A Man of Many Interests
by Lee Hunt
I recently had an opportunity to interview Dan Caswell, who
grew up in Brentwood and has worked at the Brentwood Co-op for 20 years. His
official title is Grocery Utility Clerk, with a particular focus on receiving
and dairy. Dan certainly needs to be an early bird as his workdays begin at
6:00 am.
Dan especially enjoys travel and history. In his younger
years, Dan played the French horn in the Calgary Stampede Show Band and really
enjoyed their travels across Canada. The Halifax Tattoo was a particular
highlight. In Grade 12, he participated in a school trip to London, Paris,
Munich, and Amsterdam. In more recent years, Dan travelled to Germany and
Austria to research his family roots. As part of that trip, Dan studied German
in Schwabisch for two months and became quite proficient in speaking the language.
Dan has been a keen LEGO fan all his life. He builds LEGO
projects from scratch and frequently attends LEGO shows—that includes a visit
to LEGOLAND in Billund, Denmark. The Little Free Library outside of the Caswell
family home contains not only books, but also a section for Dan’s most recent
LEGO display.
Dan comes from a loving family. In tribute to his mom who
passed away two years ago, Dan planted a special bed of forget-me-nots which
“grew huge”. Dan’s dad, Daryl, joined us for our interview. Dan and Daryl told
me of the NAPS group which Dan attended for eight years. NAPS, which stands for
“Never Alone Peer Support”, was a very helpful support group for individuals to
discuss how they are doing. As Daryl
put it, “A support group is so important—it’s hard for an individual to keep
going”. Sadly, the NAPS group disbanded, but now a new support group has
formed—SAFE, Support for Anxiety, Fear, and Everything Else. This adult group
meets each Tuesday night at Highwood Lutheran Church. New members are most
welcome. Membership is free, and additional information is available at SAFE on
Facebook.
My thanks to Dan for agreeing to be interviewed and to Daryl
for joining us. I greatly enjoyed our conversation and learning about Dan’s
many interests.
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