Hi, There! by Gregory Clark ~ 1963. This edition: McGraw Hill-Ryerson, 1968. Softcover. ISBN: 0-7700-6026-9. 228 pages.
My rating: 9/10. There is absolutely nothing to dislike – well, aside from, if one wants to get really nit-picky, the odd era-typical comment, such as Mr. Clark referring to his wife and presumably at least one daughter in a paternally misogynistic way as “my women” – and much to like.
This was one of my father’s books; I remember buying him other Gregory Clark titles as birthday and Father’s Day gifts; I am now wondering just where those might have ended up, as Hi, There! has piqued my interest; I’d happily read more of these pleasant (though possibly just a bit dramatized) memoirs.
These are short, 4 to 5 page, mostly humorous, meticulously well-written anecdotes and essays on various low-key topics, from winter driving (a truly Canadian focus of interest) to neighbourhood feuds to amusing encounters with all sorts of people, including a carload of bank robbers disguised as a wedding party.
Gregory Clark has a stellar backstory as an extremely well-regarded journalist. He was the recipient of both the Order of the British Empire and the Order of Canada for his war reporting, as well as receiving the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour for his collection entitled War Stories.
From The Canadian Journalism Foundation biography:
Greg Clark – Journalist 1892-1977
It was once said that in the years leading into the Second World War, more Canadians would recognize Greg Clark on the street than the prime minister or the movie hero of the day.
During the 1930s, Greg Clark was the most widely read writer in Canada, crafting features for the Star Weekly with cartoonist Jimmie Frise. His popularity continued through the late 1940s and into the early 1960s as a writer and most notably back-page columnist, for Weekend Magazine.
Nineteen books of Greg Clark’s writings, ranging from everyday life to the horrors of war, have been published. His output of stories about real people living real lives was phenomenal.
Craig Ballantyne, editorial director of Weekend Magazine, once described Clark as “a man so Canadian that no other land could possibly have produced him.” [Ernest] Hemingway, in 1920, called him the best writer at the Toronto Star.
Clark entered journalism in 1911 at the Toronto Star, where he worked for 34 years before joining the Montreal Standard, which later developed into Weekend Magazine.
He is often remembered as a columnist, but his feature and column work had been forged by years of front-page reporting. He covered the Moose River mining disaster, royal coronations, papal coronations, the death of FDR, and the founding of the UN, to name a few. He was a [frequently frontline] war correspondent in World War II, after serving in WWI, which he entered as a private and left as a major.
His contributions to journalism are many, but his most important is what his work can show other journalists about storytelling excellence. All Clark’s writings, from columns to hard front-page news, are guides to how journalists should tell stories that interest and inform readers.
His writings are real life with human touches. They have been described as “rapid, full of rhythm, unimpeded by digression.” His work was positive in the darkest situations, while still laying out the full facts and describing reality. This is an approach worth study in a time when the public feels journalism is far too negative…
More glowing biographies are here:
4th Canadian Mounted Rifles – Biography of Capt. Gregory Clark
Gregory Clark. Perhaps now a forgotten author in this new century? Fellow Canadians, remember the name for your used book store explorations; you might be very well pleased to make his acquaintance.
Leaves & Pages 
Greg Clark. Gosh, I read him every every week in the magazine supplement (Star Weekly, Weekend Magazine, whichever it was. And as an aside, I loved those weekly Magazine supplements in the newspapers.) I can remember so many of those stories, though I never knew he was a hard news journalist too.
One in particular sticks in my mind; Greg recalling how after WWI, he and his brother Joe (?) came home safe, and of all the boys on their street, they were the only ones who did.
Yes, until I did a bit of digging I hadn’t realized how long and “serious” his career had really been. I knew him only from my dad’s enjoyment of his “lighter” writing.
What has happened to those weekend newspaper inserts? Up until a few years ago we were still getting them in our big city dailies; the one thing we were always sure to pickup was the weekend copy of the Vancouver Sun, because it was good for an hour or two of sharing, with some great special articles. No longer; it is a thin and sad thing now, compared to its glory days, not worth its toonie. 😦 Ah well, a casualty of the paperless age…
I remember that story too, about their father asking the boys to avoid walking down the street because it would remind the other families that their sons were not ever coming home.
I’ve not read him, but I remember seeing them in the highschool library all the time and they had rather comic looking covers. Now that i know who he is and what is in them I’d certainly pick one up if found!
Hmmm. I always refer to my husband and one or more of my sons as “my men” or “my boys”. Wonder if that makes me a misandrist?
🙂 Misandrist – no, not really, not unless you accompany it with a dismissive comment! By all reports Gregory Clark was very much a deeply macho guy, for all of his good humour and folksy appeal; the comment that raised my eyebrow was something to the effect that he didn’t “allow my women to drive in stormy winter weather”. Something about that word “allow” coupled with “my women” just briefly pinged on my radar. There were a few other things, but nothing “offensive”, just rather era-typical. But that was my ONLY tiny “negative” observation. His stories are very well-written, and I’m quite keen to read more.
Like Nicola, I remember my school libraries overflowing with Clark’s books. Shamefully, I can’t remember having ever read one!
I wasn’t much drawn to Gregory Clark as a teen; I do remember dipping into my dad’s collection, but I don’t think I ever read one cover-to-cover. I was rather surprised to find how enjoyable this one was when I did finally rediscover it!