Saskatchewan Heroes and Rogues

The qualities that link the extraordinary people in Saskatchewan Heroes and Rogues, who represent all shades of moral character, are audacity, an unfailing belief in their own convictions, the unquenchable will to survive adversity. All to some extent defied the conventions of the day. Few of these lives are blighted by the poignancy of missed opportunities or roads not taken.

Included are:

Big Tom Hourie – swam the icy South Saskatchewan River in March during the Riel Rebellion

Morris “Two-Gun” Cohen – saved a Chinese robbery victim and was ushered into the exotic Oriental world of Sun Yat-sen

Jean Ewen – a nurse who went to work in China long before Bethune

Norman Falkner – lost a leg in the war, but never gave up his skating dream

Joan Bamford Fletcher – led 2000 civilians out of a Japanese prison camp to safety in WWII

Ernest Dufault – who called himself Will James, pursued life as a cattle rustler and perpetrated one of North America’s biggest literary deceptions

Father John Claffey – joined a clandestine organization in the Vatican, sheltering fugitives from the Nazis in WWII

Ruth Millar is a well-known Saskatoon historian, librarian and former journalist. She worked for many years as the head of the history room at the Saskatoon Public Library. She made numerous appearances in periodicals such as Arts West, Western People, Saskatoon History Review, and Saskatchewan History, and on radio and television programs, including "Basic Black". She has also published short stories, written historical video scripts, and prepared historical photo exhibits and bibliographies.