Feature ArticleNovember 28, 2001
LAND O'LAKES NewsWeb HomeContact Us
John
Meisel a profileby
David BrisonJohn Meisel is
a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee of The Frontenac News,
but that is hardly the most prestigious position he has held in a
career as an academic at Queens, which spans 50 years.
He is perhaps best known as the appointed head of the CRTC
(Canadian Radio-television and Tele-communications Commission).
He served in that capacity for four years in the 80s. Many
people know him today because he frequently appears on television as a
commentator on national affairs.
John has also been a resident in the area for a number of years.
In the late 60s, he and his wife (who died in 1986) decided
that they wanted to own their own lake, and asked real estate agents
if they could locate one for them north of Kingston.
They had plans to set up a bird sanctuary, and liked to hike,
row, and swim. They wanted to be able to do this on a lake uncontaminated by
motorboats. What better way than to own your own lake?
They found a lake off of the Anderson Road near the village of Crow
Lake, and bought a boat which was handmade by Geuel Anderson.
The next step was to build a house, so they commissioned an
architect, who initially left off a guest room which they had wanted.
However, on his second try, he came up with an entirely new concept
a round house.
The result is a beautiful and unusual round house, near but not
visible from the Anderson Road, which sits on a ridge overlooking a
small lake. They moved in
permanently in 1974, gave up their Kingston home, and John has lived
there ever since.
He has recently given the property to the Rideau Valley Conservation
Authority, but will continue to reside on the property.
He was pleased to be asked to serve on the Editorial Advisory
Committee because he feels he has never been able to contribute much
to the community he lives in. The
committee is comprised of people who read The News and are writers
themselves. In addition
to advising on editorial policy, members also contribute articles on
areas of their expertise and interest.
Johns first contribution, in this weeks paper, is titled, Let
us now praise our politicians.
He has been observing politicians for a long time and thinks
they have an undeservedly bad reputation. The focus of his academic
work is the study of political parties and elections. He wrote the first book on a general election in 1957,
conducted the first national poll on political matters in 1968, and
has a number of publications on elections and political parties.
He also has written extensively on Canadian unity.
He speaks fluent French and has always been close to scholars
in Quebec. When he was
asked to chair the CRTC, the then Conservative government thought that
telecommunications held the country together, and wanted someone who
was accepted in Quebec and also had credentials as an advocate of
national unity.
John thought at one time, just after he had graduated from high
school, that he wanted to be a journalist. He was living in Frankford, Ontario, at the time.
His father, originally from Czechoslovakia, worked for Bata
Shoes. The family had
been uprooted by the war
and John came to Canada from Haiti in 1942.
He rode his bike seven miles into Trenton to talk to the
editor, and eventually got a job as a reporter for the Trenton Courier
Advocate.
That career didnt last; he went to the University of Toronto, but
while there he continued to write as a correspondent for The Varsity,
a contributor of short stories for the Victoria literary publication (Acta
Victoria), and later as the editor of that publication.
As editor, I like to think that John, as a member of our advisory
committee, has returned to his early interest in journalism.
He suggests good story leads, such as the current controversy
over the dock on the beach in Crow Lake; the transportation situation,
particularly for seniors; and a good news story on the recent
paving of Road #38. He
also has volunteered to write other articles for us and what is
most unusual, he asks for deadlines and meets them.
More realistically, I think I have learned what countless others have
over the years. He is a
lively and learned man, and when he applies that intelligence to any
task, the results are both impressive and constructive.
