I'll have to admit that when my wife Joanne and I acquired her family heritage property after the passing of her father Elias Oldford of Musgravetown NL in 2001 I was taken aback by all the stuff that was cluttering up his workbench in the house and throughout his workshop (the shed) Containers of bent nails, nuts and bolts, and various pieces of pipe, old pots and pans (some worse for wear) wire and a myriad of just about anything you can imagine. As I started to sort, organize and discard many things I could see little use for I started to find so many home made things that I realized Elias wasn't a pack rat, he was an industrious beaver, holding everything against the day it may be just what he needs to make something useful. I have gained a lot of respect for his ingenuity and patience it would have taken to make the things I was finding. I think the philosophy was "If you can make it don't buy it." For example need a spatula, carve it from wood. How much different is a dory paddle from that really, other than size and shape? Perfectly doable. Need a dip net? carve a wood handle, bend some copper pipe and attach some fishnet, perfect. Need a drum pump? Some copper pipe, a T joint and a leather piston plunger will do the trick. Want to wind up some wire or rope- make your own reel from plywood, and wood strips I'm sure came off his own table saw. Outgrow your shoe pattern? nail on some leather to increase the size. Need a dust pan?; flatten out a piece of galvanized eave trough and attach a hand carved handle. How about the oil can he had to have planned ahead here. Cutting just half the top out of a soup can, he punched a hole on the side, soldered on a handle and a piece of copper tubing cut at the right angle for a spout and there you have it. How many people these days even know how to solder something like this? There was a lot to be said for shop class to prepare a fellow for life. The truly amazing piece was a circuit tester that Elias made of a piece of carved wood. It was drilled out then grooved internally to accept a 12 volt automotive bulb, a wire attached to a nail and a spring made the contact inside the wooden tube. A screw ground to a needle point and a spring clamp completed the wires. I'd like to know how long it took him to make this and if it took more than one try. The one piece of equipment that was obviously purchased is one that I'm sure some wouldn't even recognize today a can sealer to crimp the lids on cans. Elias and Lizzie Oldford canned their own fresh caught rabbit, duck, and moose. Sure it's done with mason jars today but the canner just speaks to the work they did to insure an adequate supply of good canned food to get them through the winter. No preservatives in them I'm sure. I use the case of new cans I found to sort nails into. I didn't find any lids. It true family fashion when my wife seen the cans and said Keep some for me; I can make candle holders out of them. I have truly come to admire his ingenuity and skills as a craftsman a dory boat he built (his second) still sits in the shop, taking up most of the space. It was almost finished when he left us. Anyone looking for a boat? I think shop class should be returned to the school curriculum. (I have more pictures to accompany this submission. Please advise how if they are wanted)   Submitted By: Bruce Manning