Bernhardt, Clara, 1911-1993

Clara Bernhardt (1911-1993) was a poet, novelist, composer, and columnist, who lived in Cambridge, Ontario. At the age of eleven she was stricken with polio and confined to a wheelchair. Although she was unable to pursue more that a Grade 8 education, Bernhardt wrote poetry, articles, and stories. Her newspaper columns circulated in Canada and the United States for more than sixty years, and she was a columnist for the Preston Times Herald (now the Cambridge Times) for thirty years. She published three volumes of poetry, two novels, and a book of songs. In 1991 Clara Bernhardt was presented with the Order of Ontario.