Willard, The Hermit of Gully Lake

Willard Kitchener MacDonald found himself on a troop train bound for the second world war in Europe. He wasn’t inclined to fight this one and jumped from the train with two others. They were caught, but he managed to enter the forrest, hunt and fish, eek out a living, build a crude log shelter, and survived another 60 years in the remote Cobequid Mountains. Alone.

Not quite alone. ATV’s opened up the back country and his existence became known to the local towns folk. They began leaving him the odd meal, and then library books. He still attempted to remain as alone as he could be. They built him a better cabin though he didn’t use it until his own burnt down.

In 2003 he was found by a lake, having died some months earlier. His picture and this tale are mounted in the hall of the La Coste Centre where our convention was held.