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Joan Finnigan

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B: November 23, 1925 in Québec
D: August 12, 2007 in Ottawa Valley, Ontario

Joan Helen Finnigan was born in the Pontiac region of Québec and grew up in Ottawa. The daughter of Frank Finnigan, an Ottawa Senators’ hockey legend, and Maye Horner, Finnigan attended Lisgar Collegiate, Carleton University and Queen’s University. She began her career as a teacher and reporter for the Ottawa Journal. She went on to publish more than thirty books during her career, half of them inspired by her native Ottawa Valley, including her ground-breaking, best-selling oral histories such as Some of the Stories I Told You Were True, It Was Warm and Sunny When We Set Out, Legacies, Legends & Lies, Tell Me Another Story and Tallying the Tales of the Old-Timers. She won the Canadian Film Award for Best Screenplay for The Best Damn Fiddler From Calabogie to Kaladar, her only screenplay. She died in 2007, the year that saw publication of her 31st book, and 12th book of poetry, Looking For A Turnout. Some sources state she was born in Ottawa, Ontario.

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The Best Damn Fiddler From Calabogie to Kaladar (1968)