Oni
(Bob Onufreychuk)
I first met Harold in August of 1969, when I arrived in New York City seeking employment and I called for an appointment with the hope of getting a job at his ad agency as an art director.
After our interview was over, and the salary agreed upon, Harold turned his attention to his work. I was not dismissed, so I sat there twiddling my thumbs. After several minutes Harold looked up at me and said, "What? Are you
still sitting here? Get to work!" I was flabbergasted, and I asked "Where?" Harold got a funny look in his face and grinned, then said "I guess I better show you to a drawing board," and as we walked to the back room I heard him chuckle. This was my introduction to Harold's no nonsense business attitude tinged with a bit of real dry humor. In time I learned to appreciate both these aspects.
As I got to know him better I discovered that he possessed many wonderful traits. He was generous to a fault, industrious, fair, he genuinely showed interest in what people had to say, he was a good listener. And he had a wide range of interests and would converse on any subject. He had a great love of architecture, and we spent much time discussing it because I, too, love architecture. And last but not
least Harold had a great sense of dry humor.
Also I must add that I have never heard Harold speak disparagingly of any one person. This I found admirable.
Harold had a real interest in agriculture, and knowing that I grew up on a farm he would ask me many questions about farm life. On many occasions Harold would remark to me, "Oni, we should not be here in this madhouse...we should be baling hay right now!"
At lunch, Harold liked diners and burger joints because their service was quick. We ate many times in a burger place not far from his office, where they always had a big bowl of half sour pickles and huge slices of Spanish onion. When we got our burgers we would load up with many slices of pickles and onions to the point that our sandwiches were eight inches thick, and we would laugh as we dined. Also Harold loved cake...and this place had some great cakes. We never left the place without topping off with a slab of chocolate cake.
I recall once telling him I overhauled the carburetor in my car during the weekend. He dropped his pencil and looked at me and said "So tell me -- how do you overhaul a carburetor?" There we were in the heart of the advertising world in New York City and I was telling Harold how to rebuild a carburetor. After I finished Harold laughed and sent me on my way, as he picked up his trusty 2B pencil.
I noticed that Harold always had a huge work load. His brief case was full and heavy, and then he had more material tucked under his arm, and on top of this he had a book. With all this he still found time to read, how nice. Another thing about Harold is he never got dated in his thinking. He understood style and trends, especially trends that had merit.
Harold's and my relationship grew from employer/employee to friends and later he was like my uncle which I found heart warming.
When Harold's business moved in the direction of merging with other agencies I went out on my own and began to freelance. However I continued to do assignments for Harold. My first illustration for Levolor was in 1970 and I continued on a regular basis till 1983. In retrospect I guess Harold did not regret hiring me.
I'm sure everyone who met Harold liked him and as they got to know him better their fondness of him grew. There are many people who will miss him as I will. He was in my opinion a very interesting and wonderful person and I'm truly happy that our paths crossed.
I will miss him forever.