The House on the Hill

About the Book

Don Warren, born in 1921, writes about what it was like to grow up the son of a lockmaster on the Rideau Canal during the Depression. Don, although born at Newboro lock station, was mainly raised at Chaffey's Lock. The "house on the hill" was the beloved lockmaster's house at Chaffey's. In his recollections, Don also includes information about the nearby village of Elgin where he attended high school, reminisces about his days as a young fishing guide and then writes about his overseas adventures in the Second World War where he was a signals operator. The last chapter of the book includes various pieces of poetry Don has written, some of it 60 years ago.

About the Author

Don Warren (1921-) was raised at the Newboro and Chaffey's Lock stations on the Rideau Canal where his father Herman was a lockmaster. At the age of 13, Don started guiding tourists on fishing expeditions with some of the legendary Rideau Canal fishing guides. He attended high school at the Elgin Continuation School and Athens High School. In 1940, he enlisted as a private in the Canadian army and was shipped overseas. After special training in the Isle of Man, Don became a member of the Canadian Signals Corps intercepting signals from the Germans. After the war, he attended Queen's University and eventually qualified as a high school English teacher. Don taught all over Eastern Ontario, eventually becoming a high school vice-principal and principal in the Kingston area. In 1969, he moved back to Chaffey's Lock with his wife Mary and three children. Don has been called 'the Defender of the Rideau' for his battles in the 1960s to save the Rideau Canal from electrification. In his retirement after 1979, he was involved in the County Board of Education, municipal politics, and various Rideau Canal organizations including Friends of the Rideau and the Rideau Land Trust. After Mary died in 1986, Don started writing his memoirs and editing writing he had done as a young man. "Guys in Gators" was written shortly after the war.