UNDER WHOSE SHADE: A STORY OF A PIONEER IN THE SWAN RIVER VALLEY OF MANITOBA. Henderson, Wes. Nepean (Ont.). Wes Henderson & Associates, 1986. 119pp, paper, $8.50. ISBN 0-9692698-0-3. Distributed by Wes Henderson & Associates, 24 Seymour Avenue, Nepean. Ont. K2E 6P2. Adult/Secondary Reviewed by Joan McGrath Volume 16 Number 6 1988 November This story of a pioneer is an affectionate backward look at a way of life now fading from memory as the ranks of those who lived it grow thinner with the passing years. The Henderson family left Ireland during the Great Hunger to settle in Ontario, but the promise of newer lands, free to hard-working young farmers, drew three of the sons to Manitoba to the Swan River valley. This is the story of one of those young men, Nelson Henderson. He served in the trenches of the Great War, made a farm, married, and raised a large family. He didn't communicate with his wife and children all that well: his pride in them and affection for them had to suffice. Perhaps that lack of communication led one son to put into words all the love and shared history of a family. This is a pleasant, kindly book, unpolished and sadly in need of careful editing (e.g. is the third son Glen or Glenn?), and chiefly of interest to family and friends of the Hendersons'. However. It does preserve a detailed picture of a very special way of life, exemplified by Nelson's message to the author on his graduation day; "The true meaning of life, Wesley, is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit." Joan McGrath, Toronto Board of Education. Toronto, Ont.