WORKED
As a child, Liam worked evenings across town in a barber shop as a soap boy lathering rough faces. At thirteen he dropped out of school after landing a job in a factory as an assistant to the men who soaked and trimmed cork.
Liam's boss offered to pay for night school so that he might learn Portuguese and Spanish – languages that, with some proficiency, would enable him to one day become a cork buyer. The idea of travel excited Liam as much as it terrified him. For the first time ever Liam took his studies seriously.
Liam's family, however, had other plans and returned to Winnipeg when the war ended. Not earning nearly enough to stay, Liam followed the family back to the Prairies.
Once there, Liam entered the printing trades. He served a five-year apprenticeship and worked as a linotype operator, finally acquiring his journeyman's papers. Another young man, William, started at the same time as Liam. They often worked alongside one another and quickly became best of friends.
At twenty-one, Liam was married to William's older sister, Dorothea. Together Dorothea and Liam had four children: Georgia, Gloria, Gail, and Gina (whom everyone called “G”).
On September 10th, 1939, the day Canada declared war on Germany, both Liam and William volunteered to fight overseas.
Though they survived the war, Liam and William both died the same day, April 3rd 1951, of kidney toxicity and nervous system dysfunction respectively, resulting from the inhalation and ingestion of lead compounds during their decades of work with lead-containing type.
