Angus Martin, 96, is a retired mechanic and teacher. He was married to Florence Martin, who died in 2016, and is the father of Bryan Martin and the late Bonita Martin (who died in 1982). Angus Martin has attended Hamilton Mennonite Church since 1964. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What is your earliest memory of church?
For the first eight years—that’s before we had a car—we attended an old order horse-and-buggy Mennonite church. Then a few people in the church started to get cars. By 1936 my dad bought a car … and then the bishop tells us it’s getting too worldly and we were actually excommunicated. It was very shortly after that that we started going to the red brick church [Elmira Mennonite].
What is your best memory of church?
I was baptized when I was close to 17. And usually for that, we had evangelists come in and hold a week of meetings.
What is your most difficult memory of church?
I think the most difficult time would have been when our daughter died.
Tell us about the people who have influenced you the most.
I wrote my mechanics license while I was taking a Bible Institute course in Kitchener at First Mennonite Church. The Bible Institute was a two-year course, and after the first year I mentioned that I’d like more formal training. I only had grade nine. And then one of the ministers who was the pastor at Erb Street Mennonite Church in Kitchener, he said he had had the same—he only had grade eight but then he went to Waterloo College. So, he suggested that. I got in by the skin of my teeth, I think!
After about another five or six years I finally graduated. In the meantime, I went two years full-time, then got married, then worked night shift, made money—sometimes it was part night shift, part day courses at Waterloo.
The other person was Simeon Hurst. He was from a fairly large family in Elmira, Ontario. And he went to do mission work in Africa. That made a big mark. I learned quite a bit about Africa whenever they came back, and then when I started teaching, I was teaching geography and part of that was on South Africa as well as the whole of Africa. So, I already had some of the knowledge.
Then in 2017, [they] called me and wondered whether I’d like to come to Africa to give some input to the secondary school. So, it all sort of tied up, with little beginnings. You wouldn’t know that until later on when you start looking back.
Can you share a favourite book, passage, poem, or song?
“How Great Thou Art,” Matthew 25 and Colossians 3:17.
What do young people not understand about old age?
It’s very difficult to know what somebody else is thinking or their state of mind. If you’re a nurse or in some kind of care position, you have your view of this, but you don’t really know what’s in the mind of another person. The greatest help, then, is to try to learn their thinking.
What is the hardest thing about getting old?
I’m almost a hundred, and I don’t feel old yet, so I don’t know how to answer that question!
Certain systems in the body start breaking down. However, a lot of research has been done. You basically are what you eat. I have above my kitchen sink about 50 herbs and spices, and actually more, closer to 60. And it’s interesting, when I read about something, [I say]: “Ok, I’ll try it.” I try to find it at a health food store, or a bulk food or an Indian food store. So, that’s the way I’ve tackled the old-age thing.
And I just don’t feel old yet. I haven’t got quite the strength [I used to], but still, I’m very thankful to God for the strength that I do have.
What is the best thing about getting old?
I was in worse shape 16 years ago in my garage. Arthritis started to hit my fingers, and I was starting to not make any money, losing a little bit. And I thought to myself, I’d better quit. And I did.
Two years later, I had a little mini-stroke. And it was kind of a wake-up call. That’s when I started to do a little more research. God has built into your body a recovery mechanism and a repair system. Given the right things that still boils down to: Buy the fresh ingredients. Cook stuff yourself. Add some spice to make it taste good, but also not just to taste, even if it doesn’t always taste the best. Just learn, modify your taste buds somehow, so that you will tolerate different things. And it’s amazing how over a period of time you can feel.
So, that’s kind of my way of life, and somehow, I’m hanging on there.
What do you wish someone would have told you about aging earlier in life?
I don’t really know … because I guess in my own thinking, I don’t think I’ve aged!
I remember the first time I went to Cuba, I just walked the beach, had a great time. And now there’s been 14 more times [laughs]! Sure it wasn’t as fancy, but we couldn’t afford anything expensive. So what if the food isn’t that fancy.
If you had one chance at a sermon, what would it be about?
Trusting in God. Often, we want to put the trust in our skills. Walk the talk. It’s very important. I’ve read the Bible through a number of times. And every time you start it over again, new things pop up. Displaying fruits of the Spirit. These things are still important, because, well, sometimes you get carried away, you get angry and fly off the handle, but love, joy, peace … as the apostle Paul says, against such there is no law.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.