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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-04-29, Page 13Welcome to Blyth Crawford Dewar, formerly of Sarnia, has moved into Queen's Villa in Blyth and hopes to start a new creative writing club for local residents interested in furthering their writing talent. Dewar has written three books as well as owning his own business, House of Dewar. (Elyse DeBruyn photo) EXTRA! EXTRA! SPRING HOM & GARD Edition 2004 °On May 6, The Citizen is pleased to publish its annual Home and Garden edition. It will give you the opportunity to connect to over 3000 homeowners and gardeners in our coverage area. This special Home & Garden edition will be distributed to all of The Citizen's subscribers in the areas of Auburn, Belgrave, Blyth, Brussels, Londesboro, Walton, Bluevale, Ethel and the rural routes of these towns and villages, plus an additional 1,000 homes. To be part of this spring promotion, or for more information please call Jamie Peters or Alicia de Boer 523-4792, fax your copy to 523-9140 or 887-9021 or email: norhuron@scsinternet.com ADVERTISING DEADLINE: MONDAY, MAY 3 The Citizen Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County PO Box 429, Blyth, ON NOM 1H0 Tel. (519) 523-4792 Fax (519) 523-9140 PO Box 152, Brussels, ON NOG 1H0 Tel. (519) 887-9114 Fax (519) 887-9021 Email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Website: www northhuron.on ca THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2004. PAGE 13. 89-year-old writer hopes to inspire others By Elyse DeBruyn Citizen staff After selling 6,000 copies of his critically-acclaimed novel, an 89- year-old Sarnia man has settled in Blyth and hopes to return to the writing business while helping others develop their own skills. Crawford Dewar would like to share his knowledge of creative writing while helping area residents discover their writing abilities. He said he would like to bring publishers into the area to meet those interested and give advice on how to get a book published. Dewar said he understands the difficulty involved in having the creative writing talent, but not having interested publishers. He wrote his infamous book. The Saint and the Warrior, in the early 1960s when he was about 45 years ...old. but didn't get it published until 1982. In 1957, Dewar worked as a trainer at Domion Automobile before starting a new business. Although publishers weren't interested in his novel, radio stations were holding on-air contests and those who won had their choice of a short story, written by Dewar. read on the air. Newspapers and magazines also published many of his award-. winning short stories. Dewar started another business, House of Dewar. Dewar started his own business with his wife Babe in the early 1960s and became famous for exclusive dealing of family coats-of-arm. The House of Dewar sent the information of a family name over to England where coats of arms were made, then shipped back over to 4 Canada. - He said he was trained by a great leader, 'John Cherry from England, who had the most skilled hand in crafting the,coat-of-arms. But about 20 years later, while presenting a coat-of-arms display at a Sudbury mall, he found another display featuring northern Ontario authors called Highway Book Shop. Dewar explained to the representative of the author display, that he had been rejected in the past, but was still interested in seeing his novel published. The representative asked him to submit a manuscript, which turned out to be a big hit among the proofreaders at Highway Book Shop and they decided to publish his novel. Dewar and the publishing company agreed that he would get 15 per cent of the price of each novel sold, as well as a $5,000 grant for giving them his book. He said the idea for; The Saint and the Warrior is actually based on true events that his ancestors experienced. Dewar received a letter in February 1963, enquiring whether he was a descendant of the Dewars who had settled along the Ottawa River in the year 1810 and if so he was to contact George Dewar. He recalled the family history stories his grandfather would tell him at their farmhouse, just outside of Sault Ste. Marie. His grandmother had presented him with six throwing dirks (daggers) which belonged to his father, but unfortunately they were destroyed as his younger brothers used them for fishing and hunting. During a visit, Dewar told George how his father, Peter, was the last of the dirk throwers of the Dewars. He said George sprang to his feet with joy because Dcwar's story was the end to a mystery as the legend of dirk throwers had been passed down from generation to generation in George's family. The two were distant relatives, divided by five generations. Wanting people to read his novel, Dewar started touring around Ontario. promoting his book at malls, and on TV programs and radio talk shows. He alsetravelled to parts of Quebec as well. In February 1983, CKNX in Wingham launched their support of Dewar's novel which ended up being supported by media everywhere. Unfortunately, he suffered a major setback in his writing career when he was nearly killed in an automobile crash. In October 1983. while driving his low-riding, sports car back to Sarnia one dark night after a book signing in Lambton, a farm implament with two trailers attached, pulled out in front of him, blocking both lanes of the road near Bayfield. Unable to see the trailers until it was too late, Dewar hit a large tire, knocking himself out. When he came to, a big crowd had formed and police had arrived. Dewar lost four teeth, had a fractured back and bent his steering wheel with his head, crushing his skull on either side. He was in bed for six to eight months. "It was hell, but my sense of humour kept me going." he said. Aside from The Saint and the Warrior, he has had two books' of short stories published as well, one for women and one for men. Some of these stories are also based on true events from his childhood. He has also written prize-winning short stories for The Sarnia Gazette. Dewar is also a member of the Writers Union of Canada and was part of the writers' group in Sarnia. After only one year, he became president. Dewar's love for writing began when he was eight-years-old. He started reading. novels from the library, finishing one a night. "At the time. I had no idea I was a speed reader," he said. He gathered vast knowledge of various styles of writing through the different authors and also discovered what makes a good novel. Dewar was also a straight A student with a 95.7 grade average, the highest grade from his school, which also carried onto his high school academic life. His mother died in the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, which also took the lives of several other family members all in one night. Two years later, his father drowned, leaving three orphaned .boys. The boys lived with their grandparents, who welcomed them with opened arms. When he was 10-years-old, his beloved grandfather died, leaving his crippled grandmother to look after the three boys. Dewar took on two newspaper routes one for the Sault Ste. Marie daily paper, and later delivered seven different weekly newspapers to town residents. The seven weekly papers gave him an extra $5 a week and the governMent gave the boys a pension cheque for financial support. Because his grandmother was disabled, he took on household chores including cooking and cleaning. When he was 17-years-old, his grandmother, passed away, leaving him in charge of his two brothers. Dewar taught them how to cook, clean and gave them weekly allowances. In 1935, he married his "true love," Babe and together they went on to have four children, Crawford, Gayanne, Franklene and Roy. His wife and eldest son, Crawford have since passed away. "1 have led one of the most interesting lives any man can have and I thank God, for it everyday," said Dewar. • He said most of the new generation have not heard of his books and he would like to re- introduce his stories. "I've never lost my passion for writing and because I've been away so long, there is a new generation of people in our community and I want to share with them my novel. I will soon have the continuation," he said. Dewar said he and Lucy Caruso are in the works of developing another novel, a love story. He said there are still 600' copies of The Saint and the Warrior left for sale as well as 100 copies each of the Short Stories for Women and Short Stories for Men. The novel costs $12.75 and the short stories books will cost $2.50 each plus shipping and handling. For more information on becoming part of the creative writing group in Blyth or to purchase a book contact Dewar by e-mail him houseofdewar@yahoo.com or by mailing address at P.O Box 494. Blyth, Ont., NOM 1HO.