When Jamie Lamb was a columnist for the Vancouver Sun in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, he shared a slice of home with his readers.
It was a series of stories — “fact-fiction blends about growing up in Orillia.”
“They got a nice reception out here,” Lamb said.
If an audience 4,000 kilometres away was taking notice, residents of his hometown surely would, too.
It wasn’t until later, though, following some serious health scares, that Lamb decided to write a book.
“It was a jolt. It kind of wakes you up,” he said. “You really shouldn’t sleepwalk through your life without acknowledging who and what makes life worth living.”
Two years ago, Lamb returned to Orillia — only his second visit in the past 45 years — and went to Bay Street, where he grew up. That street serves as the launching pad for the various stories in his recently released debut book, Christmas in Mariposa: Sketches of Canada’s Legendary Little Town.
Does that title ring a bell? Its similarity to Stephen Leacock’s 1912 book, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, is no mistake.
“I was very young when I read it and I saw my town in it,” said Lamb, who used to work at the Packet & Times. “I’m not pretending for a second that I’m Leacock or as good as him, but it’s something you shoot for.”
As is the case with Leacock’s book, Lamb’s does not mention Orillia once. It’s Mariposa, and Lake Couchiching is Lake Wissanotti. With few exceptions, the names of the “characters” in Christmas in Mariposa are not the same as those who inspired them.
“I was aware of how (Leacock) dealt with people in Orillia,” he said. “You can take shots at them, but, by and large, you have to be kind.”
That kindness should go over well when he returns to town at the end of the month.
Lamb, who now lives in Tsawwassen, B.C., will be at Swanmore Hall, on the Leacock Museum grounds, on Nov. 30 from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss his book and read excerpts. On Dec. 1, he will be signing copies at Manticore Books in downtown Orillia from 1 to 3 p.m.
“It’s going to be an unreal thing for me,” he said of coming back to Orillia, adding he hopes his book will “evoke an emotional response” from local readers.
Tickets to the Swanmore Hall event cost $25, which includes a copy of Christmas in Mariposa. Two tickets and a copy of the book cost $40. Tickets are available at Manticore Books and online.
