square debating their future. Years later we would visit the same spot as a family and hear the story of the young Canadian immigration clerk who, simply by being polite and well-spoken, had such an immense impact on our lives. The momentous decision was made emigration to Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.