The Upside of Hunger

by Roxi Harms

  Unaware of the fly about to land in the ointment, Adam followed the sour-faced inspector nervously around the site as the little man silently scribbled notes on his clipboard. It had taken a week to set up the boiler and train the crew. The inspection was the final step before they could fire up the plant and begin production. Every now and then the inspector looked at Adam, then looked away and continued his scrutiny.

  "And who will be operating the boiler?" the inspector asked when they'd returned to the office.

  "I will," Adam replied.

  "I need to have a look at your boiler certificate please."

  "My what?"

  "Your boiler certificate. You require a certificate to operate a steam boiler."

  "How do I get one?"

  "You can apply at City Hall. But, of course, you must be a Canadian citizen or a British subject to apply."

  "What?"

  The inspector looked like he was enjoying this.

  "You must be a British subject or a Canadian citizen. Is there a problem?"

  Citizenship required five years of residency. He couldn't apply for another year.

  "Yes, it is a problem. What are my other options?"

  "Well, maybe one of your crew could operate the boiler?" The inspector raised his eyebrows and feigned a smile. Adam had introduced the crew to him during the inspection. He knew they were all recent immigrants.

  Adam glared at him. "Get off my property."

  "As you wish, Mr. Baumann," he said pleasantly, standing to leave.

  "And go to hell."

  Slamming the door after the inspector, Adam sat back down at his desk to think. Even if he could find someone with the certificate he needed, he wouldn't be able to afford him.

  Ted Millington was at the counter when Adam walked into City Hall. He knew Ted from Kinsmen.

  "It's true, Adam, that is the law," Ted said when Adam finished explaining what had just happened.

  "I spent a year building the block plant, Ted. And when the City Council sold me the land, they knew exactly what it was for. I can't believe this hasn't come up before. And I'm in debt like crazy. What the hell am I going to do now?"

  Ted thought in silence for a few moments, then made a quick phone call.

  "Judge Washington is at the courthouse and he has time to see us," Ted said a minute later, beaming at Adam as he grabbed his coat.

  The Judge sat behind a huge desk strewn with files, his large hands flat on the desk in front of him. "What can I do for you?" he said in a very proper British accent. His long bushy eyebrows lifted at the end of his question.

  "Well, Your Honour," Adam started, "today I learned that I need a boiler's certificate to operate my block plant. I don't have one you see and I can't apply for one because I am a not a Canadian citizen yet. I have nine guys at the block plant waiting to work, and several customers who have said they will place orders with me as soon as I can produce some blocks, because the prices are better than shipping blocks from Vancouver. And I have a Canadian wife at home who is going to have a baby any day, our first child, and I need to make payments on the loans I have used to build the plant."

  The Judge listened patiently, a kind smile on his weathered face.

  "Yes, Ted mentioned this on the phone a few minutes ago. I've put a bit of thought into it. "I can understand that it is important that you get that plant open in order to create those jobs for which the land was made available." Adam nodded and the judge continued. "Are you intending to become a Canadian citizen?"

  "Yes, most certainly."

  "How long have you been in Canada now?"

  "Four years, Your Honour."

  The Judge addressed Ted, where he hung back near the door of the chambers. "Ted, take ten dollars from Mr. Baumann and fill out the Citizenship application form. Lodge the application today and bring it forward for processing when the five years are up. Then issue him a boiler certificate immediately, so he can start producing those blocks."

  Three days later, Adam climbed into the forklift and moved the first pallet of blocks into the kiln to dry. The pallet sold the day it came out of the kiln, just like all the pallets that came out after it that day, and on the days that followed. By the time Adam and Jean's first daughter, Sue, arrived, a week overdue, Western Brick and Block was running at full capacity.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE

  The 1950s were exciting times in western Canada, times of rapid growth and development, a perfect environment for Adam's entrepreneurial mind. His assessment of the construction market couldn't have been better. Between the numerous general contractors in the area, and his own growing portfolio of projects, demand for blocks and bricks was through the roof. If he was going to keep his customers satisfied, he needed inventory.

  With his credit fully maximized, Adam was desperate for cash when Dave Pipe drove into the block plant yard unexpectedly one afternoon. Dave was moving to Penticton to retire and looking for a business to invest in as a silent partner. It appeared as if fate had once again handed Adam a golden opportunity. In no time, he and Dave had reached an agreement, and production rapidly doubled. Local contractors were thrilled. Before long, shipments of blocks from Vancouver to the Okanagan Valley had ceased.

  While Jean took on the routines and demands of motherhood, Adam, convinced that single-family home construction was an untapped market for his blocks, took out full page ads in the local paper, inviting people to visit "The Dream House" on weekends and see for themselves. All the while, both parents doted on the miracle of their baby daughter, amazed at the wonders of how she looked when she slept, how she smiled at them when she woke, how much she could eat, how many new things she did each day.

  They hadn't had much time to enjoy their new rhythm before tragedy sought them out. Jean's father and stepmother had returned home from a visit to Penticton to meet their little granddaughter only a week or so earlier when their home on Lulu Island caught fire in the middle of the night, burning to the ground before the blaze could be contained. The fire department found Kay hiding in the blueberry fields nearby, reportedly in a delusional state related to her diabetes. Jean's father hadn't moved from his bed, asphyxiated where he lay. The loss hit Jean hard. After her mother's death when Jean was barely a teenager, her father had raised her and they'd been close. He was the only family she'd had.

  The tragedy heightened the anxiety that had been growing in Adam's mind about his own parents. Thoughts of the continued discrimination he had witnessed on his visit to Germany were never far from his mind, and anyway, they should be enjoying a taste of what Canada offered. Reaching a decision, he submitted a sponsorship application to bring his parents and little Frankie to Canada.

  A few weeks later, the first denial arrived. Scar tissue on his dad's lung had shown up during the medical exam, and Canada wasn't accepting immigrants that might become medical burdens. Over the next two years, Adam spun his wheels in a battle with the Canadian Immigration Department, resubmitting the application every few months. Each time, a denial letter arrived soon after.

  On the business front, however, opportunities popped up everywhere Adam looked, perhaps more visible to his entrepreneurial eye than to most. Tirelessly, he tackled one venture after another. The Dream House, as he'd dubbed the house built from concrete blocks, hadn't turned public opinion towards block construction for the residential market as Adam had envisioned it would, regardless of the effort they'd put into hosting lavish open house events to show it off. So when he heard about another building lot for sale at a good price just down the street, and a double lot that was zoned for apartments, both of which he could afford if he sold the Dream House, he did just that. An apartment building would bring in good rental income, he explained to Jean.

  Next, a magazine article about a tourist attraction that was becoming popular in the United States caught his attention. Although the masonry company, the apartment building, the new house he had under construction, and the block plant kept him on the move long hours
each day, Adam set his sights on building a miniature golf course. Over the next six months, the mini-golf where Adam and Jean's children would spend their summers learning all manner of skills from making change to making cotton candy, and which would become a landmark in Penticton for the next 40 years, took shape. And just months before the grand opening of the place that would be so central to their family life, their second daughter, Sandy, was born.

  Soon after, an advertisement in the local paper caught Adam's eye. The government was selling off a 77-acre parcel of land just north of town. Although he had no time or money to develop it, and both the sheer size of the property and the $28,000 bid he submitted were staggering, the land was being re-zoned and sold at less than market value. The siren of opportunity wailed once again. As always, Adam was compelled to respond, and soon he was the owner of a piece of land big enough to rival the richest of the rich farmers of Elek.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO

  1958

  Adam had been at the mini-golf site all morning. He needed to get over to the block plant to organize the upcoming orders. But first, he wanted to stop and say hello to the Arnold brothers, and congratulate them on a new contract they'd won. For the cost of the tools, he'd sold the masonry business to Andy and Hans. They deserved it for all their hard work over the years, and besides, the fun had gone out of it for Adam. It was a well-oiled machine that really didn't need him anymore.

  Adam was perplexed to see a truckload of small blocks driving out of the driveway as he pulled into the block plant a little later. He'd asked the foreman to hold all small block inventory for a new contract he'd just signed.

  "Where's that truck headed?" Adam said to his foreman, getting out of his pickup.

  "Dave brought in an urgent order he got this morning. Said to send two truckloads of those blocks over today."

  Adam couldn't believe his ears. Dave had done it again! The last incident had been the week before.

  "And how are we going to fill the big order that's due on Monday for that new contract?"

  "He said they'd have to wait a couple of extra days."

  "I told them they could have the full order on Monday. That's what they are expecting. So now I'll have to go and explain to them that we can't deliver what I promised." Adam was yelling by the time he finished.

  "Sorry boss. I thought maybe you knew. Like maybe Dave had called you or something."

  "Don't worry about it. This is between me and Dave."

  Adam jumped into his truck and slammed the door, spraying rocks out from the tires as he roared out of the driveway.

  "Well, you didn't tell me about the order for Monday!" Dave yelled back at Adam twenty minutes later.

  "Why would I tell you? You're a silent partner. Silent partners don't need to know the daily details of operating a business! I don't know why you're out there selling when you are supposed to be retired, but from now on if you get an order, you talk to me! I'm running the plant, Dave, not you!"

  The fight continued until Adam gave up and stomped out, slamming Dave's front door behind him. Next he had to go and apologize to the customer.

  "What?" Adam bellowed at Dave a few days later. "You told them what?"

  "I told them to switch over and produce more of these," said Dave, jabbing his finger at the stack of blocks they were standing beside, "because I was talking to a guy this morning and he said he'll need a big supply of them in the next couple of weeks if he wins the bid on the commercial building on the south end of town."

  "And how are we going to fill our current orders for those?" yelled Adam in response, pointing at the pile across the forklift path.

  "I talked to the crew about it and with what's in the kiln today, we've got enough for the current orders!"

  "Well, the crew doesn't know about the big commercial project on the north end of town I signed on late yesterday!" Adam roared, his face inches from Dave's, then turned and stomped down the pathway between the stacks of blocks before turning and striding back. Putting his face close to Dave's again, he said in a low voice, "Look Dave, I've had it. You're no silent partner, and you're not retired, and this place isn't big enough for both of us." His voice began to rise again. "You've got more goddammed money than me, so you either buy me out, or I'm going to get a box of dynamite and I'm going to blow this place sky high!"

  With that he turned and stormed out to his pickup and spun out of the driveway.

  "I'm selling the block plant to Dave," Adam announced at supper that night, his jaw set in a stubborn line.

  Jean put down her fork and looked at Adam. In the crook of her arm, Sandy was slurping hungrily on a bottle. "Selling the block plant? Why?"

  "He's meddling, every day he's meddling. He's no silent partner. And there's no room for two bosses. Simple as that."

  "But Adam, you built it and it's a very lucrative business. Maybe Dave should leave instead of you."

  Adam shook his head stubbornly. "He won't leave. I know him. It's easy money now that it's up and running. I've got lots of other projects. Life's too short to have this kind of bullshit to deal with every day. We'll be fine." Adam looked down at his plate and resumed eating.

  A few weeks later, the sale of Adam's half of Western Brick and Block was complete.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE

  Business at the mini-golf was booming. Weekends were busiest, since that was when the locals could come. But the tourist traffic was steady all week. Sometimes Adam joined customers for a hole or two and a few laughs. It helped him see ways he could improve things.

  The apartment building, which they'd named Century Manor, had been open a few months now, and the units were starting to fill up. He was getting the hang of being a landlord and Jean had taken on the paperwork seamlessly.

  One problem he still hadn't solved was his parents' immigration application. They'd been trying for over two years. When he heard one of the men at the Kinsmen meeting saying that the Minister of Immigration was coming to town to do a campaign speech for the upcoming election, Adam's ears perked up.

  "I need to deliver these papers to Mr. Fulton," he said to the front desk clerk at the hotel where he'd heard the politician was staying, waving the envelope that contained an English, notarized version of his dad's test results. He'd requested the results a few months back, hoping he could use them to talk sense into the officials at the local immigration office, but it hadn't worked. "Can you give me his room number please?"

  "Hello?" said Mr. Fulton, opening the door a crack.

  "I'm sorry to bother you so late sir. My name is Adam Baumann. I am a businessman here in Penticton. I listened to your speech and thought it was very good. Since you are the Minister of Immigration, I was hoping I could talk to you about a problem I am having. You see, I've been trying to have my parents and little brother come to Canada to join me and my other brother and our wives here, under the family reunification program. For over two years now, the Canadian government has refused to allow them to come."

  The door opened wide. "Come in, Mr. Baumann."

  A couple of short weeks later, the application had been re-evaluated and approved.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR

  A month had passed since they'd had the good news about his parents. Everything was organized. On the 8th of October they would be arriving at the train station in a town called Salmon Arm, a three-hour drive from Penticton. With the mini-golf shut down for the season and no block plant to manage, Adam had had a bit of time to plan.

  Jean was sitting at the table, feeding baby Sandy, when Adam got home. As he sat down at the table after washing up, Jean set the squirming baby on the floor and turned to smile at Adam. "I'm pregnant again,"

  she said.

  "Wow, that was quick," he said, looking up from where Sandy was crawling rapidly away. "It's wonderful, honey," he continued, as Sue banged her spoon on the table of the highchair, her hair and face covered in orange goop. "When's the due date?"

  "Early A
pril."

  "I sold the house today," said Adam.

  "What?" Jean's smile dropped away. "I thought we agreed to stay in this house."

  "Well, the purchaser I have lined up for the apartment building said he'd only buy it if he could have the house too. And the profit on the apartment building was too good to turn down. I'm sorry, hon."

  "Adam, we have moved every year since we've been in this town. And this house is perfect. It's taken a lot of work to get it just right."

  They finished eating in silence. As he pushed back his chair to head into the office, Adam broached the subject of housing again, since Jean hadn't asked.

  "There's not enough time to build again before Mom and Dad get here," he said, "so I looked at a few places today. There's one at the corner of Eckhart and Government that has a basement suite. It's not as nice as this, but it's got lots of space. And now with a new baby coming too, we'll be able to use the space." He paused for a few moments. Jean didn't say anything so he continued with the rest of his news. "I'm driving to Kamloops tomorrow to look at a couple of side-by-side building lots zoned for apartments. If they look good, I can break ground right away. I'll have to be there during the week while the building is going up, but I'll be home weekends and probably a day or two most weeks, keeping an eye on things here," he finished up, unfazed by the fact that he had just informed his pregnant wife of another move with a baby and a toddler, and that she'd be on her own with live-in in-laws who couldn't speak English.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE

  "There's the train!" Adam looked up at the sound of George's excited voice. George and his new wife Irene had driven up from Vancouver the night before their parents' arrival date so that Adam and George could leave early to meet the train.