This book represents the fulfilment of a request made by my dad’s first cousin, Charlie Fraser, in May 1973, when, at the age of 92, he gave me a somewhat weathered brown envelope stuffed with documents to be used in writing his official biography ‘later.’ It is unclear what he meant by ‘later, ‘ but now, after more than 40 years, his request is finally being honoured.
Had he been born a few generations later, Charlie might have become another Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple Computer) or Usain Bolt (world champion sprinter). Born in 1881 in the small town of Cookshire in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, Charles Clark Fraser was a man who was, in many respects, miles ahead of his time. In spite of significant disabilities, this remarkable man’s long life was punctuated by many unique accomplishments in a wide variety of fields. Rarely has a single individual practiced so many vocations over a lifetime. To borrow a line from the 18th century nursery rhyme ‘Rub-a-dub-dub, ‘ he was neither ‘a butcher, a baker nor candlestick maker, ‘ but he was almost everything else. Charlie was a gold prospector, an inventor, a woodsman, an athlete, a mathematician, a chemist, a fox rancher, a numismatist, a philatelist, a photographer, a museum curator, an astronomer, an animal trainer, a dentist, a philanthropist and a jack of all trades. Although a lifelong bachelor, he was, strangely enough, very much a family man.
While known to most people simply as ‘Charlie, ‘ he used different monikers when referring to himself. In correspondence and legal documents he signed his name as ‘C.C. Fraser.’ In less formal notes he used only his initials, ‘CCF.’ Very often his signature was accompanied by the word ‘OHIXIHO’ as though it was his address or even a part of his name. The real meaning of OHIXIHO is left for the reader to discover.
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Contents
Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Preface …………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………… 6
Chapter 1 Charlie the Boy ………………………………………………………………… 7
Chapter 2 Charlie the Prospector ……………………………………………………….. 13
Chapter 3 Charlie the Astronomer ……………………………………………………… 23
Chapter 4 Charlie the Inventor ………………………………………………………….. 31
Chapter 5 Charlie the Mathematician …………………………………………………. 41
Chapter 6 Charlie the Athlete ……………………………………………………………. 49
Chapter 7 Charlie the Fitness Fanatic ………………………………………………….. 63
Chapter 8 Charlie the Chemist …………………………………………………………… 73
Chapter 9 Charlie the Collector ………………………………………………………….. 93
Numismatist ………………………………………………………………………………. 93
Philatelist ………………………………………………………………………………….. 95
Curios Collector ………………………………………………………………………….. 103
Chapter 10 Charlie the Jack of Many Trades ………………………………………… 109
Confectionery Manufacturer ………………………………………………………… 111
Fox Rancher ……………………………………………………………………………….. 109
Woodsman ………………………………………………………………………………… 113
Animal Trainer ……………………………………………………………………………. 115
Photographer …………………………………………………………………………….. 116
Carpenter ………………………………………………………………………………….. 118
Chapter 11 Charlie the Philanthropist …………………………………………………. 119
Chapter 12 Charlie the Man ………………………………………………………………. 125
Epilogue ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 141
Appendix A Autobiographical Summary ……………………………………………… 143
Appendix B Fraser’s Halo Complex of the Sun – March 21, 1930 …………….. 145
Appendix C Birth/Baptism Record, Death Notice and Obituary ………………. 149
Appendix D Frasier, Thornton & Company Raw Materials Price List ………… 151
Об авторе
A computer consultant by profession, Winston Fraser is a widely published photographer and writer. A book of his photographs, Historic Sites of Canada, was published in 1991. Fraser was the major supplier of photos for National Geographic’s Canada Travel Guide. Most recently he has self-published Endangered Species of Country Life. He is a first cousin, once removed, of Charles Clark Fraser.
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