Fern Alma Rahmel (1914 – November 28, 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer and educator.

Early life and education

Rahmel was born in

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

and graduated from Queen's University in 1940.

Career

Rahmel taught in elementary and later secondary schools. In 1970 she had been a Peterborough teacher for 20 years with the English Department of the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School, becoming the head of the English Department before she retired. Rahmel wrote book reviews for '' Saturday Night'', which she describes in a 2009 book about the Canadian writer

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

written by Val Ross. Rahmel aided

in research while he was editor of the ''

Peterborough Examiner ''The Peterborough Examiner'' is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by Torstar and operated by its Metroland division. Between 1942 and 1955, it was edited by C ...

'' and, as described in Ross's book, Rahmel served as the stage director at the Peterborough Little Theatre for a series of plays at the encouragement of Davies. The interactions between Davies and Rahmel are also described in Judith Skelton Grant's book ''Robertson Davies: Man of Myth''. Rahmel also wrote children's educational radio plays leading to the production of more than 60 scripts by the

Canadian Broadcasting Company The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and F ...

. She gave talks to the Peterborough Historical Society, and published a paper on Frederick Montague de la Fosse, Peterborough's first librarian. Rahmel's writing includes a chapter on theatre that was included in a 1967 anthology of pieces about Peterborough, and was cited by the Heritage Gazette during their discussion of historical theatre in the city. She has also detailed the history of women in education in Peterborough. She was also assistant to Gwyn Kinsey, editor of '' Saturday Night.'' Upon her death, Rahmel made a gift to Trent University which was the third largest received by the university and established the Fern A. Rahmel Bursary there for women who may have been delayed in their ability to attend college.

Honours and awards

In their 1970 Spring Convocation,

Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Founded in 1964, the university is known for its Oxbridge college system, sma ...

awarded her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, and the citation included the following statements: In 1987 she was given an honorary life membership in the Peterborough Kiwanis Musical Festival.

Personal life

One of Rahmel's interests was gardening, especially roses and peonies. She was an alternate Canadian delegate to the

International Federation of University Women Graduate Women International (GWI), originally named the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), is an international organisation for women university graduates. IFUW was founded in 1919 following the First World War by both British and ...

meeting in Japan, and published an account on the gardens she observed in a 1975 article published by the Canadian Rose Society.

References

External links

*Trent University Archives
Fern Rahmel fonds.
��1944-1975. -- 30.5 cm of textual records. *Trent University page describing her bequest which includes a photo of Rahme
testimonials - myTrent Community
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahmel, Fern 1914 births 2009 deaths Canadian educators People from Peterborough, Ontario Writers from Ontario 20th-century Canadian women writers