News and Events
In Memoriam: Remembering Donna McCaw (1949-2026)
When the Guelph Enabling Garden and the Guelph Guild of Storytellers first conceived the idea of Tea ‘n’ Tales, we did not imagine what a success it would be. The programme quickly expanded to a point where we needed “outside” tellers to join our small local group.The very first named suggested was Donna McCaw, a teller from nearby Elora. She was invited.
She accepted.She came and she told.
And continued to come every year for about fifteen years to be part of that festival on the banks of the River Speed. She was a staunch and reliable entertainer. She was flexible: “put me anywhere you need me; team me with any other teller”.
And so, every year, Donna McCaw would be there. In the garden. By the river. Microphone before her, dressed in the brightest of clothes. One could not only hear, but could see the energy and the enthusiasm she exuded. She not only came to tell, but to listen. On any given Friday, Donna could be seen on the outskirts of the audience, absorbing the tales being told.And she was a masterful storyteller! Her voice carried the mood of the tale; her gestures gave depth to her telling. And convincing.
One day she told of travelling with her friend “out west” to find summer work, but after a few weeks she discovered her hero, Leonard Cohen, would be visiting Canada, but only appearing in Montreal. In detail she described the adventures – and the misadventures – as she and her friend completed that trip across half of the country.
Later, an audience member remarked about how brave she must have been.
“Oh, that?”, replied Donna, “I just made most of that up!”
Donna also invited some of us to her annual Spoken Word evenings in Elora, to demonstrate that stories need not to be read, or sung, but also told verbally, without cues, but with voice and expression.
This summer that is now behind us, Donna told alongside Michael Williams, reminiscing about her Nan – her bravery, her determination, her sense of humour, her grit. In retrospect I wonder if she was describing not her grandmother, but herself, knowing that her cancer was progressing – knowing that her time was limited; knowing that this story may be her last.
Donna will be missed each summer as we gather to tell. Missed, but not forgotten: the guild and the Guelph Enabling Garden intend to create a structure where inlaid stones will commemorate Donna, along with two other local tellers no longer with us – along with each of us as we join her in that garden beside the river.