National Network for Equitable Library Service

A woman from Northern Ontario is buried; her earthly papers reveal a mystery. Veteran Canadian journalist Jim Poling took on the most important assignment of his career: Just who was his mother? Why did she take a lifelong secret to her grave?In his search for clues throughout his childhood years in Northern Ontario, the author goes to Chapleau, the railway town where the people he believed were his ancestors played out their roles in building the railway.

Once home to over 60 flourishing villages, Middlesex County, in the heart of southwestern Ontario, has a rich history just waiting to be discovered.

"Lawrence was quite possibly the most remarkable woman in Canada. Certainly she was a remarkable nature writer."- Pat Barclay, Books in Canada"She was a premier speciman of a vital breed: the amateur naturalist. Her 7 books, 17 scientific papers, scores of magazine articles and over 500 reviews have all been based on her close and tireless observation of bird and animal behaviour."- Merilyn Mohr, Harrowsmith

The memoirs of John T. MacKenzie reveal a truly remarkable man: a highly respected authority on highland piping with a commitment to tradition and excellence in performance. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, John T. was a student of piping at age nine. Enlisted in the Scots Guards, he saw active service in the war zones of North Africa, participated in the Liberation of Norway and was later posted to active duty in the Malaysian jungle. John T. MacKenzie bears personal witness to the horrors and valour of warfare.

"I remember them as though they had happened yesterday." So writes author-naturalist Charles Sauriol in reference to his many memorable experiences within Toronto’s Don River Valley. From Scout outings in 1920 to pioneer cottaging, train excursions, maple syrup making, beekeeping and countless other activities, the author’s long association with the Don makes for fascinating reading in this sequel to his earlier book, Remembering the Don. Tales of the Don provides for Toronto residents and visitors alike a picture window through which they may see the valley as it was years ago.

Bustling station platforms, with quaint steamers nearby, often appear on early Sparrow Lake postcards. It was at the station that rail passengers were met and taken by boat to one of the over 20 hotels that once flourished in this holiday area. Such a trip could take about three hours on this roughly three-mile lake, bordering the southern Muskoka arm of the Canadian Shield.

In her incredibly productive lifetime (1883-1974), American-born ornithologist Margaret Morse Nice earned the admiration of ornithologists and naturalists in far distant lands. Research Is a Passion With Me is an enthralling autobiography of one of the great individuals in her field and of her time.

Reptiles and Amphibians of Price Edward County, Ontario is a comprehensive look at the little-known residents of a well-known corner of rural Ontario. Complete with descriptions and illustrations, the book provides serious and amateur naturalists with a thorough compilation of recent and historic reports of the some thirty species of turtles, snakes, frogs, toads and salamanders that are – or once were – found in this unique part of the province.

Remembering the Don is a tribute to the things "that used to be." Of Mississauga Indians encamped along a sprawling river teeming with salmon, red-coated Militia regiments, and courageous pioneer men and women from widely differing backgrounds. In later times the Don Valley and the river Don were to attract a host of outstanding naturalists, authors and artists. Through their combined talents and energy, word and evidence of the history and beauty of the Don Valley spread far beyond its physical environs.

Redpath, today a household name for sugar in Canada, has its roots in the story of an enterprising Scots immigrant, initially a stone mason and later a building contractor during the boom days of Montreal's growth from a small provincial centre to a major North American city. In 1854, the ever-energetic John Redpath, by then a self-made millionaire in his late fifties, launched a new career as an industrialist. With his son, Peter, and the gifted George Alexander Drummond as manager, he established Canada's first successful sugar refinery.