February Blog

As late as in 1986 when I took over the Swedish Press, many visitors to the office, especially old-timers, would talk nostalgically about the mighty printing press, and the particular smell of the ink and the sound of the steady churning-out of fresh newspapers that they would encounter in the good old days.

That was how it was when 'Svenska Pressen' saw the light of day 80 years ago at Vancouver's Victory Square. The premises of Swedish Press have been shrinking ever since then and today the paper resides in a home office with steadily shrinking computers.

Ernie Poignant, who celebrates his 90th birthday on February 4, still has vivid memories of the early days of Svenska Pressen. In 1947 when he left his father's chicken farm in Matsqui and got his first job at Swedish Press, the paper was housed in its own building in central Vancouver with six employees and a huge printing press. Now that was a real newspaper. (For the 60th anniversary of Swedish Press in 1989, Ernie prepared a humoristic portable exhibit about the early days of the paper that is available for clubs and events).

After two years at Swedish Press, Ernie (who had failed his grade one English because he had grown up with only Swedish around him) was ready to move on, as a full-fledged compositor, to the Cariboo Observer and later on to the Maple Ridge Gazette.

"I still have most of my marbles," says Ernie. Since his retirement in 1983, he has been busier than ever presenting his "chalk talks" and cartoons for pre-schoolers, at shopping malls, Sunday schools, retirement homes and hospitals and more. During the Christmas season, he was in his usual place at the Burnaby Village looking as dapper as ever. Acollection of his cartoons has been published in the book People, Pencil and Paper.

"The cartoons are oddly touching, in their gentle wit and in the sheer exuberance of their drawing. I didn't laugh out once but I noticed, when I turned the last page, that I had been smiling all the way through all these kind and gentle works of a kind and gentle man," reads the introduction by Mark Hamilton, whom Ernie met at the Gazette.

I can't do much more than agree while I can only hope for a fraction of Ernie's vitality if I make it to the grand old age of 90. In the meantime here's wishing Ernie Poignant continued good health so that he can bring many more smiles to hearts young and old!

Have a nice February

Anders

PS. If you haven't yet done it, go to http://www.nordicway.com and see how we are faring on the Swedish Press trip "Around Swedish America in 365 days"! Also see page 4.