Stanley is a community located in the East Hants municipal district,

Hants County Hants County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants. History Formation The county of Hants ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Stanley is most famous as the birthplace of the acclaimed Canadian poet

Alden Nowlan Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright. History Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor ...

History

Stanley's first settler was New England planter John Smith, who in 1760 established a village on the banks of the

Kennetcook River The Kennetcook River is a river that flows through Hants County, Nova Scotia. From headwaters near the mouth of the Shubenacadie River, the Kennetcook traverses about 45 kilometres of mostly rural terrain, discharging into the Avon River, Nova Sco ...

. He was quickly followed by John Anthony (1761) and James Campbell (1772).Charles Bruce Fergusson. ''Place-names and Places of Nova Scotia'', Public Archives of Nova Scotia, Halifax: 1967. After the American Revolution, the area became part of Douglas Township (1784) and was settled by soldiers of the British 84th Regiment. In 1883 the community was renamed for

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, after whom the Stanley Cup of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

is also named. During the Second World War (1939–45), the community became the site of Stanley Airport, which the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

used from March 17, 1941 until January 14, 1944 to train pilots under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Many of the citizens of Stanley assisted the war effort by actively supporting the RCAF in training Commonwealth pilots. Barracks were built for 360 trainees and support staff. The hangar erected to house the aircraft became the largest building in Hants County. Currently, the airport is maintained by the Stanley Sport Aviation group.Kevin Layden
Stanley Fly-in
2015. Accessed 19 March 2015.

Alden Nowlan

Stanley is the birthplace of renowned writer

. Nowlan won the

Governor General’s Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for poetry, and he is ranked alongside Canada's great poets. Nowlan grew up exposed to violence, alcoholism and poverty in precarious family circumstances. Self-educated for much of his life, he dropped out of school in grade five. He taught himself to read by befriending a librarian at the Library in Windsor, Nova Scotia; a plaque in the Windsor library is dedicated to him. He graduated as a teenager from a two-week program offered by the Folk School in the Kennetcook Hotel,

Kennetcook, Nova Scotia Kennetcook is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipal District of East Hants. Also see adjacent community of Upper Kennetcook. History The village takes its name from the Kennetcook River which is believ ...

(February 1953). First published at age 19, he went to work for the

Hartland, New Brunswick Hartland is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada. On 1 January 2023, Hartland annexed all or part of seven local service districts, greatly expanding its area and population. The community's name remains in official use. Revised c ...

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

'' and later for the Saint John ''

Telegraph-Journal The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The newspaper is published by Brunswick News. The ''Telegraph-Journal'' ...

''.

Population

According to Statistics Canada, the population of East Hants, the municipality which includes Stanley, was 21,387 in 2006. For 96 percent of the population, the primary language in East Hants is English. The employment rate is 63 percent, and the official unemployment rate is 6.7 percent. The median annual income for males is $34,340 and for females it's $17,381.

Community events

Stanley holds an annual Pumpkin weigh-off in September. Stanley Sport Aviation holds the Stanley Fly-in, typically on the Canadian Labour Day weekend.East Hants Seasonal Features
2014. Accessed 19 March 2015.

References

Primary Texts *Cook, G.M. (2003). ''One Heart, One Way''. Lawrencetown: Pottersfield Press. (p. 21) Endnotes {{Reflist Links
Stanley on Destination Nova Scotia
Communities in Hants County, Nova Scotia