Download The Keith Beedie Story - Beedie Group

56
THE KEITH
BEEDIE STORY
Much of the work on doors
and windows in the Marpole
workshop was done by Keith
and Fred.
PART 1: LAYING THE FOUNDATION
CHAPTER 4: SETTING UP SHOP
“If he hadnʼt done
what he did, I sure
as hell wouldnʼt be
where I am now.”
work like that any more. We were pretty naïve,
two inexperienced 19-year-olds, building a
1,200-square-foot concrete block workshop
from scratch.” Th ey would do everything
themselves, including the electrical work,
which had proved to be a problem. Keith, in
an eff ort to save money, had purchased the
smallest diameter pipe conduit that would
take seven wires. Th ey’d needed to pull the
wires through the pipe conduit and had had to
attach the wires to the bumper of a car to get
the job done. “When the inspector came,” says
Keith, “he told me we couldn’t fi t seven wires
in that size of conduit. When we said we did,
he said, ‘Well then, okay,’ and he signed off .”
Th ey worked hard and when the building was
complete, they called up Wally Hammond and
invited him to come see it. He couldn’t believe
they had built it themselves.
“I think about that moment oft en, what he
off ered us,” says Keith. “What would make a
guy do that for two young kids? I just don’t
know. We hadn’t talked to him much, so it’s
not like he knew us. He just wanted to see us
make it, I guess. I know one thing for sure, though. If he hadn’t done
what he did, I sure as hell wouldn’t be where I am now. Building that
shop is what got me started in the construction business.” Wally made
good on his off er and the boys purchased the equipment they needed
on Hammond credit. Th ey then worked diligently to pay back each
and every cent they owed, since they were both aware that, in truth,
they owed Wally far more than money. “When I think of it,” says Keith,
“I get shivers.”
Ironically, aft er all the eff ort made to accommodate
the mountain of walnut bed ends they had found to
manufacture the radio cabinets, they only made 17.
Th eir upstairs neighbours brought in a new supply
of cabinets from back east before disappearing to do
business elsewhere. Th e bed ends were used instead to
make tables and desks. When the ends ran out, they
purchased oak and other woods to continue making
furniture. Many years later, when he was coaching
boys in soft ball, Keith stopped by the family home of
a teenager joining the team. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed
a coff ee table that looked eerily familiar. He asked the family if they
would mind if he quickly turned it over to look on the other side. A little
confused, they took everything off to allow Keith to fl ip it. Sure enough,
his name was on the bottom of the table. It was one of the ones he had
made so long ago. Keith was happy to see that his workmanship had
stood the test of time. “Turns out the glue held,” laughs Keith.
Aft er numerous years and too many deals to count, Keith has never
forgotten the trust extended to him by a stranger. Wally Hammond
didn’t live to see just how Keith well fulfi lled his promise. He died of
cancer at 34 years old, long before the success of Th e Beedie Group
demonstrated how important his gesture of faith was to a 19-yearold
boy. Years later Keith tried to track down some descendents
of Hammond in an attempt to reciprocate his kindness, but he was
unable to fi nd any. “I still get choked up, even so many years later,
when I think about that man,” says Keith.
FROM TOP: Keith in front of the
Marpole workshop, 1946.
Th e cinder-block walls of the
workshop were never painted
or waterproofed – and they
never leaked.
57