Throwback moments seeing several former journalism colleagues all on one day

It was Regina Leader-Post Day for me today! It began with a pre-birthday lunch for my dear friend Susan Craig (on the far right), who is known as "Auntie Sooz" to my kids, and my dear friend Maureen Baker (in the centre), who has been our group's "social convenor," and we appreciate that! Our husbands all worked together at the Leader-Post for decades.

At the table next to us, unplanned but cool, sat three former Leader-Post photographers - Bryan Schlosser, Don Healy, and Troy Foster. What a nice surprise. As the guys had a photo taken of them together, I was having a sip of water in the background! We had fun visiting and catching up with each other.

Then I travelled to another part of the city to get a haircut, and I ran into Darrell Davis, a longtime L-P sports writer I worked with on two books he co-wrote (Football in Focus and Jim Hopson's Running the Riders)!

My last stop of the day was to deliver some complimentary copies of the new book I co-wrote with Dorrin Wallace, Flying a Gooney Bird in Canada's North, to former L-P editorial journalist Will Chabun, who helped me and author Mary Harelkin Bishop edit this fascinating book of aviation tales.

What a great blast-from-the-past day! Proving once again that some work relationships can endure for decades.

As a fun aside, and I've never told Bryan this, I am still using the Dahle paper cutter I bought from him in 1983 when he shut down his photo processing lab because of his work at the L-P, and I decided to start my freelance writing and set up a photography darkroom in my house. The handle of the paper cutter finally came loose and broke off a couple of weeks ago, but it still works great and has been a sturdy, valuable (and inexpensive) tool in my home office for 42 years. Thanks, Bryan!

Signing books with 102-year-old Reg Crash Harrison

Few things are more enjoyable to me as an author and book publisher than watching someone take pleasure in sharing their story with others. I've had this privilege many times during my 20 years of writing and publishing books about Western Canadian people.

I've watched numerous authors read sections from their books, which I helped them publish, and I've sat beside several unsung Canadian heroes who have spoken about their inspiring lives and signed copies of a book I've written about them.

 
The most recent event like this was at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum in Saskatoon, where I sat beside 102-year-old Reginald "Crash" Harrison and heard the silence as more than 100 people listened to me read excerpts from our award-winning book Crash Harrison: Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death, and then listened even more intently as almost-103-year-old Reg expanded on his life story.

Reg grew up in rural Saskatchewan during the Dirty Thirties and went off to war in search of adventure. He survived four plane crashes while serving as a bomber pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force out of England (none of which were his fault). Reg commented on how Canadians did not know the real numbers behind the "moderate losses" reported of men lost during the war, because the British government did not wish to cause panic among its people, and Canada reported what the British media told them.

I read the story of Reg's first plane crash, where he woke up and thought he might be in heaven. Reg talked about losing his best friend "Buddy" during the training program in England, and how he met Buddy's fiancée when he was on his way home to the farm after the war. 

Although Reg Harrison does not consider himself a hero, his story is one of heroism, and it is one I am grateful to have documented for this and future generations to know and cherish.

I am thankful to the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum for hosting this author reading event and to the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild for its Author Reading Program support. Thanks to all who attended, to those who purchased books, and to Reg's daughter Laurie for her help at the event.

Much of my gratitude goes to Reg, of course, I will always be grateful to him for sharing his story with me, culminating in this book. 

You can learn more about the Crash Harrison book and Reg's adventures during the war on my YouTube page as well as on Facebook.

Meanwhile, enjoy these photos from the author reading event at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum. 

   
102-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison with author-publisher Deana J Driver, July 6, 2025 

Saskatchewan Aviation Museum, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Author Deana J Driver, left, with Shelley Jensen
of the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum, July 6, 2025

Part of the audience for the Crash Harrison author reading,
at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum, July 6/25

The other half of the audience that filled the room
at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum author reading event

Author Deana J Driver listens as 102-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison
tells the audience about his adventures during the Second World War,
July 6, 2025 

Author Deana J Driver and 102-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison
during the author reading at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum, July 6/25

102-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison with author Deana J Driver
and Reg's daughter Laurie and sister Sylvia (standing), July 6/25 

Author Deana J Driver and 102-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison,
Saskatoon, SK, July 6, 2025

Author Deana J Driver and 102-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison
signing Crash Harrison books, July 6/25

Reg Harrison and author Deana J Driver chatting with audience members, July 6/25

Eat Dessert First and Fly into the Grand Canyon

Plenty of people create a "bucket list" of activities they want to do or achieve in their lifetime. I am not one of those people. During a recent vacation, however, I did remember a couple of things I thought would be fun to do. And I was delighted to be able to do them! 

Both happened because of the new man in my life, which also makes me happy to report.

Even more fun-loving and adventurous than I am, Marlowe acted quickly when I commented to him and some friends that I've always wanted to eat dessert first.

Although my friends thought it was a good idea and were game to try it, I chickened out when the server brought us menus at a restaurant in Oceanside, California. I felt like I should not force my whims onto everyone else at the table. But I should have remembered who I was with.

My friends and Marlowe are not people who are prone to backing away from a fun experiment. I am grateful that they can be silly like me.

The server was befuddled when our dessert requests came first, but we convinced him we were serious, and away he went to place our orders.

The chocolate mousse, mudpie, bananas foster, and crème brûlée were delicious!

I highly recommend eating dessert first. You end up ordering a lighter meal afterward while still getting the deliciousness of dessert into your tummy. Win-win! 

Thanks to Roy, Carla, and their daughter Alicia for playing with us!

A couple of weeks later, on this same vacation in the USA, a second item on my non-existent bucket list was fulfilled - my desire to go on a helicopter flight into the Grand Canyon.

When I mentioned this idea to Marlowe, he was also interested and made it happen! Yes, I am a fortunate woman.

During a trip to Las Vegas to see some shows, we booked a flight to the Grand Canyon with Maverick Helicopters. It was my first time flying in a helicopter, but I was assured that the flight would be smooth and safe, so the nerves were quickly gone as soon as we took off.

We were lucky enough to be seated beside the pilot on the first leg of the trip, so we had a fabulous view as we flew into the canyon. Wow!

We landed at the base of the canyon, beside the Colorado River, and had a small snack plus photo opportunities before taking off to head back to Vegas.

Such a wonderful, memorable experience. 

 

As widowers, both Marlowe and I know that each day should be treated as precious. We are committed to doing what we can, together, to enjoy each moment as best we can. I am grateful to Marlowe for coming into my life and for helping me live my life to the fullest.

I hope you can travel your road and check off items on your bucket list with a fun-loving someone too.

A Surprise Connection to Reg "Crash" Harrison's Family Farm

Selling my books at craft and trade shows on the Canadian Prairies is usually a fun and fascinating exercise in which I meet avid readers and get ideas for future stories to write and/or publish. Sometimes, people praise my publishing efforts and the nonfiction or historical fiction books they particularly enjoyed. But the lovely surprise at a craft show in Swift Current in October 2024 was a unique experience.

A few minutes before the show closed on its final day, a woman came running up to my booth, clutching her copy of my book Crash Harrison: Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death. "I made it!" she said. "I told my husband I met you yesterday and it was too bad I didn't have my book with me. He asked when the show ended today and told me I still had time to get back here!" Which she did, and I promptly autographed the book for her.

But that wasn't the only reason for her return visit. This time, she brought her cellphone, which contained photos she wanted to show me of an important farmhouse.

You see, Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld was raised on a farm at Lorlie, Saskatchewan, just down the road from Reg "Crash" Harrison, the 102-year-old subject of my book. Reg was a bomber pilot in England in the Second World War who had survived four plane crashes and numerous close calls. I wrote the biography about Reg's childhood on the farm at Finnie, SK, his adventures during his war years, and his life afterward, including being made an Honorary Snowbird by the famed Canadian aerobatics team.

Author-publisher Deana Driver and Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld

When Arlie first spoke with me, she said her sister Loretta was a friend of Reg's youngest sister Sylvia, so she wasn't sure if Reg would know her. Arlie then asked when Reg had last been to the area where they grew up - a question I did not have an answer for. She talked about how she'd been out there recently and had taken photos of the farmhouse. She would have shown them to me except she'd left her phone at home.

So here she was on Day Two of the show, posing for a photo with me and the book, and showing me photos of the farmhouse - the Harrisons' farmhouse, not the house her family lived in!

I was astounded and pleased. I had thought Arlie was talking about photos of her family's farmhouse, not Reg's. This was a great surprise!

Harrison family's farmhouse, Finnie, SK, 2024
Photo by Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld

Side view of Harrison family's farmhouse, Finnie, SK, 2024
Photo by Arlie (Dreger) Neufeld

Harrison family's farmhouse, Finnie SK, 1960
(one of the 98 photos in the Crash Harrison book)

I wish I'd had those recent photos for the book, but I didn't know the house was still standing or I probably would have driven out to take some photos myself.

Oh well. The things you learn after a book has been published.

Thanks, Arlie, for coming back to the craft show and sharing those images with me.

Reg and his daughter Laurie, and his sister Sylvia were all tickled by the reconnection and the photos. They all say, "Hi, neighbour! And thank you!"

Reginald "Crash" Harrison and author Deana J Driver, 2023

Warm Welcome to Carlyle Homespun Craft Show

Each fall since 2009, I've showcased and sold my books at craft shows and trade shows in Saskatchewan and other Prairie communities. That's 15 years of setting up tables, chairs, books, brochures, and posters in exhibition halls, schools, museums, hockey rinks, and more to sell the books I edit, publish, and sometimes write. And it's been great!

These venues enable me to meet customers and learn what they like about the books I create and what they want to see more of in future publications. I hear accolades about my writing and that of my authors, and it's heartwarming to talk to people who have bought our books and come back for more.

The organizers of these shows are awesome humans too, and a recent event in Carlyle, SK proved it once again.

Upon arrival, I was met by Nicole Currie, one of the organizers of the 38th annual Carlyle Homespun Craft & Quilt Show. Alongside Nicole was her young grandson, Kitt, who quickly endeared himself to me with his choice of T-shirt.

Nicole Currie, an organizer of Carlyle Homespun 2024

Nicole's grandson Kitt with his "red wings" T-shirt

       

(The Detroit Red Wings was my late husband Al's favorite team, so any red wings that pop up since Al's death is a gentle sign of Al's spirit visiting us.)

Young Kitt then went on to endear himself to all the vendors by running from booth to booth as we were setting up our tables. Carrying a stack of sticky notes, Kitt enthusiastically told me, "You're working really hardly, so I want to give you three checkmarks. If you work really hard, you get 10."

That cracked me up!

Kitt handing out checkmarks to vendor Deana Driver of DriverWorks Ink, at Carlyle Homespun 2024
(Photo by Nicole Currie)

He then went to another booth down the aisle, where the vendor asked for a star on his note as well.

"If he gets a star, I want a star!" I called out to Kitt, who immediately came running back to my booth. He carefully added a star - which is "really hard to draw" - to my sticky note. I asked him to write his name too. He complied.

3 checkmarks and a star from Kitt

How much fun is that?

Nicole informed her grandson, "When your dad was little, I bought some books from this lady and her husband. I asked your dad, 'Will you read them?' I said, 'If you read them, I will buy them."

So that adds another wonderful memory for me of why I do what I do with our Prairie stories.

Thanks, Nicole and Kitt for putting a smile on my face at my first craft show of the 2024 fall season!

DriverWorks Ink books booth at Carlyle Homespun 2024

Buried Treasure in the Backyard

While I was working in my new backyard transplanting peonies, my new neighbour Patty brought me a bowl of gluten-free spaghetti and meat sauce. What a great neighbour! 

I've hired Patty to repaint the main floor of my house, so we've been spending a lot of time together. I told her that I had hit something solid with my shovel when I was digging in the backyard. It was a strange light blue colour and it made a strange noise when the shovel hit it. I had no idea what it was. "Come, I'll show you," I told her.

"Maybe it's buried treasure," Patty said hopefully.

"If it is, we'll split it," I replied.

So we started digging ... and digging.

I had a feeling this might be an important moment, so Patty kept digging while I went to grab my phone camera.

We hoped we wouldn't uncover a dead animal, like a beloved family pet. Mostly we hoped it wasn't a buried power line that was about to zap us or cause chaos in the neighbourhood because of our curiosity.

We dug and dug and the light blue surface kept getting bigger and bigger.

I sent a photo of it to a contractor friend and asked if he had any idea what it might be. "It sounds like porcelain, " I told him. 

"Very strange," he replied. 

Meanwhile, Patty kept digging and we discovered that this thing was rectangular and had rounded corners.

With one last turn of the shovel, Patty flipped our buried treasure up out of its resting place. 

We laughed and laughed! 

Wow. It is Porcelain! 

It's the top of a toilet tank!

Why was it buried? No idea. It doesn't really matter to me. "I'm keeping it for its story," I laughed as I hauled this blue treasure to its new spot in my yard - above ground!

"We're not any richer, but we've got a great story," I told Patty, who replied with a hilarious comment...

"We're still splitting it! One week it will be in your yard, and the next week it will be in mine." 

We laughed and laughed some more at our new bonding backyard adventure. 

101-year-old bomber pilot shares wartime adventure stories with Canadian Aviation Historical Society

At age 19, Reginald Harrison enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was looking for adventure away from the Saskatchewan farm where he grew up and he wanted to serve his country in the Second World War, just like most of the young men around him. By age 21, Reg was flying a Halifax aircraft out of the Croft air base in England, dropping bombs on the enemy forces in Germany and France. 

Weighing only 118 pounds, Reg chose to sit on top of his parachute pack inside the aircraft to give himself a better view out the windows of the huge Halifax bomber. During one of his flights, the parachute nearly killed him - during the third of what would eventually become four crashes Reg survived during the war. Reg served our country and the Allied Forces well and, upon returning to Canada from the war, met his future wife through a fellow bomber pilot. 

At almost 102 years old, Reg "Crash" Harrison recently shared some of the stories of his wartime experiences with members of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society at their national convention held at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Almost 102-year-old Reginald "Crash" Harrison and author Deana J. Driver at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum for the national convention of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, June 22, 2024

As the author of the new book about Reg's life (Crash Harrison: Tales of a Bomber Pilot Who Defied Death), I was pleased to have been invited to speak to the group alongside Reg and to again listen to him tell some of his incredible wartime stories.

It was an honour to address this group, which is the oldest and largest organization in the world dedicated to the celebration and documentation of Canada's flying heritage. And it is always a huge honour to sit beside Reg Harrison as he tells stories about his time in the RCAF.

It is always heartwarming to watch the reverence that people rightly have for this man who served in the war and survived four crashes and significant traumatic events. They, like me, have come to appreciate his remarkably clear memory of those events and how he can - at almost 102 years old - still share them with avid listeners.

I watch with gratitude as people line up to shake Reg's hand and have him autograph their copy of the Crash Harrison book. (I get to sign the books too, which is always nice. And Reg usually says something nice about me to whoever asks about how the book came to be. He and I mutually admire each other.)

101-year-old Reg "Crash" Harrison and author Deana J Driver signing Crash Harrison books at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum, June 22, 2024  
 - photo by John Chalmers, CAHS member

CAHS delegate has Reg Harrison autograph the book, June 22, 2024

Another CAHS delegate chats with Reg "Crash" Harrison, June 22, 2024

This delegate to the CAHS convention and I were pleased to realize that she and I sing in the same community choir in Regina!

During our presentation at the CAHS convention in the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum in June, I recorded these videos of Reg telling his stories:

WW2 bomber pilot tells how his parachute got caught as he bailed out in 1944

101-year-old WW2 bomber pilot had dangerous flights & landings in a Lancaster in 1944

101-year-old WW2 bomber pilot talks about his aircraft bailout in 1944 & being ever-grateful

After the presentation, an elderly man came up to our table and introduced himself. Dr. Robert Galway had a special story he wanted to tell me and Reg about how he also knew the doctor who performed the reconstructive surgery on Reg's arm during the war. What a wonderful serendipity!

Dr. Robert Galway meets Reg "Crash" Harrison in Saskatoon, June 22, 2024

I asked Dr. Galway if he would tell me the whole story so I could record it and share it. He was pleased to do that. Enjoy this remarkable interview...

A 101-year-old WW2 bomber pilot & a Canadian doctor share connections to the Guinea Pig Club

Reg and I say thank you to the Canadian Aviation Historical Society for the invitation to speak to the convention delegates. Thank you to the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum for hosting the event. Thank you to all those who attended, enjoyed the presentations, and purchased books.

As Reg says every time he talks about his stories, we must remember those who served and especially those who did not make it home from the war.

We must not forget.

Mentoring an author with a special connection

This is a new and exciting venture for me in my publishing business and a Throwback Thursday moment too...

I had a lunch meeting in Swift Current with author and publisher Tekeyla Friday to discuss her work as a publisher of kids' books with a STREAM theme (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics).

She's written and published Prince Prickly Spine and has other projects planned.

Tekeyla came into our family's life in 2012, when she was an angelic medium who provided a reading to my eldest daughter, Lisa Driver, and changed Lisa's life. Tekeyla said that Lisa was meant to talk to and connect with angels, become a spiritual coach, and guide others - which she has done and has since written four books in that area. (See Lisa's story in her first book, Opening Up: How to Develop Your Intuition and Work With Your Angels.)

Fast forward 12 years... 

Tekeyla invited me to be her publishing industry mentor as she pursued this new path of being an author and book publisher. I eagerly agreed. It's an honor and a privilege to give back to the industry that has been so kind to me over these last couple of decades. And sharing one's knowledge with others is fun!

Thanks to the Clarence Campeau Development Fund's Indigenous Women Entrepreneurship & Business Development programs for helping young women like Tekeyla in their new business ventures. And thanks, Tekeyla, for asking me to be your mentor and for helping Lisa find her calling.

Deana J Driver and Tekeyla Friday

Opening Up book by Lisa Driver

Sure Signs of Spring in Saskatchewan

The sight of a robin is always my first sign of Spring. 

Except this year.

On April 5th, my young granddaughters and I were looking out my front window when a large, solid black butterfly flew by us, flittering away just under the roof overhang at the top of the window.

We couldn't believe our eyes. A butterfly in April in Regina? I've never seen that, and I've lived here for almost 50 years.

I looked online for information about butterflies that live in Saskatchewan in winter and the closest butterfly I could find that resembles the large all-black butterfly we saw would be a Mourning Cloak. Although their black wings turn brown when they are older, Mourning Cloaks are one of only three varieties of butterflies that hibernate in Saskatchewan in winter and come out early in springtime. 

A Saskatoon Zoo Society page states: "Mourning Cloaks, anglewings, and tortoiseshells are the only Saskatchewan butterflies that hibernate as adults. (Other butterflies and moths usually survive the winter in the egg stage, although some will overwinter in the caterpillar or pupae/ chrysalis stages). The amazing part is they freeze completely solid in the winter and come back to life when they thaw out."

Another interesting paragraph about the Mourning Cloak butterfly is from a Canadian Entomology Cool Insects blog: "How long do butterflies live? For most, the answer is “not very long,” after what may have been many months as an egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis. For the Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), however, life as a butterfly can stretch over an entire year. Mourning Cloaks spend the winter in hibernation, under bark for example, and they are often the “first butterfly of spring,” along with their close relatives, the tortoiseshells and commas. Since Mourning Cloaks are widespread in North America and Eurasia, they are probably the most oft-encountered spring butterflies in the north temperate world. After feeding on various trees (elm, willow, and poplar are all acceptable fare) as caterpillars, Mourning Cloak butterflies emerge from their pupae in mid to late summer. They sometimes live as long as twelve months as adults. In springtime, they typically emerge from hibernation before the first flowers are in bloom, and they feed on everything from sap flows to dung to mud, in order to obtain the nutrients necessary for such a long life."

So there you go.  

I've never looked into the wintering habits of insects in Saskatchewan before, choosing to just appreciate and accept them with gratitude when they show up. The early butterfly in my yard this year does not quite match the photos of any of the creatures on this Butterfly Identification page, and entomologists are welcome to correct me, but I'm guessing my new friend is a young black Mourning Cloak.

Usually, a ladybug is the first insect I see outdoors in springtime, and we saw at least a dozen of those in my yard on the weekend too. But that large black butterfly this year sure showed up its friendly flying neighbours. It even flew in front of me today as I drove into my back alley. How wonderful!

A black butterfly is said to be a sign of faith, hope, and new life, and a symbol of positive change.

Welcome, Springtime! And a special welcome back to our flying friends!

This robin was in my front yard yesterday.

My granddaughter gently holding a ladybug

A butterfly in my backyard in August 2023.