By Matea Tuhtar

Retired teachers turn their time into becoming authors

Judy Kozar

When Judy Kozar told a friend she was writing a book about war grooms, she got a confused reply of “What? Did you say war brooms??”

Much has been talked about Canada’s war brides, but very little has been mentioned of the war grooms – foreign servicemen who came to Canada to train during World War II, married a Canadian girl, and moved to Canada to live out their lives. One such war groom was Kozar’s father-in-law, whose story prompted her to write the book Canada’s War Grooms and the Girls Who Stole Their Hearts – the first recount of the lives of these men.

Kozar is a retired teacher-librarian who taught in the Louis Riel school division for 25 years. After her father-in-law died, her family found his story among his papers.

“He never talked much about the war,” says Kozar, “but after he died, we found his account – I guess he wanted somebody to know. I could not let the story die, so I sent it to Air Force magazine, and they published it.”

The story got a lot of interest, and Kozar realized there had to be other war grooms in Canada whose stories needed to be told. She advertised in magazines and through the Aviation museums, and managed to find 45 men from across Canada whose stories could make up a contents of a book. Most of the interviews were conducted over phone or email.

“They enjoyed giving their stories,” Kozar says. “It was about time - they’re not Canadian veterans because a lot of them were from Great Britain or Australia, so the Canadian government didn’t pay much attention to them.”

Most of the men came during the war because Canada had a British-Commonwealth training ground, safe skies, wide open spaces, and supplies – something war-torn Britain couldn’t offer. The stations were across Canada, including one in Carberry, Manitoba where Kozar’s father-in-law had been posted.

“The base at its height had 1,500 airmen,” says Kozar, “so they were a real presence in the town.  Canadians just loved having these guys here, and they showed them a good time.” 

The communities often put on dances for the soldiers, which were attended by young women from surrounding areas.

“These guys were gorgeous in their uniforms, and most of them were not married, and had interesting accents. And of course boy meets girl, and some of them ended up getting engaged or married, and then the men would go finish their war services and come back.” 

Often the men would fall in love with the country, as well as the girl. After the war, there were more opportunities for jobs in Canada, and Canada benefited from having the young guys joining the work force.

A self-described “accidental” writer, Kozar says the book is her first major writing project.

“I never had the intention of writing a book, but this opportunity came up, and I said ‘You know if I don’t try, I will always regret it.’”

“There are so many untold stories about World War II,” says Kozar, “I’ve received great response to this book. For a lot of the men, their local newspapers wrote up spreads about their stories, and nobody had ever heard of them before.”

The stories include a lot of facts about Canada’s history, and the book is recommended to schools for Grades 8 and up. The War Museum is placing it in their archives as the only book ever written on the topic.

“It’s interesting when a woman writes a book,” says Kozar, “I focused more on the love story, whereas a man might have focused more on the military service, so it gives a different perspective. And everybody likes a good love story.”

Canada’s War Grooms and the Girls Who Stole Their Hearts can be purchased through McNally book sellers, or through General Store Publishing.
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Larry Verstraete

Larry Verstraete began his writing career thanks to a haircut.  While at a barbershop one day, he picked up a magazine that advertised a correspondence writing course. One of the assignments was to write a non-fiction story for children, and while researching for the topic of lightning, Verstraete came across an unusual story about Benjamin Franklin and some of his strange experiments. 

Intrigued by the odd story, Verstraete started looking for other stories of inventions and discoveries brought on by accidents, disasters or mistakes. He put together a collection of over 20 stories, and pitched a book idea to various publishers, of which Scholastic responded.

His first book Accidental Discoveries was published in 1988, and since then he has written numerous others including Survivors: True Death-Defying Escapes, Whose Bright Idea Was It, and Mysteries of Time. His books have received many awards including the 2004 Silver Birch Award, and the 2006 Red Cedar Award for children’s choice in non-fiction.

Verstraete taught in public schools as well as at the University level, before retiring in 2003.  He started off teaching science in High School, and moved on to Grades 5 and 6, mostly in the Pembina Trails School Division.

“I was able to juggle teaching and writing for some time,” says Verstraete. “Because I was writing non-fiction, you can write it in pieces and come back to it. I started waking up early in the morning and walking to a coffee shop, and getting some writing done there, and that’s a habit I’ve kept. Now I try to write every morning, seven days a week.”

Verstraete’s books are intended for middle years, and he says his experience as a teacher has helped him understand his audience. “I have an idea on what kids like, and what they’re about,” says Verstraete. “When I go to schools I really enjoy speaking to the children, and getting a sense from them about what they’re reading and writing, and what they’re interested in.  It’s a nice relationship.”

Growing up, Verstraete read a lot of true stories, which is why today, stories about real people, discoveries, and adventures are his favorite topics.  “I enjoy uncovering new facts, and found that expressing them in an interesting and easy-to-understand way was quite a challenge,” he says.

“Being a parent, I realized I was far too concerned with my children learning the rules of reading. The key was sitting down with them to enjoy reading, and the skills develop the more they do it. It doesn’t matter so much what kids are reading – it’s not as important as the fact that they are reading.”

Verstraete is currently working on a young adult fiction book, and spends time touring in Canada, doing readings and visiting schools.  His books can be found at McNally Robinson, or through Scholastic.