4 Friday, June 10, 2022brooklintowncrier.com One of Brooklin's most distinguished, but little known, residents, was Donald Creighton. English Canada's first great historian, he and his wife Luella lived at 15 Princess Street. It was said that he wrote history as though it had happened yesterday and that no other historians wrote as well or reached as many readers. Creighton wrote eleven books, his first in 1937 being "The commercial Empire of the St. Lawrence" and a two-volume biography of Canada's first Prime Minister. "John A. Macdonald: the young politician" was published in 1952 and "John A Macdonald: the old chieftain" in 1955. Both were Canadian best-sellers and won the Governor General's Award for academic non-fiction. Surrounded by books Born in 1902 in Toronto, he was the second of three children. His earliest memories were of his other reading to him and his siblings, instilling in them a love of books. "I was born," he once said, "into a household in which books, literature, history and biography were all about." Although too young to serve in World War 1, in 1918 he did "his bit" for the war effort by working during the summer as a farm labourer through the Canada Food Board's program, Soldiers of the Soil, which placed teenage boys on farms across the country. He later attended Victoria College in the University of Toronto where he received his B.A. in 1925, and where he met and courted fellow student Luella Bruce. That fall, he went to Balliol College at Oxford University in England where he and Luella got married on June 23, 1926, and where he received his Masters before returning to Canada to teach history at the University of Toronto. Three Fellowships During his lengthy career, Creighton had the distinction of being awarded three fellowships of international importance: a Guggenheim Award in 1940, a Rockerfeller in 1944 and a Nuffield in 1951. He was also awarded the J.B. Tyrell Historical Medal, presented by the Royal Society of Canada, for his work in Canadian history. In 1955, he won the University of British Columbia President's Medal in Biography and in 1964 the Molson Prize awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts for his outstanding contribution to Canadian arts. Additionally, in 1965, Creighton was invited to become a member of the Ontario Advisory Committee on Confederation, to provide Premier John Robarts with advice on the constitution. He was also among the first group of companions chosen for the Order of Canada when it was established in 1967. The following year, the University of Toronto appointed him as a professor with tenure. On a stamp In the October 20, 1996, publication "Whitby This Week," staff writer Chris Bove wrote that Creighton was one of five Canadian authors to be commemorated in the latest Canada Post stamp series which was released on October 10, 1996. "History," Creighton once explained, "is made by living men and women, impelled by an endless variety of ideas and emotions, which can best be understood by that insight to character, that imaginative understanding of people which is one of the greatest attributes of literary art." He passed away on December 19, 1979 and is resting at St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery. Donald Creighton By Jennifer Hudgins I'm back! Did you miss me? I took some time off for two reasons: first, to deal with a personal medical issue and second, to publish my first children's book, "The Thing With Wishes." Now I've suddenly realized I'm about to become the mother of a teenager. My daughter turns 13 soon and I'm not sure I'm ready. You see, as this birthday approaches, she's suddenly craving more independence. She's growing up. How do I give her the freedom she wants while still being a good mom? Bits of freedom As it turns out, I realized I've been giving her some freedom in dribs and drabs all along. She already goes to the park with her friends or even the ice-cream store. She's stayed home alone for a few hours when my husband and I go out for a bit. But when she asked to go to the Spring Fair this week, I didn't feel quite so confident about that. I love the fair, but having been there after dark, I felt it wasn't a place for a group of 12 and 13 year olds to be alone. My gut didn't like the idea. "But Mom, all my friends are going together. We're meeting at noon and going to spend the afternoon there." "Ahhh," my heart sighed with relief. Going in the afternoon with five other girls seemed a lot safer. Permission was granted with the promise for her to check in via text every hour. Texting This is our thing. When she's out with friends, she must text every hour or when her plans change. She never fails in doing this. In fact, she's used it to get out of an uncomfortable situation once or twice. One day, she was at the park with a friend who was talking to older boys when it was getting dark. My daughter knew she was due home and wanted to leave except her friend wouldn't go. She texted me and asked me to come get them. I drove by and picked them up. It's that type of check-in that lets me know she knows when things aren't right, but also knows she can always get a little help from me if needed. So as I drop her and her friends at the fair, I smile knowing that, while I may not be ready to let her grow up, I also know she needs to fly a little. The start of the teen years Our Brooklin Kids by Leanne Brown Did You Know? Whitby Waste Buddy will add collection items to your calendar for you and send you alerts! Whitby Waste Wizard App will show you where to sort your waste. Visit: www.whitby.ca/en/live/garbage-and-recycling.aspx