# Death of (AWOL) Gully Lake hermit confirmed



## bossi (6 Jul 2004)

Reminds me of those Japanese soldiers on various Pacific islands who refused to surrender for decades
(although, yes - I know there's a difference between being AWOL and "soldiering on" ...)
Interesting trivia (that an amnesty was declared in 1950)


*Death of Gully Lake hermit confirmed* 
  
EARLTOWN, N.S. (CP) - The Hermit of Gully Lake has finally left the woods that were his home, refuge and security blanket for almost 60 years. 

The RCMP confirmed Monday that human remains found late last month in remote woods in central Nova Scotia are those of Willard Kitchener MacDonald, an 87-year-old recluse who lived alone there since jumping a troop train during the Second World War. The Mounties, in a news release, said a birth certificate and other items found on the remains confirmed MacDonald's identity. 

The discovery is the final chapter in the long and reclusive life of perhaps the most isolated person in all of Atlantic Canada. 

MacDonald, who was born in Somerville, Mass., in August 1916, lived alone in the woods since jumping the train bound for Halifax and ultimately a ship to Europe in 1945. 

"Oh God, I never did like war," he said in 1991 when told by a visitor about Canada's involvement in the Gulf War with Iraq. 

"I never did like to shoot people." 

Canada declared amnesty on deserters in 1950, but MacDonald remained afraid and distrustful and chose to remain in the woods. 

The old hermit had no radio, television or newspapers, and he came out of the bush only about once a month, trudging about 12 kilometres to buy supplies from a general store in Earltown. 

He earned just enough for supplies by trapping animals and selling their pelts. 

He spent most of his life in a tiny, doorless shack that he built himself and was so small he had to crawl in and out through a window-like hatch. 

A number of years ago, community concern for his welfare convinced the Department of Community Services to finance construction of a bigger, more comfortable cabin. 

But after moving in for a brief period, MacDonald said the new cabin was simply too close to civilization for his liking. 

"It's so busy, the road traffic noises," he said at the time. "It bothers the concentration. I still do a little composing of music, it kind of interferes." 

MacDonald moved back into his tiny hovel, but when a forest fire destroyed it in 2003, he went back to the winterized cabin. 

In late November, MacDonald disappeared for good when visitors went to get medical help against his wishes after he became ill. 

Searchers waded for a time through thick snow in a futile effort to find the elderly man, who knew every centimetre of his wooded home and could easily avoid detection. 

The Mounties said the hermit would have died from natural causes coupled with the effects of hypothermia. The identification process was slowed by a lack of medical or dental records. 

The body was found on June 27 by more than 100 volunteers who used a training exercise session in the Gully Lake area as an opportunity to try to find MacDonald. 

"The world is so . . . out there," the hermit once told a visitor, leaving his own definition unfinished.


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## Ian_M (7 Jul 2004)

Poor Fellow, at least he died in his....home I guess you can say, since he lived on that land for so many years. Too bad he died alone though.


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## SFontaine (8 Jul 2004)

What a life.. Spending 60 years in the damn woods. I mean what would you do?


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## casing (9 Jul 2004)

He obviously chose to live that life, so why feel pity for him?  Sounds to me like he actually had an enjoyable life for the most part.


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## Sheerin (10 Jul 2004)

that was quite a life... I don't think i could imagine living for 60 years away from civilization!
its nice to get away everyonce in a while but to spend your entire life like that...


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## Scott (11 Jul 2004)

I grew up about 75km away from Earltown and over the years I have heard my fair share of stories about the old hermit. Many of the locals liked him. I believe that he died happy and at home if he died in the woods, good on him. Can't say I understand the logic of doing what the did, but to each their own, eh?

Cheers!


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