Biography / Autobiography
Aggie's Storms
By Donna Mann
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As a young girl walking along a country road to school in Grey County, Ontario, she dreamed of teaching children like her sisters and their friends. Family, classmates, and neighbours knew Aggie as a determined, clever, fair-minded girl who spoke her mind. None of them knew that, one day, the people of her community would elect her, Agnes Macphail, Canada's first woman Member of Parliament. by Donna Mann "There'll be lots of storms in life, you just have to pick the ones you're going to venture into," Grandma Campbell told her. Aggie's Storms takes readers back to 1900, when ten-year-old Aggie lived in a log cabin in the Queen's Bush. Follow her schooldays at SS #4, Proton Township, her work in the family's garden and home, and her challenges as a girl with a dream. The author of two books for adults and many articles in newspapers, Donna Mann has led the movement to mark sites important in the life of Agnes Macphail. 136 pages, softcover, full-colour cover |
Aggie's Dream
Agnes Macphail in High School
By Donna Mann
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Aggie's years at Owen Sound Collegiate: classes, debates, friendships. Can you imagine her excitement when she entered the grand assembly hall where debaters and orators shared the stage? This new book shows Agnes Macphail's determination not to let town ways intimidate her as she moved closer to her dream of teacher training. By doing well academically, playing basketball, and taking part in the Literary Society, she proved she could do anything she set her mind and heart to.
194 pages |
Aggie's Voice
Agnes Macphail in Stratford
By Donna Mann
Agnes Macphail's Story Continues
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In 1908, knowing that women teachers faced restrictions and unequal pay, Agnes Macphail lived her determination. At Stratford Collegiate, she told fellow students, "I believe that one's ability, attitude and natural gifts dictate a direction a student should go." To Aunt Maggie, whose home she shared while attending Stratford Normal School, Agnes declared, "I want to be the best teacher I can be." This book follows Agnes through practice teaching, promenades with her beau, and her growing awareness of society's problems. . .and her commitment to become a strong voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. Donna Mann's has recreated Agnes Macphail's childhood in Aggie's Storms and her Owen Sound years in Aggie's Dream. Now, Aggie's Voice completes the series. Donna Mann says, "This trilogy is for young minds and the young-at-heart who want to learn about or remember Agnes Macphail." Cover design by Irv Mills C&I Graphics. Images courtesy of Grey Roots and Stratford-Perth Archives. 178 pages softcover |
Beloved Muskoka
Diaries & Recollections of Elizabeth Penson
By Joan E. McHugh
Even Cows go to Heaven
veterinary antics of the 1960s
By Linda Knox
HARVEST DUST
Tales of Farm Life 1913-1976
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John R. Hardy's vivid account of life on a family farm from one hundred years ago to the final auction sale. Generously illustrated with images from family albums that take readers through the seasons: seeding and blossoms, haying and harvest, autumn colour and winter sparkle. His grandparents' farm was often visited by legendary photographer Reuben R. Sallows, who used the Hardys' operation to represent Ontario agriculture. Designed by Bill Boyer, the pages of Harvest Dust evoke a bygone era in nostalgic detail. John R. Hardy is the author/photographer of Rusty Rails: a photographic record of branchline railways in Midwestern Ontario 1961 – 1996 and Canadian Rail Travel. Quality softcover edition 100 pages 8 x 10 inches 21 pages colour photographs, many B&W images |
Our Spirit Unbroken
By Andrew B. Cox, DFM
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After more than 40 successful missions in World War II, Andrew Cox was shot down over Germany, and spent nearly five years as a POW. His memoirs of that time are presented in Our Spirit Unbroken where he finds humour even in prison camp situations. We are proud to announce that this book has been selected by The Dominion Institute for their Bridges to Remembrance School Project. The Institute recommended it as a book for branches of the Royal Canadian Legion to donate to school libraries across Canada, and will assist schools who wish to host author Andrew Cox. More information is available on the Memory Project website. 140 pages, softcover |
Somebody Move the Cat!
A family's up, down, and sideways journey
By Sheila Balls
![]() cover art created by Lin Souliere |
From her two-fold career as a teacher and musician, Sheila Balls draws humorous and touching anecdotes that will tickle readers' funny bones and strike chords of recognition. As varied and satisfying as the foods at a community potluck supper, the more than forty personal reflections in Somebody Move the Cat! bring the flavour of fun to the adventures of family life. Artist Lin Souliere has created cover art that conveys the warmth of Sheila's writing, welcoming readers into another quality softcover book that makes an ideal gift. In a review of Somebody Move the Cat! [The Observer, March 2005] Muriel Duncan wrote, "These short anecdotes can be enjoyed a handful at a time but they are addictive enough to be totally consumed at a sitting." 144 pages,softcover |
Thirty Years on Call, A Country Doctor's Family Life
By Doris Pennington
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Born in Grey County in 1888, Robert James Tucker taught in rural schools to pay for his university studies. After medical service in World War I and Queen's Military Hospital at Kingston, he cared for people of Paisley, Ontario, until his sudden death in 1948. Viola Huton Tucker, his wife, was a nurse; they met in Kingston, and, after the birth of their first baby, the young couple left the city. In Thirty Years On Call, their second daughter, Doris, reveals the challenges and joys of their family life. 196 pages, softcover |
Tooling Around
By Michael O'Neill
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Tooling Around with Michael O'Neill takes readers down into trenches, up ladders, and around a hilly farm in midwestern Ontario. One day in the barn, the next in a wet basement, Mike applies humour in all situations. Equally handy with pitchfork, pipe wrench, and pen, he spins tales of on-the-job challenges and family fun. Meet his helper Lady Bertha, the heifers that almost got away, and the grandsons who want him to play in the tree house. You'll chuckle as you follow Mike into crawl spaces and attics. Ride with him as Big Zed tackles thistles and a not-quite-all-terrain vehicle gives him a few surprises.Michael O'Neill's stories have appeared in the weekly Lucknow Sentinel, a pair of independently published books, and the collection Our Farmily Farm: stories from Bruce & Grey. The Brucedale Press $18.00 in Canada ISBN 978-1-896922-61-4 Now available in a Large Print edition.
ISBN 978-1-896922-65-2 $20.00
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