Tales of Courage

Stories from Eastern Ontario's Remarkable Past

Bernard Chevrier

8 X 10 inches, 128 pages
plates, photos, text

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT COURAGE—about people who have demonstrated determination, foresight and endurance in the service of their country. Canadian history is filled with men and women who have dedicated their lives to building a better and more prosperous country: explorers, settlers, missionaries, scholars, scientists, artists, public servants, entrepreneurs and politicians. The stories in this book are about Canadians who share this experience. Some are well known, others not so; but all have played a major role in shaping our destiny and all have had an influence in fashioning our identity.

This book is also about Stormont-Dundas and Glengarry—an area in eastern Ontario that once played, and continues to play, a crucial role in Canadian history. There is probably no territory in the Province of Ontario which, over the years, has produced a greater number of able and outstanding citizens. Each of the personalities chronicled in this book is, in some way, connected with the area. Each has had a special relationship with it—toiling and sweating to clear the land; taking up residence in search of a future; assuming leadership responsibilities within the community; representing its citizens in provincial or federal governments, or singing the beauty of its gentle countryside. Whatever the case, these personalities were influenced by the unique culture of the area and by the humane quality of its residents. In return, each individual left a distinct imprint on the region.

In all the lives reviewed in this book, there exists an element of courage; a virtue whose appeal is timeless and universal, regardless of the changeability of human conduct. Courage may be defined as that quality that enables us to meet difficulties and hardships with patience, vitality, and clearness of mind. True courage can also be described as the willingness to face danger, suffering, humiliation and even death for a cause that transcends self-interest.

Bernard Chevrier

Author