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 Mildred Joyce MacDonald
 MacDONALD,
Mildred Joyce (nee Holmes) November 18, 1927 - June 4, 2009 With a martini in one hand and a microphone in the
other, veteran broadcaster Mildred MacDonald entertained us with her innate ability to find the story in everyday
people and events. She is survived by: her daughter Alex and her partner Martin Clary; granddog Zo; and her sisters,
Merrie Bulin (Swift Current) and Marg Galvin (Dryden). Special thanks to the wonderful staff at the Ottawa Cancer
Centre, the Hospice at May Court and, especially to Dr. Beverly Armitage. In lieu of flowers, please send donations
to the Hospice at May Court (613-260-2906 ext. 222 or www.hospicemaycourt.com ). A celebration of Mil's life will
be held at St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church (125 MacKay Street, Ottawa) on Thursday June 11th at 4:30 p.m. Reception
to follow. The Legacy online "Guest Book" may still be available: Click
here.
( NOTE: If you are interested in hearing the recording made at the service, contact:  )
Broadcasting pioneer Mildred MacDonald dies
Mildred MacDonald, an Ottawa role model for women in the field of broadcasting, has died. She worked for 50 years
as a broadcaster in both radio and television and spent most of her career with CBC. She died on Thursday evening
at an Ottawa hospice after a battle with cancer. She was 81.
MacDonald was born in Moose Jaw, Sask., and worked in private radio there before she moved to Ottawa in the early
1950s. At that time, the public broadcaster didn't hire women as on-air staff, but MacDonald soon found her way
on air as a freelancer.
She covered the Queen Mother's 1954 visit to Canada, alongside then broadcaster René Lévesque, and
the Saskatchewan doctor's strike in 1960 over a provincial bill that led to the creation of medicare.
MacDonald was a longtime contributor to CBC Ottawa's In Town and Out radio program, which airs on Saturday mornings.
Rob Clipperton, a former host of the show, said that MacDonald had a special touch when conducting interviews.
"People often didn't even feel like they were being interviewed by Mil," he said.
"She had such a warm and charming presence about her. Mil had a real knack for making people totally relaxed
while talking about themselves."
MacDonald also worked as a story editor with CBC Television's Marketplace and contributed to CBC Radio's Trans-Canada
Matinee and Basic Black. She interviewed such celebrities as Sidney Portier and Duke Ellington.
Internet References:
- - See follow-up comments to the above story, as well as links to some of Mildred's broadcasts:
Click here.
- - "Threats to a replacement doctor"
- Broadcast Date: July 11, 1962 - CBC reporter Mildred MacDonald interviews a doctor who received threats for volunteering
during the medical crisis in Saskatchewan. Click
here.
- - 'Buy Canadian': a 'simple, sad little plea'? - Broadcast Date: Nov. 23, 1961 - The slogan is simple: "Buy Canadian." But maybe it's
too simple. In this CBC Radio discussion from 1961, a consumer advocate and a manufacturing representative go toe
to toe over Canada's controversial rallying cry. Buying Canadian guarantees good jobs, good products and a good
standard of living, says Stuart Richardson. H.E. Beaudeaulais agrees that might be true, but resists the simplistic
motto and nationalist focus. It's "a plea made to us, and not a reason given to us as to why to favour Canadian
products." Click here
- - Voice for a generation -
Obituary: Mildred MacDonald A longtime CBC broadcaster also served as a trailblazer in her field, writes Bruce
Ward in the Ottawa Citizen, June 6, 2009. Click
here.
- - Remembering broadcaster Mildred MacDonald (June 05, 2009) Mildred MacDonald spent 50 years of her life telling stories on radio and television.
Mostly on the CBC. MacDonald died of cancer in Ottawa last night. She was 81. She started her radio career in Moosejaw.
But in the early 1950s, she moved to Ottawa. CFRA hired her as an on-air host. At the time, very few women were
on-air broadcasters. Soon after, MacDonald started freelancing for CBC. She worked on dozens of shows. Marketplace,
Basic Black, and at the end of her career, she had a column on CBC's In Town and Out. That's back when the radio
station was in the Chateau Laurier. Rob Clipperton is the former host of In Town and Out. Mildred was his colleague
and dear friend. (Runs 10:46) Click
here.
- - FYshowbill - (In an artricle
Gord Atkinson mentions Mildred) "On a personal note, I will long remember the thrill of hosting musical presentations
and introducing old showbiz friends on stage at the NAC. The camaraderie of my media friends at Arts Centre functions
was always pleasurable and special. Time has reduced our ranks, but not our memories. A most pleasant and respected
member of our NAC fraternity was my friend of over 50 years, Mildred MacDonald, who left us recently after enduring
a long illness. We were co-workers back in the early 1950s at CFRA. At the CBC, where she was a popular broadcaster
for over five decades, she always had a smile in her voice for all her friends and countless radio listeners. It
was my great pleasure to be her colleague for over 20 years on the pages of Forever Young." (This article
originally appeared in the July 09 issue of Forever Young Newspaper.) Source.
- - Larry and Mildred MacDonald fonds
(From Archives Canada - Historical and Biographical information held on file including: "Fonds consists of
a radio drama written in 1953 by Larry and Mildred MacDonald about an immigrant who works as a domestic while training
to be the leading ballerina of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Also included in fonds are photographs of Larry MacDonald
interviewing Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent on his return from a conference in Bermuda with British Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan, 27 March 1957; and Larry MacDonald interviewing Solon Low, leader of the National Social Credit
Party, at the Ottawa airport, Ottawa, Ont., ca. 1957, with CBC Television news crew in the foreground." Source.
- - Holiday theatre for the grandkids,
by Mildred MacDonald (A review from Ottawa Forever Young, December 2005) "Well, it's that time of year again
when we're wondering how to keep the youngsters (either our own or family visitors) entertained over the Christmas
holidays. One intriguing performance that I've come across is the Rag and Bone Puppet Theatre's production of The
Tempest." More...
- - Behind the Scenes and the Changing Roles of Women at the
CBC - (October 2002 - Kanata
Klips - the Kanata branch of the Canadian Federation of University Women - CFUW) Mildred
MacDonald will share stories of her career as a broadcaster-journalist at the Regina Leader-Post, CHAB
- Moose Jaw and CBC Radio and TV over the past fifty years. Come and enjoy this dynamic raconteur.
For more years than she says she cares to tally up, broadcaster and writer, Mildred MacDonald, has covered everything
from a murder trial to a Royal tour and everything in between. Her beats have included arts and entertainment,
consumer, environment and current affairs.
- She’s probably best known for her Saturday morning interviews on CBC’s weekly radio program
In Town and Out but she’s also been a regular on network programs like Metronome, Trans Canada Matinee and Fresh
Air. On CBC television, she’s been Ottawa story editor for Marketplace, host of Diplomatic Passport and other local
programs as well as consumer reporter for CBOT’s evening newscast. For several seasons, she produced a story featuring
active seniors for CJOH’s Eye on Ottawa.
- As a stepping-stone to the CBC, she had her own daily program on CFRA and before that on
CHAB, Moose Jaw in her home province of Saskatchewan. However, the journalism career actually started with print
when she was a women’s page reporter, then editor on the Swift Current Sun and later as a general reporter on the
Regina Leader Post. These days, she’s also writing again with a monthly arts column for Today’s Seniors and features
for Capital Parent. Source.
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Jane Crosier
 CROSIER, Jane Ann (Rioux) Died March 2, 2009 age 61 after
a heartbreaking battle with cancer. Beloved wife to Peter, loving mother of Matthew (Valerie) and Benjamin. Devoted
grandmother to Catherine, Alexander and Tessa. Daughter to Ray and Dora Rioux. Sister to Raymond, Francis, Carol
and Nancy. Lovingly remembered by the Crosier and Rioux families. Born and raised in Port Hope, a graduate of York
University Winters College. She worked for the OCDSB for more than 30 years at Glen Ogilvie, Gloucester High, Colonel
By and Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Host of the Literary Landscape on CKCU for 12 years. An inveterate gift giver and unrepentant
doer of good deeds. Jane loved gardening, her felines, skating on the canal and preparing wonderful family events
"getting out and doing something". The service will take place at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, March 7. For details
call (613) 552-1832 or email familycrosier@gmail.com Sorry Mom we will be showing pictures. In lieu of flowers,
donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society. Published in the Ottawa Citizen on 3/5/2009.
Other references:
2009 Westfest
Lit dedicated to Jane Crosier
(From Nichole McGill's Blogspot) "This year's Westfest Lit was dedicated to the memory of Jane Crosier, literary
crusader who hosted the Literary Landscapes program on CKCU for 12 years. A friend to many Ottawa writers, she
was an exceptional interviewer; one who gave your book considerable attention, so much so that she could be exhausted
after an hour-long interview, and true to her considerate nature, mailed you a thank you card afterwards."
R.I.P.
Jane Crosier
(Dedication from Nigel Beale - Nota Bene Books - Contains background and citation.) "Ottawa literary broadcasting
icon, and award-winning high school librarian. Jane Crosier was host of the excellent Literary Landscape radio
show on CKCU 93.1 FM for 12 years. She worked tirelessly to promote local authors, and to foster a love of literature
in her listeners and students. I never met Jane, however, I experienced her generosity. She was among the very
first people to provide support and encouragement to me when I first launched my radio program The Biblio File."
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