Local Notables

Timothy Findley / Duncan MacPherson / Basil MacRae / Rich MacLeish / Foster Hewitt / Steve Nierlich / Pictures

Steve Nierlich... Awarded the General James L. Prince Topgun award. See below for details...

He was born in Toronto on October 30 1930. He participated in the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in 1953. He was in the original Edinburgh Festival cast of Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker in 1954. His first novel The Last of the Crazy People was published in 1967. His second novel The Butterfly Plague was published in 1969. The Wars won the Governor General’s Award in 1977 which Famous Last Words enhanced in 1981. Not Wanted on the Voyage was published in 1984. The Telling of Lies was published in 1986. He wrote a play Can You See Me Yet? performed at the National Arts Center, Ottawa in 1976. It was published in 1977. He wrote television scripts such as "National Dream" in 1974 and "The Whiteoaks of Jalna" in 1971-2. He made a short story collection "Dinner Along the Amazon" in 1984. He won the Canadian Authors Association Award in 1985. In 1986-7 he was the president of the Canadian division of PEN International. Mr. Findley has resided just south of Cannington over the past twenty-five years, and has written about his life at his ‘Stone Orchards’ property in rural Ontario in the popular magazine Harrowsmith.

Duncan MacPherson:

He was born in Toronto on September 20, 1924. He was a political cartoonist for the Toronto Star. His association with the Star started in 1958. In 1971 the Canada Council awarded him the Molson Prize. In 1973 he became a member elect of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He won six national newspaper awards. In 1980, the Star donated 1220 cartoons to the National Canadian Academy of Arts. In 1985 the Academy purchased 2485 more items valued at over $ 500,000. Mr. MacPherson was a long time resident of Brock Township’s biggest community, Beaverton.

Basil MacRae:

He was born in Beaverton on January 5, 1961. He was drafted 87^th overall in the 1980 NHL draft by the Quebec Nordiques. His first season was with Quebec in 1981-2. Over the years he has played for the following teams:

Quebec Nordiques     1981-83
Toronto Maple Leafs 1983-85
Detroit Red Wings       1985-87
Quebec Nordiques       1986-87
Minnesota North Stars 1987-92
Tampa Bay Lightning    1992-93
St. Louis Blues              1992-95
Chicago Blackhawks    1996-97

Regular Season:	Playoffs:
GP G A Pts. PIM	GP G A Pts. PIM
550 52 82 134 2405	76 8 4 12 349

Rick MacLeish:

He was born in Lindsay on January 3, 1950. He was drafted 4^th overall by Boston in the 1970 NHL draft. His first season was with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1970-1. Below are the teams he has played for:

Philadelphia Flyers 1970-81
Hartford Whalers 1981-82
Pittsburgh Penguins 1981-83
Philadelphia Flyers 1983-84
Detroit Red Wings 1983-84

Regular Season:	Playoffs:
GP G A Pts. PIM	GP G A Pts. PIM
846 349 410 759 434	114 54 53 107 38

Foster Hewitt:

He was born on November 21, 1903. He broadcasted radio for over 50 years. He broadcasted the first horse race which was the 1925 King’s Plate. He was the MC at the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931. He also authorized several sports books. He was inducted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. In 1951 he started his own radio station CKFH 1430. In 1989 he was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame. Foster Hewitt had a summer property in the Beaverton area, and his son Bill settled on a large estate just east of Sunderland.

Steve Nierlich:

Nielhead.jpg (6479 bytes) He was born in Toronto in 1969. Steve Nierlich’s family moved to Sunderland, where he attended and graduated from Brock High School. He won the biennial William Tell aerial combat competition held at the Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. In 1993 he flied a CF-18 as a member of 4 Wing, stationed at Cold Lake, Alberta. He was awarded the Major General James L. Prince Topgun award.