A happy book buyer!

Photo: Book table.1 (“This Was Our Valley”, by Shirlee Smith Matheson and Earl K. Pollon, says it all. Book sales of “the dam book” were brisk.)

Reunion 2011 Shirlee, Mavis and Marl Brown

Shirlee with musician and friend Art  Napoleon, Paddle for the Peace, July 11/15

Shirlee at Bomber Command Museum, Nanton, AB, August 24, 2019 - Nanton Alberta                 Photo Credit: Susan Raby Dunne

Books Juvenile & Young Adult

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Shirlee (far right) with her class of storykeepers, WordsWorth Writing Camp 2011.

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Biography

Shirley regularly attends special events at Bomber Command Museum in Nanton, where her books enjoy super sales.

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Shirlee with Marl Brown, founder of Fort Nelson Museum (July 2015)

News

Enjoying a musical evening in Hudson's Hope, BC, August 2011. L to R: Colleen on stand-up bass, June on dulcimer, Ed on guitar, Shirlee on mandolin, Bill on guitar.

Short Story

Writer of award-winning fiction and non-fiction Canadian Adventure Books

July 2012 -  “Paddle for the Peace” is an annual event in support of the continued natural life of the Peace River downstream from Hudson’s Hope, the site of BC Hydo’s two dams, and in protest against a third proposed dam (Site C) on this beautiful river.

Shirlee Smith Matheson

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Website Updated: 04 June 2022 All material on this website is copyrighted.

About Shirlee

2012 - Shady Grove - Out behind the barn

Shirlee, on location at Fort Nelson Museum meets Marl Brown, founder and creator of the museum and therefore a wonderful source for her research.  Shirlee was fascinated to learn that Marl had sold his beard for $10,000 in order to raise money to build the fabulous Fort Nelson Museum!

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The place for real life adventure books!

Aboriginal drummers welcome paddlers to shore

July 7, 2013 - Shirlee on the Western Oasis Stage at the  Calgary Stampede with the Dusty Saddle Gang.

Photo: Shirlee at the Paddle For The Peace-Book Table

Thursday, June 10, Shirlee gave readings/workshops to First Nations Reserve, Prophet River - Shirlee with Elders Shirlee is listed In Silhouette: Profiles of Alberta Writers in the on-line Alberta Writers Directory which is found on the Frontenac House website - to read her extended bio go to the bottom of her biography page and see “excerpted from In Silhouette, an ebook about Alberta writers by Bob Stallworthy”

Shirlee showing her latest young adult novel to children attending the Calgary Children’s Book Fair held Saturday, November 27, 2010

Left: Shirlee with Dave Scollard, Frontenac House, with the first copy of Amazing Flights and Flyers

Shirlee Smith Matheson has lived in all four Western provinces, and presently makes her home in Calgary.Her nonfiction books bring to life stories of real Canadians - pilots and priests, explorers and engineers, bushmen and prospectors.Her historical teen novels reflect the excitement of phenomenal journeys and major Canadian missions, and introduce readers to very odd places that really existed once upon a time. Her contemporary teen novels are also guaranteed to excite young readers everywhere.

Photo Credit to John Chalmers

Photo: Dr. David Suzuki, guest speaker at Paddle for the Peace, and Shirlee (he had earlier written a letter to the author, commenting favorably on This Was Our Valley, and his wife bought another copy at the event).

June 1-11, 2010: Shirlee's Northern tour - Peace River and Grande Prairie AB, to Fort Nelson BC Photo: Shirlee is welcomed to Fort Nelson, BC.

Author reading — 7 pm Tuesday, June 1, Peace River. Featuring many northern aviation stories, including "The Murphys of Musk Ox Lake," the story of Peace River resident Neill Murphy (right), who was in attendance (from Shirlee's newly released book, Amazing Flights and Flyers)

Shirlee and Dr. David Suzuki (guest speaker), Paddle for the Peace, July 11, 2015

Paddlers’ Launch, Paddle for the Peace, July 11, 2015

The Trailer Trash Trio, so named because they practiced at Shirlee's on-location trailer. L to R: Shirlee, Julia and Danielle warming up for their "Instructors' Talent Night" presentation at WordsWorth Writing Camp 2011.

Fastback Beach While on probation for stealing a car, Miles Derkach learns about hot rods and rebuilding cars. When the hot rod he is working on is stolen, Miles knows where to look and then has to face up to his friends.  This hard-hitting, high action, young adult novel is centered in the world of hot rod cars - those who own them and others who would do anything to sit behind the wheel of one of these high performance souped-up vehicles.  Orca Book Publishers, Victoria,  2003 softcover: ISBN 9781551432670  List price: $ 9.95 CDN  hardcover: ISBN 9781551435800  List price: $ 16.95 CDN  To Order: contact local book stores, Internet, publisher or author at email listed on this website Awards: Canadian Children’s Book Centre Choice Reviews:  “This book is a good pick for boys who are reluctant readers. From the starting lap through to the finish line, it will rev up their enthusiasm. It’s about fast cars, stripping motors and racing. As an added feature, it creates a space for the reader to think about life choices.” Wendy L. Hogan, Resource Links, p. 40, undated.   “On the young adult front I would have to choose Fastback Beach by Shirlee Smith Matheson. My copies of her Flying the Frontiers series are well-thumbed and I have found that her novels for young adults are instilled with the same adventurous spirit and pithy language.” Rose Scollard, Canadian Bookseller, July/Aug./03More Reviews - Fastback Beach by Shirlee Smith Matheson (Orca Publishers) Extract from Canadian Bookseller magazine, July/August 2003 issue, p. 47, Industry News, "Chatterbox" section:  "Which upcoming fall release(s) are you most looking forward to reading, and why?  A letter from Rose Scollard, the publisher of Frontenac House Limited, Calgary, says, in part: ". . . On the young adult front I would have to choose Fastback Beach by Shirlee Smith Matheson (Orca Publishers). My copies of her Flying the Frontiers books are well-thumbed and I have found that her novels for young adults are instilled with the same adventurous spirit and pithy language.”  "Fastback Beach does a superb job of illustrating the struggles teenagers go through when there is a conflict between what they believe is right and what their friends are doing. This is the story of an adolescent becoming an adult, making decisions, and dealing with the consequences of his actions. Highly recommended." Deanna Einarson, teacher, Springfield Collegiate Institute, Oakbank, MB published in CM Magazine, Vol. X, No. 2 (Sept. 19/03).” "This book is a good pick for boys who are reluctant readers. From the starting lap through to the finish line, it will rev up their enthusiasm. It's about fast cars, stripping motors and racing. As an added feature, it creates a space for the reader to think about life choices." Wendy L. Hogan, published in Resource Links, Jan./04 (given an "E" rating). Shirlee Smith Matheson

New Edition

Flying Ghosts Flying Ghosts is a fast paced adventure story set in Northern Canada and Alaska. Fifteen-year-old Jay Smith's quiet life in the Alaska wilderness is shattered when his uncle, Midnight, arrives in his yellow Norseman airplane with news of war. It is 1942, and Canada and the United States have joined forces in a desperate bid to defend North America against Japanese attack. Together the two countries will build a 1,500-mile highway through the wilderness in only eight months. Suddenly Jay's life is filled with adventure and the colourful characters he meets working along the Alaska Highway. As the highway nears completion, Midnight disappears in the Valley of Lost Planes, and Jay sets off to find him. But will a strange old prospector named Goldbug, who guards lost planes, let him into the valley? Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Toronto  ISBN 0-7736-7400-4 List price: $ 7.99 CDN To order: contact local book stores, Internet, Publisher or author at e-mail listed on this website. Awards:  Canadian Children’s Book Centre Choice, 1994 Film rights sold, 2000 Reviews: “Flying Ghosts is a book that makes you want to read faster: you suspect, and it happens to be true, that nothing about this intricate and rapid-paced story will be resolved until the very last page.”  Marie Campbell, Quill & Quire.  Vol. 60, #1, Jan./94  “Adventure abounds in this second young adult novel by Calgary author Shirlee Smith Matheson.  . . . The pace is rapid, the characters many and varied, and the mood in constant flux in this novel of Canada’s North.” Joye Hardman, The Calgary Herald, Nov. 6/93 Shirlee Smith Matheson

Previous Edition

Juvenile and Young Adult

Prairie Pictures “For twelve-year-old Sherri, moving has become a way of life – migrating with her wanderlust family from Calgary to Fort McMurray to Regina. Now she’s preparing to start Grade Six in Gardin, an Alberta prairie town that has recently been shaken from its cowboy culture to become an industrial hub. Sherri must once again meet new teachers, adapt to a new curriculum -- and try to make friends amidst the cultural conflicts found in this wild country.   “Prairie Pictures is told with compassion and stark realism, and portrays a lifestyle that is becoming increasingly common across North America.” Wandering Fox Books, an imprint of    Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.,  #103, 1075 Pendergast St., Victoria, BC V8V OA1   (website: www.heritagehouse.ca) ISBN 0-7710-5857-8 List Price: $9.99 CDN   More information about Prairie Pictures To order contact local book stores, Internet, Publisher or author at e-mail listed on this website. Previous Edition:   McClelland & Stewart 1989, Toronto, 1994 Awards:  Canadian Children's Book Centre Choice, 1989. Nominated Manitoba Young Readers Choice  Reviews for 1989 edition: “[Matheson’s] appreciation for the Canadian West is clear; she writes of the prairie landscape and of the people and their history with an insider’s view. She also has captured well the rhythm and swing of a young girl’s thoughts.” Deirdre Kessler, The Guardian, Charlottetown, PEI “Going where the job is has become a lifestyle for many families in Canada, and this story shows how it affects some children.” The Independent, Elnora, Ontario “Each chapter deals with an episode in a year in the life of Sherri and her family in a booming village in southern Alberta. The problems of adjustment to the new school and making friends will be shared by many readers and appreciated by others.” CM: A Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People. “Matheson’s theme has depth and the reader feels the poignancy of the transient worker and his family.” Kathleen Tripp, Calgary Herald Shirlee Smith Matheson

Jailbird Kid  Angela Wroboski has recently moved with her mother, Connie, from their small hometown into the city to rid them of a dark past. Now Angela must deal with the fact that her home will be anything but "normal." Her dad, the infamous Nick "The Weasel" Wroboski, has served three jail terms for various crimes, including robbery, during her lifetime, and on June 5, Angela’s fifteenth birthday, he's released from a two-year sentence in Fort Gavin Prison. Arriving home with an attitude and attire that's sure to mess up her friendships and future, The Weasel tries in his own way to prove that this time he's going straight. But the influence of the old gang, led by notorious Uncle Al who's now operating an enigmatic "business" that's more than a little shady, remains a constant threat to Nick's future as a family man. When Angela learns that a crime is being planned that could blow apart her family, she must quickly decide how to intervene without breaking her father's code to "never discuss family business outside the home." Dundurn Press  ISBN-10: 1554887046,  ISBN-13: 9781554887040  List price: $ 12.99 CDN  To order: Contact local bookstores, Internet, publisher or author at email listed on this website  Reviews:  "I found myself rooting for Angela as I turned the pages. A touching story and a good read for ages nine to twelve." — Barbra Hesson, Calgary Herald July 4, 2010   ". . . this is an intriguing tale that will not disappoint. The chapters are short, the vocabulary is simple and the action is ongoing.”  — Cindy Matthews, Waterloo Record, August 7, 2010 Shirlee Smith Matheson

The Gambler's Daughter  The Gambler's Daughter is a sequel to Flying Ghosts. Thirteen-year-old Loretta, her six-year-old brother Teddy and their gambling stepfather "Bean Trap" Braden are one step ahead of the law and a band of angry miners looking for revenge. Run out of town for winning more than his share of their wages, Bean Trap and the children jump borders, hide out in ghost towns and stow away on trucks, sleds and trains, dodging sore losers hot on the trail of the winnings. Now Loretta must take the biggest gamble of all and put an end to the pursuit—can she and Teddy get out of the game and start a new life, or are the stakes too high?    Dundurn Press, Toronto Website:  http://www.dundurn.com    ISBN13: 978-1-55002-718-1  List price: $ 11.99 CDN  New printing Dundurn, 2009 Awards:  Canadian Childrens Book Centre Choice, 1998 Nominated, Golden Eagle Book Award, 2011 - 12 To order: contact local book stores, Internet, Publisher or author at email listed on this website.  Reviews:  “Local authors continue to impress: . . . The Gambler’s Daughter: a Wild West novel for children. Matheson, whose children’s books include Prairie Pictures, City Pictures and Flying Ghosts, has been rightly hailed for her appreciation of the prairie landscape and her ability to capture ‘the rhythm and swing of a young girl’s thoughts.’ She’s done it again.” Ken McGoogan, The Calgary Herald, Nov. 4/97    “The historical period is the 1940s, just after the Americans have entered the war. The Alcan Highway, made necessary by the threat of attack from Japan, is pushing through the wilderness, bush pilots are up, flying by the seat of their pants, but the main occupations are still the frontier ones of trapping and mining. It is an interesting period, and Matheson makes it come to life both in this book and in the parallel one, Flying Ghosts. Youngsters might well get hooked on this one and go on to the other – a useful spinoff. Highly Recommended.” Mary Thomas, CM Magazine (Vol. IV, #17, April//98) Shirlee Smith Matheson

Keeper of the Mountains  Keeper of the Mountains takes place in the rugged wilderness of British Columbia. This historical novel recalls a true account of Charles Bedaux's 1934 Sub-Arctic Expedition, a bizarre attempt to cross 800 miles of rivers, muskeg and mountains using Citroen all-terrain vehicles.  Chris Haldane, a 15-year-old horse wrangler, is hired to accompany this mysterious expedition. But Chris must also make a personal journey— into the sacred twin mountains. There, he dramatically discovers the meaning of being a Keeper.   Thistledown Press, Saskatoon, 2000,  ISBN 1-894345-13-4  List price: $14.95 CDN $10.45 US  Awards:  Canadian Childrens Book Centre Choice, 2000 This book is out of print, to order check Internet or local museums/bookstores for available copies Shirlee Smith Matheson

City Pictures City Pictures is a sequel to Prairie Pictures. To thirteen-year-old Sherri, it seems her family has always been on the move. Leaving behind the prairies of Gardin, Alberta, she and her family are back in Calgary, where her dad has a promising job. Sherri dreads facing yet another new school in the fall, without a single friend in the city. But then she meets Samantha.   Sam has got it all—great looks, personality, and the latest clothes and music. Her friends are away for the summer, so Sam has time to take Sherri under her wing. Sherri is thrilled; she knows that she can learn a lot from Sam, who has an answer for everything. But then Sam and Sherri are accused of shoplifting, and Sherri must look for her own answers—about trust, friendship, and the price of fitting in.    New Edition 2015 Wandering Fox Books an imprint of Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd.,  #103, 1075 Pendergast St.,  Victoria, BC V8V OA1 ( website: www.heritagehouse.ca ) ISBN 978-1-77203-055-6  Price: $9.95 - 224 pages paperback, 5” x 7” To order contact local book stores, Internet, Publisher or author at e-mail listed on this website.  Previous Edition McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1994 ISBN 0-7710-5860-8 List Price: $9.99 CDN Out of print   Awards: Canadian Children’s Book Centre Choice, 1995 Swedish language rights, B. Wahlstroms Bokforlag AB, Stockholm, Sweden, 1995 Shirlee Smith Matheson

New Edition 2015

Previous Edition

A Royal Balance:  The Life and Times of Hal Wyatt  Frontenac House,  1138 Frontenac Ave. SW, Calgary, AB, T2T 1B6  ph: 403-245-8588  Website: www.frontenachouse.com   ISBN 978-1-927823-04-0 (bound);  456 pgs.  Retail: $35.00 Cdn.  “I never thought of philanthropy as an obligation, just an opportunity to help people over a rough spot. I still from time to time come to realize that things are not going well and I ask, ‘Can I help?’” Hal Wyatt.  This simple quote exemplifies Hal Wyatt’s philosophy, and his prairie heritage. While honoring personal commitments to his country through service in the Second World War, to his lifelong employer – the Royal Bank of Canada – and equally to his family, friends, and community, Hal’s sense of honor and humour combine to bring a very personal story to light. The awards that came, unbidden, to honour his achievements were numerous: the Order of Canada, the Alberta Order of Excellence; the Queen Elizabeth Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilee medals; the 125thAnniversary of Confederation medal; two Honorary Doctorates (University of Saskatchewan and University of Calgary); and chairmanships on numerous corporate and philanthropic boards. This is the story of one of our most modest, and honored, Canadians. Hal Wyatt’s story is a gem!   ***  A Royal Balance – book overleaf The word “balance” is an honest and open word: it involves looking after multi-faceted endeavours so all will benefit and none suffer. It is not an easy talk, especially when one must manage an ever-escalating career that engenders many transfers, much travel, and ability to successfully deal with the bosses and coworkers, and maintain solid relationships with family and friends.  Further, in Hal Wyatt’s life, the term “royal” begs to be paired: his association with the Royal Canadian Air Force, with the Royal Bank, his close association with Mount Royal University, as chairman emeritus of the Mount Royal Foundation and namesake of Mount Royal’s Wyatt Recital Hall and music series. And then there were his frequent meetings with members of the Royal Family, starting with the arrival in Hal’s home town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, of King George and Queen Elizabeth in 1939, which also gave rise to Hal’s entrepreneurial attempt regarding the manufacture and sale of periscopes so people could better view the carriage. His meetings with the Duchess of Gloucester while Hal was stationed in Yorkton, and later with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles, added further to this royal association. And, intertwined with Hal’s career, his board chairmanships, his philanthropic works, was his family: his love for Marnie his wife of 62 years; his children Andrea, David and Kathy, and his ten grandchildren. Throughout, and vitally important to Hal, are his friends. Hal never forgets a name, is an often-heard comment, or to send a card or make a phone call to ask how they’re doing. At nine-two years of age in 2013, Hal is active, alert…and fulfilled. Hal’s story recalls challenges met and – most often – overcome, with humor, down-to-earth philosophy, and astute knowledge of the world of finance.  ORDER: Order through your local book store, from the publisher or from the author. This book can also be purchased from the following distributor;Alpine Book Peddlers; John Blum 140-105 Bow Meadows Crescent, Canmore, Alberta, T1W 2W8 Telephones: 403-678-2280 or 1-866-478-2280 Email: info@alpinebookpeddlers.ca Website: http://www.alpinebookpeddlers.ca  

“The Underwood Airship” The Underwood Family (Botha, AB) As one passes by the village of Botha in central Alberta, a strange sight appears: a flying saucer painted on the south end of a large Quonset-shaped arena. In actual fact, it depicts the Amazing Underwood Flying Machine. The home-built, wind-powered airship first took flight on August 10, 1907, taking Johnny Underwood aloft as Canada’s first aeronaut. Alexander Graham Bell’s interest in The Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) had encouraged the Underwoods to further develop their craft. However, lack of funds to purchase an engine lost for them the honour of operating the first powered flight in Canada when the AEA-sponsored Silver Dart piloted by John A.D. McCurdy flew over Bras d’or Lake, Nova Scotia, on February 23, 1909. Still, the legend of the Underwood Airship lives on, by those who research old stories, or write new ones.

“The Man with Three Names” Colin Campbell, (Sudbury, ON –across-Canada & the world) Birth certificate mix-ups left Colin Campbell with multiple names and years of birth. They were well utilized throughout an amazing aviation career that spanned 60 years and 41,000 accident- free hours in the air. As a senior airline captain, Colin set trans-Atlantic records (Montreal to London), which garnered favor with the airlines’ executives – and then found himself the subject of the airline’s derision for “missing Bermuda” on a scheduled flight, the result of a horrendous navigational miscalculation. He flew his own aircraft for construction of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, and followed that by going to work for the Shah of Iran, seeding cloud (until the Shah was dispossessed and the work that Campbell was doing was considered sacrilegious by the Ayatollah). He’s hauled planeloads of golf and Ping-Pong balls to seal holes on Northern oil wells; transported seven-million, day-old chicks to Cuba; and flew nineteen penguins from a zoo in Nassau to their new home in Vancouver. An average career résumé – for a man with three names.

Country Roads  Country Roads, Shirlee's story "Valley Girl”, appears in this anthology, published by Nimbus Press ISBN 9781551097596288 pages $19.95 "Honest Brave Tales from just plain folks . . . a compelling new anthology that pulls together 34 engaging stories . . . that highlight the shared experiences of rural life. Some entries are only a few pages, flashes of memory filled with meaning. Former Manitoban Shirlee Smith Matheson eloquently writes of her childhood near Riding Mountain National Park, sharing short but evocative stories and family and loss." — Julie Kentner, Winnipeg Free Press, June 19, 2010 Shirlee Smith Matheson

To view the  full 2019 cover of “This Was Our Valley" click here. 

The Queen`s Engineer (Bill Law) Bill Law, P.Eng., has been associated with some of the best known names in Canada`s aviation history, such as Weldy Phipps and Lorna deBlicquy, and says he`s received as much joy from participating in their careers as in achieving his own goals. Indeed, his involvement with major nose modifications on the P-38, and working with geologists E.T. Tozer and R Thorsteinsson of the Geological Survey of Canada in developing the 45-inch diameter Tundra tires, ultimately allowed Weldy to fully explore the North in the deHavilland Twin Otter -- a unique combination of geology, engineering and aviation.

LostNew Edition Lost: Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation Frontenac House, 1138 Frontenac Ave. SW, Calgary, AB, T2T 1B6 ph: 403-245-8588 Website: www.frontenachouse.com  Frontenac House Publisher ISBN 978-1-927823 (pbk);  978-1-927823-27-9 (pdf).   224 pgs. Retail: $19.95 Cdn. To order:  contact local book stores, Internet, Publisher or author This book can also be purchased from the following distributor;Alpine Book Peddlers; John Blum 140-105 Bow Meadows Crescent, Canmore, Alberta, T1W 2W8 Telephones: 403-678-2280 or 1-866-478-2280 Email: info@alpinebookpeddlers.ca Website: http://www.alpinebookpeddlers.ca   The story behind the front cover … One of the persistent themes that runs through Lost: Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation is the baffling enigma of aircraft that completely disappear, sometimes within miles of busy airports and crowded cities, and cannot be found despite desperate and prolonged searches from the air.  Sometimes wreckage is found decades later; on other occasions the aircraft simply vanishes, seemingly forever.   • In 1937, for example, a four-engine bomber leaves the Soviet Union on a highly publicized flight to Anchorage, Alaska to demonstrate the feasibility of a direct air link with North America. The bomber disappears without a trace and has never been found, despite exhaustive efforts that continue to the present day.   • A Cessna 150 goes missing on a flight from Fort McMurray to Red Deer, Alberta; one of the most intensive searches in Canadian aviation history, that lasted three months, took 1200 hours of air time, and covered 54,000 square miles, fails to locate the slightest indication of a crash site or a downed plane.   • A Hudson bomber disappears in a lake in Nova Scotia during the Second World War; despite decades of repeated effort by determined searchers using high-tech equipment, all recovery efforts have encountered nothing but frustration.   • A famous hockey star is lost while flying home from a fishing expedition; despite tremendous publicity, extensive searches and generous reward offers, the aircraft was not found for over 50 years.   • A Trans Canada Airlines (Air Canada) passenger liner is in radio contact with the Vancouver airport, only two and one-half miles from Richmond, and is observed beginning its approach to land, when all contact terminates. The wreckage of the aircraft is not found until 47 years later. How can such disappearances be possible? How can determined, skillful, trained search personnel, using sophisticated equipment, be thwarted in their effort to locate crashed aircraft? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is that a downed aircraft, especially in mountainous country such as the rugged slopes of western Canada, can be diabolically difficult to spot from the air.   *** Former Edition True Stories of Canadian Aviation Tragedies:  With 10 chapters and over 15 true stories detailing Canadian aviation adventures and misadventures, this collection is sure to bring back memories of major events that captivated the interest, and concern, of people around the world.  Matheson has meticulously researched these stories, adding personal interviews with survivors, or families and friends, to recapture the tenseness of the times.  Chapter titles range from "Flight Plans for Freedom - the story of Ken Leishman, Canada's 'Flying Bandit'", to "Where's Johnny?" that chronicles the disappearance of World War II aviation hero Johnny Bourassa; and "Stalin's Falcons," the mysterious disappearance of one of Russia's top flyers whose big bomber and its crew left the skies in August 1937 while flying from Moscow to Chicago over the North Pole.  Photos and maps accompany the text.  Fifth House Publishers  Fitzhenry & Whiteside Company.  ISBN 1-894856-18-X List price: $ 23.95 CDN This edition is out of print. Reviews: for Lost: True Stories of Canadian Aviation Tragedies“[Lost] relates the harrowing tales of how too many aviators came to grief, the frantic searches to find them, and the sometimes ghostly events which occurred during and following the searches, some of them continuing to this day. Matheson is the author who brought us the acclaimed Flying the Frontiers series, and this well-written book provides solid evidence that her research and writing skills are still intact. . . . It’s bad manners for reviewers to spoil the authors’ surprises and plot twists, so it’s best that you discover them yourself, after you’ve bought Lost: True Stories of Canadian Aviation Tragedies, a suspenseful, enjoyable book.” Bob Merrick, COPA Flight, p. B-14, Jan./06  “Shirlee uses her highly acclaimed writing skills to entice anyone, but most certainly pilots into the depths of an extended search by those of like mind. [She] makes no determinations but carefully leads you to your own conclusions. You may well have survived some of your own tales, and you will certainly enjoy Shirlee’s skill at her craft. She has been described as a writer who has true feelings and understanding of her subjects, especially those dealing with airplanes and pilots.” Capt. John Scott, PX, Retired Airline Pilots of Canada, p. 26, #3, Oct./06 Top of page Shirlee Smith Matheson

“Finding the Mother Lode” Bill Whiteley, (Marshall, SK; BC, and across Canada) Bill Whiteley once guided an aircraft down the Mackenzie River to an unknown and possibly underwater airstrip, with dynamite as cargo and the caps held between his knees so they could be quickly thrown out in case of a bad landing. For several years, he and a partner operated a charter flying service (Inter-Provincial Airways), and a flying school in Dawson Creek, BC. While there, he met Snuffy Johansen, an old guide-trapper who announced he’d found the motherlode -- and offered to share it for the price of a flight into the remote gold country of northeastern British Columbia. They searched, but to no avail. Later, Bill returned to the air force as an instructor at Central Flying School in Trenton, Ontario> From there, his log book reads like an inventory of the National Aviation Museum listing single, twin and multi-engine aircraft, to a Vampire (his first jet) and on. As Squadron Leader, flew CF-100s in the NORAD air defense system. One of his finest moments was flying the CF104 at twice the speed of sound: Mach Two. But, prior to total retirement Bill has one more adventure in mind: to find Snuffy Johansen’s motherload.

“Flying On Your Own” Eleanor Bailey, (Nemiskam and Calgary, Alberta) Eleanor Baker’s 17th birthday present from her parents, who operated a large farm in Southern Alberta, was a cheque to pay for flying lessons. When she married pilot Bill Bailey they became involved with the Alberta Flying Farmers and International Flying Farmers associations. Eleanor went on to join the Alberta Chapter of the 99s (an international organization of women pilots), and participated in their “Powder Puff Derby”, an “All-Woman Trans-Continental Air Race”. But it was the aircraft the Baileys flew that gained immediate attention. During their association with Western Warbirds, they owned four World War II training aircraft: a deHavilland Tiger Moth (C- GABB), a Chipmunk (C-FQKV), a Harvard, and a P-51 Mustang. In addition, they operated a North American T-28 Trojan, a Piper Comanche (CF-KTU), and various Cessnas. When the warbirds were later sold, Eleanor and Bill switched to Honda Gold Wing motorcycles, making a 4,000-mile round trip (each on their own machines) to Sturgis, South Dakota, to rally with Harley Davidson and other “bikers”.

“Queen of the Flying Farmers” Mildred Beamish, (Lloydminster, SK)  When Mildred Beamish was 47 years of age, and an accomplished musician, she decided she should learn to fly. Mildred and her husband built a hangar and airstrip on their farm near Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, where each had their own aircraft. “We never flew together,” she says. “We often flew wing-tip to wing-tip, but in our own aircraft.” When Mildred experienced a forced landing because of fog in Northway, Alaska, she spent the ‘down time’ playing the piano in a local bar. In 1967, she was elected Queen of the Saskatchewan Flying Farmers. She was also a member of the 99s, Saskatchewan Chapter, and often flew to 99s events in Canada and the USA. The year Mildred turned 80, she flight planned her way, solo, from Saskatchewan to Vermont in her Cessna 172, to attend a 99’s “Forest of Friendship” event. “No big deal,” Mildred shrugs. But newspaper reporters delighted in recording the latest flight plans of “The Flying Granny,” who humbly acknowledges the privileges afforded her since she took to the air. “From ox-cart to aircraft – I’ve had a wonderful life.”

“Pleasure Pilot” Jack Baker, (Winnipeg, MB; Watson Lake and Fort St. John, BC) Jack Baker was 16 when he ventured from his home in Winnipeg via the northern rivers, seeking adventure. He lived and trapped with native people on the Mackenzie Delta to learn the ways of the North, and then managed a Northern Traders’ Post at Fort Liard, Yukon Territory. Grant McConachie of United Air Transport met and immediately hired the ambitious young man to open and operate an aircraft landing strip and weather reporting station at Watson Lake, BC. There, Jack’s experiences ranged from performing a surgical operation on a desperately ill co- worker with instructions from a doctor via radio phone, to providing radio contact for American aircraft coming through on the Northwest Staging Route from Edmonton to Fairbanks. He was the initial contact when three B-26 Martin Marauders went missing in an area later named for the incident as “Uncle Sam’s Million Dollar Valley” and “The Valley of Lost Planes”. Jack Baker was at the centre of early aviation action. And then, in retirement at Charlie Lake, BC, he became just a pleasure pilot – but with an edge – and flew to the age of 85.

TheThe Red-Headed Stranger (Catherine Fletcher) • ``I`ve always felt that women should get ahead on their own merits, without any special consideration,`` states Catherine (Kate) Fletcher. ``The only way you`re going to be accepted is if you`re qualified and you do the job. You can legislate quotas, but you can`t legislate acceptance.`` She should know. When one of her first instructors muttered, ``If women were meant to fly, the sky would be pink!`` she shrugged it off and continued to upgrade her qualifications...until the red- haired pilot was no longer an oddity, or a stranger, to Northern residents.

Bush Pilot Poems by Olden Bawld (a.k.a. Charles R. Robinson) ``Ballad of a Bush Pilot``, (composed in Boeing 247D (CF-BVT) while flying down the Mackenzie River, 21 Sept. 1942. .``The Has-Been``, (composed at Bending Lake, Ontario, September 1976) . A Pilot`s Soliloquy`` (Composed in Fairchild (CF-AXG) while flying out of Hudson Ontario, 12 August, 1939).

Amazing Flights and Flyers The latest in Shirlee Smith Matheson's popular Canadian aviation stories, Amazing Flights and Flyers, is a fascinating collection of adventures ranging from aerial hijackings to secret Nazi weather stations in Labrador, from the missions of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association to an incredible aerial rescue expedition in the Antarctic. Every story is different, every story is astonishing, and every story is completely true!  Frontenac House Publishers, Calgary ISBN 978-1-897181-29-4 List price:  $19.95 plus GST To Order: contact local book stores, Internet, Publisher or author. This book can also be purchased from the following distributor; Alpine Book Peddlers; John Blum 140-105 Bow Meadows Crescent, Canmore, Alberta, T1W 2W8 Telephones: 403-678-2280 or 1-866-478-2280 Email: info@alpinebookpeddlers.ca Website: http://www.alpinebookpeddlers.ca   Reviews   "In this compendium of short stories the author has meticulously researched each and every fact to ensure accuracy . . . and spun them into some fifteen easily read stories." Captain John R. Scott, Editor, Px Magazine, and Airforce Magazine, Spring 2010  “If you are looking for an engaging read this is the book for you. Matheson provides some fifteen stories, mostly dealing with the North and all examining the excitement and dangers of aviation and of the pilots and engineers who were part of the story of aviation history.  . . . This is a great book.” Editor, Alberta History, Spring 2010  “History and Mystery – Romping through the decades with Shirlee Smith Matheson” “[This author] has brought us several general aviation books which celebrate the achievements of Canadian aviators who have been so important in helping to build the Canada we know today. Recently she released a book entitled Amazing Flights and Flyers that continues her penchant for seeking out offbeat stories that illustrate just how important aviation and aviators were to our country’s development.  . . . The stories are all good. And if variety is your pleasure, this is the book for you.” Bob Merrick, COPA Flight, B14, July/10

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Fights and Flights of a Pioneer Pilot (Joe Irwin) There has always been a fighter in Joe Irwin’s aviation career. It was not an airplane, but Irwin himself. Although he turned 86 in 1993, the years hadn’t quelled the spirit of his lifelong warrior. On his bookcase is an inscribed wooden plaque that captures his lifelong battle cry: Illegitimati Non Carborundum, which Joe translates as, ``Don`t let the bastards grind you down.`` He didn`t.

``The Jackpine Savage`` (Jimmy `Midnight` Anderson) Few pilots have survived 16 ``uncontrolled landings`` in one of the most unforgiving terrains in the world – Canada`s North. Jimmy Anderson has, but he`s ``never left a plane in the bush, or injured a passenger`` in over 20,000 hours of flying time.

“Flying Low” Omar Kirkeeng, (Hudson’s Hope, BC) When seemingly-uncontrollable forest fires rage in northern Canada, the Forestry Department exercises the right to “clean out” the local bars and camps to recruit ad hoc firefighters. When Omar Kirkeeng was recruited from his construction job on the Mackenzie Highway to fight a fire in northern Alberta, his helicopter flight from the fire- site gave him a place in Who’s Who in British Columbia (1994 edition). It was not, however, the kind of publicity one would seek. The only way possible to transport him from the site back to camp was to tie him to a float – with a 10-gallon drum of gas strapped to the opposite float for balance.

Non-fiction

*** Shirlee Smith Matheson

``Rebel With A Cause`` (Don Haddon)   Don Haddon heard of the famous Saskatchewan Smoke Jumpers program when he was still a kid and he found the idea of jumping out of airplanes into fires tremendously exciting. It was not difficult to get hired. ``If you were physically fit they would train you.`` When they heard the words `Jump Fire` over loudspeakers the four-man group would race to base, suit up, grab parachutes, scramble into the aircraft – in Don`s case a Norseman (CF-SAM, now on display in the Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw, SK), and get ready to jump into the fire.

``Whiskey Whiskey Papa`` (Weldy Phipps) One of Weldy Phipps` first flying jobs was out of Dawson City, Yukon, mapping the Arctic coast. ``We were flying at 35,000 feet,`` Phipps recalls. ``It was a tough go with no pressurization.`` It was then that Phipps saw the image that would forever attract him to this unique part of the world. ``Once we`d reach the north end of our lines we`d look up and in perfectly clear weather we could see the Arctic islands. When I saw that, I knew I had to get North.``

“The Airmen’s World is a Unique Place” Keith Olson (Island Falls, Saskatchewan; Winnipeg Manitoba) Flying in northern Manitoba for family-owned Lamb Airways (later, Lambair) gave pilot Keith Olson an incredible variety of experiences. He flew First Nations and Inuit families -- and their sleigh dogs – out to their traplines, and was hired to transport their children to or from (now controversial) Residential Schools. Flying a Norseman through storms and landing on sea ice, bringing a Cessna down safely on one ski, and patching a hole in a fabric-covered aircraft with a bed-sheet became normal workday duties. “The airman’s world is a unique place,” Olsen says, in an understatement. (Keith Olsen went on to become a pilot for Air Canada, flying a Boeing 747 to places as varied as Bombay and Singapore. He later became affiliated with the Western Canada Aviation Museum in Winnipeg.)

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``On The Fringes of the Average Life`` (Lorna Bray DeBliquy) Lorna DeBliquy has lived in tents in northern Manitoba, bunked down in `skid` shacks on isolated construction and drilling sites, and was even awarded her own fur-lined toilet seat on Ellesmere Island. She has visited Arab and Bedoin camps in Saudi Arabia, has careened down `ski-jump` airstrips in New Zealand, and has delivered famine relief in Ethopia, all in her line of work – flying airplanes.

The Call of the North  - Mike Thomas If a movie were made of Mike Thomas’s life, it would be longer than Lonesome Dove, contain more drama than Casablanca, and portray more action than an early James Bond film. Thomas has been a bush pilot, engineer, fur trader, business-owner and airline captain. And finally, he’s tossed it all to go back to the bush.

" Firefighter of the Northern Forest" G. T. Rowan (LaRonge, Saskatchewan) Extinguishing forest fires requires fine-tuned cooperation to send spotter and bird-dog aircraft, water and chemical bombers and tankers, as well as helicopters in to fire sites. G. T. Rowan brought his skills to the forests of northern Saskatchewan, first as a pilot and then as a firefighter. The provincial government began using Beavers and Otters outfitted with water bomb tanks, as well as a Canso that could release 800 gallons in a single drop. Rowan quickly learned to fill, fly, and drop water from these aircraft over the forest fires • • 1 Flying the Fron-ers Vol. II “More Hours of Avia-on Adventures” that raged throughout northern Saskatchewan, gaining him the position of operations manager and chief pilot, and overseeing 19 aircraft for the government's Northern Air Services based in LaRonge.

*** Shirlee Matheson

“The Watcher” Pen Powell (Charlie Lake and Hudson's Hope, BC) The Powell family became associated with aviation through operating a float plane base on Charlie Lake, BC, and servicing Grant McConachie’s efforts to pioneer an air-mail route from Edmonton to Whitehorse. So, when Pen Powell learned to fly at age 40, he was a seasoned Northerner who embraced the independent life of the bush, but a very novice flyer. He got into trouble on nearly every flight. Wrecking two out of his four aircraft wasn’t intentional (a Super Cub (CF–JXI) on floats that “fell into the trees” when wind gusts changed direction; and a 1954 Cessna 180 that had a fatal flaw of lacking gas gauges); nor was drawing attention from Ministry of Transport officials over his entrepreneurial ventures while flying a vintage 1948 Piper PA 14 (CF–1XF). However, a new Cessna 180 [CF SGE] afforded Powell a unique aerial view of the devastation being wrought to the Peace River Valley. As construction of the WAC Bennett dam and Williston Lake reservoir flooded 750 square miles of rich forest and wildlife sanctuaries, “The Watcher” saw it all.

Maverick in the Sky: The Aerial Adventures of WW I Flying Ace Freddie McCall  From the perils of World War 1 aerial dogfights to the daring antics of his post-war barnstorming stunts, the adventures of Captain Freddie McCall, flying ace and maverick Calgarian, come to life in Shirlee Smith Matheson's newest aviation story.  As the top 5th ranked Canadian World War 1 fighting ace, McCall was a true Canadian hero. His wartime accomplishments were amazing, and a testament to his clan motto, Dulce Periculum - Danger is Sweet. His extraordinary flying skills and self-reliant entrepreneurial spirit make him one of Canada's most memorable twentieth-century characters.  Frontenac House 1138 Frontenac Ave. SW, Calgary, AB T2T 1B6 ph: 403-245-8588 Website: http://www.frontenachouse.com  ISBN 978-1-897-181-16-4,  112 pgs.   Retail $9.95 Cdn. To order contact local book stores, Internet, Publisher or author.   This book can also be purchased from the following distributor;Alpine Book Peddlers; John Blum 140-105 Bow Meadows Crescent, Canmore, Alberta, T1W 2W8 Telephones: 403-678-2280 or 1-866-478-2280 Email: info@alpinebookpeddlers.ca Website: http://www.alpinebookpeddlers.ca   Reviews: “Flying Ace – Storied Life of pilot recorded in new book” “The photo of an open cockpit biplane precariously lodged atop a carousel at the 1919 Calgary Exhibition is titillating . . . Who was this maverick pilot who so skillfully avoided catastrophe that day and continues to spark our imaginations today? . . . This balanced view of McCall is a product of extensive research Matheson conducted while preparing an exhibit for the Glenbow Museum [which] has chosen Captain Freddie McCall to personify wartime flying and early aviation in Alberta.” Pamela McDowell, Neighbors, The Calgary Herald, p. 1, Jan. 24-30/08  “Shirlee Matheson does a highly credible job recounting the story of one of the most successful fighter pilots of World War I. . . . This very well-written book is a great tribute to a great aviator who is as important as Bishop and Collishaw in achieving so many victories against the German Luftwaffe. A great book, an easy read, and an excellent insight into Canada’s aviation history.” Capt. John Scott, PX, Retired Airline Pilots of Canada, #3, p. 27, Oct./07 Photo to left - Shirlee and Fred teamed up for many presentations depicting the life of Fred’s father, Captain Freddie McCall, chronicled in Shirlee’s book, Maverick in the Sky: The Aerial Adventures of WWI Flying Ace Freddie McCall. This photo was taken by John Chalmers at the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society held in Edmonton, AB, in 2011. Fred and crew built a full-scale replica of the Curtiss Jenny that his father had so expertly stalled on the merry-go-round at the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede in 1919. The amazing event is depicted on the cover of Maverick in the Sky. The aircraft reproduction and complementary pictorial display are on permanent display at the Glenbow Museum’s “Mavericks of Alberta” exhibit.   Sadly, Fred (born December 24, 1928) passed away on March 26, 2013. Shirlee Smith Matheson

A Western Welcome to the World - The History of the Calgary International Airport This large-format book contains over 100 photos, and documents the creation and growth of one of the nations's friendliest and most technologically advanced airports.  Calgary International Airport possesses a wild and wonderful history as well as a promising future.   Cherbo Publishing Group, Encino, CA, USA,  1997 distributed by Temeron Books, Calgary  ISBN 1-882933-16-8    Out of Print Shirlee Smith Matheson

FFII Bill Watts & Shirlee Matheson at launch for Flying the Frontiers II

“Too Much Hurry” Short Tompkins (Charlie Lake/Fort St. John, BC) Number 13 was Short Tompkins’ lucky number. He was born on the 13th day of the month, drove truck #13 on the first haul over the Alaska Highway, and has owned 13 airplanes. Considering his 5 Flying the Fron-ers Vol. II “More Hours of Avia-on Adventures” adventures – and misadventures – he was lucky to be able to count those 13s. Following a few wreckages, Short decided to use aircraft commercially for his business, Tompkins Contracting Limited. His business prospered, at one time operating over 60 trucks, numerous Caterpillar tractors, graders and motor scrapers, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and supported the largest payroll in the North Peace country. Highs and lows followed, as Short Tompkins observed, and actively participated in changes to the social, economic and environmental fabric of northern BC and the Yukon. Short’s Number 13 brought him luck, both good and bad – with the latter simply attributed to “too much hurry.”

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“Apesis Muskwa (Little Bear)” Ray Sinotte, (LaRonge, SK) Raymond Sinotte is known locally as Apesis Muskwa that translates to “Little Bear” in his native Cree language. He gained this nickname the hard way: in a direct encounter with a bear. “She pounded the hell out of me and then buried me in a muskeg, planning to eat me later.” He survived, to become known simply as Muskwa – and a first-class aviation engineer. Raised in the bush, Ray is a good person to have aboard if you experience a forced landing in remote conditions. He can work in the cold weather (even 60-below zero Fahrenheit), or fashion parts to get you back to safety, such as utilizing a metal runner from a dog sleigh to steady a wing when the entire rear fitting had broken away from the fuselage. That repair got them home. (Following our interview sessions Muskwa canoed back to his island home near LaRonge, Saskatchewan).

Flying The Frontiers Volume I, A Half Million Hours of Aviation Adventure    Flying The Frontiers Volume I, A Half Million Hours of Aviation Adventure, brings to life tales from the log books and journals of people for whom aviation is a way of life. These intrepid and independent pilots, engineers, aircraft salvagers, and smoke jumpers tell of their adventures and misadventures over the endless bush and forbidding barrens of Canada's North, allowing readers a rare glimpse at a unique way of life that has taken these men and women across Canada and around the world.  Told firsthand by the people who experienced them, these are wondrous aviation tales of near-misses and amazing successes, heroism and foolishness, innovations and renovations, where the element of risk is part of every flight plan. Now in its fifth printing!  Fifth House, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Toronto This book is currently out of print. To Order: check Internet or local museums/bookstores for available copies Hardcover:  ISBN-10: 1895618460;  ISBN-13: 978-1895618464 Softcover:  ISBN-10:  1895618517:  ISBN-13/EAN: 978895618518    Reviews: “Portraits of ‘Positive Attitudes” “Ever since she lived in the Peace River country, explains Shirlee Smith Matheson in her preface, she wanted to write about the kind of people she met there – people who ‘through hard work and positive attitudes, tackled jobs that more practical people would never dare.’ . . . What is the common denominator? Adventure says the author, and her book assuredly bears out this assessment.” Virginia Byfield, Alberta Report, p. 47, Dec. 12/94  “The author has discovered 12 people and woven a thread around them: in various ways they have contributed to the pioneering of aviation in Canada during the period from the 1920s to the 1990s. All have flown the frontiers of Canada, be it bush flying, instructing, barnstorming, crop spraying, opening up the Arctic, or outfitting in the Rockies. . . . This is a good book for anyone interested in some unusual detail of aviation development in Canada due to the fortitude and ingenuity of some of these pioneers.” Grahame Inglis, Airforce, p. 55, April/95  “Flying the Frontiers encourages browsing: its themes and issues …are presented subtly, and await discovery. Matheson’s skillful handling of narrative creates the impression, in most places, of indirect involvement in the story, but her presence is never intrusive.” Geoff Cragg, CBRA (Canadian Book Review Annual), Transportation 5079, undated. -------------- Adventures of People and Planes related in the Flying the Frontiers series. Summarized Chapter Details Flying the Frontiers - A Half-Million Hours of Aviation Adventures  (ISBN 1-895618-51-7) (213 p.)  - collection of 12 biographical Canadian aviation stories  - published by Fifth House Publishers, Saskatoon, SK, 1994 - 2nd printing, 1995; 3rd, 1997, 4th 1998, 5th 2000; 6th 2003; 7th 2008.  Contains 15 biographical stories and events:    

Shirlee Matheson with Major Fred McCall, (Retired), O.M.M., C.D., son of Captain Freddie McCall, in attendance at RCAF Mess Dinner, Aero Space Museum, Calgary, AB, 2008.

Shirlee Smith Matheson and Earl K. Pollon (Detselig/Temeron Books). This award-winning book was released in a brand new edition with an update that details the ongoing effects of a mega project, in this case the monstrous W.A.C. Bennett Dam and its Williston Lake reservoir on the Peace River in northeastern British Columbia.

“Looking Beyond the Roads” Floyd Glass (St. Albert, SK) Floyd Glass owns his own island in the Bahamas. He also owns Athabaska Airways, the largest airline in Saskatchewan. First flying with the provincial government’s “Fur Marketing Service” his job was to communicate with (mostly angry) fur buyers and trappers, many who spoke languages other than English, such as Cree, Chipewyan or French. He also kept tabs on sawmill and logging operations for the government’s “Timber Marketing Board”, another difficult post. The CCF government then got into the transportation business – a first in Canada – and Glass arranged for the licence to form the Saskatchewan Government Airways (later AirSask). His next career move was flying for various commercial companies to “learn the ropes” before forming his own airline, where shrewd business practice became the order of the day in this “survival of the fittest” industry.

Youngblood of the Peace  Youngblood of the Peace tells the true adventures of an Oblate priest who lived with Cree, Saulteaux and Beaver Indian people of BC and Alberta. It is a book rich with stories of the old ways, of the new ways, of ingenious and sometimes startling methods used by this Oblate priest to attract his parishioners to the churches he built in the North.  Youngblood of the Peace is a journey, a story about a dwindling race. It is the story of the Peace, and of one of the pioneers who could never leave. A book that captures an era, a place, and a society that has become "lost in time.” ISBN 1-55059-033-2 List price: $14.95 CDN 235 pages This edition is published by Detselig Enterprises., Calgary, AB; however, this company is no longer in existence. Awards:  Honourable Mention, Alberta Nonfiction Awards, 1987 (first published by Lone  Pine Publishers, Edmonton, 1986)  One Act Play, Fringe Festival, Edmonton, 1988  Order: this edition is out of print.  Check local museum gift shops or Internet for remaining copies. Reviews: “Matheson Arrives With Youngblood.” “Many books published in Canada never sell 500 copies. Calgary writer Shirlee Smith Matheson not only sold twice that many of her first work recently, but she did it in a single week. She sold the 600 copies she’d brought [to the official launch in Fort St. John] and drummed up orders for 400 more. . . . With Youngblood of the Peace Matheson has arrived. She’s going to be around a long time.” Ken McGoogan, The Calgary Herald, E5, Nov. 9/86  “Youngblood’s Colorful Career” [The book] is like a trip home – not over super-highways but by the muddy back roads. . . . [It] is more than a single snapshot. It is a well-preserved family album of the Mighty Peace.” Western Catholic Reporter, p. 16, Feb. 9/87  “Youngblood of the Peace is rich with stories of the old ways, of the new ways, of ingenious and sometimes startling methods used by this Oblate priest to attract his Indian and white parishioners to the churches he built in the north of Alberta and British Columbia. [It] is a journey, a story about a dwindling race. It is the story of the Peace, and of one of the pioneers who could never leave.” The Cornerstone, Journal of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, Vol. 10, #1, Spring/87. Shirlee Smith Matheson

This Was Our Valley   Co-authored with Earl K. Pollon, this book reveals the economic, social and environmental impact of a mega-project—the WAC Bennett Dam, then the world's largest earth-filled dam, built in the 1960s to harness the power of the mighty Peace River. Readers will come to know the people and places now buried beneath 600 feet of water in the dam's reservoir, known as Williston Lake.  The potential of Hudson's Hope, the third oldest community in British Columbia, has been a recorded fact dating from the diary notes of Alexander Mackenzie and Simon Fraser. The book deals with the conflicts that arose when a particular area became valuable to the rest of the world. Pollon and Matheson, who know the area intimately, tell the story. The dam's influence is carefully explored and well-documented as Pollon and Matheson resurrect the true stories that lie buried beneath the waters of Williston Lake. The winner of the 1990 Alberta Nonfiction Award and finalist for the Roderick Haig Brown BC Book Prize.  BC Hydro is currently conducting hearings on the environmental and economic aspects of building a third dam on the Peace River, called “Site C”. Read This Was Our Valley to gain a definitive view of this plan, and of the inside story of the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon dams already operating on the Peace River.  This 2003 edition of this book was been completely  updated from earlier edition published in 1989.  ISBN 1-55050.244-0.  331 pgs; 86 bxw photos,  This edition was published by Temeron Books Inc., Calgary, AB; however, this company is no longer in existence.  Suggested Retail Price $24.95  Order: This edition is out of print. Check local museum gift shops or Internet for remaining copies.   Reviews:  “This book may be compared with that of James Wilson (People in the Way, UofT Press, 1973) in which he describes ‘the reality of the Columbia River project in relation to the people of the Arrow Lakes region’ of southeast BC. In This Was Our Valley, Pollon and Matheson seek to do the same thing with respect to the Peace River projects and the people of Hudson’s Hope and the upper Peace region. One difference is that Wilson wrote as an outsider looking in (he had been an employee of BC Hydro based in Vancouver), while Pollon and Matheson write as insiders looking out.” J.D. Chapman, B.C. Studies, #86, Summer 1990.  “This book is attractively produced and well-illustrated. It deserves to be in all collections of works on western Canadian science and history.” W.A.S. Sarjeant, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Geoscience Canada, p. 179, Vol. 18, #4, Dec./91  “I like this book and recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading about dam-building controversies. It’ll probably leave you dam mad.”  Anne Capune, Wilderness Alberta, Vol. 19, #4, 1989. =============== A review of This Was Our Valley by Shirlee Smith Matheson and Earl K. Pollon has been published in the most recent issue of BC Studies (June 2020). See “News” item for 12 June 2020 for PDF copy of review. Shirlee Smith Matheson

“The Tail-Gunner” Jack Horne (Victoria, BC) One night in 1966 at a lonely construction site near Powell River, BC, seven men were sitting around in camp, talking, whiling away a rainy evening.  One man had a noticeably scarred face and finally one of the fellows got up the nerve to ask him how he’d got that way.  “Some  beggar ruffled my goose feathers,” was the curt response.  The conversation that followed unveiled an incredible story: Jack Horne was a tail gunner on a Lancaster Bomber during World War II (115 Squadron, RAF).  The scarred stranger was a pilot with the Luftwaffe.  On March 25, 1945, Jack had fired at an enemy “yellow spinner”, and saw it go down in the haze; an unconfirmed hit.  That night, the wartime “victory” was chillingly verified.

Bill Watts, Calgary Airport Manager, Standing on apron in front of terminal building under construction, 1977 (Photo: Calgary Herald)

Lucky Lucas (Phil Lucas)   ``No matter how good a pilot you are you have to have luck,`` Phil Lucas often said. He proved it on more than one occasion during his long and varied flying career that started when he and his pal Joe Irwin took flying lessons in 1929 in an open-cockpit 60X Cirrus Moth. From overcoming language barriers to teach Chinese-Canadian students to fly in Calgary, to barnstorming (charging passengers one-cent per pound of their body weight), the pilot-engineer took on a wide variety of flying jobs. While flying a Waco (CF-BJS) he survived a forced- landing on Great Slave Lake. He flew a Fokker Standard Universal (G-CAHE) for Peace River Airways; and a Stagger-Wing Beech C-17R (CF-BBB) for Leigh Brintnell`s Mackenzie Air Service (operating as United Air Service), force- landing in five feet of snow near Fort Vermilion. He flew flying a Boeing 247 for Canadian Airways; and worked long hours flying various aircraft on the Canol Project -- jobs that were successfully navigated by talent, energy.... And luck.

Shirlee and Dave Scollard, Frontenac House, with the first copy of Amazing Flights and Flyers.

Hal Rainforth resting on one of several dozen loads of dynamite for the sump at Stokes Point on the Beaufort Sea.  1973-4 (Hal Rainforth collection)

Book and Film Reviews   121 This Was Our Valley Shirlee Smith Matheson and Earl K. Pollon Calgary: Frontenac House, 2019. 424 pp. $29.95 paper. Douglas Robb University of British Columbia The 2019 edition of This Was Our Valley by Shirlee Smith Matheson and Earl K. Pollon continues a long- standing conversation about the impacts of large dams in northern British Columbia. This story, told in three acts, renders a detailed account of life along the Peace River in the vicinity of Hudson’s Hope over the past one hundred years. Whereas much of the recent writing on this subject has focused on the social and political turbulence surrounding the construction of the Site C Dam (Sarah Cox’s excellent Breaching the Peace [2018] comes to mind), the reissue of This Was Our Valley begins at a time when hydro power on the Peace was a distant fantasy. This long historical view of life along the Peace (i.e., settler colonial life) captures the breathless transformation of the river from a place of trappers and gold panners to a fully infrastructuralized landscape within the short span of a mere half-century. Part 1 of the book is told from the perspective of Earl Pollon and chronicles the life and times of a young man in Hudson’s Hope from the 1930s to the mid-1960s. Over the course of fourteen chapters interspersed with poems, Pollon offers an intimate, if perhaps occasionally disjointed, recollection of life along the Peace. Part autobiography, part travelogue, Pollon sketches a series of vignettes that introduce the reader to the landscapes (many now submerged) 122 bc studies and the characters (most long deceased) of the river prior to the construction of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam. To the contemporary reader, Pollon’s warm reminiscences feel somewhat outdated in the context of current conversations regarding the trauma of colonialism and industrial extractivism. Yet his recollections succeed in conveying to the reader a deep and melancholic nostalgia for a way of life drowned under the Williston Reservoir. Part 2 of the book is told by Shirlee Smith Matheson, and it describes the myriad consequences following the construction of the W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon Dams. Drawing together interviews, archival research, and her own first-hand experience, Smith skilfully weaves diverse narratives of labour unrest, natural resource mismanagement, bungled infrastructure projects, geological instability, and Indigenous dispossession (among many others). What differentiates her account from other writing on the industrialization of the Peace River is her ability to contextualize high-level political and economic machinations within the lived experience of local citizens. Smith sketches a vast and complex geography that could have been better supported by clearer maps and visual documentation, yet she nonetheless provides the reader with a comprehensive account of the impacts wrought by large dams in British Columbia during the latter half of the twentieth century. Each edition of This Was Our Valley responds to the construction of a new dam along the Peace, and the 2019 reissue offers valuable context and information for the ongoing Site C Dam project. Like previous editions, Part 3 frames the nuanced and often highly politicized discourse surrounding Site C through the lives of everyday people who are directly and indirectly affected. While some perspectives are conspicuously absent – what of the construction workers, engineers, or local proponents? – the 2019 edition remains true to the spirit of Earl Pollon’s original project by giving voice to local residents who, all too often, feel relegated to the periphery. While the saga of the Site C Dam may be far from over, This Was Our Valley provides essential reading for researchers, activists, or concerned observers who are interested in the social and environmental history of the Peace River and the countless schemes to exert control over British Columbia’s landscapes. References Cox, Sarah. 2018. Breaching the Peace: The Site C Dam and a Valley’s Stand against Big Hydro. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Flying The Frontiers Volume II, A Half Million Hours of Aviation Adventure Climb aboard and get ready for takeoff on an extraordinary journey with some of Canada's most striking storytellers—our pilots. Flying The Frontiers Volume II, More Hours of Aviation Adventure, presents true life tales of professional and pleasure pilots, engineers and many others who push beyond the traditional boundaries. This volume continues the story of a disappearing era as aviation brings the trappings of modern life into the back of beyond, leaving fewer frontiers. It shows the impact of these explorations on both the environment and the people who make the bush and the barrens their home.  These are stories of people who view our country from the air, men and women in love with flying and with the unique challenges that flying brings to them—negotiating a landing among ice floes in the Arctic Ocean, maintaining and repairing airplanes in 60-below weather, converting World War II reconnaissance planes to fire-fighting vehicles, hauling 7 million day-old chicks to Cuba or seeding clouds for the Shah of Iran.  Detselig Enterprises,  Calgary, AB, 1996  ISBN 1-55059-131-2 Suggested List Price: $19.95  CDN This publishing house no longer exists, and this book is currently out of print.  To order: check Internet or local museums/bookstores for available copies. Reviews:  “Bush Pilots Should Never Fly From Our Memory” “What makes this book unique is that Matheson has not only zoomed in on the bush eagles, who developed flying techniques undreamed of by aviators in the more civilized parts of the world, but also presented the stories of people who played supportive, yet important roles: engineers, aircraft mechanics, radio operators. . . . Still, the chances are that where wilderness survives, a pioneering pilot will turn up, ready and eager to be of assistance – and to retell a few good yarns in the bargain.” Jacek Malec, The Calgary Herald, p. B11, Aug. 31/96 “Canada’s Contribution” “The author has chosen some true Canadian characters to highlight, and the descriptions of her subjects are so complete that if feels like the reader has purchased 17 complete biographies instead of just one book with 17 chapters. It is evident that a lot of time and effort went into the research and writing of this book. The result is worth the reader’s attention. . . . Overall, it’s an entertaining and enjoyable book, especially if you like reading about flying almost as much as actually doing it yourself.” Jennifer Gwosdof, Private Pilot, USA, Feb./.97 Flying the Frontiers Vol. II “More Hours of Aviation Adventures ISBN: 1-55059-131-2 Collection of 17 biographical Canadian aviation stories Published by Detselig Enterprises Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, 1996 “Flying can be described as 95 percent boredom, and five percent panic,” stated an old-time bush flyer. “Tell me about both,” I said, and turned on the tape recorder. Extraordinary journeys of professional and pleasure pilots, engineers and astronauts, who pushed back on traditional boundaries to seek adventure. Adventures of People and Planes related in the Flying the Frontiers series. Summarized Chapters Details

Picking Up The Pieces (Chris Templeton) Throughout his career, Chris has flown in more than 80 different types of aircraft on missions including NATO Sabre Squadron leapfrogging, RCAF Search & Rescue missions and medevacs, and aircraft salvage operations. But Chris is not a pilot: his career in aviation involved everything except flying airplanes. From being dumped into the bay near Prince Rupert BC on a medevac in a Canso, to picking up pieces of downed aircraft (including Whiskey Whiskey Papa!) in the employ of Field Aviation out of Calgary, this quiet-spoken man has vast knowledge and experience in survival of the fittest – for both man and machine.

“A Bunch of the Boys Were Whooping it Up . . .” Roy Staniland, Harold Rainforth, Bill Watts (Calgary, AB) Robert Service was right. When the boys get together, they whoop it up. If they share a common field of aviation, the term “hangar flying” takes on a whole new meaning. Hal Rainforth, Roy Staniland, and Bill Watts represent three generations of flying for the same company, Pacific Petroleums which eventually became Petro-Canada. Their stories reflect comparisons and contrasts in planes, people and places. All were Alberta-born and remained based in the province, flying various types of aircraft to all sorts of destinations. All three have logged their time in the air; where they differ is how they got into flying, where it took them, and how they used their experiences to further their captivating careers.

More Information from Glenbow

Tales from the Log Book (Ralph Langemann)  Ralph Langemann has no love for airplanes, but joining the air force offered a way out of the small Alberta town. His log book reveals that Ralph has flown 40 different types of aircraft in over 5,000 accident-free hours, doing everything from fire-bombing to spruce bud-worm spraying in Canada, and bush flying in Botswana. One of his more daring flights, though, occurred in Calgary, when he and pilot Lynn Garrison, and crew Joe McGoldrick, J. Sutherland and Brian McKay made an unorthodox – and unauthorized -- flight in a Lancaster bomber (KB-97) over Calgary during an air show that is still being talked about.

The Story is Not Told Until the Book is Closed” Father William A. Leising, OMI (Buffalo, NY; and Northern Canada) Father William A. Leising, Oblate of Mary Immaculate (a Catholic order with a mandate to bring the Gospel to the poor), decided the best way to serve his parishioners in the Northwest Territories was by air. He purchased a four-place Aeronca Sedan (CF-GMC) and obtained the necessary endorsements, including for floats; this was followed by a Norseman (CF-GTM), and finally a Beaver aircraft (CF-OMI). During his time in the air, the “Flying Father” saw the country as it was, and never will be again. He utilized air transport for everything from medevacs to flying the Bishop and other church executives to visit the isolated Northern priests, nuns, and parishioners. He also transported Indigenous children to and from the (now controversial) church- operated Residential Schools. “There are two sides to every story,” Father Leising states. Debates, lawsuits and government apologies now exist regarding that period when it was thought best to remove native children from their homes to be transported hundreds, or thousands, of miles away, for several years, to gain an education. “Only when you come to the end of the whole story do you close the book,” he says.

“The Thin Edge of the Wedge” Leo Rutledge (Hudson’s Hope, BC) When Leo Rutledge speaks about the wilderness, people listen. Leo was instrumental in forming The Guide-Outfitters Association in British Columbia, is the author of a history of Guide- Outfitting in BC, and an avowed environmentalist. His views are controversial and often debated. “In my opinion, in the big-game outfitting business, if we’d never seen an airplane we’d have been a damned sight better off,” Leo states, listing multiple reasons to support his point. “Now, 4 Flying the Fron-ers Vol. II “More Hours of Avia-on Adventures” it’s just a mechanized assembly line for the express purpose of killing – that’s what it’s all about – and the aircraft was the thin edge of the wedge.” Air transportation does have a darker side, and controversy abounds as it does when culture, economy and ideologies collide. A fascinating story from a learned and unique point of view.

Flying The Frontiers Volume III, A Half Million Hours of Aviation Adventure  This volume captures stories from all sides of the flying field—old stories and new, heroic and imprudent, in peace and in war. These aviators and engineers have taken to the air in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and even in a space shuttle.  Among the people you will meet are wartime flyers, one who flew with the famous Flying Tigers over the Burma Hump, another who spent most of the war in a German POW camp, where he participated in "The Great Escape"; a BC costal pilot with a hemorraging patient aboard, who was forced to seek harbor on the black, choppy waters of an unknown channel; a helicopter pilot who awoke from a nap to discover a polar bear poking its nose into the other seat; a Fort Nelson flyer fighting to preserve his local airport, and the airline he built there, as Transport Canada follows its mandate to sell off its airports; a northern bush pilot and engineer, who has turned his knowledge of aviation into everlasting works of art, which grace all three covers of Flying the Frontiers and two Canadians who embrace space, one as an educator, the other as an astronaut for NASA.  Detselig Enterprises,  Calgary, AB, 1999  ISBN 1-55059-176-2  Suggested List price: $19.95 CDN  This publishing house no longer exists, and this book is currently out of print. To order: check Internet or local museums/bookstores for available copies. Reviews: “They may not be in the Hall of Fame, but these people made history too!” “This book brings to light many fascinating people with spellbinding stories about flying in the long, and not-so-long-ago past. There’s action, there’s drama, there’s romance, and above all, there’s an enduring love of flying that has withstood the test of time. It’s a book that will appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in aviation, and help them understand those who had a passionate interest in aviation.” Bob Merrick, COPA Flight, p. 23, March/00. “The great variety of subjects – from fledgling commercial outfits, to aviation art, to the tragic end of a flight to Antarctica – makes this book an important addition to the history of flying . . . Matheson’s descriptions of difficult flights, dangerous landings, or simply a love of flying are written with true feeling and understanding for the situations and decisions flyers and engineers had to make.” Patricia A. Myers, CBRA (Canadian Book Review Annual) p. 439, 2000 edition. Shirlee Smith Matheson

Jan       Feb       Mar       Apr       May       Jun       Jul       Aug       Sep       Oct       Nov       Dec Upcoming Events 2022         Literary LogbookEvents open to the public are noted:  Join me if you can!Events are continually being arranged.  Please check this page regularly for new information. January FebruaryMarch April May  Thursday, May 12, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. - Airdrie Public Library, 111, 304 Main St. SE, AB.Join us as this award-winning fiction and non-fiction writer reads from her book. This Was Our Valley   REGISTER ONLINE  Click the following links for more information    www.ssmatheson.ca/documents/Matheson%20eCard.jpg   Saturday, May 14, 2022: - Nanton Bomber Command Museum, Nanton, AB:617 Sqn. Dambbusters Day, Lancaster Engine Runs at 11 and 3; RAF Benevolent Fund Bicycle Ride and ‘Bomber Bazaar’ market. I will be present as a vendor.  For information contact: office@bombercommandmuseum.ca  June Friday - Sunday, June 3-5, 2022: Writers Guild of Alberta Annual General Meeting “Shifting Creative Gears” (hybrid format: on-line programming plus select in-person activities).  For Information: email: mail@writrsguild.ca  Saturday, June 18, 2022, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.: Vendor, RossCarrock Community Association, 4411 - 10 Ave. SW, Calgary.  For information email: events@rosscarrock.org   Join me if you can! Sunday, June 19, 2022. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., The Hanger Flight Museum, 4629 McCall Way N.E., Calgary, AB T2E 8A5., ANNUAL FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND EVENT: WINGS AND WHEELS.   For information:  https://thehangarmuseum.ca/upcoming-events    This fabulous two-day event runs on Saturday June 18 and Sunday, 19, but I will be there as a vendor only on Sunday. Please join me if you can!  July August Thursday - Sunday, August 12-14, 2022: Participate, When Words Collide (Festival for Readers and Writers).  On-line.  For information email: info@whenwordscollide.org  September  October  November December Calgary Recreational & Ultralight Flying Club (CRUFC), The Hangar Flight Museum, Calgary, AB (My appearance as guest speaker cancelled/postponed due to COVID). Updates forthcoming at later date. Jan      Feb      Mar      Apr      May      Jun      Jul      Aug      Sep      Oct       Nov      Dec<="" blockquote=""> Dates & events to be announced when finalized.  *** Events are continually being arranged.  Please check this page regularly for new information. <="" blockquote=""> For direct bookings for author readings and/or writing workshops: phone: 403-283-0843 or email author.<="" blockquote=""> Shirlee Smith Matheson Top of page 

Biography Shirlee Smith Matheson’s definition of success is being “a story keeper” – writing adult nonfiction biographies as well young adult novels that add to society’s collective knowledge. Shirlee has lived on farms in Manitoba near the Riding Mountains, and in Alberta west of Sylvan Lake; and in urban areas ranging from Lacombe, Alberta; to Vernon and Hudson’s Hope, British Columbia; in Australia; and in Calgary.  Shirlee’s enrollment in writing programs at the Banff Centre afforded her the privilege of meeting, and having as instructors, some of Canada’s top writers: W.O.Mitchell, Alistair MacLeod, Irving Layton, Robert Kroetsch, Richard Lemm, Phyllis Webb and Orm Mitchell. She further attended summer programs at the Iowa School of Writing.  The advice she received from these instructors and mentors has served her well. As of 2015, Shirlee has had 20 books published; further, several titles that went out of print following several reprints are currently being edited, updated and released by new publishers. “It’s great to see these books gain new life,” Shirlee says. “They had become ‘old friends’, not only to me but also to readers who refer to these stories that they had read when they were younger and were now interested in purchasing copies for their children or younger friends. Yes, my writing career has now spanned a couple generations of readers!”  The latest in Shirlee Smith Matheson’s popular Canadian aviation stories, Amazing Flights and Flyers, is a fascinating collection of adventures ranging from aerial hijackings to secret Nazi weather stations in Labrador, from the missions of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association to an incredible aerial rescue expedition in the Antarctic. “Every story is different, every story is astonishing, and every story is completely true!”  Shirlee's literary material is in the University of Calgary Library Special Collections at: Shirlee's Literary Material Non-Fiction  This Was Our Valley  (Shirlee Smith Matheson & Earl K. Pollon), Frontenac House Publishers, 2019. Lost: Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation, Frontenac House 2015  A Royal Balance: The Life and Times of Hal Wyatt, Frontenac House 2013.  Amazing Flights and Flyers, Frontenac House, 2010  Maverick in the Sky: The Aerial Adventures of WW I Flying Ace Freddie McCall, Frontenac House, 2007  Nonfiction titles currently out of print:  Lost: True Stories of Canadian Aviation Tragedies, Fifth House Publishers, (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Toronto) 2005. (This edition out of print: see updated edition, Lost: Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation, Frontenac House Publishing, 2015)   Youngblood of the Peace, Lone Pine 1987, reissued Detselig/Temeron Books 1991 (currently out of print)  This Was Our Valley, Detselig/Temeron Books, 1989, reissued 1991, 2003, co-author Earl K. Pollon (this edition out of print: see new edition, Frontenac House Publishing, 2019)  Flying the Frontiers-A Half Million Hours of Aviation Adventure, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1994, 7th printing 1997 (currently out of print)  Flying the Frontiers Vol. II, More Hours of Aviation Adventure, Detselig/Temeron Books, 1996, reissued 1997 (currently out of print)   Flying the Frontiers Vol. III, Aviation Adventures Around the World, Detselig/Temeron Books, 1999 (currently out of print)  A Western Welcome to the World – The History of the Calgary International Airport, Cherbo Publishers, 1997 (currently out of print)  Young Adult  Fastback Beach, Orca Book Publishers, 2003; 7th reprint 2013  Jailbird Kid, Dundurn Group, 2010  Prairie Pictures, McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1989, re-issued 1994;  New updated edition released by Heritage House Publishing., 2014  City Pictures, McClelland & Stewart, 1994, B. Wahlstroms Bokforlag, Sweden 1995; new updated edition,  Heritage House Publishing Co., 2015  Flying Ghosts, Stoddart, 1993, re-issued Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2005  The Gamblers Daughter (sequel to Flying Ghosts), original printing Beach Holme, 1998; updated printing Dundurn Group, 2009  Keeper of the Mountains, Thistledown Press, 2000 (currently out of print)  Awards  Canadian Children’s Book Centre Choice Awards for Teen Novels, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003  Athabasca University Distinguished Alumni Award, 2001-2002  Emerald Award for Environmental Excellence, finalist, 2001,  Northern Lights College, British Columbia: Honorary Associate of Arts degree, 2001  Canadian Award in Aviation, 99s Organization of Women Pilots, 1999  Alberta Culture First Prize for Non-Fiction, 1990  B.C. Book Prize, Roderick Haig-Brown silver award, 1990.  SPEAKING & WRITING WORKSHOP TOPICS (SOME EXAMPLES):  “History and Mystery”  Not your detective-style mysteries -- but stories of real-life people, places, and predicaments! In this busy workshop, you will learn how to find, enrich, and write about characters and events that keep readers turning the page; how to seek out sensational and undiscovered stories through research and interviews; and turn real-life tales into exciting dramas. Discover the story’s exciting “take-off” point that catapults readers into your literary world; the significance of involving the five senses; understanding “comic-book action” --while bringing “what if” imagination to the page. Come prepared to write, discuss, and share your adventurous ideas! “Mining for Gold” – discovering treasures in biographies and memoirs ! What would you do if someone asked you to write their life story? How would you start? With a “hook” of course – a fascinating incident that immediately captures the uniqueness of that person. In this class we’ll discover how to zero in on that exciting take-off point, and how to interview people to discover their inner wealth. Through class exercises, we’ll explore intriguing places (setting), learn to write about out-of-the-ordinary people (characters), and weave exciting stories (plots) to create important and meaningful stories about the people around you, from family and friends to local heroes! Pure gold!  Other topic titles:  o   “Finding where you fit – and getting there” o    How to Prepare for Public Readings - School Visits & Workshops,  OR: o   "Hello! I'm Your Live Author!”  o   The Good Old Days: Telling Old Stories To New Audiences  * Author’s talks can be revised to capture a particular audience’s interest and time allotted. Contact me at my email address listed on this website. Extended Biography Top of page Shirlee Smith Matheson

Contact - Let’s get excited about books How to Host a Book Tour Visit or Workshop  Shirlee Smith Matheson gives presentations to: colleges, writers' organizations, seniors' groups, aviation clubs, etc. and will visit libraries and schools Grades 1-12. To book a visit, please contact me by phone (403-283-0843) or email (shirleeattelusplanet.net).  (Change at to @ to avoid spam email being sent to me)   Shirlee Smith Matheson bio:  “Adventures and mysteries abound in Shirlee Smith Matheson’s 20 award-winning teen novels, nonfiction books, short stories and plays. For her aviation mysteries, and wilderness and urban dramas, she meets, researches, and then writes of characters that live on the edge. Learn how you can turn real life stories into exciting dramas through opening your eyes and ears to the sensational stories all around us.”   MINING FOR GOLD  Shirlee Smith Matheson What would you do if someone asked you to write their life story? How would you start? With a “hook” of course – a fascinating incident that immediately captures the uniqueness of that person. In workshop classes we’ll discover how to zero in on that exciting take-off point, and how to interview people to discover their inner wealth. Through in-class exercises, we’ll explore intriguing places (setting), learn to write about out-of-the-ordinary people (characters), and weave exciting stories (plots) to create important and meaningful stories about the people around you, from family and friends to local heroes! Pure gold!  Stories of real Canadians are brought to life in Matheson's nonfiction books—priests, pilots, explorers, engineers, bushmen and prospectors—their adventures excite readers of all ages.  By combining readings from her books with inter-active workshops, Shirlee Smith Matheson will visit groups, from grades one through to adults, to introduce them to techniques for writing fiction and nonfiction. Compatible grade groups (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) are requested, with maximum attendance at readings, 100; at workshops, 25. All that's needed is a library or classroom, a table, a black/white board—and a roomful of potential writers.  Call:  Simply phone the author at 403.283.0843, to discuss your needs and set a date. You may have to call several months in advance to get a booking on a specific date. October and November are always the busiest months. Check "action" the Literary Log page for a suitable date. This page is kept up to date on a regular basis.  Young Alberta Book Society:  Alberta schools, libraries and organizations could also allow the Young Alberta Book Society (YABS) in Edmonton to handle arrangements. Membership is $50, including GST, per year and YABS will provide the funding for mileage and accommodation during October. Trailblazers bookings open May 1 and run to late September. Call 780.422.8232 or visit their website: http://www.yabs.ab.ca  Young Alberta Book Society, 1759 Groat Road, Edmonton AB, T3M 3K6  Phone: 780-422-8232 Readings:  Readings may also be arranged through The Writers Union of Canada. Phone: 416.703.8982, or email for information to info@writersunion.ca Writers Union Website Preparation for Visit:  After you have set the date, it is beneficial to prepare the students by reading some of the author's books ahead of time. The students will be curious and excited about the visit, and can then make up a series of questions to ask the author. If you cannot purchase the books from your local book store or library sales supplier, please use the Order Form: To make arrangements for a visit please Email: shirleeattelusplanet.net.  Note: (Replace the red at with @ so I don’t get spam emails sent to me)               Please note that audio or video taping during presentations is not allowed.   Reading Duration:  One-hour (two per half-day). Maximum 100 students per reading audience. $300 per half 1/2 day = 2 readings (plus travel/accomodation), prefer 1/2 day (i.e., two one-hour readings, or one two-hour workshop)  Workshop Duration: Two hours (one per half-day). Maximum 25 students per workshop. $300 per workshop (plus travel/accommodation).  How to Book:  To book a visit, please please contact me by phone (403) 283-0843 or email: shirleeattelusplanet.net (Replace the red at to @ so I don’t get spam emails sent to me.)  Direct bookings for author readings and/or writing workshops: phone: 403.283.0843 I look forward to hearing from you  Events are continually being arranged. Please check the Literary Log Action page regularly for new information.  Palm Springs Writers Guild Links Book a speaker Search by topic Top of page Shirlee Smith Matheson

SEE MORE INFORMATION about Hal Wyatt

Maverick paperback on amazon.com

Amazing Flights paperback on Amazon.com

Photo by Elisa Sereno-Janz (My violin teacher)

Shirlee getting ready for a gig at Dana Village, June 9, 2018

Shirlee played mandolin with Prairie Mountain Fiddlers at their concert held April 1, 2017 at Bert Church Theatre, Airdrie, Alberta. 

New  Poster "City Pictures"

Photo of Father's 100 year old violin

Shirlee was Banquet Speaker at CAHS conference June 2, 2018  (Photo by John Chalmers)

Amazing Flights and Flyers on Kindle

Ceòl – Left to right back row standing: Shirlee, Ken, Darron, Michele. Front row: Loretta, David, Faye and Ray. Shirlee enjoys playing music with two groups, Prairie Mountain Fiddlers and Ceòl. 

The book won the Alberta Nonfiction Award, and silver BC Book Award (Roderick-Haig Brown Regional Prize). It was eligible for both because one author (Pollon) lived in BC and the other author (Matheson) resided in Alberta.

Maverick on Kobo very soon.

Maverick in the Sky on Kindle

NEW Digital Book Reader Copies of my books.

News (Scroll to view) 09 Apr 2022News Link::Read Alberta - 8 books honoured for World Water Day (This Was Our Valley)View book cover below this text box.https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Freadalberta.ca%2Frecommendations%2Feight-books-for-world-water-day%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2mNkHV-HyeRjE8IOOUPwLY7C_v-GoQjb4Z5ZYnb3_Z7Pl_oDG7jR94UX4&h=AT24d21dL9mxuS495oEJDWqjNj7HtoOLcKhwW-zPtNZnBJjGPNcxeEFev1UHczWd3xcp_6_xKCfN1QvVVNNOOCFsHmPvnplvPienov3UghA8J1BcMH5meJ5sltXYqACAIXxlJfFMQH-hE0J-7A&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c%5b0%5d=AT3jumCD8kasMHozNDVTrU6lKSVqGCz6t6VhxMKpN3T8TjoPub0fH-JlyKApAhY1L8uph3UIcyrvKw3mAva41w05x6NPmIOTzI0RihD4bhvPv2PTto86arAhah9akFIv2HwoKmqsjmoAkGwH5-NQcuLJvZo  27 May 2021 Presentation Outline for the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, Manitoba Chapter. http://www.ssmatheson.ca/PDFs/CAHS%20Presentation%20Outline%202021.pdf  2021 March 16Winning the Rainbow Prize with the Bedford Writing Competition in England 2021 Competition.  Listen for the judge's comments about Memories From Muskwa Creek, then an actor reads my story and a short video of Shirlee explaining the background of this story and how she came to write it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okzcHeKBhw8  28 Jan 2021  This Was Our Valley was featured on January 28, 2021, by host on BC Global News Victoria, Keith Baldrey ( Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca).   This is the cover image that was featured on BC Global TV News: it is the first edition, published in 1989. The book won the Alberta Nonfiction Award, and silver BC Book Award (Roderick-Haig Brown Regional Prize). It was eligible for both because one author (Pollon) lived in BC and the other author (Matheson) resided in Alberta. Earl's comment: Life has just become so darned interesting!" 12 Jun 2020: A review of This Was Our Valley by Shirlee Smith Matheson and Earl K. Pollon has been published in the most recent issue of BC Studies. See PDF below.   http://www.ssmatheson.ca/BCS_205_BR_Matheson&Pollon.pdf   23 Aug 2019: The interview re: This Was Our Valley with Russell Bowers, on Daybreak, CBC radio with Shirlee Smith Matheson is now up and running, - titled “A Three-Decade Campaign to Protect the Land.” https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-95-daybreak-alberta/clip/15732909-a-three-decade-campaign-to-protect-the-land      This Was Our Valley is available through Alpine Book Peddlers, Canmore, Alberta. Alpine Book Peddlers info@alpinebookpeddlers.ca     06 Jul 2019:  This Was Our Valley enjoyed a successful launch hosted by Alberta Wilderness Association on June 26, 2019.  The Calgary Herald (Saturday July 6, 2019) listed the book as #2 on Calgary Best Sellers List, Nonfiction. Yay! 02 May 2019: The new edition of the award-winning book, This Was Our Valley, Frontenac House Publishers Ltd., (authors Shirlee Smith Matheson and the late Earl K. Pollon) will be launched in Calgary on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, by the Alberta Wilderness Association. BC Hydro’s Site C hydro-electric dam – the third dam on the Peace River – currently being constructed amidst much controversy, completes the “harnessing” of the BC section of the “Mighty Peace.” But the story, like the river, is continuing… April 2019: Signed with Stacey Kondla, Associate Agent, The Rights Factory, Toronto, to represent my young adult books.  See: https://www.therightsfactory.com/Authors/Shirlee-Smith-Matheson  08 February 2019 - In late 2018 members of the WGA volunteered to be interviewed by students at the University of Alberta as part of a Community Services Learning project. We feel like these brief interviews will help give more than just a face to go with a name in our members list. We hope you enjoy learning more about your fellow Writers’ Guild members. https://writersguild.ca/sambhavi-thirupurasanthiran-interviews-shirlee-matheson/  08 March 2018 - UofC Special Collections Library selected me as one of four women to be featured on International Women’s Day.  View article and photo! —>  www.ssmatheson.ca/Shirlee Apr 18.pdf   01 November 2017 - Stories of Aviation Pioneers take flight - By Victoria Paterson - Prime Times http://www.albertaprimetimes.com/article/Stories-of-aviation-pioneers-take-flight-20171031  18 July 2017 - New Book Commentary for “This Was Our Valley” - Click on the following link to view commentary   www.ssmatheson.ca/TWOV_promo.pdf  Following my recent visit to Hudson`s Hope (May 15-20, 2017) I was interviewed by Leo Sabulsky on CHET-TV in Chetwynd BC.  Here’s the YouTube link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ph0y5Ux1LI    It also airs on Channel 655 on Bell & Telus, 40 on EastLink and 55 On Air.  Professional:  This Was Our Valley (Earl Pollon/Shirlee Smith Matheson) was first published in 1989, and won the Alberta Culture Nonfiction Award and the BC Roderick Haig Brown Silver award. It was reprinted, and then a new edition with updates came out in 2003. The publishing company (Detselig Enterprises, Calgary) got sold, and the book went out of print. Now, a new publisher (Frontenac House of Calgary – who published my last three nonfiction books on aviation), wishes to bring out a new updated edition. Many issues require updates, from the chapter titled “Coal-a Historical Headache” to the very controversial issue of BC Hydro forging ahead to build a third dam on the Peace River called “Site C.” A new cover will be designed and displayed on my website when the book is ready for its debut! I’ll keep you posted! Attended book launch for publication In The Footsteps of Giants "Events and Personalities from Calgary's Early History, for Young Readers", published by Chinook Country Historical Society (ISBN 978-1-55383-412-0). The book contains 14 great stories - including one of mine titled "The Aviation Adventures of Fearless Freddie McCall". The book is scheduled to be presented to schools and libraries by the Society, to introduce young readers to our amazing history. July 05, 2015 - I have been engaged by The Calgary Airport Authority to research and write the history of Calgary International Airport (YYC). Phase One of the Project will include the compilation of information preceding the transfer of the management of YYC from Transport Canada to The Calgary Airport Authority, as well as the behind-the-scenes stories and memories from the people involved in this historical event and related events that followed. The research and writing will consist of conducting interviews and chronicling the experiences and memories regarding the transfer of YYC in 1992. Dates for interviews have been booked throughout the spring and summer seasons of 2015, and have resulted in enjoyable experiences both for the tellers and listener of these tales. These anecdotes and memories from various perspectives definitely chronicle an important historical event for Calgary, and I’m so pleased to be a part of it. *** Three new publications are out (fall of 2014 and spring of 2015) and I’m busy with readings and book-signings – Peace River country in July, as well as Calgary and area throughout the year! Interestingly, these three books were originally published some years ago, and following successful print runs the rights were reverted to me. Lo and behold, new publishers felt that these books deserved new lives – and so they have been released with updates, new edits and super new covers. Young adult novels, Prairie Pictures and City Pictures, and adult nonfiction, Lost: Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation, are once again finding new readers! *** The biography that I authored of retired banker and Canadian philanthropist, titled A Royal Balance – the Life and Times of Hal Wyatt, was launched at two venues: Mount Royal University on Saturday, December 7th, 2013, and at the Hilton Garden Inn on Sunday, December 8th.  View cover Hal, who had celebrated his 93rd birthday on November 30th just a couple weeks before the launch, vividly recalled the challenges and excitement of his military service in the Second World War (retiring with the rank of Flight Lieutenant); his work the financial sector in Canada and abroad, retiring in 1986 as Vice-Chair of RBC; and his philanthropic contributions ranging from universities to the arts to business. The 450-page book, published by Frontenac House of Calgary, has been well-received, and was a joy to write.  Heritage House Publishers of Victoria are launching a new young adult line called Wandering Fox, with updates and new editions of former award-winning novels that have gone out of print and to which the rights had reverted to the authors. Choosing four authors from one of each of the western provinces, my books Prairie Pictures and City Pictures are currently being given hot new covers and a complete edit and rewrite. Much has changed since these books were published in 1989 and 1994, respectively. The new edition of Prairie Pictures was released in 2014 and City Pictures is scheduled to follow in 2015.” NOTE: a new edition titled "Lost: Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation” was published in 2015 by Frontenac House Publishing of Calgary.   Personal:  Continuing to learn to play mandolin and banjo – but having fun with the eternal struggle! Playing mando every week with Prairie Mountain Fiddlers (the novice group!). Just had my father’s 100-year-old violin restored, so perhaps will add that to my musical determinations!

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20 Apr 2022 Wonder Shift, Stories of Transformation and Change, AWCS 40th Anniversary anthology.  Short essay: “For the Good of the Hood"; and short story, “Chanting Faint Hymns.”  Copies may be ordered from AWCS (Alexandra Writers Centre Society), Calgary AB website: www.alexandrawriters.org  27 May 2021Presentation Outline for the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, Manitoba Chapter. http://www.ssmatheson.ca/PDFs/CAHS%20Presentation%20Outline%202021.pdf  16 March 2021Winning the Rainbow Prize with the Bedford Writing Competition in England 2021 Competition.  Listen for the judge's comments about Memories From Muskwa Creek, then an actor reads my story and a short video of Shirlee explaining the background of this story and how she came to write it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okzcHeKBhw8  21 Feb 2021 “Dogfights” now on YouTube. Go to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpzBJtXJZ72v8UWmDvlzASQ  Share with your friends. Subscribe to Calgary Spoken Word Society channel. “Dogfights” by Shirlee Smith Matheson was published in YYC POP (extraordinary stories of ordinary people), ed. Sheri-D Wilson, Frontenac House Ltd., Calgary. YYC POP: Portraits of People continues! Each poet has their own video.  Shirlee Smith Matheson

These are "historical" stories from my childhood growing up in Manitoba on a farm near the Riding Mountains, near Rossburn, or Russell. These are precious memories, and the stories were published in various places including Western People magazine, and broadcast on CBC Alberta Anthology:  Check the stories out by title!

Short Stories by Shirlee Smith Matheson

Love Letters From an Old Soldier

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Review Article by Captain John Scott, October 2007 issue of Px magazine, Retired Pilots of Canada  For information about Retired Airline Pilots of Canada go to   Review:  - Maverick in the Sky by Shirlee Smith Matheson (Frontenac House)  ISBN 978-1-897181 16-4.  Price: $9.95.  "On March 28, 1918 [Freddie] McCall recorded his third victory while on artillery patrol over Allied lines at 3,000 feet. He observed two Rumpler two-seaters cross the line, very low and later reported, 'I dived on the rear machine and fired 200 rounds at 100 yards range...'" is but one of the introductory paragraphs Matheson introduces to the reader as she parades through but one McCall's thirty seven (or as many as 44) kills.  Shirlee Matheson does a highly credible job on recounting one of the most successful fighter pilots of World War I. She chronologically develops the story of Freddie's long history from his Calgarian birthright until his tragic death due to a blood clot that had resulted after a car accident in January, 1949.  It was some seven years after his passing that the Calgary Aviation Commission recognized Freddie by naming the airport as McCall Field, in his honour. He was also inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame and was celebrated as the People's Choice for outstanding Citizen of the Century.  This very well written book is a great tribute to a great aviator who is as important as Bishop and Collishaw in achieving so many victories against the German Luftwaffe. A great book, an easy read, and an excellent insight to Canada's aviation history.  Shirlee Smith Matheson is a Calgary-based free-lance writer and has published six aviation books. Maverick in the Sky is scheduled for publication by Frontenac House Ltd., of Calgary www.frontenachouse.com   It will soon be available in regular book stores as well as most aviation museums, including the AeroWorks Gift Shop at the Aero Space Museum Association of Calgary aeroworks@asmac.ab.ca