The Isaiah W. Wilson Commemorative Display Official Opening February 27, 1999

THE DIGBY COURIER,Wednesday, March 3, 1999 Page 3
Article by John DeMings

Dr. Alexander Leighton remembers seeing historian Isaiah W. Wilson walking the dusty roads of Digby County in the 1920s.

Now, thanks to a donation by Leighton and his wife, Dr. Jane Murphy Leighton, people visiting Digby's public library can also catch a photographic glimpse of Wilson through a window of his former Smith's Cove home.

In a ceremony Saturday at the Isaiah W. Wilson Memorial Library, the Leightons officially unveiled a façade of the Wilson home - a wall, window and part of the roof and chimney - which will serve as a memorial to the historian who died in 1928 at the age of 80.

More than 60 people attended the ceremony and were able to look through the façade's window at two photographs of Wilson, coming and going on a snowy country road, as well as a picture of the Wilson home before it was torn down last May, and a photograph of young children at the opening two years ago of the Isaiah W. Wilson Memorial Library.

The small Wilson house was located on the Leighton's property and the couple said Saturday they had been concerned for more than a decade about the future of the house, and fore some way to recognize the historian.

"He had a greatness of spirit," said Dr. Alexander Leighton, "and was dedicated to working on behalf of others."

"We were delighted when the library was given Wilson's name," added Dr. Jane Leighton, and the idea of a façade of the house within the library grew from there. The picture of the children at the library's opening - "Wilson would have been pleased with... all those little scholars" - also struck her as a worthwhile addition to the display behind the face window.

Also, she said, there were two pictures her husband had of Wilson walking, so putting them in the display "seems to be just the right thing."

While the Leightons were concerned about recognition for Wilson's scholarship and dedication, others at Saturday's opening pointed to similar traits in the Leightons. Both have labored for decades on the 'Stirling County Study' which looks at the amount and distribution of mental illness in a community.

The benchmark study, now in its 50th year, is one of the major projects of its type in the world.

By John DeMings, Digby Courier, Wed. March 3, 1999