8--The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, April 20, 2004 487 Lauie 78-2881 Meter finally off for long-time cabby Afier four decades, Crowe cal/s it a career By JASON MISNER The Champion It's early on September 3, 1963 and the Sun is shining bright as Milton awakens from its slumber. A dapper John Crowe, a 28-year-old young gun, dressed ini a collared shirt and dark red tie, proudly slides behmnd the wheel of his new white Pontiac. It's tbe fiest day of a part-time job as tbe town's newly-minted cab driver. Me. Ceowe's regular job is working at Main Street's Kerr Rexaîl Pbannacy as a clerk, a jack of ail trades really. Mopping. Dusting. Cashier. Whatever needs to be done. Store owner Ken ElsIey bas given Mr. Crowe permission to use tbe business as bis sort-of dispatch centre, giving nut the store number as the point of contact for would-be customers. 'Tbis pleasant moruing, bis bears is beating taxi driver. Before be arrives as Kere's, be gets bis firsi customer - Mes. Windmôller. She's flailing hee arms, wanting him t0 pull over near Main and Martin streets. His sign, Crowe Taxi Service, bas made ils first impression on one of the few tbousand tbat live in sown. Mes. Windmoller bas a baby-sitting job sbe must get to and needs a ride. Mr. Crowe easily obliges. Sbe pays the drop farte of a wbopping 40 cents and will be required 50, psy 30 cents for every kilomnetre tbereafter. Her ride this day is 70 cents. Mr. Crowe's Oirsi dollar - almost. "Ih was exciting," Mr. Crowe recalled ini a recent interview, dressed cleanly in black, wearing, of course, a dark tie in the court- yard of bis Milîside Drive apartment. And Mrs. Windmoller became one of countless dedicaird cus- somners Mr. Crowe bad thc pleasure of dnivtng over a 40-year career, wbetber it be to a bairdresser or to Pearson airpont. And tbat's amid recovering from, a massive beart attack as age 42 and a quadruple bypass bears surgery aI 62. At the age of 69 - be'll tum 70 by montb's end - Mr. Crowe bas given up bis taxi licence for the easy lifte. Retirement. Already be's restless. Honoured by council Mr. Crowe was infomally recognized by town council ai its Marcb 29 counicil meeting. He was in attendance as the Town passed a bylaw that offlcially allowed him to transfer bis taxi license of bis 1998 Butck LeSabre to Uic cab-cbamn, Milton Taxi. Mayor Gord Keantz called him an "institution". Is would appear be deserves a fancier recognition party, one witb ail the belîs and wbistles. But Mr. Ceowe's personality probably won't allow for it. He's a straigbt-sbootee. Jusi doing my job, be'd say. Wbat a job be did. Bom in 1939 in Milton on Sarah Street, Me. Crowe was raised to be a bard worker. His dad was a mecbanic ast a Ford dealersbip, wbere Carriage Square now suts, and be gos bis son interesird in cars. The Martin Street sebool student was working to be a meebanie apprentice. As 17, be decide to change direction and work ast thc drugstore. Taxi drivar John Cmowo wus dsscrlb.d as a Milton Insttuton whSfl officlsll nxcognizd for it (took cab calîs) tooi Nis long-standing ser'vice at a tr@t tomr coun- They eventually bougbt a two-way radio, which made the busi- cil meeIng. Photo by GRAHAM PAINE There was talk be migbs become a pharmacist, but it would take six or seven years and a lot of money to, get bis licence, be said. Then at 28, the taxi bug bit hiru. He said be always found biru- self calling cabs for cussomners. Why couldn't be drive tbem instead? "There were only two taxis in town, so 1 thought there was an opportunisy," he said. 'There was a little dissension, but we ended up getting along." Already having a driver's licence, he paid Town Hall the $5 for the taxi license, and off he went to be a fledgling cab driver. 18 put an ad in 'Me Champion, saying, 'Cail the one wbo gives 24-hour service."' And tbat's what he did for tbe first 14 years of driving a cab. He was available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He occasionaliy got a 3 arn. pbone caîl from boozers ready to caîl il a nigbt. "Once you got Io know tbc drunks, tbey ai bad," he said, shrugging bis shoulders, stressmng he was neyer robbed or assauli- cd during his taxiing tenure. 1I used to be 200 pounds.' Oh, and be neyer delivered a baby, but be fransically drove expectant mothers to Milton District Hospital s0 professionals could. The long boues belped bim providc for a family of three with bis wife Marilyn. Once her busband quit tbe drugstore job and became a cab driver fulI-time, she and the kids took taxi calîs at home. "I didn't like him being out aIl tbe nigbt, but it's wbat you had to do," Ms Crowe said, addmng sbe supponted ber busband's career change from tbe very beginning. "Once the kids got older, tbey did ness mun much smootbee. Wben the beart attack struck Mr. Crowe aI 42, be scaled back bis work boues to, 14 so 18 bour days. Not scaled back enougb for bis wife, mind you. "He sbould bave taken back more, but be didn't want to,' Ms Crowe said, looking stemnly ast ber husband. Wben tbe '70s rolled around, more taxis started to infiltrate Miltono, and business slowed a bit. But the family, Me. Crowe said, neyer missed paying tbeir buis. Hunkering down, the fainily made ilt sfrougb the lean years and by the 1980s and mid-1990s, tbe taxi business was back in full swing. Then, two days before Christmas in 1996, the family was bit by life-threatemtng news - Mr. Crowe needed quadruple bypass beant surgery. "1 was told be bad a 5 per cent cbance to survive," Ms Ceowe said, a sbocked look oveecoming ber face. "I prayed a lot." Defying the odds -like he did in succeeding as a lone cab driv- er -Me. Crowe recoveeed. And true to form, by April tbe next year. be was back driving a cab, albeit woeking eigbt boues a day, five days a week. A regular work day. lnterestingly, Mr. Crowe's taxi business wasn't really impacted by tbe residential growtb that started to besiege tbe town about four years ago. He aîways bad a steady list of customners from years back, probably for bis customner service traits. Meanwbile, this past weekend, be bad plans to attend tbe Henry Ford museum in Dearbomn, Micbigan. It contains aIl kinds of bis- soric automobiles. He was excited about it. Sounds as if Mr. Crowe's 1963 Pontiac sbould be included. Jason Misner con he reached ait jmisne-@ânîilitonc-anadian- champion .c om. 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Lt We f 73066 L W6 6,, 730666 [0666666560,6,60 N6OTH HAT NSU I 5 00p6 Seniors Sh066s 5.30prn6 Pwo,666606k,6 nHk 6 3Opm6 Osie ei,, oneto 6-6,606666 Be 6666,e6 530;on tat of066 the Regio 6 0o piitT ig Lv)63po B opd6*pr oe """" '~"" 630, Seniors Shocs Ad6,6 Laurier Plaza 8:00pnn Hato Hi6666 5Couri6 70No Svap Taik606) 7 0066 Th. hsoe 1 600P.6 M66,y Week Co6,ityA,ds Apl 9 8:0pr H56afto ReionCotincI - 800M mai M6S600e 63066 Faces 7 00666 66666,66, 500 Laurier Avenue 656021 Schu & DeMosh 600,6 nsol 0 ,W ,666 Milton, ON L9T 4R3 905-878-9306 Faces: Featuning interviews fromn the Milton Community Awards - Monday, 6:3Opm