1950s

Patricia Haley Gordon (’56) has plans for a trip around the world! She writes, “this spring, I decided to move from my home in Phoenix, AZ, to Cantonment, FL (north of Pensacola), to live with my daughter Katrine A. Gordon (‘86). I've found adjusting to the humid climate quite different from the dry climate of Arizona, but it's doable. I lived in Virginia for over 50 years with my husband and brought up my children there, but I never really got used to the humidity. My sister, Charlotte Kantz-Semple ('54), and I are taking a round the world cruise in January 2023 to celebrate both of our 90th birthdays. We will be cruising for about four months. Charlotte turns 90 later this year and I will turn 90 in 2023. We think this a grand way to celebrate our 90th birthdays. I had hoped to visit Acadia this past spring/summer for my 65th Class Reunion, but COVID-19 put a stop to that. If there are any Acadia alumni living in Florida who know of me and would like to visit, please do. My address is 2153 Staff Drive, Cantonment, FL 32533. My phone number is 850-679-2120. Love to hear from you.”

1960s

Four Acadia alumni recently got together and compared memories from three different decades. Pictured, left to right: Ross Campbell (’70s); Katie (Sutherland) Denman (’60s); Irene (Mountain) Davidson (’60s); and Roy Campbell (’70s). The picture is dedicated to the late Bob Stead (former Acadia Registrar and Mayor of Wolfville, ’63) and the late Al Whittle (former Acadia Cinema Manager, ’60).

1970s

Dr. Yvette d'Entremont (‘75), Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta, and colleague, Michelle Voillot, Assistant Director at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, SanDiego, CA, have been busy during the pandemic. They published three peer-reviewed articles and presented papers at the Ireland International Conference on Education in April and at the Canadian International Conference on Education in June. Presenting virtually at 2 a.m. (9 a.m. in Dublin) was interesting. It was a toss-up between staying up or going to bed and getting up very early. The conference presentations and the publications were related to the link between the pedagogy of mathematics, culture, and the psychology theory of flow. Yvette, the mathematics educator, was responsible for the mathematics pedagogy part of the presentations and publications and Michelle, Master of Counseling Psychology, was responsible for the psychology-related information. References and examples of cultural artifacts and traditions were important elements of the presentations and publications, as culture is a vital part of motivating students to be interested in mathematics. Yvette and Michelle plan on keeping the partnership going with more presentations and publications.

Acadia University’s governing board has elected Henry Demone (’76) as Chair. Formerly Board Secretary, Demone joined Acadia’s Board in October 2012 and succeeds John Rogers (’79), who began his term as Board Chair in October 2016. “Your alma mater has a big impact on your life – what you learn, the people you meet, how you grow in those years. Universities like Acadia are an important part of people’s formative years. I am pleased to take on this new role because it is crucial for Acadia to remain strong and healthy for future generations,” says Demone, who specializes in helping organizations thrive. Learn more here.

1980s

Acadia friends celebrate 40 years since graduation! When Barb Flewwelling (BA Psychology, ’81), Roseanne MacGregor Davidson (BA English, ’81), and Anne MacDonald Martin (BSc PhysEd and Rec, ’84) met at Chase Court in September 1978, they had an immediate connection. Roseanne and Anne knew each other from high school in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, and thanks to Anne’s photographic memory, she quickly remembered Barb as a fellow camper at a childhood summer camp! The trio remained friends while at Acadia, including sharing off-campus apartments. Barb, Roseanne and Anne have stayed in touch and try to connect each summer in Pictou County, including 2021, to re-create this photo from Barb and Roseanne’s graduation day 40 years ago!

Pam Tower (’82, ’83) and her team at Tower Interiors have been the interior designers of many projects at Fox Harb’r Resort to include the Willard lounge, Northumberland conference room, Dolas Spa, Executive Suites, Studio Suites, Cape Cliff Dining Room and the new Golf Manor suites. Our latest project, updating the interior décor at Founder’s Lodge, involved more modern custom furnishings, area rugs, lamps and paint colors to enhance the traditional architecture of the home. Steve Typhair ('83), former member of the Acadia Hockey Axemen, recently retired from a lengthy career in the high-tech Industry. His wife Beth (Ettinger) Typhair ('81) is currently an HR professional with the federal government. Steve and Beth are also proud parents of their son Christopher, a resident doctor in internal medicine in Providence, Rhode Island. Beth and Steve currently reside along the 1000 Islands in Ontario. Congratulations to The Honourable Frances J. Knickle (’84), who was recently appointed as a Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador. She was formerly a Judge of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and served as senior Crown prosecutor with the special prosecutions unit in the Justice Department. Originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, she attended Acadia University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music before receiving her law degree. For more on the appointment: http://ow.ly/RiN850FNCFD

1990s

Chester Cooper (’91) was sworn in on September 18, 2021 as the Minister of Tourism, Investment and Aviation, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas following the country’s most recent election. After a very successful and lucrative business career, Chester went into politics in The Bahamas and became the MP for Exuma and the Ragged Islands. He was re-elected to the Bahamian Parliament in September and his party formed government. Chester will serve in the cabinet of The Bahamas’ newest Prime Minister, Philip Davis. He is shown here with University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Peter Ricketts during a visit to the Acadia campus during Homecoming 2019.

Congratulations to Dr. Trevor Jain (’93), the 2021 recipient of the John McCrae Memorial Medal from the Canadian Medical Association, in recognition of his exemplary service as a clinical service member of the Canadian Armed Forces. Winners have demonstrated compassion, self-sacrifice or innovation beyond the call of duty, and their efforts have greatly benefited the health or welfare of their fellow military personnel or civilian populations. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3D95H6C

2000s

Jenn Wilson (’07, ’08) is back in London, UK after four years as CFO with Atlantic Industries Limited. She has founded Re:Co, a strategy company servicing clients’ environmental, social and governance mandates. Most recently she has added the Future in Sound podcasts to the company’s offerings. Jenn looks forward to reconnecting with alumni in the UK.

2010s

A quick update from Michaela Haley (’19), who writes to tell us she has a new job! “I am the True Sport Communications Coordinator with the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport (CCES). I often reference back to my time at Acadia as having such an impact on my life. In terms of this career choice, I have to recognize the importance of the Ethics in Sport class taught by Ann Dodge. It really opened by eyes to some of the good and bad in sport. Moreover, it acknowledged the power of good sport and the importance an individual can have in a community. I am also heavily engaged in the community through coaching rugby - another great value instilled by the kinesiology department. In my spare time, I started a podcast, ‘What Are You Doing?’, and stay connected to Acadia by reaching out and interviewing alumni.”

Acadia Writes

On Sept. 12, 2021, Margaret MacKay (’72) of Pictou County, Nova Scotia launched her historical fiction novel Iain Of New Scotland at The McCulloch House Museum & Genealogy Centre (Old Haliburton Road in Pictou). The launch was part of the “Cousins Reunion Day,” where descendants of the Ship Hector come to meet and greet. Margaret is a retired teacher whose passion for sharing local history has led to writing many magazine articles, and now the middle-grade novel Iain of New Scotland. Here’s a preview: “Thirteen-year-old Iain Robertson is homesick for the Highlands of Scotland. It’s September 1773, and he has just arrived in Nova Scotia with his parents and little sister after the long, disastrous, Atlantic voyage of the ship Hector. They wanted a new life in New Scotland—but the land agent lied to them. With no money, no food, no shelter, and winter fast approaching, how will they survive?” MacKay draws on the experiences of her ancestors to weave a tale of the first Gaels to settle in Nova Scotia. Suitable for Grades 4 and up, and historical fiction lovers of all ages.

Acadia graduate Dr. Alison Seely (’86) published a novel, One Bone at a Time: Tales of an Adventurous Animal Chiropractor, in the fall of 2019. It was well received and selling in over 12 countries with consistent five-star reviews. Her second novel, The Hex Chromosome, is currently with her publisher and should be released in the fall of 2021. Dr. Seely met her husband, Kevin Mahoney (’87), at Acadia and they have encouraged and inspired their children to attend Acadia: Savannah Mahoney (’16), Forest Mahoney (BSc and varsity basketball, ’20) and Logan Mahoney (currently in the BScH program and also varsity basketball, graduating in 2023).

Hope Digout (’93) is set to release her second middle-grade novel, My Year as a Space Cadet, under the pen name Hope Dalvay. The follow-up to Welcome to Camp Fill-in-the-Blank was released in August. Check it out: Page Stuart’s perfectly organized life is flipped upside down…again. Page is in unfamiliar territory as the new kid at school. To make matters worse, Shale Pit Academy of Creativity and Excellence (or ‘SPACE’ as it is more commonly known) is no ordinary school. Students there have the dubious distinction of being nicknamed ‘SPACE cadets.’ No, not the astronaut-in-training meaning. Think of the other kind of space cadet — you know, someone who is out of touch with reality. When a bitter prank war erupts with a rival school, Page and her classmates must ask themselves some difficult questions: are they more than a nickname? Are they more than just SPACE cadets?

My Year as a Space Cadet explores the importance of standing up for yourself and for others and shows how anybody can become an everyday hero. Published by Acorn Press. Hope Dalvay began writing her debut middle-grade novel Welcome to Camp Fill-in-the-Blank as a way to “escape” the notoriously harsh winter of 2015 in her home province of Prince Edward Island. As a child, Hope was often found with her nose buried in a book, blissfully lost in another world. Her love of words continued into adulthood when she fell into a career as a copyeditor. She rediscovered the joy of children’s literature while reading bedtime stories to her two boys and is delighted to have found a passion for writing that allows her to transform her daydreams into stories while sitting by a cozy fire.

Dr. Sangeeta Wylie ('97) wrote her first full-length play, 'we the same', with a World Professional Premiere Nov. 3-7, livestreamed through thecultch.com. Inspired by true events that took place in 1979, it's a harrowing tale of a Vietnamese family who flee Saigon by boat, while a mother recounts the story to her daughter 40 years later. Wylie has BSc from Acadia and a DDS from Dalhousie Dentistry. She works as a professional actor while doing volunteer dentistry on the side.

Donald Oliver (’60, ’07 HON), former Senator, lawyer, and vocal spokesperson for diversity and minority advancement, released his memoir on Sept. 28, 2021, A Matter of Equality: The Life's Work of Senator Don Oliver, published by Nimbus Publishing Limited.

"In his own careful and thoughtful words, he examines his days as a lawyer, an outspoken social activist, and a teacher, and of course he reflects on his twenty-three years of service as a member of the Senate of Canada," reads the press release from Nimbus Publishing Limited.

From his childhood to becoming the first Black Senator, to rubbing shoulders with former president Barack Obama in the Oval Office, the book examines Sen. Oliver's "legacy" and how he brought the Black experience to the Upper House. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney and writer George Elliott Clarke each write a foreword in the book.

One of his achievements during his career was developing a comprehensive report detailing employment equity in Canada.

Sen. Oliver has dedicated his life's work to root out systemic racism that has hindered the growth of Canada's Black citizens; "his work, a testament to the truth that Black Lives Matter," said Nimbus Publishing Limited.

"A Matter of Equality should be on your required reading list," said Denise Allyson Cole, Public Servant and Deputy Minister, in the press release. "Don Oliver recounts his journey through life and public service in a profoundly moving and inspiring way with clarity and purpose. It is not only the story of a remarkable person, it is also the history of Nova Scotia and Canada."