The Entrepreneur Years: Part 2

Most of Peter’s working life he either was an entrepreneur or planned to be one. He created many small firms, mostly in the marketing and PR space. I still have business cards from some of his endeavors, and I recall most of the others because Peter talked business—a lot!

This is the second in a series about his businesses. Some of you who read this may remember stories and anecdotes. Feel free to add them in the comments.

The Entrepreneur Years: Part 1

Most of Peter’s working life he either was an entrepreneur or planned to be one. He created many small firms, mostly in the marketing and PR space. I still have business cards from some of his endeavors, and I recall most of the others because Peter talked business—a lot!

Wise Words from James T. Kirk

In 2016, William Shatner released a book about his years with the late Leonard Nimoy. When explaining why he wrote the book, Shatner said, “When you lose someone you love, someone you’ve shared experiences with, you no longer have that person to say ‘remember when?’ And if you can’t validate that memory, you gradually lose that memory. The whole experience begins to dissolve unless you write it down.”

Anniversary 2015 Get-Together

On February 1, several of Pete’s fans came together at our place (Shaun and Amelia in Pakenham, Ontario) to play in the winter snow, eat, drink and talk about Peter. We agreed to co-author this blog post.

The Summer of ‘77

The summer of 1977 often comes to mind. Peter and I (Shaun) and two of our mutual friends—Al Page and Ron Scammell—all lived in the Beach area of Toronto. Back then the community had not over-gentrified and the shops, restaurants and bars still had a village quality to them.

In ’77, I was recently separated and 25. Pete was single and 22. We both worked at least part time for a student publication edited by Ron. Living close to the lake and its beaches that summer gave a cottage feel to our lives. Often several of us played a game we invented called Frisbee golf—we’d select distant trees or objects and count how many throws it took to hit the target. Like real golf, the lower the count the better.

Music Man Peter

Back in the 70s and early 80s, Peter, I (Shaun) and Jim Larocque regularly jammed together. I taped many of the sessions, first on an old Akai reel-to-reel and later on a cassette deck. Some of those tapes survived in the bottom of drawers and back of shelves.

Peter Past and Present

On the sad occasion of the first anniversary of Peter's passing, I decided to post another happy memory of the past and an update on Peter's impact on the present.

The "P. Lug" Cup - Peter Vanderlee Memorial Trophy

We (Peter's old hockey mates) created the P.Lug Cup trophy for an annual memorial hockey challenge as part of our regular Sunday morning Rocket hockey (in Weston, Ontario, Canada).

Peter enjoyed many years/beers at Rocket hockey when he came to town; so we're sure he would be laughing at the fact we spray painted his actual jock cup and mounted it on a trophy.

Peter’s farewell tour: Stop #5, Rupert, Quebec

Saturday, June 11th was the last of the five (yup, he had a very wide net!) stops on the Big Pete's Farewell Tour.

Peter's baseball days

Back in 1981, I (Jeff Larocque) was manager of the Balmy Arms Bruisers, a pub league, three-pitch team. Peter held down first base. We played other pubs in the "Beaches" area of Toronto once a week in season.

Peter makes the cover of Bruiser News

A Signature Trick

I met Peter at Humber College in 1972. We’d both enrolled in journalism. He had just turned 18. I was 20. Between classes we often went to the gym. Peter was fit and lean, and just out of high school football.

One of our regular stops on the gym circuit was the trampoline. I still have vivid memories of Peter’s signature trick. He called it the dead man’s drop.

Peter and Bozo Racing

Long time buddy Shaun McLaughlin sent me the news. Like most, I could not believe what I was reading. When Shaun said that they were considering setting up a blog to commemorate Pete’s life, I thought it was a great idea. Seeing everyone’s entries to date, I now understand that I was just a small part of Pete’s larger-than-life life. I wanted to contribute to the blog, but there are so many stories and memories to tell that I did not know where to start. Some of you might remember that for a short time, Peter owned a motorcycle….so here goes…

Peter Vanderlee: The Accomplishments

I'm still incorporating the fact that Peter's left the planet.

Few, if any, friends have had the impact that Peter has had on my life. Overall it was a hugely positive impact, filled with the ultimate highs and lows associated with anyone truly interesting.

Others have spoken well to Peter's dynamism, vision, generosity, inspiration and compassion. Something I'd like to add is his "official bio". Peter and I always found or even invented reasons to work together since we were first introduced by Shaun McLaughlin in the mid-80s.

A Mensch to a Fault

If memory serves me, I first met Peter back in the mid-'70s when I took on the role of art director at the Canadian university-targeted freebie quarterly 'mag', "Like It Is".

From the very get-go, I discovered that Peter was hard NOT to like. He was clearly a big teddy bear of a guy w/a quick wit, a native intelligence, a born problem solvers curious mind, and someone who truly relished life to the fullest---from sports (hockey, golf, football), to good food, to a good read, to various potent potables (OK beer. HA!)------ mostly in the company of his close 'buds'.

Good Advice from a Great Friend

I first met Peter in September 1972 when we were first-year students in the journalism program at Humber College in Toronto. I last saw him November 16, 2010, when he dropped me off at the Tucson airport for my return trip to Ottawa. I never for a second thought it was a final farewell.

Over our 38 years, Peter dealt out lots of good advice. I didn't always listen but on three pivotal occasions I did.