Phil Culbert - Part 1: The Early Years

Phil Culbert Month continues with his autobiography: Phil Culbert - Part 1: The Early Years. Take it away, Phil!

THE EARLY YEARS!

I was born on April 1, 1950 (that’s no joke!) at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario. I grew up in Lucan, Ontario, about 20 miles northwest of London. My great-great-grandparents, John Culbert and Mary Ward immigrated to Canada from Tipperary, Ireland in 1840. They purchased 100 acres in Biddulph Township near the village of Lucan at Lot 19, Concession 2 on a road that came to be known as the Coursey Line.

I was the third child of the family. My father, Ivan Culbert (son of Myron Culbert and Effie Taylor) married my mother Elvira Hutchings in England while serving overseas from 1940-1946 during World War Two.

Baby Phil with his mother, Elvira (Hutchings) Culbert.

 

Grandma and Grandpa Culbert (Myron Manford Culbert and Effie Pearl Taylor) holding their newest grandson, Phillip Myron Culbert.  My middle name was named after my grandfather Myron.

My older brother, Ian was born in 1948 and my oldest sister, Vicky was born in 1946.  My youngest sister, Christine would be born later in 1955 after we had moved to Owen Sound, Ontario.

Left to right: Siblings, Vicky Culbert, Ian Culbert, and Phil Culbert.

My Dad owned a bakery/dry goods store in Lucan after the war until 1955. 

Living in an apartment above my Dad’s store and living on the main street of Lucan did not afford us kids much room to play around where we lived.  Most of my playtime was in the back alley of the store where we had a small play area, as these photos will show. As a kid, it didn’t matter, as we made do with what are surroundings offered at the time, without complaint.  We were also lucky to have a cottage to go to at Lakeside, Ontario and of course always had fun visiting Grandma and Grandpa Culbert at Poplar Farm.

Phil with his father, Ivan Culbert.

Brothers, Ian (left) and Phil (right) in a wheelbarrow at Poplar Farm (home of their grandparents near Lucan, Ontario on the Coursey Line)

Phil and sister, Vicky

Phil's father, Ivan Culbert (centre). Children, left to right are Dana Culbert (Phil's cousin), Phil's sister Vicky, Phil, and Phil's brother, Ian.

By 1955, my Dad’s business was failing so he decided to sell the store. We moved to Owen Sound, Ontario where Dad accepted a job as Manager of the Singer Sewing Machine Store who he was already working for in London.  

Mom was pregnant with youngest sister, Christine. The three of us kids all registered for school in Owen Sound where I attended kindergarten for the first time.  I really liked Owen Sound as there were lots of places to play, and parks to go to. 

On weekends, Dad would often take us on hikes up the high cliffs surrounding the area where we first lived. Here is a picture of Vicky, Ian and I climbing one of them. Note there were no safety nets and Dad was at the bottom taking the picture (LOL)...

In 1957, Dad left Singer Sewing Machine Company and we moved back south, buying a house in London, Ontario, 20 miles southwest of Lucan. Dad accepted a job with the Middlesex County Jail as a guard and later as a Corrections Officer.  

London is where I and my siblings spent our youth and went to school.  I attended Public School as it was called back then at Lord Roberts which was a short walking distance from where we lived. All four of us kids attended Lord Roberts.  Here is a photo of my Grade 1 picture from 1957.  I was in he first row in front of the words “Lord Roberts“... 

Lord Roberts Public School Grade 1 class, 1957.

The next school picture is my graduating class of Grade 8 in 1964. I am in the second row, wearing the white sports coat and black tie. I still remain friends with a few of the people in this picture, 56 years later; and two of the people in my Grade 1 class, 63 years later.  My years at Lord Roberts were quite memorable with everlasting memories and some everlasting friendships of days gone by...

Lord Roberts grade 8 graduates, 1964.

We lived in the same house in London while I was growing up and going to school from 1958-1968 although my sister Vicky moved out to get married in 1965.  

As a kid, I would work various jobs to earn spending money as allowances were few and far between.  I used to shovel snow in the winter and rake leaves in the fall.  We would collect empty fruit and vegetable baskets, collecting them door to door. Then, we'd take them to the Covent Garden Market where my grandparents used to sell their produce. We'd sell the empty baskets to farmers for a nickel apiece so they could be reused.  I also had paper routes and delivered orders for Cairncross Drug Store on my bicycle through all the bad weather we would sometimes get in the winter.  

I left home in 1968 to get married. Ian and Christine stayed home a few more years until Dad sold the house due to health reasons that he and my mother had suffered, one year apart.  

Here is a picture of that home many years later which was featured in the London Free Press as one of the few Gothic style homes from the mid-1800’s in London that still survived.  This picture was taken many years after we moved out and the property had fallen in disrepair and was soon after torn down to make way for apartments.  How sad.

I started High School at H.B. Beal Secondary School in the fall of 1964, and attended from Grade 9 through 12.  Wonderful teen years with many memories of my time at that school.  I majored in Marketing which came in handy when I started working in Sales and Marketing after leaving school in Grade 12. The school was only a few blocks away so we all walked there together or with friends in rain, sleet, wind and snow.  There was no such thing as getting a ride to school in those days. I played 2 years of football (Junior and Senior) track team one year, was a Prefect and also served on the Prefect Executive and joined in many other school activities from time to time.  Here are a few pictures from my time at Beal...

That’s me in the back row far right #70. Beal Junior football Team 1965.

Phil Culbert, back row, 4th from the right (black sweater). Member of the H.B. Beal Secondary School Prefect Executive.

Phil Culbert (top row), H.B. Beal Secondary School Yearbook, Grade 12, September, 1968.

Another important part of my high school years and one of the most memorable experiences of my youth was that of being hired for 3 straight summers (1966, 1967 and 1968) working at Camp White Bear on Lake Temagami in Northern Ontario.  My brother also worked there one summer as did my best friend, Steve Matthews who was there for two summers. One of my good friends from Lord Roberts, Ian Johnston, also worked there as a Junior councillor.  The Residential Camp was owned by Ron and Mickey Johnstone. Ron was our floor hockey coach and we remained lifelong friends right up until their passing a few years ago. Great times and great memories of my time there, those three summers. 

Here are a few photos from camp and yes, that is me water slalom skiing.  Also me on he dock meeting the supply boat to pick up the mail and fresh cans of milk for all the campers...

After leaving school in Grade 12 to find a job and get married, I left behind some great memories and friends and started the next journey of my life.....Adulthood, fatherhood, marriage, work and responsibility at the ripe old age of 18!!!  And so began the next chapter in my life. 

END OF PART 1.

Come back next week to read Part 2 of the Phil Culbert story!

Phillip Myron Culbert's Family Tree:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (great-grandparents)
Myron Manford Culbert & Effie Pearl Taylor (grandparents)
Ivan Hector Culbert & Elvira Hutchings (parents)
Descendants (Children):
Bradley Steven Culbert  
Tara Christine Culbert
Allison Victoria Culbert 

Installments of Phil Culbert's autobiography can be found through these links:

Part 1: The Early Years.

Part 2: Career.

Part 3: Family.
Part 4: Retirement.