Biography

of Harold Grant

A detailed timeline written by Harold Grant’s beloved son, Paul.

Harold Grant was born on November 7, 1924 in Digby, Nova Scotia and grew up in Middleton N.S. He was the third of 11 children. He left school at the age of 14 to help out financially at home. This was during the Great Depression. He worked in a lumber mill on planing and moulding machines and also in a general store. He spent a lot of time at the Middleton Arena where he would be one of the boys scraping the ice with wooden shovels fitted with steel blades and then flooding the surface with a water hose.

Harold joined the second reserve battalion of the West Nova Scotia Regiment at the age of 17. When he was 18 he signed up for the active army. He was wounded in action in December of 1944 at the Vecchio Canal near Bagnacavallo, Italy. He was hit by shrapnel from a mortar bomb as the West Nova’s were advancing over the ruins of a blown railway bridge. After only 18 days he was back in the front lines still carrying pieces of metal in his back, he experienced back pain for the rest of his life. From Italy, the West Nova’s went on to fight in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Harold volunteered for service in the Pacific Theatre of War, but fortunately Japan surrendered. He was repatriated on October 1st, 1945 and discharged on November 16 just a few days after his 21st birthday.

Harold came to Ontario to find work and was employed by Canadian Canners in Dunnville as a Truck Driver and that is where he met Annie Flagg. They were married in 1948 and built a house on Putnam rd. in Wainfleet. Eventually, Harold became self-employed building new houses, additions, and renovations. He was an expert Finishing Carpenter and Cabinet Maker. He worked on the construction of the Wainfleet Arena and upon it’s completion in 1972, he was hired by the township. Harold worked there until his retirement in 1989. He did the maintenance and repairs, ran the zamboni and booked ice times. He was always there to help; tying skates, sharpening skates, etc. He loved his job! In the off season, he was kept busy, he did a restoration of the town hall and built the cupola on the roof with Bob Shoalts. Bob was a coworker and supervisor. He said that Harold never missed a day of work, was never late, and always did what was asked of him without complaining. He could fix anything!

Harold also volunteered at the Marshville Heritage Festival running a planer. He was part of the crew that moved the Morgan Neff cabin to Wainfleet. He lived in his home in Winger until he passed away in July of 2016 at the age of 91.