It was more like a requirement than a family tradition.
After their freshman years in high school, each of Joe Gerbe's six children worked summer jobs with their father's construction company in Oxford, Michigan. Three daughters and three sons, including his youngest, Blue Jackets forward Nathan Gerbe, put in long days helping to install sewer systems, water mains and other ground work for subdivisions, shopping centers and the like.
It was laborious work, grinding through sweltering days that started at sunrise and ended at sunset or later. The girls mixed cement. The boys lugged manhole covers. Joe, who got into that line of work to provide for his growing family, had one main reason for their mandatory attendance.
"I wanted them to know what hard work was," said the elder Gerbe, now 67, retired and fighting a long battle against diabetes. "I didn't want them to do what I did for a living, because it's like six days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day. It's a hard life ... but I chose it because I had six kids."
The job was about sacrifice and hard work, similar to the way his wife, Terrie, forfeited leisure time while shuttling their kids to uncounted practices and games. Some would be an hour or two each way, but no matter. The miles were logged, often for the benefit of the boys' hockey development.
Nathan Gerbe hasn't forgotten.
In fact, his parents' sacrifices are what he credits most for his life's successes. He's now a 32-year-old husband and father of three small children, not to mention a professional hockey player who managed to do something many of his peers haven't.
Gerbe resurrected an NHL career many presumed dead after he headed to Switzerland four years earlier. Those who choose that route, leaving to play in Europe in their late 20s, almost never return to the NHL.
Ever the worker bee, Gerbe did, returning to North America in 2018 on a two-way contract with the Blue Jackets and eventually earning a role in Columbus this season.
"People always ask me, 'Why are you always at the rink three hours before games and doing so much extra work?' " Gerbe said. "And I think this (season) is why. To go through a process like this, this is to tell myself, 'You've been doing the right things this whole time.' And you can't let that waver, because you might only get one chance."
