Fern Alma Rahmel was a Canadian writer and educator. Born in Peterborough, Ontario

Peterborough, Ontario

Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...

 in 1914, Rahmel taught in elementary and later secondary schools. In 1970 she had been a Peterborough teacher for 20 years with the English Department of the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School

Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School

Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School is a public high school located at 201 McDonnel Street in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. One of the oldest public schools in the country, PCVS was founded in 1827. Since 2006, it has operated at capacity with 960+ students, 73 teachers and support staff...

, becoming the head of the English Department before she retired. She was also assistant to Gwyn Kinsey, editor of Saturday Night

Saturday Night (magazine)

Saturday Night was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887.The publication was first established as a weekly broadsheet newspaper about public affairs and the arts, which was later expanded into a general interest magazine. The editor, Edmund E. Sheppard,...

, and was an active participant in theatre and writing.

Rahmel aided Robertson Davies

Robertson Davies

William Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...

 in research while he was editor of the Peterborough Examiner

Peterborough Examiner

The Peterborough Examiner is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by the Sun Media, division of Quebecor Media. At one time, it was edited by Canadian man of letters Robertson Davies. It is the only daily newspaper...

, and wrote children's educational radio plays for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. In their 1970 Spring Convocation, Trent University

Trent University

Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...

awarded her a honorary Doctor of Laws degree, and in 2002 she established the Fern A. Rahmel Bursary there for mature women. She also gave talks to the Peterborough Historical Society, and published an occasional paper on F.M. de la Fosse, Peterborough's first librarian.

Rahmel died on November 28, 2009.