Robert
A. Bryan
– A Modern Day Visionary
Robert A. Bryan was
born in 1931
in Mill Neck, New York.
He
graduated from Yale University
with a BA in 1954 and from Yale
Divinity School
with a Master of Divinity in
1957 in which year he also received his pilot’s license. He was
ordained a
priest in the Episcopal Church in 1958.
Like many of
the great
people who have contributed to this vast nation, Rev. Bryan’s (locally
known as
Mr. Bryan) roots originate outside Canada.
His pioneering spirit comes honestly as his grandfather was
instrumental in
legislating Wyoming into
statehood. This same pioneering spirit took him to the remote area of Canada
known as the Quebec Lower
North Shore,
otherwise known as the “Coast”, in the late 1950s. In the summer of
1959, he
became the substitute minister for vacationing clergy within the
Anglican
Church’s St. Clement’s Mission.
During these early years, reaching parishioners in the small remote
communities
was by small motor boat or dog team. As a visionary and a pilot, the
bush pilot
ministry on the Coast was born through Mr. Bryan. The sight and sound
of the
legendary yellow bush plane, N369E locally known as the “69EZ”, caused
people
to drop whatever they were doing and congregate to a stage head, a home
or
church for both spiritual and social nurturing. Remote lighthouse
stations and
fishing outposts on rocks and islands along the Coast were uplifted at
the
sight of his yellow plane dipping its wings low to bring greetings or
drop
mail. Mr Bryan has logged more than 18,
000 hours of
flying in the 48 years since he began, with more than 15,000 of these
hours
flown in Eastern Canada.
At the time of his
arrival, the
Coast was very isolated and way of life was very basic. There were no
roads, no
electricity and no television. Communication was by telegraph or radio
telephone. Formal education was rudimentary. The 3 Rs
were taught in one room school houses. There was little opportunity for
young
people to go to school beyond Grade 8. Mr. Bryan watched the
traditional games
like “gun-balls” and “rounders”, the latter
played
with little more then a stick and a sponge rubber ball. He was amazed
by the
fact that people who lived from the ocean never knew how to swim. He
saw great
needs and set out to change forever the education, social and
recreation
programs available on the Coast.
Like his great hero,
Sir Wilfred
Grenfell, Mr. Bryan has the wonderful ability to excite and engage many
others
in his vision. He successfully brought many millions of dollars to the
Coast
from both Canadian and American individuals and Corporations, which
would
otherwise not have been available.
In 1961, Mr. Bryan
founded the
Quebec Labrador Foundation (QLF). It started as an organization
providing
leadership programs for young people living in isolated fishing
communities
along the Quebec Lower
North Shore.
College students from American and Canadian
Universities were recruited
to take
part in summer intern programs within the communities. Since the 1960s,
hundreds of Atlantic Canada youth have participated in swimming,
sailing,
canoeing and general recreational camps: Living
Rivers in New
Brunswick; Grey
Island School
and Ocean Horizons in Newfoundland,
and; Robertson Lake Canoe Camp and Maritime
Training School in Quebec.
In particular, camps associated with seabird sanctuaries such as St.
Mary’s and
Perroquet
Islands,
have been world renowned examples of conservation stewardship success.
Swimming
and water safety are now standard life skills amongst the youth and
many
communities are now carrying on these recreational programs. These
programs
have also allowed the many hundreds of interns to experience life
skills of
rural areas. See the Web Site, www.qlf.org, for more details on the
Foundation.
In the early years
prior to the
establishment of the present day formal education system, Mr. Bryan was
responsible for providing the opportunity for many students to further
their
education in outside institutions in Canada
and the USA.
Over the years, many hundreds of the Coast’s youth have also benefited
from
educational grants from QLF. This education grant program is still
alive and
well under the auspices of the QLF Scholarship Fund. Mr. Bryan has
personally
directed the raising of money to keep the work of the foundation going
while
serving as first its President and most recently it’s Chairman.
QLF exists today to
support rural
communities and the environment of Eastern Canada
and New England. Programs are run by school and
college students who live
and work side by side with members of the communities. QLF oversees
exciting
international exchange opportunities for people from the region to
learn and
share with those in other countries. This process is aimed at better
equipping
them for a world in the 21st century linked through technology and
transportation like never before. The Foundation places great
emphasis on
encouraging education and leadership in young people and creating
natural
resource and cultural heritage stewardship models that can be applied
world-wide. The true success of Mr. Bryan’s vision is witnessed by the
number
of Coast youth that are now or have been themselves, interns with QLF.
Mr. Bryan was also
very involved
with medical services on the Coast. Medical service on the Coast
arrived for
people through the auspices of the Grenfell Mission and Dr. Grenfell.
The
remote villages were serviced by a traveling doctor, by boat in summer
and by
dog team in winter. In his early years, Mr. Bryan had ample opportunity
to fly
mercy missions. Flying people to hospital or the doctor to a patient in
need,
in his small plane, was often requested by Dr. Hodd
in Harrington Harbour,
Quebec and Dr. Thomas in St.
Anthony, Newfoundland.
On these
missions he sometimes risked his life in fierce wind, fog or blinding
snow to
fly patients to hospital. Searches to find people lost in bad weather
or rescue
people stranded were also par for the course.
Ven.
Rev. Bryan is currently the Anglican Archdeacon for the Lower
North Shore.
Over his 40 plus years on the Coast, he has been a friend, counselor,
mediator
and an all-around hero to the people. He has the ability to make people
feel
good despite the challenge or misery-of the moment. Often, when he flew
in to
villages, just having the opportunity to shake his hand and hear a
friendly
word of encouragement was support enough to keep people moving. He
taught
people to appreciate their surroundings and made them believe that the
little
they had was a blessing. He has also been very instrumental in
recording and
collecting history and cultural artifacts of the Coast.
Mr. Bryan had a
vision and has
lived to see it extend far beyond what he could ever have imagined. He
has
devoted the last 40 plus years of his life to serving the people living
along
the rugged Quebec Lower
North Shore.
Through QLF, he has helped to change forever the face of education and
environmental stewardship and in particular young peoples’ view of the
world
they inhabit. Mr. Bryan has toiled for more then 40 years to improve
conditions
for humans and the environment alike and is most deserving of special
recognition. Over the years, Mr. Bryan has received many awards. In
1996, he
received from Quebec, “L’Ordre du Merite
Nord-Cotier” recognizing his contribution
in an
exceptional way to the quality of life on the Quebec
Lower North
Shore.
However, it is not just the Lower
North Shore
that has been touched by the
energies and talents of this man. His influence is similarly seen
throughout
Coastal Labrador, Northern Newfoundland, and New
Brunswick.
Click here / cliquez
ici for
pictures: Picture 1 - Rev. Bryan and
his family on the Wharf in Harrington
Harbour in the 1960s, with 69EZ in the background; Picture 2 - The 69EZ on the
ramp in Harrington - Kath Blanchard, Aaron Ransom, Rev. Tony Hitsman,
Ven. Rev.
Bryan and Lawton Stubbert.
Date entered on
Web: 13 March 2005
Updated: 07 April
2005
