Scugog Township is lucky enough to be home to many local notables. Four of the most well known are Jimmy Frise, a local cartoonist, Daniel David Palmer, the founder Of Chiropractics and Bill and Paula Lishman, local inventor and entrepreneur respectively. They are an inspiration to us all and we're glad they call Scugog home.
Jimmy Frise
Jimmy Frise was one of Canada's foremost cartoonists in the 1920's, 30's and 40's. Born and educated in the Scugog area, Frise was a self-taught artist. His career started in 1910 when was Frise was 20. He worked at The Toronto Star on the printing press, Frise dreamed of one day drawing for the paper. His break finally came when he submitted a cartoon to the editor and he loved it. Frise was hired immediately.
When World War One broke out, Frise enlisted in the War. He served as a horse driver with Royal Canadian Artillery, but was wounded at Vimy Ridge. He lost half of his left hand. After returning home, Frise continued his work at The Toronto Star. He began half page, weekly cartoons called Birdseye centre. It was a cartoon about the comedies of life in a small town and helped make people laugh; many of whom were trapped in the Great Depression and the War Years.
Frise was known as a kind generous man. A friend, Greg Clark said " He gave a whole generation of 30 years, smiles and laughter and never hurt a soul in all that time". Frise died on June 13, 1948 at age 57. A plaque was erected at the site of his school on Scugog Island. Also a large park in downtown Port Perry is named "Birdseye Park" and located within it is the local outdoor pool "Birdseye Pool" in his honuor. He will be remembered as a kind man who touched lives in the smallest ways.
David Palmer was born on March 7, 1845 in Port Perry. Palmer was the Founder of Chiropractic. As a child, Palmer was very intelligent, and it showed in everything he did. After the family's business failed in Canada, his parents were forced to return to the USA. Palmer and his brother stayed in Port Perry, but in 1865 returned to Iowa to be with their parents. After returning home, Palmer accepted a teaching job and married for the first of five times. In 1880 Palmer became interested in the spirtual and magnetic field surrounding the human body. Palmer persued his interest and soon became known as the "vital healer"; opening a 14 room infirmary. In 1896, Palmer founded the Palmer School of Magnetic Cure in Davenport, Iowa. In 1904 it was renamed Palmer School of Chiropractic. The growth of chiropractic has continued to this day.
Two celebrities living today are a couple who live just S/E of Port Perry. William and Paula Lishman live in a custom made home which like them has been featured in many famous magazines and T.V. The home is built underground into the side of a hill; it is several pods all connected,with skylight domes. The design and inventions were one of the Lishman's many. William Lishman has made himself world renown for his many talents as a inventor, sculptor, artist, Filmmaker, Author, Pilot Entrepreneur and Naturalist. His most recent accomplishment is his work with the migration of Canadian Geese and also recent work with the endangered species, Sandhill Cranes. Lishman used Ultra-Light aircrafts, which allowed him to fly with the geese as a surrogate parent; thus teaching them migratory patterns. Lishmans migration experiment worked well and was documented by US t.v's 20/20 show. In 1988 Lishman filmed his first flights with geese entitled "C'mon Geese", which won awards all over the globe. Lishman's work earned him the highest honour with the Board of Directors of the Canadian Owners and Pilots (AOPA Award) for contributing the most to general aviation in Canada in 1995. In Fall of 1995, the Lishman autobiography "FATHER GOOSE" was published by Little Brown and Crown publishers, and with no surprise made the best sellers list. In 1996 Bill received the Odyssey of The Mind's prestigious Creativity Award which he shares with Walt Disney. "FLY AWAY HOME" is a film by Columbia pictures based on Lishman's work with the geese. It was an excellent movie which was seen in theatres all over the world. Many of the scene's were taken over the Scugog area. Lishman is a very important part of the community and we are proud of his accomplishments.
Paula Lishman has developed a highly successful and internationally known fashion company. The company is based in the Scugog Region and specializes in knitted furs of all kinds and colours. Paula invented this method of using a material. It is unique and much sought after around the world. It is a thriving business that is well established in the community. Paula has travelled all over the world to promote her highly successful fur company and continues to employ a large number people within our community. Bill and Paula share a store on the main street of Port Perry.
