Village Squire, 1978-10, Page 24Forward! proves
not only rich
and famous
have interesting
stories to tell
Biographies are usually reserved for
great individuals, people of fame and
power and riches. Harold Vodden hardly
qualifies in any of these areas yet the term
"great" is still hardly misplaced.
Mr. Vodden is one of those "little"
people who are so important because they
show us just how strong, resilient and
inspiring human beings can be at their
best. This book puts a lot of that down on
paper in a very readable story.
Mr. Vodden has become well-known in
Huron county in recent years because of
his new career which was thrust on him
when his vision failed him in 1965. The
book begins with a graphic description of
that day when while driving his vision
began to fade in such a way that for long
minutes he felt it was only a fog in the air
that was making it hard for him to see the
road.
He was, at that time, already nearing the
age when many men would be retiring. He
had had two successful careers. Given a
different personality he might simply have
given up, abandoned himself to helpless-
ness and waited for other people to care for
him for the rest of his life. Instead he
looked on his affirmity as a new challenge
in his life, learning to live with it and
minimize its impact on his life as much as
possible.
In the first career of his life Mr. Vodden
had been a baker, building a successful
small-town business. Later, with small
bakeries being squeezed out by the huge
city bakeries, he switched course and went
into television sales and service, learning a
whole new set of rules. It tells something of
the character of the man that he was able to
continue television repairs even after he
was blinded with the help of his wife and
special equipment. He only abandoned this
career when the predominance of colour
televisions meant he had to deal with a
whole new set of circumstances in repairs,
ones he didn't feel he could master under
his handicap.
But he took on a new career, making
crafts and doing chair caning. He has
become so proficient at his work that he is a
common exhibitor at craft shows through-
out Western Ontario and people bring him
chairs to be caned from all over the area.
Chaircaning ,is a very intricate craft which
few sighted people have mastered, yet Mr.
PG.22. VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1978.
Vodden using only his sense of touch, has
earned a high reputation for the quality of
his work.
The book also deals with the problems of
mobility for the blind and particularly with
the use of guide dogs. Much of the warmth
of the book comes from the relationship
between Mr. Vodden and his remarkable
dog Chipper. He tells of the training he and
the dog went through to prepare them for
working together in all kinds of situations.
He tells of the bond of trust that is built up
between man and dog, a trust in which the
man puts his life in the skills of the dog and
the dog risks his own life for his master.
Never played up. but always present is
the close relationship between Mr. Vodden
and his wife Myrtle that helps him
overcome many of the problems his
handicap has brought.
Perhaps it is because I know Mr. Vodden
(Village Squire featured an article on his
work in 1973) but I found the book to be
both touching and inspiring. Much of the
success of the book comes from the writing
of Brock Vodden who blends humour and
seriousness well to make this a pleasurable
book to read. One of the problems of man
books from small publishers is the quality
of writing but there is no problem here.
It's a short book, just 55 pages. long
enough to tell the story well but not so long
as to let it lag. The cover features excellent
colour photographs of Mr. Vodden.
Chipper and members of his family. In all
it's a very impressive package.
--Reviewed by Keith Roulston.
FORWARD! Harold Vodden's Story as told
to Brock Vodden, published by Pivotal
Training Concepts, Box 220, Blyth.
Will it keep
beating?
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