Family
historians don’t often have documentation about their parents’, let alone their
ancestors’ education and training. I am lucky as I have been able to collect
and preserve many certificates, diplomas, report cards, and other material
pertaining to my family. Among the information is information about the place
where my father received his initial training in an occupation that was to keep
him active and gainfully employed for many decades.
My
father grew up on a farm in eastern Alberta. He attended rural public schools
and also spent a year at the Provincial
School of Agriculture in Olds, Alberta. His best marks there were in
carpentry, chemistry, English, gas engines, horticulture, physics and veterinary
science. Other subjects he studied, that most of us rarely hear about these
days, included animal husbandry, field husbandry, entomology, blacksmithing,
farm management and poultry. Clearly he came out equipped to be a successful
farmer.
While
he enjoyed the experiences of school, home life on the farm and the community
social life with many cousins who also lived in the region, he eventually realized
that farming was an occupation he did not want to be involved with for the rest
of his life. And so he began to look at what else was available in the world. He
apparently had aspirations in medicine, we were told, but the family did not
have the means to pay for this level of education. He considered various trades,
finally settling on the electrical field in which there appeared to be opportunity
and a demand for people and one for which the family could afford the tuition
and other costs.
In
1936 he enrolled at the Coyne Electrical
School in Chicago, Illinois. How he found out about this institution I do
not know for sure. He was always interested in mechanical things and, no doubt,
often perused magazines such as Popular
Mechanics and Popular Science.
These always had advertisements from trade schools of all types.
Perhaps
he saw an advertisement
like the one below. The school offered free railroad fare to get to Chicago to
take their 12 week course which was a valuable side-benefit. Before long he was
far from home, studying to become an electronic technician.
The
Coyne Electrical School was
established in 1899 and, by the time my father started there, already had a
long-standing reputation as a good training institute. It is still active
today, having gone through a few organizational changes. In the 1960s, it
merged with the American Institute of
Engineering and Technology and was renamed the Coyne American Institute. It presently operates as Coyne College, and is still
located in Chicago.
 |
| Bill Shepheard in Chicago, 1936 |
I
have the copy of my father’s 48-page information booklet that describes all of
the courses and programs offered by the school. It makes quite fascinating
reading as they endeavour to attract young men (yes, just men!) into the growing
field of electrical work. It describes the opportunities in the industry in depth,
with details about their educational methods and the physical attributes of the
school, emphasizing practical work. The booklet has many pictures of students
taking instruction in class and at work in the shops. They stated that men could
have a real future, earning “$30, $40, $50 and up a Week.” (Hey! It was a lot of
money in 1936.) Everything was made easy for the new student to come to Chicago
and begin his education – how to get to the school, support during the training
period and room and board accommodations.
The
curriculum included both lectures and shop time: 70 hours of instruction in
elementary principles and circuits; 70 hours in wiring and testing; 70 hours in
service; 70 hours in sound and television; 280 hours in radio operating
(optional); and 70 hours in automotive ignition, diesel, and battery
(optional). The school also promised assistance with finding a job after
graduation.
The
back page of the booklet has a personal note to prospective students, asking
them if they are ready for a “brighter, future career”.
In
May 1936 my father received his diploma from the faculty of Radio-Television-Sound Reproduction and
came back home to go to work. As a result of his excellent work, he also received
the H. C. Lewis Honor Award upon his graduation from Coyne.
Dad
started employment with the Hudson’s Bay Company in their electrical appliances
service department. For over 36 years he persevered in his chosen profession,
expanding his knowledge into refrigeration, as well as the ever-developing
fields of radio, television and home appliances. He worked for a number of employers
and even started a few businesses of his own. His experience was sought after
in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War to train others in working
with electrical apparatus.
After
over three decades working in the service business, he tired of the grind and
decided to take over a golf course in British Columbia. His background and experience
in farming, electrical and mechanical work, carpentry and golf (one of his
favourite hobbies) allowed him to change careers at the age of 58 and get
involved in something totally different and with new challenges.
Bill tending the golf course at Quilchena, British Columbia, 1972
Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is a past Editor of Chinook, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.
