Recollections: A resume in itself

Dad moved to Winnipeg from Pilot Mound to attend the Dominion Provincial Vocational School in 1940-41 prior to being accepted into the RCAF for airframe mechanic training. (He had applied to become a pilot in the summer of 1940, but was rejected for aircrew because of colour blindness.)

Post-war, Dad trained in Machine Shop and Tool & Die at the Manitoba Technical Institute. Within days of completing this training, he was hired by MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited. At the time, plants like MBA were struggling to find work. They had the good sense to recognize talent when they saw it, however, and with glowing references from his instructors, Dad landed a job and began his 34-year career with the company.

The Ford Plant - later Manitoba Technical Institute - at Portage Ave. and Wall St., Winnipeg

Dad took more training post-war at MTI, the precursor to Red River College.

I've always claimed that the tractor cab Dad built for his father in 1946 was a resume in itself. This is especially true when you consider that MacDonald Brothers Aircraft was building tractor cabs post-war, too! To maintain production volumes post-war, the company introduced a number of projects, including reconditioning surplus army trucks, producing aluminum cookware, car jacks, and sleigh bodies for tractor trains used in the north to haul goods during the winter. They also produced agricultural components, like crop sprayer assemblies, front loader attachments, sprayer tanks, and - tractor cabs.

A history of Bristol Aerospace Limited, entitled 50 Years of Technology 1930-1980: Volume One: The First Quarter Century describes the company's foray into tractor cab production:

A related product [to swathers and crop duster assemblies], reflecting the extremes of climate on the Canadian prairies, was a tractor cab, designed to be adaptable to the different types of tractor used at the time, giving protection from the elements to the operator, and thereby making possible the more effective use of the equipment.

This was a MacDonald Brothers development, from the basic design, through modifications to the finished product.

The cabs were marketed through a distribution system set up by the Company, until 1954 when all rights to the design and sales, were sold to the J.B. Carter Company, which continued to sell tractor cabs for several years.

Compare Dad's custom-designed tractor cab with that of MacDonald Brothers Aircraft. Call me biased, but I think Dad's design is much more elegant.