Читать книгу On Common Ground - Richard D. Merritt - Страница 3

We are all indebted to teacher, historian, and author, Janet Carnochan. “Miss Janet” considered the Commons as important as the Plains of Abraham and the battlefields of Waterloo and Bannockburn. Without her staunch opposition to any encroachment, the Commons would not have survived. She also preserved many artifacts relating to the Commons and her books and published papers by the Niagara Historical Society are a rich source of information. Her contemporary, military officer and historian General E.A. Cruikshank, edited and published a vast collection of correspondence that has been an invaluable reference source. I am also greatly indebted to life-long resident and historian Joseph Masters (1871–1955) for publishing his voluminous recollections in the local newspaper as “Niagara Reminiscences and Neighbourhood News,” which is now available on the internet as Ars Historica Niagara.

The much-esteemed current Town Historian, Joy Ormsby, has been my invaluable mentor for the past twenty years.

Special thanks also to the staff and historians of Mayer Heritage Consultants Inc. who conducted and published hundreds of interviews of veterans of the Canadian Army and militia. Without their efforts many stories would have been lost.

The splendid photographs by Cosmo Condina have added another dimension to the story. I was very fortunate to have access to the private photograph and postcard collections of Jim Smith, John Burtniak, Pat Simon, Joe Solomon, Peter Moogk, Chris Allen, Judith Sayers, and others.

Over the years I have enjoyed many interviews with local townsfolk who welcomed me into their homes and their memories. Many have now passed on.

A sincere thanks to each of the following who has assisted me in a variety of ways. Listed in no particular order: Bill Severin, Clark Bernat, Sarah Maloney, Amy Klassen, Neil Rumble, Jarred Picher, Ron Dale, David Webb, Bob Garcia, Daniel Laroche, Peter Martin, Suzanne Plousos, René Chartrand, Gavin A. Watt, Wes Turner, Pat Simon, Erika and Jim Alexander, Jon Jouppien, Noel Haines, Jim Smith, Peter Moogk, Chris Allen, Terry Boulton, Glen Smith, John Harkness, Marie Webber, Kay Toye, Trudi Watson, Richard West, Margo Fyfe, Hope Bradley, John “Ted” Bradley, George Howse, Doug Hunter, Evelyn Campbell, Penny Coles, Anna Tiedtke, Rosi Zirger, Duncan McLaren, Marilyn and Paul Shepherd, Al Derbyshire, John McLeish, Tony Roberts, Bill Lindsay, Donald Combe, Fred Habermehl, Bob Lewis, Tammy Richardson, Susan Merritt, Cameron Williams, Peter Babcock, John Sinclair, Allen S. Merritt, Jere Brubaker, Donald Harrison, Roger Harrison, Harold and Marjorie Clement, Maggie Parnall, Gerda Molson, Sharon Whittaker, Linda Gula and all the current NOTL library staff, Brian Dunnigan, Alun Hughes, Carl Benn, Robert S. Allen, Paul Fortier, Guy St-Denis, Dave Roth, William Smy, Callie Stacey, Tom Braybrook, Mario Iazzo, Leah Wallace, Cathy MacDonald, Tahir Khan, Nancy Butler, Michael Power, Kathy Powell, Bridget Ker, Debbie Whitehouse, Robert Ritchie, Dennis Schmahl, W. Herbert Crawford, Harry James, Russell Sanderson, Gail and Mike Dietsch, Pat and Ron Balasiuk, Peter Stokes, Gracia Janes, Margherita Howe, Laura Dodson, Judy MacLachlan, Rod and Bev Craig, John Walker, Tony Doyle, David Hemmings, and others whom I have sadly forgotten.

Thanks to my cartographer, Loris Gasparotto, who made it look so easy.

Kirk Howard and Michael Carroll of Dundurn were most patient and helpful as we wended our way through the long publishing process.

Special kudos to my preliminary editor (and dutiful son-in-law) Jonathan Link who gently improved my prose and enlightened me on military culture and terms. The efforts of Dundurn in-house editor Jennifer McKnight are much appreciated.

And finally, a special thank you to my wife Nancy and daughters Tiffany and Susannah who have put up with so many years of repetitive stories, out-of-the-way side trips, library visits, meetings, cluttered dining room and kitchen tables, as well as long walks on the Commons and Paradise Grove in all kinds of weather … and to Tillie the dog, who made it so much fun.