September 30, 2011 New Book on Callander on its 125th

Before 2002  Callander was originally the Township of North Himsworth and then the Township of North Himsworth. The 125^th anniversary of its founding and development is beautifully recorded in a new book written by Don Clysdale the well known musician ,community activist and history buff.  I haven’t completed my reading of the book but it is impressive in its coverage of all aspects of the life of the community and has hundreds of well produced photographs.

Cover of Don Clysdale’s new book on Callander

The book was edited by Miranda Weingartner and produced by Nicky Designs. Many others helped out. It sells for $40 and is available at Gullivers Books in North Bay , the Callander Bay Heritage Museum  and the municipal office. There will be a book  signing at Gullivers Books on Saturday November 12 from 1-3pm. 

The book called Callander Now & Then is 240 pages long and has 22 chapters beginning with Callander’s Prehistory and ending with “Where Callander is Going?” There are also 3 Appendices. Anyone with an interest in Callander or local history in general will enjoy the book. 

The Forest of Gold 

A unique children’s book by Nipissing University student Courtney Maika The Forest of Gold a story about logging near Mattawa is published for wide distribution  by Scholastic Canada Ltd. Courtney began to write at an early age and read all of the books in the Dear Canada Series. Her grandfather and great-grandfather worked in the logging industry in the early days. 

Courtney Maika with her new book Forest of Gold.  D. Mackey photo.

She has won some attention for her short stories and poetry in spite of her young age and decided to write a logging novel based in the 1920s. Her research included grandparents Lloyd & Lorance Novack from Mattawa. The book is written in journal form and is geared to pre teens (9-12). It tells the story of Emily who has to deal with the situation when Joe runs off to work in a logging camp and she is the only one to know. 

For more information log on to www.scholastic.ca/titles/aforestofgold. The book will be at Gullivers in October and Courtney will be at the Mattawa Museum on Saturday October the8th. She will also be at Gullivers 25^th Anniversary event on Friday October 28^th from 7:30 to 9 pm.  Donna Sinclair will be signing her new book The Long View at the same event. 

I had the pleasure of visiting Courtney at Nipissing where she studies history and geography and I foresee a great future for her as a writer .