|
 |
Businesses
The collectors
by J.A. Couture
In the Fall, towards the end of the Great Depression, my
boss, Mr. Jos. Dubuc, a general store proprietor, was worried
that he might be unable to collect certain passed due accounts
receivable. Wishing to receive as much as possible he sent
Mr. Oscar Audette and me through the countryside on a collection
tour. He placed his car at our disposal.
Mr. Audette was in charge of payment arrangements and I
was in charge of monies received. I was also the chauffeur.
The farmers, in general, possessed hardly any money and
very little stock. However we were very well received wherever
we stopped. In spite of their extreme poverty people were
happy and most were glad to pay their bills whichever way
they could: with money, if possible, but mostly with poultry,
eggs and other farm produce. At one place where there were
many children, poverty was so evident that it was pitiful.
Inside the house the little ones played on the dirt floor
and the only room boasting of a plank flooring was the kitchen.
Our first thought was to leave without mentioning the object
of our visit but in justice to our employer we had to try
to collect something. We accepted two turkeys in full payment
of the account.
As collectors we were not devoid of all sensitivity. We
accepted anything that might be offered only if the client
was anxious to settle: which was always the case.
Even though this job was disheartening to us there were
sometimes very humorous incidents: like the day we were
approaching the farm of a certain man who owed only a small
sum. Not far away there was a muskeg so we decided to make
a short cut by crossing it rather than circumventing it.
The muskeg seemed to be sufficiently frozen to support the
weight of the car as we could see sleigh tracks across it.
We had no sooner advanced a few yards than the car broke
through the thin ice and we were stuck in mud, impossible
to move in any direction. The one solution was to walk to
our customer's farm and ask him for his help. Without hesitation
he immediately hitched his team to the sleigh and drove
us back to the car. Once we were again on solid ground (but
on the road this time) we followed him back home where his
wife was waiting for us with hot coffee and freshly baked
cookies. After explaining to them the reason for being there
I was happy to make out a receipt marked "payment in
full". We sure had a good laugh over this. Even to
this day, after these many years, when we meet occasionally,
this gentleman has a smile for me that seems to say: "I
remember"!
|
 |
|
