Ted Griffen may not have the chisled look of a runway model, but he’s striking in a way few can match. The moment he walks into a room you become captivated by his wide, toothy smile, sparkling blue eyes and his warm infectious laugh. This is a man who loves life and you immediately want to get to know him.
So it was, Focus on Scugog sat down with him on the eve of the 80th anniversary of Lake Scugog Lumber Co. Ltd., to talk about the family enterprise he’s worked at since he was a very young man.
Energetic and full of life at 81 years of age, Ted is just thankful for all that life has provided him - in particular his wife Jean and family, and is not too proud to say it.
“Every night I say thanks for my life. I’ve been blessed and have so much to be thankful for,” he says.
Ted recently sold his shares and transferred ownership of the business to his children. While reminiscing about his life and career, surprisingly we found that his story doesn’t being here in Port Perry, in fact it doesn’t begin in Canada.
Ted was born in the United States - Detroit, Michigan to be exact.
Ted explains that when his father, Sam Griffen, was a young man he was faced with having no work around Port Perry so he headed off to Detroit where there were still plenty of jobs. After about four years in the USA, Sam decided to return to Port Perry, where he married his childhood sweetheart Verna Mackey.
Following their marriage, with Verna in tow, Sam returned to his job in Detroit. Not long after, in November 1928, Verna gave birth to their first son, Charles Edward Griffen. Not by coincidence, Edward was also the name of his grandfather, who lived near Honey’s Corner north of town.
Ted’s collection of memorabilia and hammers owned by, from left, his grandfather Edward J. Griffen, his father Samuel N. Griffen, his great grandfather Samuel Griffen (mallet and watch), Cecil King (50 year employee) and his own at far right.
With encouragement from his father, Sam returned to Port Perry and purchased the Farmer’s Union Milling Company, on May 25, 1930.
Ted was only two and a half years old when they arrived in town and one of his most vivid recollections was playing in the old Cora steamboat, which was dry docked on the property his father had purchased.
“I lived in the mill from the time I was four years old,” he recalls. By the time he was seven he was working cutting scraps of wood on an old bandsaw, standing on a wooden platform built by his father so the youngster could reach the machine.
“I always knew I’d be in the lumber business,” he says, but admits at one point in his life he had dreams of becoming a bush pilot. “I thought that would be a real thrill,” he beams.
His dream of becoming a bush pilot faded, but he did get his flying license years later and he has now been flying for more than 50 years.
Like many young boys, Ted stumbled through his school years, admittedly not a good student. But he thrived when school was dismissed at the end of the day, wormed his way along Queen St. on his trek home, dropping into shop after shop along the way to feed his curiosity.
“I’d stop at Mr. Stevenson’s and watch him repair shoes for awhile, then make my way to Jeffrey and Taylor and watch them make harness. Then it was off down the street to Ben Smallman’s blacksmith shop and I usually ended with a visit into Carnegie’s Hardware store.”
After his brief adventure, he headed back home where he changed into his work clothes and headed down to the mill. Here he would fill his wagon with scraps of wood and haul them home, where they were used to heat the house. All this for an allowance of 25 cents a week.
To earn extra money he collected dew worms by night, sometimes with his mom. They would be packaged and sold at the lakefront for one cent each.
When he turned 14 years old he recalls getting his driver’s license so he could help his dad at the mill.
Due to the war, the government allowed young men to get their license early, so at 14 years of age, Ted would drive his father’s 1930 GMC truck around town delivering ice blocks to his customers. These were the same blocks they had harvested from Lake Scugog over the winter.
“My dad hated cutting ice in the winter and he was always ugly at that time of the year,” he recalls.
It was during his school years that Ted got a taste for music, a love of his to this day. “I got a taste of the joy of music from a music teacher when I was in Grade 2 and I’ve never lost it,” he says.
While attending high school, he started playing the trumpet in the school orchestra and that lead to his becoming a member of an 11-piece dance band called the Vandywalker Orchestra. “We played at the Jubilee Pavilion in Oshawa during the winter and at Musselman’s Lake in the summer,” he said.
It was also while attending high school he met the girl who would become his wife. He explained that the senior boys would always look over the new crop of girls coming into Grade 9 and he picked her (Jean) out of the crowd. Not long after meeting her, she agreed to go out with him.
“She was the only girlfriend I ever had,” he said, explaining he never had any time for girls because of his work at the mill and weekends playing in the orchestra.
Jean and Ted dated for about six years before he popped the question at her parents home one night. “It was nothing special, no getting on my knee,” he laughed. “We were sitting at the table and I pulled a ring out of my pocket and asked her to marry me.”
Wedding bells rang in September 1951 and the young couple were married in the Seagrave United Church. Since then they’ve raised three children, Debra, Paul and Ian, who all work in the family business.
After finishing high school, Ted headed off to Toronto where he attended Ryerson Institute, graduating as an
architect.
He returned home to the family business and worked along side his father until he retired and turned the company over to his son in 1970.
During Ted’s tenure as owner, the business continued to expand and flourish, particularly the truss plant. Looking to the future the company invested more than $300,000 on an expansion and upgrading of the plant. This took place during the early 1990s, but no sooner had they expanded, than they were hit by one of the worst recessions in
memory.
“The banks were brutal with us. It seemed they just wanted us to close down,” Ted recalls. But the family refused to go down without a fight, scraping all the cash they could together. Ted and Jean used up their entire life savings and his sons mortgaged their homes to keep the company afloat.
“It was the toughest time of my career. I never felt lower in my life,” he said, remembering the terrible feeling he endured when he had to lay off about 30 people, more than half of the company’s staff.
But aside from that ‘bump’ in his career, Ted is extremely pleased and balances the ‘downs’ with his love for the business and the community. He says he has always felt his best when he was building something. “It seems to be in the Griffen’s genes - building and putting things together,” he smiles.
And as for Port Perry, he can’t say enough. “For me it’s the perfect place to live. I love the town and the people.” Then he smiles, admitting he’s never really lived anywhere else in his life.
As would be expected, a man who loves his community this deeply is also a man who would try to ‘give back’ for the lifestyle it has provided him and his family.
Modestly and reluctantly he described some of the organizations and projects he’s worked diligently for over the past 60 years. In fact it’s hard to know where to start there are so many, but some of the groups who have enjoyed his energy include Community Memorial Hospital, the United Church, Masonic Lodge, Port Perry Businessmen’s Association and Chamber of Commerce, curling club, scouting organization and the Lions Club.
And even now, at 80 plus years, Ted is still actively involved in the fight for the retention of all services at the local hospital and the recruitment of doctors to the community.
To that end it appears as if his efforts have come full circle. Ted was on a similar committee back in the mid-1960s which was responsible for attracting and encouraging Dr. Bill Cohoon and other doctors to set up practice in Port Perry.
Today, Ted’s life is a little less hectic, but just as meaningful as ever. He is proud his children have taken over the family business. And speaking of family, his sister, brother-in-law, nephews, cousins and grandchildren have all at one time worked at the company.
No longer does he have to jump out of bed and head to the office. Now he and Jean, his wife of almost 60 years, enjoy breakfast together, read the paper and look out over Lake Scugog from their fourth story condominium.
Later in the morning he’ll drop by Lake Scugog Lumber and work a few hours putting away stock, before ambling down to a ‘secret hideaway’ to practice his trumpet or work on his model of a Beaver airplane.
And if that isn’t enough, he plans to continue playing golf a couple of times a week during the summer and maybe even meet up with his good friend Don Patterson for an afternoon of sailing on Lake Scugog.
When asked how he’d like to be remembered, he sat back in his chair and reflected for a few minutes before answering. He simply says he would like to be remembered for his honesty and integrity during his years in business.
“I’ve never done anything great in my life, but I always tried to be honest and fair to everyone. I really think that is important,” he said.
With such a simple philosophy, it’s no wonder Ted Griffen was able to earn the respect of his family, staff and community and successfully usher his company into the twenty-first century.
We’re sure Ted’s name sake, grandfather Edward Griffen, is proudly looking down with that familiar big, wide smile that is a Griffen trademark.
By J. Peter Hvidsten
Focus on Scugog
Personalities
