Reginald Ford Sparkes (June 27, 1906 – January 1990) was an educator, writer and political figure in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. He represented St. Barbe in the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Bu ...

from 1949 to 1956. Sparkes was the first speaker for the House of Assembly after Newfoundland became part of Canada.

Biography

He was born in

Jackson's Arm Jackson's Arm is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on White Bay. It was settled by John Wicks of Christchurch, England, around 1870. The Post Office was established in 1892 and the first Postmistress was Bel ...

the son of Isaac Sparkes and Roseanna Ford, and was educated there, at

Bishop Feild College Bishop Feild College (originally Church of England Academy; formerly Church of England College and Bishop Feild School; currently Bishop Feild Elementary), founded in 1844, is a school in St. John's, Newfoundland. Founded as the Church of Engl ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He taught in Trinity Bay and

Change Islands Change Islands is an Newfoundland outport, outport community in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The community spans two small islands of the same name which lie off the northeast coast of ...

. In 1936, he became a supervisor inspector for west coast schools in Newfoundland. Sparkes married Hannah Bugden. He retired from politics in 1956 and became manager of the

Newfoundland Savings Bank Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland and the continent ...

, later taken over by the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...

. In 1967, he retired to Hallstown, North River. He died in 1990.

Publications

* ''The Winds Softly Sigh'' published in 1981 *''Sense and Nonsense'' published in 1989 , selections from his weekly column written under the name Jonathan Miles, ''A Countryman's Notebook''

References

* Speakers of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador 1906 births 1990 deaths Canadian educators Bishop Feild School alumni {{Newfoundland-politician-stub