Elders of the Island
Description
$9.95
ISBN 0-920304-53-2
Year
Contributor
Les Harding is author of The Voyages of Lesser Men: Thumbnail Sketches
in Canadian Exploration.
Review
Prince Edward Island has a larger percentage of elderly people than any other province. Elders’ of the Island, a companion to an exhibition of the same name, is dedicated to all the elders of the island.
The book consists of full-page black-and-white photographs of 30 elderly Prince Edward Islanders. The photographs are crisp and clear, and the quality of reproduction is good. The subjects, ranging in age from 63 to 103, were chosen to represent a cross-section of the elderly population as well as a variety of life styles. It is obvious that the people depicted here are still vital and continue to make important contributions to their communities. An index to the photographs gives each subject’s name, occupation, and community.
Facing each page is a quotation taken from interviews with elderly islanders. One is struck by the sense of optimism and contentment of the interviewees. However, the quotations are not necessarily those of the persons whose photographs appear in the book.
Lionel Stevenson is a professional photographer and Terry Dunton Stevenson is the director of the P.E.I. Museums and Heritage Foundation. Mary O’Brien is a Visiting Professor of Research in Aging at the University of Prince Edward Island.