Lavington, Harold

Harold "Dude" Lavington (1907-1993) was an English-Canadian settler known for his work as a rancher and memoirist. Dude and his brother, Art (1906-1992), grew up on a cattle ranch near Big Valley, Alberta. In 1931, the two opened a ranch 65 km west of Quesnel. With help from Dakelh and Tŝilhqot'in people in the area, and a close-knit community of homesteaders and ranchers, Dude and Art learned the region, built a ranch with bridges, barnyards, pastures, and cabins, and purchased horses and cows. To support their growing ranch, they often accepted seasonal employment on other ranches, hunted, guided hobby hunters, and trapped for the fur trade.

As a rancher in Quesnel, Dude was influential in several community groups, including the Quesnel Cattlemen’s Association, where he served as director, vice-president, president, and delegate to the BC Cattlemen’s Association from their first meeting in 1962. The BC Cattlemen’s Association became an umbrella organisation for smaller groups, including the CattleBelles, which worked in public engagement with the ranching industry, and which Dude was also involved with. He remained connected on a local level, collaborating to form the Baker Creek Livestock Association, which opened a Baker Creek Community Hall and eventually formed a Community Association and Women’s Group.

In 1946, Dude married Ruth Rennie of Courtenay, who moved to the ranch, and gave birth to their child, Jean, in 1947. Ruth died during the birthing process due to heart damage caused by rheumatic fever. A single parent, Dude raised Jean with the help of several community members in Quesnel, and fellow ranching families who boarded with him in the winter. In 1952, Dude married Margaret Paul of Vancouver, who joined the family on the ranch. The two continued to raise Jean, who became an active artist and poet, while supporting her as she attended school by correspondence. In 1970, Jean married John Tibbles and moved to Clearwater, BC. In 1972, Dude and Margaret moved to the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, living briefly in Shuswap Lake and Salmon Arm before settling in Sorrento in 1974. Margaret died in 1975. In 1976, Dude married Florence Montgomery (née Marsh) of Quesnel, who joined him in Sorrento.

Throughout the 1980s, Dude became a prolific writer whose work was influenced by his time ranching in Quesnel. He is best known for his memoirs, The Nine Lives of a Cowboy and Born to be Hung, published by Sono Nis Press in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Yet he also frequently wrote letters to the editor for local newspapers about ranching-related topics and other social and political issues. He remained active until his death of cancer on January 30, 1993. In 1998, he was inducted into the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame for his artistic achievements as a memoirist.