HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-05-09, Page 31THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2019. PAGE 31.
Society benefits from
mothers says Dow
Renowned author to read in Blyth
A rust-knocker
A slo-pitch tournament in Seaforth meant to “knock off the
rust” of winter was a success over the weekend, skirting
wet weather for the most part. The tournament raised
money for the Tanner Steffler Foundation. (Quinn Talbot photo)
Time to collect
The Brussels Leo Club, including Justin Morrison, left, and
Savannah Chambers, right, were out in Brussels over the
weekend for a bottle and can drive, raising money to
renovate the village’s playgrounds. (Photo submitted)
Continued from page 27
accomplishments on the ice, ball
diamond or dance floor. There is a
conscious relinquishment in giving
them back to God that is healthy for
them, and for the parent. Like
Hannah dedicating her son Samuel:
“I prayed for this child, and the
LORD has granted me what I asked
of him. So now I give him to the
LORD. For his whole life he will be
given over to the LORD.”
(1Sam.1:27f) Can we release our
children into God’s care, rather than
keep the apron strings tied in a way
that risks suffocating them?
These seven tasks of mothering
are not easy. They’re a tall order!
But those who succeed at them are
worthy of great honour. Society
benefits when mothers leave a
lasting positive impact on children.
Dorris Heffron, a celebrated
author with ties to the Blyth area,
will be reading from her most recent
work, City Wolves, at the Queens
Bakery on May 25.
Heffron, who still has family in
the area, is the youngest daughter of
Bill and Kay Heffron, names that
some Blyth residents may
remember.
Bill dreamed of owning a clothing
store and, when Dorris was four
years old, the family had saved
enough money to pursue the dream,
moving into the floors above what is
now the Queens Bakery and
operating a store below.
Unfortunately, the dream was
shortlived, as Heffron explains,
saying that her father didn’t make
friends or family pay their bills and
the business had to be closed.
Carrying the debt from the venture,
Heffron’s family moved in and
around Toronto several times before
settling in Woodbridge, now
Vaughan, where Bill worked and
paid off his debt and bought a home.
Heffron says that, from her
upbringing, the biggest lesson she
took away was “no excuses.” She set
out to make her mark on the world,
earning an Honours Bachelor
of Arts and a
Masters of Arts
in Literature and
Philosophy from
Queen’s
University,
before marrying
and moving to
Oxford, England
in the 1970s.
She was a tutor
at Oxford
University and
the Open
University,
teaching
literature. There,
she wrote three
young adult
fiction books
which were
acclaimed as
pioneers in the
genre.
The titles
included A Nice
Fire and Some
Moonpennies (1971), Crusty
Crossed (1976) and Rain and I
(1982).
The books have since been
translated and used for education
around the world.
In 1980, Heffron returned to
Canada, moving to Toronto, where
she served on the National Council
of the Writers’ Union of Canada, the
Board of Directors of PEN Canada
and the Writers’ Trust of Canada,
among other positions. She was
eventually named chair of the
Writer’s Union of Canada in 2013.
Since returning to Canada,
Heffron has published A Shark in
the House (1996) and City Wolves
(2008).
She currently lives on a farm two
hours north of Blyth she calls Little
Creek Wolf Range.
In an interview with The Citizen,
Heffron explained that her
presentation and reading will focus
on how Blyth and her life story has
impacted her writing
The tale of the event being set is
one of local connections, Heffron
explains, saying that a man named
Reginald reached out to her about
the Very Definitive Biography of
Lucy Maud Montgomery, a book
Heffron had given to someone as a
gift.
“He said he found it interesting to
trace who gave books, he found, to
people,” she said. “He e-mailed me,
and we chatted, and it turns out that
he takes Alice Munro out once a
week to the Queens Bakery for a
treat.”
Les Cook, one of the co-owners of
the bakery alongside Anne Elliott,
overheard Reginald mention
Heffron’s name shortly after Cook
had read City Wolves, which Heffron
says Cook calls one of the best
books he’s ever read.
“The story ended with Les and
Anne inviting me to read at the
bakery,” she said.
Heffron said that her experiences
growing up in Blyth and moving
multiple times have had a significant
impact on her writing.
“What those experiences taught
me, moving from a village like
Blyth, to the big city, then to a
farming community and to a small
town, was that I had to fit in,” she
said. “Because of that, I’m naturally
not a shy kid. I learned to move in
all different kinds of communities
and learned that people are pretty
much the same everywhere.
“I learned how to get along with
people in different communities.”
She said that her life made her
“uncommonly comfortable” in any
circle, whether it was the academic
world of Oxford, or the business
world she brushed with through
family.
“Having to move from Blyth and
move all over the place propelled me
into exploring and learning to be
comfortable, as well as learning
about every kind of community,” she
said.
Blyth has played a special role in
her life since leaving, Heffron said,
as she always returns to visit
relatives. She also enjoys visiting
because of the Blyth Festival and the
works it produces, and even before
the Festival was struck, her mother
was on stage performing.
As far as specific influences, she
said that, in one novel, she did
recreate some scenes from her own
childhood in Blyth, and that in her
upcoming work Bear With Me, she
will draw on those experiences
again.
“When it comes to how Blyth fits
into my works, it’s really about the
values I learned there,” she said.
“That helped me all my life.”
DORRIS HEFFRON
By Denny Scott
The Citizen