Association Business
TLA President Biography: Steven M. Canty Tricia Canty
“Whatever you are, be a good one.”—origin disputed
H
ow do you write about someone with whom you live without coming across as too biased? Is it possible to be “fact-checked” when trying to write a biography about your spouse? Regardless, this is my best nonpartisan account of the incoming Transportation Lawyers Association (“TLA”) President, and my husband, Steven Canty. I will try to refrain from teasing and ribbing. Likewise, I will also try to refrain from being gushy and syrupy. In light of the fact that my background is in nursing, and certainly not literature, what follows may turn into a mush of unpoetic garble. Regardless, in trying to get some historical context for this biography, I noticed that Steve, although not born in Illinois, shared some characteristics of two fellow Illinois transplants. When the State of Illinois is mentioned, it is tough not to think of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is alleged that Lincoln once said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” Whether he actually did, it does sound like something that Lincoln would say. Of course, I do not pretend that Steve is the equivalent of the “Great Emancipator” or the leader who preserved the Union of the United States.1 Nonetheless, a lawyer himself, Lincoln was a dedicated family man and has been described as “guarded, patient, energetic and easygoing” by the Lincoln Institute. He was contemplated as a “simple, pure and sincere” man.2 Those qualities I can certainly ascribe to Steve. Unfortunately, Steve’s ability to grow a beard or fashionably wear a stovepipe hat fails miserably. A second person of comparison is Cyrus McCormick. Although maybe not famous outside of Chicago, McCormick was the founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which ultimately became part of the International Harvester Company. As a hardworking industrialist, Mr. McCormick’s dying words were “Work, work, work.” Certainly, many wives consider their husbands to be hardworking. My comment on Steve’s work ethic is premised on the births of our three children. Because of his efforts to “squeeze” a little more work in, I had to track Steve down in Rockford, Illinois; Evansville, Indiana; and somewhere near the Wisconsin border for each child, respectively. Who is Steve Canty? Steve was born in the autumn of 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in the town of East Walpole, Norfolk County, Massachusetts (pop. 18,149).3 Walpole is located about 13 miles south of downtown Boston and was known for little with the exception of being the location of the state prison. Although now a suburb of Boston, the town was a little edgier in the 1970s with a good portion of the population working for a large company that manufactured roofing shingles. Steve is the youngest of three sons born to two schoolteachers. Along with his two brothers, the boys would create memories on their dead-end street, consisting of small houses with big backyards and lots of woods. Running the neighborhood, the kids would build forts in any available tree, play every sport depending on the season, shoot baskets on a backboard that was hammered to a utility pole, make up games that spilled over into neighboring yards, pick fruit from local trees (some for eating, most for throwing), and creatively wrap any type of ball with fluorescent tape to try to keep a competition going beyond dark. It was a neighborhood where you knew who lived in every house, and also knew that every elderly person would report on your conduct. Despite not having lived in Massachusetts for many years, Steve still visits his childhood next-door neighbor every year, who was one of the locals always looking out for the boys and who probably had the largest vegetable garden one could ever imagine in her backyard . . . and still does. Steve attended Old Post Road School and then Bird Middle School (fifth grade only). Both schools required walking paths through the woods in order to get there. Curiously, he and his brothers for some unknown reason began collecting steel beer cans while walking home from school, cans that to this day consume a good portion of the crawl space in our home. One man’s trash . . . Steve’s first job was in kindergarten delivering The Boston Globe newspaper after school with his brothers. He ultimately got his own route delivering The Patriot Ledger, a job that gave insight into providing customer service and at the same time dealing with patrons who did not pay, all the while trying to avoid roaming dogs (during a time before leash laws). In particular, it was a daily battle of evasion with the Razwell family’s German mutt/Shepard that barked and scowled constantly—a battle that was successful, until it was not. In fact, Steve still has scars from many dog encounters from his youth.4 At age eleven, Steve’s family moved closer to his grandparents in Woodstock, McHenry County, Illinois. An area that was originally dairy farms, it is now in essence a suburb of Chicago. The downtown includes a historic, turn-of-the-century square, which is anchored by the landmark Woodstock Opera House. Woodstock was named one of the nation’s Dozen Distinctive
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Transportation Lawyers Association • Canadian Transport Lawyers Association • October 2021, Vol. 23, No. 2
