Today, when so little is written about the life and times of the settlement of Canada at the turn of the 20th century; we did it and I would like to introduce you to our book. We gathered and published 106 stories and 544 photographs of the pioneers of a town in northern Ontario.It is called Clayton’s Kids- Pioneer Families of Hearst Public School. Contact me if you would like to see the book. Please read on………

Unique Experiment in Capturing History Results in Sellout Book

Like many of our residents, Peggy Wade Dodds hasn’t lived all her life in Oakville. Her hometown is actually Hearst, a small community in northern Ontario. Two years ago she was reminiscing with her friend Terry West, the author of Ripe For The Picking and Run Of The Town, from her birthplace when they realized that the unique stories and history they were recalling so fondly were about to be lost. They were the last generation to know the details; If they didn’t see that it got written down it would be gone forever. Many of us have had this feeling, but this couple of Hearst expats decided to do something – they struck a committee with the intention of creating a book. The approach they took was not to write the history themselves, but to have each family chronicle its own experience. The results have been stellar. Entitled, “Clayton’s Kids: Pioneer Families of Hearst Public School”, (the school was renamed after beloved principal Clayton Brown) the book went to market August 1 and sold out in three days. Mary Ito of CBC’s “Fresh Air” instantly fell in love with it and described it in a live interview as being, “positively addictive . . . a wonderful addition to northern Ontario history”. The London Public Library declared it “. . . a treasure-trove for genealogists,” while Dan Lessard of CBCs “Points North” sees it as an historical record of hardships endured. An additional run of 600 copies has just come off the press.

As Mary Ito suggested in her comments, “Clayton’s Kids” is more than a history of one small community in the years 1912 – 1950. The 106 riveting, historical vignettes chronicled in this 400 page (544 photographs, in the book an additional 1000 in the accompanying CD/DVD) book describe much of the settlement of Hearst at the turn of the century. Written by the people who lived it, the chronicles offer an intimate window to the expectations and disappointments of families who crossed oceans and continents to buy into the myth that “New Ontario” was destined to become the next Canadian breadbasket. Enticed by cheap land after World War I and the Great Depression, their Herculean efforts were no match for the forces opposing them – winters too cold, summers too short and wet, markets too distant, governments too indifferent. One by one they sold their only cash crop, namely the trees on their farms, and drifted to town. Here they locked arms with the townsfolk to build the institutions that would provide their children with the key to a better future – schools, churches, and a hospital.

“Clayton’s Kids” is the product of a unique experiment. Each member of the committee of five took on a different portfolio, but collaborated regularly. Ernie Bies – the whip – tracked people down in the four corners of North America. He was relentless. Each family was allotted 2000 words, given the guidelines developed by Peggy Wade Dodds on how to organize their information and allowed six months to consult with kith and kin. This step in the process was fascinating. Families that hadn’t met for years renewed ties, communicated and hashed out details. Some people discovered relatives they didn’t know existed. Others uncovered answers to questions that had been plaguing them for decades. When the committee first began contacting pioneer families, they felt they would have enough material if 35 answered the call, but hoped for 50. In the end, 106 responded. Peggy Wade Dodds wrote a brief history of Hearst and her two family histories. She also drove near and far to assist others to get their stories written down and submitted. Terry West played the role of editor, pruning and rewording where necessary – a long, drawn-out, but rewarding, process that ran into several months. Frank Pellow, tackled the arduous task of layout – preparing the book for printing. With 106 stories, 100,000 words and 544 photographs this was a daunting undertaking. Treasurer Elena Bosnick Petrcich explored avenues to contact ,namely ministries and organizations, hoping to raise funds to offset the cost of publishing and editing. She kept the committee from running over budget and oversaw the collection and banking of the funds related to the sale of the book. The profit realized from the sale of the book will be donated to Clayton Brown Public School.

“Clayton’s Kids” sells for $30 (no tax) plus shipping costs. It can be ordered by phoning (613) 731-0887 or emailing, erniebies@rogers.com. Readers interested in details on how the book was put together are invited to contact the committee using these same coordinates or peggy.dodds@cogeco.ca.