My name is Viola Doncaster and I was born in Sydney, Cape Breton on July 28, 1949. Intermingled with my life as a wife, mother of four grown children and grandmother of one handsome lad and three beautiful little girls, I am also somewhat of a freelance poet/writer. My writing is much influenced by the fact that I grew up in a Christian home as part of a large family that played and worked together to run a family business. I was blessed to live near the East Bay portion of the beautiful Bras d'Or Lakes and I learned at an early age to appreciate the beauty of Cape Breton Island.

Our lives as youngsters were filled with summer days of swimming in the Bras d'Or Lakes, playing outdoor games with each other and our immediate neighbors - the Murphy, Cusack and MacAskill families and later the Reid and MacIntyre families. Sharing responsibilites came naturally with large families, so when it came time in winter to clear the nearby ponds, or a portion of the Lake for skating and hockey there was always a good crew to help out. The beauty of Cape Breton and the love and support of family and friends has been an inspirational source of solace for me since I was diagnosed in 1985 with the life-changing challenge of facing Multiple Sclerosis.

Before Multiple Sclerosis entered my life I lived and worked with little thought given to ill health - except for our father's untimely death in 1964. Our father died suddenly of a brain hemorage and it was a very sad time, and quite an adjustment for our mom and the seven girls still living at home. We ranged in age from five years to fifteen and I was the fifteen year old. Fortunately our father and mother had prepared me for a future of adventure into the public life when I began working at the age of twelve in our family stores - Blarney One and Blarney Two. The joys and challenges of helping to run the family business taught me a lot about people and helped open my heart to want to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Some people were so kind to us during those troublesome years after dad's death and my sisters and I remain grateful. We have many fond memories of both permenant and summer residents who gathered at the Blarney Canteen before heading to a Youth Dance or Square Dance at the East Bay Parish Hall. Recently I met a cousin who grew up in Montreal and she remembers that during their summer visits the Blarney Canteen and Doyle/Gough home was a certain stopover in Cape Breton.

During my high school years I worked part time at the Smart Shop in Sydney, as well as working at Blarney One (Blarney Two was sold after our father died). In 1968 I graduated from Riverview High School and began work as a secretary with Chappel's Building Supplies in Sydney, NS. In 1969 I married Ivan Doncaster and we have been blessed with a family of four children. Our son Ralph, a computer science programmer/consultant, ran Doncaster Consulting/Istop.com together with his lovely wife Jennifer. They lived a number of years in Ottawa, Ontario, where their four precious children were born. In 2006, to our delight, they moved to Nova Scotia. Our daughter Andrea, a civil engineer, works with Brandys McBride and Richardson Engineering Ltd. in Halifax. Andrea did the structural design work for the nursing home Harborstone Enhanced Care, in the Sydney River area. Andrea and her intelligent dog Iggy live in her renovated home in Halifax. Our son Aaron is working in Halifax, after spreading his wings by traveling the country and working out west for a while. Our daughter Wanda lived a number of years in Banff, Alberta, where she worked at Lake Louise, then eventually as manager of Northern Reflections. In 2004 she moved to Calgary and after working in management with GAP for a couple of years, she furthered her studies and now works with Surefire Industries as an Assistant Purchasing Agent. We thank God for the many blessings that our children and grandchildren bring into our lives.

Although I enjoyed most of our children's formative years at home, I did work outside the home for two years at Shell Canada on Spruce Street in Sydney. I left Shell Canada about two months before our daughter Wanda was born. I also enjoyed about eighteen years as a volunteer secretary for St. Mary's Parish East Bay. During these years I was blessed with the guidance of Rev. Basil Campbell, Rev. Alex MacFarlane and Rev. Howie Gardiner. Besides my work with the parish I also served terms as secretary of the Founding County Recreation Association, the East Bay Parent/Teacher Organization, the East Bay Volunteer Fire Department, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Saint Mary's Parish Catholic Women's League. From 1979 to 1983 I served as an elected member of the Cape Breton County School Board, which became the amalgmated Cape Breton District School Board in 1983. One of my goals while I was a board member was to promote better educational services for children who were challenged with learning problems and I witnessed a lot of positive changes over the years. Due to ill health I did not reoffer to serve on the School Board and in 1985 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It was in facing this challenge that I began to make more time for writing letters of concern to local papers and eventually to write poetry and then to publish a book of my poetry in 1992.

In 1997 our oldest son and daughter encouraged me to take the opportunity to create a web page and begin to share my writing with the world. So with their help and support I entered the world of computer technology and here you are.

May my sharing light a candle of hope in your life and in the lives of all who visit here.

(c) Viola Doncaster, East Bay, CB, NS, Canada.

Updated April 14, 2007.