Silver Donald Cameron facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Silver Donald Cameron
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Cameron in 2004
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| Born | Donald Cameron June 21, 1937 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | June 1, 2020 (aged 82) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Occupation | author, journalist |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | University of British Columbia (BA) University of California, Berkeley (MA) University of London (PhD) |
| Genre | Non-fiction, fiction, drama, journalism |
| Subject | Social justice, the environment and sailing |
| Notable works | The Education of Everett Richardson (1977, 2019) The Prophet at Tantramar (1988) Wind, Whales and Whisky (1991) The Living Beach (1998) Sailing Away from Winter (2007) |
| Notable awards | Order of Canada, Order of Nova Scotia |
| Spouse | Marjorie Simmins |
Silver Donald Cameron CM ONS (June 21, 1937 – June 1, 2020) was a Canadian writer, journalist, and teacher. He wrote about important topics like fairness for everyone (social justice), nature, and the environment.
He wrote 15 non-fiction books. These books covered many subjects, from history and politics to education and how communities grow.
Cameron loved to sail. He wrote several books about ships and the sea. He also wrote a novel for young adults and a thriller. Both of these stories were set in Nova Scotia, where he lived for over 40 years. Two of his books, The Education of Everett Richardson (1977 and 2019) and The Living Beach (1998), are considered among Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books.
His only play for the stage was The Prophet at Tantramar. It was about Leon Trotsky's time in a prisoner-of-war camp in Amherst, Nova Scotia. This play was also made into a radio drama. Cameron wrote more than 50 radio and TV dramas for CBC Radio and CBC Television. He also made radio and TV documentaries. He wrote and narrated two documentary films for "The Green Interview." These were Bhutan: The Pursuit of Gross National Happiness (2010) and Salmon Wars: Salmon Farms, Wild Fish and the Future of Communities (2012).
Cameron wrote hundreds of magazine articles. His newspaper columns appeared in The Globe and Mail and the Halifax Chronicle Herald. He also wrote for government groups and non-profit organizations.
He was a "writer-in-residence" at several universities. This means he was a special guest writer who taught and helped students. He was also a dean at Cape Breton University. He taught at other universities too, like Dalhousie University and the University of British Columbia.
One of his last projects was "The Green Interview." This was a series of video interviews with environmental thinkers. He talked to people like Jane Goodall and Farley Mowat.
Cameron won many awards for his writing. In 2012, he received the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia. These are high honours in Canada.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Donald Cameron was born in Toronto in 1937. His parents were Hazel and Dr. Maxwell A. Cameron. He joked that he moved to British Columbia when he was two years old. His father was a leader at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Donald grew up mostly in Vancouver. He went to the University of British Columbia and earned his first degree in 1960. He then got his Master of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1962. He taught at UBC for two years. Later, he studied at the University of London and earned his Ph.D. in 1967. After that, he became an English professor at the University of New Brunswick in 1968.
His Career as a Writer
While teaching, Cameron started a monthly magazine called The Mysterious East. It focused on issues in Canada's Maritime Provinces. It covered topics like pollution, housing, and problems faced by Indigenous peoples.
In 1971, Cameron took a break from teaching. He moved to D'Escousse, a small village on Isle Madame in Cape Breton. He wanted to write full-time and missed the ocean. He was a divorced father of four children. He later shared that he changed his name to "Silver Donald Cameron" to stand out. His prematurely grey hair earned him the nickname "Silver."
He bought a house in D'Escousse that felt like home. He had already published magazine articles and a book about Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock. Now, he could focus on writing. Cameron felt that living in a village was perfect for a writer. He could get to know many different people, from fishermen to teachers. This helped him understand people's lives better.
In 1973, Cameron bought an unfinished boat named Hirondelle. He spent the summer finishing it and then sailed it home to D'Escousse. This was the first schooner in D'Escousse since 1928. A local man, Leonard Pertus, taught him how to sail safely. Cameron dreamed of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. With friends, he spent nine years building a 27-foot cutter named Silversark.
Important Books
The Education of Everett Richardson
In 1977, Silver Donald Cameron published The Education of Everett Richardson: The Nova Scotia Fishermen's Strike 1970–71. Parts of the book had appeared in magazines before.
The book tells the story of Everett Richardson and 234 other fishermen. They were from small towns in Nova Scotia. They fought for better pay, safer work, and the right to join a union. Their main opponents were large fishing companies. They also faced opposition from powerful people and politicians. Cameron wrote that the book was about fairness and unfairness in Canada.
After a long strike, the fishermen did not get to keep their chosen union. But they did win the right for fishermen in Nova Scotia to join unions. This was a big change after centuries of rules against it. The strike also led to better pay and working conditions. Cameron believed the fishermen were heroes. They lost their own battle but helped other fishermen. They changed the law and made things more equal.
When the book came out, some reviews were mixed. But over 30 years later, The Education of Everett Richardson was named one of Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books. Authors Trevor Adams and Stephen Clare said Cameron's storytelling was powerful. They called it an important book for understanding Canadian history and the labour movement.
Wind, Whales and Whisky
Wind, Whales and Whisky: A Cape Breton Voyage tells about Cameron's adventures. He, his wife Lulu, and his 12-year-old son Mark Patrick sailed around Cape Breton Island. They sailed on their 27-foot cutter Silversark in the summer of 1990. Cameron said the book was a family adventure and a look at Cape Breton. He also called it an "essay on values," exploring what makes a good life.
The book has been called a "Bruegel painting of a book." It is a travel story, history, geography, and a funny social commentary. Cameron introduces readers to many interesting people he met. These included moonshine makers, musicians, poets, and fishermen.
Cameron used a style called creative nonfiction. He mixed facts, observations, quotes, and stories. For example, he described a cold July day helping a fisherman with lobster traps. He included details about how lobsters are caught and stored. He also explained how a businessman, John Risley, found a way to store lobsters for up to a year. This helped his company grow from a small stand to a large business.
In the book, Cameron talks about an interesting point about Cape Breton. It seems like a poor place with high unemployment. But people in the countryside have access to lots of fresh, delicious food. After describing a wonderful meal of lobster and fish, he wrote, "I love living in a depressed region, I thought. One lives so well." He noted that while it's hard to earn a living there, it's a wonderful place to live.
Newspaper reviews praised Wind, Whales and Whisky. They called it entertaining, joyful, and full of information. One reviewer, who grew up on Cape Breton Island, said the book brought back many memories. They mentioned the salt smell, warm kitchens, and fiddle music. The book features many different characters, from moonshiners to poets and singing coal miners.
Awards and Recognition
Silver Donald Cameron won many awards for his writing and journalism. These included the Evelyn Richardson Award and the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers Award. One of his TV dramas won a Best Short Film award. He also earned four National Magazine Awards.
In 2012, he received two very important honours: the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia.
Personal Life
Cameron wrote about a large family in D'Escousse, the Terrios. One of the daughters, Marie Louise "Lulu" Terrio, had studied in Denmark. She became a keen sailor there. When her marriage ended, she moved back to D'Escousse with her son, Mark Patrick.
Cameron asked Lulu to help him sail his schooner in 1979. He wrote that he fell "hopelessly in love with her" during that trip. They married in May 1980 in D'Escousse. Ten years later, they sailed around Cape Breton Island on Silversark. This trip was written about in Wind, Whales and Whisky.
Lulu Terrio-Cameron passed away in April 1996 from breast cancer. Cameron said they had "16 years of blissful happiness." He felt grateful for their marriage every day.
In 1998, at age 59, Cameron married the writer and journalist Marjorie Simmins. They had met four years earlier when she interviewed him. Simmins wrote about their life together in her 2014 book, Coastal Lives. She described how Cameron convinced her to move from the beautiful Pacific coast to Nova Scotia. Even though Cameron grew up in Vancouver, his heart belonged to Cape Breton.
Cameron had five children from two earlier marriages. In his later years, he and Marjorie Simmins lived in both Halifax and D'Escousse, Cape Breton.
Death
Silver Donald Cameron passed away in a Halifax hospital on June 1, 2020. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer. His death came just a few weeks before his newest non-fiction book was set to be released. The book was called Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes.
Works
He wrote many books, including:
- Faces of Leacock (1967)
- Conversations with Canadian Novelists (1971)
- The Education of Everett Richardson: The Nova Scotia Fishermen's Strike, 1970–71 (1977)
- Seasons in the Rain: An Expatriate's Notes on British Columbia (1978)
- The Baitchoppper (1982)
- Outhouses of the West (1988) with Sherman Hines
- Wind, Whales and Whisky: A Cape Breton Voyage (1991)
- Sniffing the Coast: An Acadian Voyage (1993)
- The Living Beach (1998)
- The Living Beach: Life, Death and Politics where the Land Meets the Sea (2014)
- Sailing Away from Winter: A Cruise from Nova Scotia to Florida and Beyond (2007)
- Warrior Lawyers: From Manila to Manhattan, Attorneys for the Earth (2016)
- Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes (2020)
