Richard and Sharon Stephens
The Stephens live in a well-wooded area that is an ancestral location for Richard. “This home and land have been in the family for five generations. We added a few rooms and made it a perfect family home for us and our children. We have six bedrooms above and a spacious downstairs.”
Richard is well-known for his political role as the mayor of Central Manitoulin and his background in accounting. He operates Rainbow Accounting in Mindemoya. Sharon was a teacher and worked as a monitor and supervisor for supervised access services after retiring from teaching. The writer met Sharon in Ivan Wheale’s art class years ago. Sharon’s fine paintings are displayed in the living room among a charming collection of family photos.
“Paternal great grandparents Richard and Mary Stephens left the Essex area and arrived at Manitoulin Island in 1882. Over time, the family acquired 450 acres of land. Maternal great grandparents William and Elizabeth Kemp were the parents of Catherine who married Hugh Stephens. Hugh and Catherine are my paternal grandparents. My dad Ellwood was the second youngest child of eight. His father died from a falling tree he was cutting when Ellwood was three.”
“Ellwood quit school at age 12 and worked and boarded at a neighbour’s mixed farm, next to the Walt McDonald farm on the 14th Concession Road, Campbell Township. He met our mother Azetta Sterling while working there. Ellwood was a farmer-carpenter and eventually opened a furniture manufacturing business in Little Current, where the Laidley Stationary store is today.” Richard was born in the old Red Cross Hospital in Mindemoya on August 14, 1944.
“I remember my mother sharing my being lost when I was three. We lived across from Andrew Dryden’s farm. Mother contacted father telling him that she couldn’t find me anywhere. Everybody was looking for me. I had decided to tour the riverside. Eventually someone spotted my white head bobbing along the shore and I was returned to safety,” Richard shares. “I also recall being very cold once, walking that half mile to school. It was well known that our teacher, Mrs. Kerr, was quite strict, so I was apprehensive, approaching her with caution. She saw me, grabbed me, removed the mitts then rubbed my hands with hers. I was duly impressed with her kindness and no longer afraid.”
“When I was about 17, I recall digging a hole for a fencepost with my three-year old brother Mark. He asked, ‘What is the hole for?’ I answered jokingly, ‘I am going to bury that yappy dog of yours.’ He answered, ‘I am going to stop you.’ ‘And how are you going to do that?’ ‘With the hammer.’ At this point he picked up the hammer and briskly applied it to my head. I saw stars for a few seconds, but then I laughed about it. It had been my fault from the start.”
“I had six siblings. In order, Hugh the eldest, was 25 when he died in a construction accident in Smooth Rock Falls; Donald, the electrician, lives in Sudbury with his wife Sharon. I was next. Ruth became a nurse and now lives in Tillsonburg with her husband Richard Watters. Barbara also chose a nursing career. She and her husband Evert Jansen have a farm in Honora Bay. Luann, married to Cliff Butler, started as a teacher. When they moved to Texas she turned to real estate. The youngest, Mark, a cabinet maker, was 46 when he died in a car accident. His wife Patty, in Little Current, was left with five young sons.”
“My childhood friend was Douglas Dryden, who lived across the road from us. His family eventually moved to Dryden’s Corner. His mother, Grace, and Doug’s two sisters operated the telephone exchange there. Our dad built a general store and home for the Dryden family on the east side of Dryden’s corner. The store sold gasoline, farm supplies and miscellaneous items.”
“After high school, I moved to Toronto to finish my education and look for work. Dad took me to McKerrow and surprised me with a $100 bill before I got on the train to Toronto. I stayed with my cousin Emily Sterling and her husband Jim Harrison. Within two days I had a job selling subscriptions door to door but left soon after because that was not the job for me. I started with the Holden Company, which imported office supplies. I also enrolled in accounting and management courses. These were later supplemented at McMaster University where I finished with a professional accounting designation.”
“A boarding house became my next accommodation. It was a wonderful way to meet people. When I met Sharon, in 1964, I was doing accounting for Canada Packers. I had moved into her mother’s boarding house and was told no boarders were allowed to fraternize with her daughters. Initially, I had convinced her mother that I wasn’t dating her daughter, despite my attraction to her. This lasted until the day her mother found Sharon sitting on my knee. I was banned from the house, but Sharon and I met secretly when she could get away.”
Sharon shares a bit of her family tree. “Maternal great-grandparents were Charles and Anne (Kelly) McKenna of Irish and Scottish ancestry. Their daughter Katherine, my grandmother, born in 1880, married Louis MacDonald of Prince Edward Island. Louis, the son of John Angus and Mary MacDonald, was born in 1874. Grandmother Katherine visited with us one winter, in Toronto. She was genuinely nice and helpful too.”
“My mother, Mildred, had seven brothers. When she was teaching, she met Emmett Anthony Cusack of Irish heritage. Emmett was a blacksmith, living near Charlottetown, PEI. Many families still had horses on their farms, and they kept Emmet busy. When I was little, I used to walk with my sister to the forge and sit on a horse while Dad shoed it. Emmet enlisted in the army . When he returned from Europe after the war, he realized that blacksmithing was less in demand. Cars had replaced horses. He decided to try his luck in Toronto. Mildred taught school until she started her family. Sharon, born on April 24, 1946, was the third youngest. There were nine children in my family: Doreen, Bernie, Leigh, Kevin, Glen, Colleen, Sharon, Wayne, Pauline. They now live across Canada from PEI to Vancouver Island. Two siblings are deceased.”
“My early memories were riding in a buggy pulled by Billy, our horse. ‘Hold up your head, Billy,’ I urged him. I also liked to eat glue. When my mother told me not to eat the glue I asked my sister Colleen, ‘I tasted it, and it was good wasn’t it, Coddle?’ (my pet name for her). One day at age five, I recall changing Wayne’s diaper but didn’t fasten the sides well. His diaper mess was spread everywhere and Colleen was blamed. I also recall a lightning storm. My brother Wayne was on the table. The lightning moved across the floor like a carpet being rolled out, knocking Wayne off the table and Leigh off his feet before it exited the house.”
“I was eager to start school too before I could. I headed across the cattle field by myself and made it all the way to school. My sister had to take me home. When I did start Grade 1, I cut across the same cow field. This time I stayed in school.”
“In 1953, we moved to West Toronto, near Lake Ontario. My oldest brother Bernie had moved there earlier with Dad. Doreen remained on PEI. My mother bought some used mattresses when we moved into our first home. The mattresses were full of bedbugs and they bit my brothers. My mother burned the mattresses in the backyard! Mother got work at the Canadian National Exhibition and other places until she qualified to teach elementary school. Dad was doing mechanical repairs for bigger companies. At 13, I went to a private girls’ school, Loretto Brunswick. We wore uniforms. My favourite subjects were math and science. I worked at various summer jobs.”
“I was a bit of a daredevil. At 13, my friend and I climbed up to the underbelly of the Don Valley bridge, over the express lanes. We were hanging on some of the metal rods when a police officer on horseback spotted us and ordered us to come back down, which luckily, we did. After Grade 13, I went to Teacher’s College. I was 18 when I met Richard. After I got my driver’s licence, Richard was brave enough to offer his car and expertise. I started to teach in Toronto at Our Lady of Victory, my old school, and St. Pius, both Catholic schools.”
Richard continues with their combined story: “We married on December 26, 1968. By then, I had won over her mother, who had convinced the priest that it was all right for her daughter to marry a Baptist protestant. The reception was a little challenging because my family were nondrinkers and Sharon’s family had paid for a bar. Our honeymoon took us to New York. We saw the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building among other attractions.”
“I was working in London with the DND (Department of National Defense). Sharon moved into the tiny apartment with me. We shared a bathtub with our neighbours! We soon moved into a larger apartment in west London. Sharon taught Grades 7 and 8 at Emily Carr School. The DND office was transferred to Barrie, and we followed in 1971. By then Sharon was pregnant with Anita, and she took a parental leave in her early months.”
“The DND asked me to do an audit in Germany at some army bases. I arrived at Germany first, and Sharon joined me a few weeks later. By the time the audit was completed, Sharon was six months pregnant. We toured Europe hitchhiking and by train, seeing Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Belgium and France. We stayed in various hostels. One late night we were in Belgium and couldn’t locate our hostel. A lady stopped us on the street and said, ‘you shouldn’t be out here, it’s not safe this late at night.’ After explaining our predicament, she insisted we come home with her for the night. She made us a nice breakfast after a good night’s sleep and redirected us on our journey.”
Richard became an audit supervisor for DND. “I was working in Windsor when a police officer stopped me on the street. ‘We need you for a line-up,’ he said. I was a bit apprehensive about this request. “What if they pick me for something I didn’t even know about?” Nevertheless, I conceded and got into the lineup. Thankfully, they didn’t pick me.” In 1972, Richard left the government and became the accountant for Angelo’s Hardware, a wholesaler in North Toronto.
“We moved back to Manitoulin, to Gore Bay, in 1975, where I was a corporate accountant with Manitoulin Transport. Sharon was a bit reluctant to leave the south, but in time felt comfortable.” They renovated and added to the family farm home in Providence Bay and moved into it in 1976. In 1977 Richard started Rainbow Accounting which operated first in Gore Bay and later in Little Current. Richard was also team manager for his son’s hockey team. “I was in that arena every second evening until my five-year-old son turned 18 and left for college.” In 1989, while at a hockey game, Richard bought a house in Mindemoya and moved his business there in 1990.
“We had a cow/calf operation from 1975 to 2008 when I sold all 35 cows and 10 horses because I faced open-heart surgery. Anita had become very interested in the horses and still works with them in Australia today. Our travels have taken us to Australia, Alabama, Florida and Georgia where a Stephens, a possible relative, was the vice president of the Confederate Government.”
“Our children did well. Anita became a teacher. She met her husband Tim Crombie in Australia where his dad manages a 13,000-acre ranch harbouring 3500 sheep and various crops. Anita and Tim live on the ranch with their two boys, Ryan, 14, and Liam, 11. Ryan plays cricket. Liam, the adventurer, likes to jump over hurdles with his bike. During the week, Anita and the boys stay in Perth where the boys attend school. Weekends are spent on the ranch. Anita teaches and gives swimming lessons. In 1989, she was the Fair Queen at the Providence Bay Fair. In 1995, she was thrown from her horse and broke the side bones of her spine. She had to be taken by helicopter to Sudbury and wear a neck brace.”
“Richard Jr., at age seven, decided to ride his bike to visit his friend in Providence Bay without telling his mother. She panicked when she couldn’t find him, bundled up his baby brother and headed out to search. His parents were on the verge of calling the police and searching the river when a truck arrived and out jumped Richard Jr. He received a lecture and lost his bike for a week. Today, he is married to Nadine of Grand Prairie and they live in Calgary. Richard is a sales executive with an oil company, Endurance Technology. Nadine is an accountant with MNP, and the couple has two girls, Jessyka, 12, a competitive soccer player who wants to go to Harvard and become a business executive and Addison, 9, who is more laid back, likes cheerleading and is a great help to family members.”
“Mathew, born in 1982, was Jr. Fair King at the Providence Bay Fair in 1986. In 1992, he made his mother a Chinese birthday meal with chopsticks from scratch. In 1993, he was admitted to the hospital with blood poisoning from letting a calf suck his fingers. Today, Mathew is married to Janine Hanson, a rowing coach, who along with her eight-member rowing team, won silver in the 2012 Olympics. Mathew was a banker who also worked in insurance for the government of Manitoba. He now owns two businesses: painting lines in parking lots and ‘mud whacking,’ leveling off wet cement from the bottom. Matthew and Janine have 10-year-old twin girls, Anna, who plays soccer, and Hailey, a competitive swimmer.”
“In 1976, I threw my hat in the ring for municipal council in Carnarvon Township. I lost by one vote to Tommy Farquhar. However, when Jack McDonald, a successful councillor and cousin of mine, retired early for health reasons, I was appointed to fill the position for the rest of his term. In 1978, I lost again to Doug Lanktree by five votes. In 2003, I entered the three-way race for mayor of Central Manitoulin. I won, and after six elections, I still fill that position.”
Were you named after anyone? “Great-grandfather and Great Uncle Richard.”
Most important event in your life? “Having children. I was hoping for a dozen but am happy with three. In the end, I do have my dozen.”
Favourite season? “Fall, for cutting wood and hunting. I used to come to Manitoulin every fall to see the colours.” Sharon likes summer with the beach and the long walks.
Collections? “Coins, and I am leaving them for our son.”
Favourite television show? “Hockey, Funniest Home Videos and news on the CBC and CTV.”
Awards? 4H. “My cousin John McDonald and I went to New Liskeard and won the top position for our presentation of ‘methodology for judging livestock’.” Richard also won public speaking awards in Grades 7 and 8. Sharon was ‘volunteer of the year’ for Victim’s Services in 2022.
Strengths? Richard: “Accounting and management skills.” Sharon: “Patience, empathy and mediation.”
Things you still want to do? “Downsize with a smaller house in Mindemoya and see the family more often.”
First impressions when you both met? Sharon: “Country boy.” Richard: “Pretty girl who likes short skirts.” Both have volunteered for a variety of organizations over the years.
What did you enjoy most as a parent? Sports with the kids, for Richard. Cuddling them, teaching them values and watching them grow, for Sharon.
What are you most afraid of? Sharon, “having a police officer come to the door with bad news.”
Anything you would change if you could go back in time? Richard, “have more kids.”
People who inspired you? Richard, “My dad, I tried to emulate him.” Sharon: “My mother who was strict but overcame obstacles and took in homeless people.”
Recipe for happiness? Sharon, “Always consider the other person’s perspectives and love one another. Each day, think of something you are grateful for.”
Pets? “Over the years we had a wide array of family pets: cats, dogs, horses, hamsters, birds, rabbits and even rats!”
A good memory? “In 1982-1983, we sponsored Anni Sorensen, an exchange student from Denmark. It was a wonderful experience.”
Someone who inspired you? Sharon: “After an empty nest, my mother taught on a reserve in British Columbia and later managed a home for disabled people in Kenya. She died at 101 in the Gore Bay Nursing Home.”
When Sharon first came to Manitoulin, Richard had to promise her it was for two years only. “After two years, Sharon had been acclimatized and it would have been harder for her to leave. It really is a unique and special place, with all the freshwater beaches and wide-open spaces that are safe to check out. People are friendly and there is a strong sense of community.” Richard has been politically committed for the last 20 years. He is the current mayor of his community, doing a fine job, helping the people of Central Manitoulin with various projects, including the two-million-dollar upgrade of the roads and water-ditching in Mindemoya. The buildings are in good shape. “We are happy here now and we would like to finish current and anticipated projects to keep the people of Central Manitoulin happy, healthy and safe.”
