Dennis T. Patrick Sears (1925-1976) at one time resided in Bexley Township, Kawartha Lakes. He is the author of three novels, two set in Kawartha Lakes (then known as Victoria County), The Lark in the Clear Air and Aunty High Over the Barley Mow, with the latter being published posthumously. His third book, Fair Days Along the Talbert, has been described as autobiographical tales of his early life in Saskatchewan and central Ontario, collected from his columns for the Kingston Whig-Standard.
His most famous words are the truncated and often unattributed: “Lindsay has the widest street and narrowest minds.” The full quote comes from his posthumously published novel: “Uncle Miles once said the inhabitants of Lindsay had the widest street and the narrowest minds of any town north of the Rio Grande.” (page 109, Aunty High Over the Barley Mow)
This phrase evolved into the misconception that Lindsay had the widest streets in Ontario (sometimes the claim extended for all of Canada.) While Kent and Victoria Streets are the widest in the town of Lindsay, spanning 100 feet compared to the others at 60 feet, this was actually common across many towns in Ontario. These wider streets tend to be located at the heart of town and were meant to allow “parking” for horses and buggies near the town squares. But in Kawartha Lakes, Sears’s description caught on and became a local myth.
Sears died in 1976 at age 51 of pneumonia following surgery in Kingston. Born in Vancouver in 1925, he was living in Saskatchewan until 1933, when his grandfather died and his family relocated to take over the Bexley township farm. Sears left school after Grade 8. He was a factory worker, merchant seaman, ranch hand, police officer, plainsclothes military police officer, and carpenter. He also served the Royal Canadian Navy.
In his review of Aunty High Over the Barley Mow, Bob Trotter (a journalist originating from Kawartha Lakes) said, “It is unfortunate that Dennis T. Patrick Sears will not write another novel. I love the magic of his fluent, mellow prose, ripe with the tang of earth and fresh air, right out of my childhood before the tourists came to corrupt. It is in the heart of the Kawartha Lakes, the vacationland for aliens from Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo. That rich array of real people have been changed by the times but brought back to lusty life by Sears.” (The Last Post “Victoria Co. before the city folk came”, volume 6, number 6, January 1978, page 47.)
Books:
The Lark in the Clear Air (1974)
Fair Days Along the Talbert (1976)
Aunty High Over the Barley Mow (1977)
Articles:
“Bluegrass: a fan’s notes”, Harrowsmith Magazine, issue 3/36.
“The Haunted 10th”, Harrowsmith Magazine, issue 2/16.
“The Raising of Long Paddy McNaney’s Barn”, Harrowsmith Magazine, issue 1/22.
Further Reading:
Interview with McLean’s magazine, 1975
kawarthalakeswriters.com 