the hermit of gully lake

on making a place

Willard Kitchener MacDonald.

Were he alive today, he’d marvel that you’re reading his name.

Willard Kitchener MacDonald did not want to be known.

Willard Kitchener MacDonald did not want to be seen.

Willard Kitchener Mac Donald likely did not want to be remembered, yet here you are reading his name four times now.

Willard was known to many around these parts as ‘The Hermit of Gully Lake.

Born in Massoftwoshits in 1916, Willard jumped a troop train in order to not go kill people in the 1940’s. He lived alone, in the woods for over sixty years. In that time, he became a local legend. Some would help him. Others would barely see him in passing. Willard really wasn’t of this time and this society. And? He found his way.

Willard built a home, read books and even built his own guitar to keep himself occupied. Willard’s desertion was pardoned in 1950. He lived in the forest until he died in 2004. Not a bad run for a dude refusing medical care and living in the forest eh?

Back then, it was common f…