The award, presented Aug. 8 in a ceremony at the Laurentian sleepaway camp, is the latest in a long string of honours earned during a distinguished and enduring journalism career by Mosher, known better to readers of The Montreal Gazette and his 47 books by his nom de plume, Aislin.
The Pip award was established by Caddell to recognize the contributions of distinguished Kanawana alumni: It is given each year to a former camper, counsellor or supervisor who best exemplifies the values of selflessness and contribution to the community. Mosher, 72, was a camper at Kanawana in 1952 and 1953.
Among those at the ceremony, held in the dining hall, were his five grandchildren: three are at Kanawana now, one is a past camper and one is a future camper.
“This year, we honour someone who has contributed enormously to both the cultural and civic life of Montreal,” Caddell said of Mosher in preparing to present the award. “He is a curmudgeon, a journalist and an advocate for free speech — which is especially important in this era when satirists have been targeted by violent extremists.
“They say the role of the journalist is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Terry (Mosher) manages to do that every day he publishes a cartoon.”
Caddell also cited Mosher’s work as a longtime community volunteer with the Old Brewery Mission: He has been a board member since 2001 and “has helped countless people for whom life is an ongoing challenge.”
he spirit of Kanawana is expressed in its motto, Non Nobis Solum — Latin for Not for Ourselves Alone. The inscription on Mosher’s Pip award, which is in the form of a paddle, reads: “For his support of the disadvantaged, for his defence of a free press, and for his commitment to the values of Non Nobis Solum in the world beyond camp.”
Mosher learned many skills at Kanawana he would probably not have learned otherwise, he said — including the J-stroke used in paddling a canoe. “For a city boy, that was something,” he recalled. “And I loved it.”
Although Saturday was his first visit to the Laurentian camp since the 1950s, the place appears to have changed little. “I could remember the layout; obviously, it stuck with me,” he said.
ref:montrealgazette
