Was very interested in your organization, and also your background, but it was your unique last name that really caught my eye.
Have just started exploring the "net", and am having fun in the process. I am in the car business in Toronto, and my family has been in this city for 5 generations, my Great Grandfather came from Ireland to build houses in Downtown Toronto, some of which are still around, and some considered quite historic.
Both my Grandfather, and my Dad, were in the Insurance business, and the name Bickerstaff is quite well known in Canadian insurance circles. My Dad, now 74, is retired of course, but there is still a large Brokerage with our name.
I just wanted to drop you a note and say "Hi", please feel free to do the same, and give me some Down Under Bickerstaff history. My Dad is a real collector of things like that, and will be also very interested!
Yours very truly
Joe Bickerstaff
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Bruce Bickerstaff wrote:
Hi Joe
Happy New year - I trust you and the family are well. I have just returned to the office from a punishing afternoon down at Bronte Beach - finally a near perfect beach day after a warm but wet January thus far. Anyway I was sorting through my old emails when I noticed that I didn't ever respond to a question you asked back in October re: my sister Anne's travels in Canada.
Do you know what that fun-devil did? We had one of those lame-o "Story of the Bickerstaff's" books which someone bought on the cheap (you know the old scam where they market the book of Jones'/Browns/Wilsons/etc & they're all the same apart from the section where they copy bits out of overseas phone books). Anyway she wrote to various Canadian Bickerstaff's and received responses from several. Unfortunately I don't think any of these Bickerstaff's are on-line yet. Next thing these poor folks knew was a letter arriving saying "hey I'm coming over, can I call in and say hi?". What then followed was a mega-trip from west to east (as in Nova Scotia). All the Bickerstaff's were great (of course!), and one was even quite well-to-do (we're talking a fleet of helicopters, etc) and so she had a great time. She ended up spending quite a lot of time in Nova Scotia, and would actually like to live there for an extended period but can't get a long-term visa.
Cheers
Bruce B
PS. I have added a letter from one of the Bickerstaff's that Anne wrote to back then, Arthur Bickerstaff, to the Bickerstaff page given that it's quite informative and relates to your neck of the woods
From: jbick (at) idirect.com (Joe Bickerstaff)
Subject: Mom and Dad in cyberspace
Hi there Bruce,
I think I finally got my folks up and running, although I think it will take
a while for them to find their way around.
Pls drop them a line if you have a chance at: (??? email address now invalid)
To contact Joe's dad, Grant, write to ngbick (at) idirect.com
Hi there Bruce,
I got that letter in the regular mail some time ago from Steven Bickerstaffe in Mississauga, and planned on contacting him, and advising him about the Bick Page, but somehow misplaced his letter containing numbers and stuff. It was great to see it up on the page, so I called my Dad to tell him, and got a busy signal. Kept trying and finally got through, and my Dad told me he had been talking with some guy called Steve Bickerstaffe, and that's why the line was busy. Amazing timing eh?? I did call Steve, I know the condo complex he is in, and he works for the federal government just around the corner from my place in downtown Toronto. We are going to get together for a beer sometime next week. Sounds like a really nice, interesting guy, who has spent a ton of time on researching the Bick thing.
Hope all is good with you and yours there, we are having a really COLD winter this year, with temps. around 40 degrees below (celsius) with the wind chill!!! IT IS COLD!!
The car biz is slow, but hope it picks up soon. The good ole Canadian economy really needs a shot in the arm, interest rates are on the way down, so it might do the trick.
All the best for now,
Joe in Toronto
To contact Joe, write to jbick (at) idirect.com
To go to Joe's company home page
