Awards
The L.M. Montgomery Institute gives out three awards at the Biennial Conferences.
Elizabeth R. Epperly Award for Outstanding Early Career Paper
Dr. Betsy Epperly grew up loving the work of L.M. Montgomery, drawn in and to the special place Montgomery created, Prince Edward Island. She excelled as a student, and pursued Montgomery, but those two roles did not overlap, at least officially, because Montgomery was considered to be not a “suitable” subject matter for serious academic study. Doctoral work was completed instead on Anthony Trollope, and then Epperly fitted in Montgomery scholarship, or fitted in work and life around Montgomery scholarship, playing her role in establishing the field of Montgomery studies. Along the way Epperly became President of Montgomery's alma mater, the University of Prince Edward Island.
It was the imagination and the tenacious and relentless work of Betsy Epperly that got things started, and that have done so much to sustain and to nurture the LMMI. That nurturing is no more evident than in her role as mentor, and especially mentor to new scholars.
Recipients
Michaela Wipond, right, with Conference Co-Chair Caroline Jones
Michaela Wipond
“A Changing Landscape: Ecological Grief in Montgomery's Journals”
The judges (Caroline Jones, Allison McBain Hudson, Tara Parmiter, and Rita Bode) agreed that this paper was very well researched and structured, and beautifully written. It focused on an important and timely topic and was a carefully observed examination of Montgomery’s journals and novels. Wipond’s argument was engaging and sophisticated, aligning well with the theme of change; it challenged readers to examine their own experiences of “eco-grief” and look ahead with hope despite loss and change.
The Rev. Dr. Francis W.P. Bolger Award
Dr. Francis W.P. Bolger was a Professor Emeritus of History at UPEI and a member of the Order of Canada. Mid-career, Bolger was shown a series of recently uncovered letters written by a teenage Lucy Maud Montgomery to her cousin, Penzie Macneill. Never having been encouraged to read Montgomery’s works, Father Bolger was astounded by the quality of Montgomery’s mind and writing. He soon became one of her most vocal champions, and his book, The Years Before Anne, played a significant role in legitimizing the serious study of Montgomery. He co-signed the grant application that led to the founding of the L.M. Montgomery Institute and chaired the first LMMI symposium in 1994. He also supported the L.M. Montgomery Land Trust and for more than twenty years he chaired the Lucy Maud Montgomery Birthplace Trust Board.
The Rev. Dr. Francis W. P. Bolger Award is presented for outstanding contributions to our appreciation of Montgomery and place in Prince Edward Island, through scholarship, education, preservation, creative works, or by other means.
Recipients
Laura Robinson (LMMI Management Committee Chair) and Elizabeth Epperly (LMMI Founder), present the Bolger Award to Philip Smith
Dr. Philip Smith
Professor of Psychology, University of Prince Edward Island
Chair of the L.M. Montgomery Institute, 2016-2024
Dr. Philip Bruce Smith is a tireless advocate for L.M. Montgomery, UPEI, and Prince Edward Island, bringing kindness, calmness, and intentionality to everything he does. And he does it all so well, embodying the principles of a servant leader, one who prioritizes the team and the greater good over his own ego. A former Dean of Arts at UPEI, he became chair of the L.M. Montgomery Institute’s Management Committee in 2016 and for the next eight years quietly shaped and sharpened the LMMI’s direction, facilitating donations, making connections, and establishing policies, guidelines, and structures. He ensured the smooth operation of the Institute, a task he made look almost effortless, a testament to his administrative prowess and compassionate diplomacy. No longer on the committee, Dr. Smith continues to represent the LMMI by always being ready to assist, advise, and support and even continues to represent the LMMI at educational events such as the PEI Heritage Fair. His research as a clinical and developmental psychologist means that he maintains a steady focus on the rights and wellbeing of children and families, evident through his dozens and dozens of research publications, presentations, and reports, which have yielded him several awards, such as the national Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation Award for “outstanding achievements in advancing the elimination of family violence.” Like the Reverend Dr. Francis Bolger, Dr Smith is passionate about teaching. Not only has he won several university-specific teaching awards, he is also a 3M National Teaching Fellow and won the Canadian University Professor of the Year from the Canadian Council for the Advancement and Support of Higher Education in 2000. Philip Smith is, above all, a proud Islander, and his multiple successes and unrelenting endeavours show that he is always ready to step up to advance his province and community. For the Province of PEI, he has participated on the Child Protection Act Review Advisory Committee, the Triple P Implementation Committee, the Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Council, and the Premier’s Action Committee on Family Violence Prevention, for just a few examples. Philip Smith is the best kind of academic, one who lends his expertise and energy to benefit not just his scholarly field or his university, but also his community, his province, and his country, one who says “yes” when asked to help. The LMMI is so grateful he said “yes” to lead us for more than eight years, and his work with us, as elsewhere, has been transformational.
L.M. Montgomery Institute Legacy Awards
This award recognizes outstanding lifetime contributions in building Montgomery scholarship and/or public engagement may be awarded biennially in conjunction with conference. This award is not necessarily awarded each conference. The recipient(s) receives a framed certificate; a plaque, with space to recognize recipient(s) for multiple years that will be placed in the LMMI space in the Robertson Library. Recipient(s) will be identified by the LMMI Committee.
Recipients
Laura Robinson (LMMI Management Committee Chair) and Elizabeth Epperly (LMMI Founder), present the Legacy award to Kate Mcdonald Butler
Kate Macdonald Butler
Heirs of L.M. Montgomery, Inc.
Kate Macdonald Butler, youngest child of L.M. Montgomery’s son Dr. Stuart Macdonald and his wife Ruth Macdonald, has spent most of her life actively engaged in preserving and enhancing her grandmother’s legacy. Kate is our living link to Montgomery’s personal life. In childhood, Kate played with Montgomery’s wedding clothes and explored her hand-written journals without realizing just how precious they were or how famous her grandmother was. It was not until Kate gave a book report in elementary school that she began to understand something of Montgomery’s significance for those outside the family. Concluding the report, Kate matter-of-factly stated “and L.M. Montgomery was my grandmother.” Her teacher’s astonishment and excitement deeply impressed young Kate. Her father read Montgomery’s stories to her and recited pages of poetry that he had learned from his mother. When Kate was in her teens, and her two older brothers were out of the house, she often had her father all to herself and they would sit at the kitchen table together where he regaled her for hours with stories about his mother and his life as the son of a famous author.
Kate has spoken to audiences all over the world about Montgomery’s writing and life and has been formally interviewed on every kind of screen and device. Having trained professionally as a food stylist, Kate wrote the Anne of Green Gables Cookbook in honour of her grandmother’s passion for cooking; over the years, she has provided dozens of book introductions and prefaces and countless letters of acknowledgement and support. As one of the greatest tests of her creativity and knowledge, Kate was involved from “page to screen” as an Executive Producer of the award-winning film trilogy L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Long-serving President of the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery, Inc., she was also a founding family member of the Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority, a partnership between Montgomery’s family and the province of Prince Edward Island. Following her grandmother’s example, Kate has bravely persisted, through difficult lawsuits, in protecting her grandmother’s legacy. Since the publication of her Globe and Mail article in 2008 on the circumstances of her grandmother’s death and her family’s belief in Montgomery’s suicide, Kate has been a vocal advocate for the stripping away of the stigma attached to mental illness and acute mental distress.
When the L.M. Montgomery Institute opened in April of 1993, Kate and her mother Ruth were the first people the LMMI invited to come to the Island for the event. A prized photograph from that day includes Kate and Ruth along with Drs. Elizabeth Waterston and Mary Rubio. Since then, Kate Macdonald Butler and the family of Stuart Macdonald have been major donors to the LMMI, contributing autographed books, personal memorabilia, and in 2024 an invaluable cache of recently rediscovered letters and papers that shed fresh light on two of Montgomery’s most significant male friendships.
Gracious ambassador to numerous countries where Montgomery’s writing is regarded as quintessentially “Canadian,” generous contributor to every aspect of the Montgomery research-and-fan worlds, enthusiastic supporter of Montgomery projects in Ontario and on Prince Edward Island, and champion of her grandmother’s reputation internationally, Kate Macdonald Butler honours us in accepting this Legacy Award. We celebrate Kate’s life-time care for the writing, career, and many dimensions of her grandmother, L.M. Montgomery.
