Heather Chitty Is Back At It!

Not sure what was in the well water at the end of Windsor Street in Gananoque, where William and Margaret Chitty lived and brought up their four children, Karen, Phillip, Robert, and Heather. Those names will be familiar to TI Life readers because we’ve featured some of their works in the past. Robert's Garden of the Great Spirt was celebrated in September 2024 and this past winter we featured sister Karen and her remarkable book, Canadian Boatbuilders of the Thousand Islands and Rideau Waterways. Heather gave us two special books in the past as well, River Reminiscing, and There is a River. (All will have links to the TI life stories)

This summer, Heather has once again published two small books that certainly deserve to be on your book shelf. Here is a short review of them both.

Miss Machar of the Thousand Islands: A Woman Ahead of her Time

The first book is one that will delight researchers. This editor knows, since many of the photographs displayed are iconic photographs or historic material of The Thousand Islands. Heather had the help of her sister, Karen Wand, who is a voracious researcher. In fact, she related that Karen would come over for coffee and the two of them would talk Miss Machar for hours.

Add to that, sister-in-law Louise Casavant, a graphic artist who was able to capture the many research pieces, many for the first time in print, in ways to make the reader definitely want to have one of my favourite books for 2026.

Heather explained her fascination with Miss Machar:

“Miss Machar has been a "tale of discovery" my entire life it seems! Our family grew up next door to her woodlands and as a young child, I loved exploring the trails, climbing the trees where I could see across town from the treetops, adventuring into caves and wandering in the ravine. It was a gift beyond measure.”

“Over the years, our family learned snippets of information about the owner of the property, but when I returned to the Thousand Islands after living on the west coast, I became fascinated by Miss Machar's story and began researching her. I couldn't have imagined the story I was about to discover!”

This petite, soft-spoken lady was a force to be reckoned with. She advocated for environmental protection in the Thousand Islands' region, for working women, for the disadvantaged, for child labour laws, for women to have the right to attend university – and the list continues.

Miss Machar was also an accomplished writer, poet, painter, and musician. She was one of the first female journalists in Canada, and one of the first poets to write about our incomparable Thousand Islands.

One precious "discovery tale" was when my sister and I went to Queen's Archives and found a folder of Miss Machar's piano pieces that she had collected; it was so much fun coming home and researching the songs, listening to them, and hearing what Miss Machar enjoyed playing. They were delightful, uplifting songs. And we found letters in Miss Machar's handwriting; one gem was a note where at the head of the letter Miss Machar had written “My address up to end of October is below.”

Just like so many of us, Miss Machar loved the fall season on the River. I would have loved to have known Miss Machar's story when I was young and imagined writing books one day, and my goal with this book is to have her story available to inspire "River children," as I call them.

Like others of Heather's books, it is hoped it will inspire learning. She says, "Miss Machar used to visit Linklater School, in Gananoque, to give talks to the children on environmental protection (in the 1800s no less!), and so I am donating a class set to Linklater, and I've donated a class set to the Thousand Islands Elementary School because of all the River families in the area. Also, the Gananoque Public Library has a copy."

Luckily for us, the book is also available for purchase at the 1000 Islands History Museum on the waterfront in Gananoque. You can call to reserve as copy.

Q: When did you write this book, Heather?
A: I wrote the book this past winter in 2026.

Q: For whom is it written (school, class, library etc.)?
A: It's written for local children and island children and could be used in local daycare centres or kindergarten classes and pre-K classes.

Q: Who did the wonderful illustrations?
A: My wonderful and talented sister-in-law, Louise Casavant, made the book come to life with her beautiful artwork.

Q: Where can we buy it, and how much is it?
A: It's available at the gift shop at the Thousand Islands History Museum with all proceeds going to the Museum.

So there you have it, an introduction to two new books for your island library – and maybe for grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, too.

By Susan W. Smith, Editor, info@thousandislandslife.com