Note: VV123 says it was 20 February.

He was a founding member of the Montreal Youth Group along with Rowland Estal and George Spendlove, the first organized youth class in the Western Hemisphere. From that youth group came a Hand of the Cause of God, a member of the Universal House of Justice, two members of the Continental Board of Counsellors, three members of National Spiritual Assemblies, and the authors of three Bahá’í books.

He and Siegfried Schopflocher were instrumental in purchasing and developing the first Canadian Bahá'í property at Beaulac, north of Montreal.

In 1940 he and his wife Rosemary pioneered for one year to Venezuela and served as travelling teachers throughout South America.

In 1945 he published This Earth One Country. He wrote about such revolutionary concepts as a "planetary economy", "a supranational community" and a "world plan". [TG86-92]

Both he and Rosemary were elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada when it was formed in 1948.

In 1953 they tried to pioneer to the Comoro Islands but could not get residential status from the French government so they settled in Eshowe Zululand, now South Africa. When the government would not renew their licence to trade they moved to Port Elizabeth.

They returned to Canada briefly in 1963 and pioneered to Guadalajara, Mexico and travelled extensively throughout Central America. Rosemary died at her post in February of 1980.

In 1980 he married his second wife, Donya, and together they travelled through the Americas, China, India and Europe until they both passed. [BW20 p993-995; Bahá'ís of Canada]

His biography and that of his wife Rosemary, Tending the Garden was written by his niece Ilona Sal Weinstein. This publication is also available in the e-book format.

The Canadian Bahá'í community elected 171 delegates at the Unit Conventions, as instructed by the Universal House of Justice. Of the 171 delegates, 164 cast ballots to elect the National Assembly. Of the 164, 155 cast their ballots in person at the Convention. Canada's 43rd annual National Convention will be remembered for many reasons, but especially for its focus on teaching French Canadians and Natives. [BC Vol 4 No 2 June 1991 P3] [key]

Members of the Ottawa Regional Bahá'í Choir have always come from both sides of the Ottawa river, from Gatineau, QC. They have been Bahá'ís and their friends, with different levels of singing experience. There are no auditions for the choir and those new to singing are encouraged to learn as they go. The membership generally has fluctuated between 10 and 16, but has been as large as 24 and is currently 20 members strong. Over the lifetime of the choir, as about 200 members have participated, choir direction has changed hands, often rotating between members. [Ottawa Community News 28 September 2017] [key]

Doris McKay was born in New York state in 1894. She married Willard McKay in 1923 and took up residence on a successful fruit farm. The greatest adventure of Doris and Willard’s lives began two years later, when they embraced the Bahá'í Faith through the teaching efforts of Howard and Mable Ives. This book tells the story of that adventure — of Doris and Willard’s work and warm friendships with people such as the Ives, Grace and Harlan Ober, Louis Gregory, May Maxwell, Martha Root, Dorothy Baker, and other early American Bahá’ís. It tells the story of the McKay’s work in the racial amity field and their eventual pioneering move to Eastern Canada in the 1940’s. Doris tells her story with clear-sightedness, zest, and love. This book provides an intimate glimpse into the spiritual life of a dedicated Bahá’í teacher and the development of the Bahá’í Faith in America.

The book was republish in 2021 under a new title, Fires in Many Hearts; Memoirs of an early American believer by George Ronald Publishers.

1. Enhancement of the vitality of the faith of individual believers.
2. Development of the human resources of the Cause.
3. Fostering the proper functioning of local and national institutions.

Larry Rowdon was born in St Catherines, ON in 1923. He was educated in Canada and abroad, serving with the Canadian Armed Forces and gravely wounded in the Normandy landings in 1944. He became a Bahá'í in 1951 while living in Kingston, ON, then later with his wife Margaret and their year-old daughter Ayn, pioneered (1954-1969 to the Magdalen Islands. This is the story of the early part of their lives, living and raising a family on this archipelago. [CBN No 24 December 1951 p3; CBN No 68 Sep 1955 p3]
• See a book review by Will C. van den Hoonaard.

She married Ken McCulloh in 1958 and they settled in Baker Lake in 1958 where Ken had been pioneering. They stayed until 1979 [BWIM277]

She became a Bahá'í in Montreal in 1956 and married Glen Eyford in 1957. She and Glen served in Iceland and in India. Returning to Canada she served as an Auxiliary Board Member and as chair of the National Spiritual Assembly as well as a number of local and national committees. [BW1995-1996p313] [key]

The book is biographical and recounts some of the memories of Margaret and Larry Rowdon during their 6 years of pioneering (1986-1992) on the island.