My uncle came to Canada after the War with nary a nickel to his name, but with a strong back and a quick mind, as well as a Dutch accent you could cut with a knife. I can still hear him saying "fullahkanizing" for "vulcanizing."

He worked very hard, eventually buying a small-town Firestone tire dealership which became a landmark in the town and a social center where the local menfolk might be found gathered around the potbellied stove in the middle of his shop - the only source of heat in that big garage through the long, cold Canadian winters.

My uncle was not a great business man in some ways because he did so much work for free to help out those who were struggling. But he was loved by the whole town and had a heart as big as the town itself. Thank you, Uncle Herman. You were a great uncle and an example to me throughout my life.

In fact, for the past 20 years or so we have given out little black pocket calendars with many pages of maps and tables of conversions, weights, and measures for Christmas presents to our clients. I'm not sure anyone ever used them with the proliferation of PDAs, smartphones, etc., but  I remember still the very same Dunville Tire pocket calendars my uncle would give to me as a kid, that I treasured. It was that memory that inspired me to give away thousands of very similar gifts over the years, just in case you wondering.

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