Noted N.S. author E.R. Buckler dies BRIDGETOWN - Dr. Ernest Redmond Buckler, 75, recognized as one of Canada's finest writer, died Sunday in Soldiers Memorial Hospital, Middleton. Born is West Dalhousie, he was a son of the late Appleton and Mary (Swift) Buckler. The author of the Canadian classic, The Mountain and the Valley, Dr. Buckler received his B.A. with distinction in mathematics from Dalhousie University in 1929 and an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1930. Following his graduate degree, he did actuarial work for five years with Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Toronto. Ill health forced his return in 1936 to his family farm in Centerlea, Annapolis Valley. Shortly after his return, he began contributing articles and short stories to United States and Canadian magazines, notably Esquire, 1938 -1941, Saturday Night, 1940 - 1948, and Maclean's, 1948 -1951. He also wrote many scripts for CBC Radio (plays, 1940 - 1945; stories, talks and more plays, 1950 - 1954). A few years after the publication of his first novel in 1952, The mountain and the Valley, which received critical acclaim in North America, he began to write full-time; until then he had considered farming his principle occupation. Dr. Buckler received three Canada Council grants, the president's medal for Best Canadian Short Story, 1957 and 1958; first prize, Maclean's fiction contest, 1948; the Canadian Centennial medal for "valuable service to the nation," 1967, and the Order of Canada in 1974. He won the Stephen Leacock Award and the Hudson Bay Company Award in 1978. Dr. Buckler received three honorary degrees, and honorary doctorate of letters from the University of New Brunswick, honorary doctorate of letters from Acadia University, and honorary doctorate of law from Dalhousie University. Surviving are three sisters, Mrs. Nellie Buckler and Mrs. Olive Rice, both of Bridgetown, and Mona, (Mrs. Robert Simpson), Nanaimo, B.C.; and five nephews. He was predeceased by a sister, Ruby.