Roberta Dupont (Bobby Hawley)

I was born and raised in the small village of Sharbot Lake near Kingston, Ontario.  Following in my mother's footsteps, I became a teacher, although my desire at the time was to be a journalist.  I have no regrets because working with children, over the years, has been a very rewarding experience.

This was my home in Sharbot Lake.  It was not the house that I was born in but it was the one in which I spent my teenage years and was the dwelling I called home for most of my adult life until my Mother's death in 1985. 

Just back of the homestead, on the hill , looking out over a beautiful bay we had four cottages that we rented to tourists during the summer months.  My Mother purchased these cottages, on the property adjacent to our home, when she retired from teaching in 1970.  She felt this was a good investment for her money and could add to the small teacher's pension she would be receiving.  She was certainly right in this venture even though it entailed a lot of industry on the part of all family members over the years.

This old homestead held a lot of memories and I was saddened to see it go but fortunately the memories were not for sale and still remain deep in our souls to be brought forth to relish whenever we so desire.

As a retired teacher I have wandered done several different paths to find my new niche.  I busied myself making a selling dolls of my own creation for a while.  After giving that up I started a Christmas trend of making Father Christmases which sold well and were really quite nice.  I really enjoyed modelling the faces and hands and deciding on colors for there robes and looking around for special adornments to make them unique.

 We travelled through the states following our son George's hockey.  There was a lot to see and enjoy.  We ventured to Denmark one year to spend Christmas with George in Copenhagen.  Denmark is a very beautiful country with a great deal of history to offer.  I have finally settled on writing as my major pastime for now.  I find it is a great stimulus for the brain which I was desperately in need of. 

The two books I have written are both based on bullying issues.  "Benny The Bullybeastie " is mainly about anger and how we should try to control it before we lash out at someone or something and possibly do grave damage.  I went around to schools and did readings from this book and did lessons that dealt with empathy,' the ability to enter into the spirit and feelings of others.'  We talked about values, tolerance and respect for things that others might hold sacred.  Actions that might make you feel welcome or unwelcome in the playground or in the classroom.  We discussed the different forms of bullying such as , physical bullying, teasing, verbal attacks, and exclusion from the group because of race, ethnicity or religion.

"By Golly, Molly, You're Right" is a book written about the type of bullying that occurs between girls in the junior grades although the dynamics in this book could occur anywhere at any level or age group.  It is attempting to show the damage that can be done to a child's self esteem or self worth if it is allowed to go too far.  In this book Molly found a solution to her dilemma which I think some poor little child, who is being bullied, will find inspirational.

I am also writing poetry which will be entered in another area of this website.