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The Fredericton Daily Gleaner Seniors Nothing slows him down LAVERNE STEWART Editor's note: The Daily Gleaner's Living Life to the Fullest column celebrates seniors in our readership area. If there's someone you'd like to read about, please contact editor Brookee LaPointe at blapoint@dailygleaner.com. You have to be quick on your feet to keep up with Laurie Menzies. He walks through A.R. Menzies & Sons Ltd. giving a tour of the family-owned and operated business at a brisk pace. His father, Allan Menzies, started this company in 1920. He wanted to do something to help those who'd lost limbs. "My father lost his leg in a lumbering accident when he was 17," says Menzies. Gangrene set in. He was sent to Boston by rail. Surgeons performed a full amputation on his right leg. A year later he was fitted with an artificial leg. This was the catalyst for the prosthetics and orthotics business. In its infancy, the company was run from the family home. The living room was the business office. As a youngster he saw amputees in his home. "My mother would care for the patients in our home. Around the supper table there'd sometimes be 12 people but only half of them would have both legs," says Menzies. "I was made to appreciate the fact that I had two good legs and arms." He also gained empathy and a desire to help those who weren't as fortunate. Like most boys, Laurie Menzies got into mischief from time to time. As a 10-year-old, he once loaded his father's shotgun with a shell. His finger was on the trigger and it fired. He ended up blowing a hole in the corner of the house. "The empty cartridge was sitting on my father's desk. He never said a word but he looked so disgusted, I wished he'd have hit me with a two-by-four," remembers Menzies. At 12 he tried to learn to drive the family car. He thought it would be fun to try and get the vehicle into high gear before it hit the garage; his attempt failed and he smashed into the building instead. From childhood, he helped his father around the shop. "I learned more from my father than anything I learned in school," he says. Then, when Laurie Menzies was 17, his father died suddenly. He suffered from a severe heart attack and a blood clot in his head. "I was at an age when you really need a father," says Menzies. His mother decided too much hockey and other sports were interfering with his education so she sent him to school in Woodstock where his sister, who was a teacher, could oversee his education. At 19 he decided he wanted to enter the family business. He went to Chicago to study prosthetics and orthotics. When his courses were complete, he came home and worked with his older brother, Norris. He and his brother worked hard to build the business. Despite long hours at work he made time for romance. He met a pretty young student nurse who was working at the old Victoria Hospital in 1945. They married in 1948 and started a family. He is a father to Allan, Susan and Cindy and a grandfather of four. He's proud of his family's business. He credits his success to the support of his wife and children. Now his son, Allan Menzies II, owns the business. He retired eight years ago but he's never really left. The man who will turn 80 next May, keeps a desk in the corner of the business office and sits next to his son. He comes to work most days around 9 a.m. "Even though I'm not fully involved now I'm still interested. They made me a consultant to make me feel better," says Menzies. He enjoys being here and helps out whenever he's needed to cover for vacationing employees. "I tease my son and say he likes the cheap help," says Menzies. As long as he is able, he says, he will continue with his daily routine. It starts early. Every morning he's up at 6:30 a.m. and out the door within half-an-hour to head for the YMCA. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday you'll find him in the pool swimming 80 or 90 laps. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he's doing cardiovascular exercises and lifting weights to strengthen his bones. He only gave up playing hockey a few years ago but he still loves to skate at the local arenas. Around noon hour he's walking in the park with his granddaughter's golden retriever, Pesha, for about an hour-and-a-half. "My wife says I do too much but I enjoy it," he says. He's a member of many service organizations including the Rotary Club, Shriners, Masons, as well as Ducks Unlimited. He also helps to raise money for the Hospathon and the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital Foundation. Even when he's on vacation he doesn't sit still. The couple goes to Florida for a month each winter. He walks 15 kilometres of beach every morning while he's there. "My wife loves baseball so we go to the spring training games while we're there and we also go to the dog races once in a while," he says. All of this activity helps keep him in great shape. He doesn't take his longevity for granted. "My mother died of cancer at 59 and my father died at 52. I regard every day as a bonus." Where would he be without his exercise regime? "I don't think I'd still be here," he says. His doctor has told him not to push himself too hard. He doesn't. "I go at my own rate." He sees so many people with disabilities, he says, he appreciates his health. His philosophy is to stay active and enjoy every minute of life. "Because you don't know when you may be called home," says Menzies. "You don't know. Maybe the next minute could be your last." Category: Arts and Culture © 2004 The Daily Gleaner - Fredericton. All rights reserved. |
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