So, something quite odd happened on social media in early January.
My dad, Sargent McGowan (born in 1938) had a somewhat viral social media post.
There are two reasons why that was odd. One, the post was written by Dad back in 1969.
Two, Dad passed away from cancer in 2005.
Welcome to social media, where time is a loop and somewhat irrelevant. After all, we can see hand-written pages of Shakespeare’s plays and Egyptian papyrus on the internet alongside posts from mere seconds ago around the world.
Nonetheless, it’s not the time loop that sent his post shooting through social media, but its content.
In 1969, Dad was the principal of Gronlid School outside of Melfort. As per usual, he wrote the annual Principal’s Message for the school yearbook.
One of the people who had a copy of that yearbook – Val Rilkoff – was sorting through pictures and books. When she reread the Principal’s Message, she said, she found it very moving, especially after the events in the US.
So she snapped a picture and posted it to the Facebook group, Old Saskatchewan.
Old Saskatchewan is a great place to share old photos and time capsule pieces and stories. Anyone from the Gronlid area might enjoy the walk down memory lane.
Soon, my phone was hopping with texts and messages: you have to read this post on Old Saskatchewan. It’s by your Dad.
Sure enough, I opened my phone and there is Dad’s voice coming through the typewritten pages from over 50 years ago, with words to share that sound incredibly prescient.

They are worth reporting in full.
He opens with a quote: “Paper will put up with anything written on it.”
He then continues: “This quotation is credited to one Josif Vissarionovich Djugashvili, better known to the world as Joe Stalin.”
“While his claim to fame is certainly not based on his literary accomplishments, he did not hesitate to make use of papers and the press to distort the truth and glorify himself.”
“Alas, Joe Stalin is dead; but if God in his Wisdom and Man in his Ignorance could combine to produce such a one as him, they are certainly capable of creating another.”
“Indeed, unless people become more adept at disseminating substance from style, fact from fiction, wisdom from irrelevancies; then the future of mankind is bleak indeed and the opportunities for tyrants are vastly improved.”
“I must feel depressed today to think such dark thoughts and draw them to the attention of my favourite people – but the challenges of the future are not all connected with outer space, racial relations or population explosions.”
“I foresee where the greatest difficulty which will confront mankind will be in the selection of its leaders.”
“It is to this difficult problem I would alert the students and graduates of this year.”
He then signed it: Sargent E. McGowan.
Over a thousand people on that Facebook site have liked the post, and hundreds more have commented: “Wise words.” “Great message so relevant for today.” “Powerful.”
I decided to cross-post it to Twitter, as a bit of a counterpoint to the news coming out of the US.
Again, hundreds have liked and shared Dad’s words. “A timeless message.” “So honest to young people, zero cliches, beautifully written.” “Wow! Amazingly prophetic!”
My favourite responder said, “Inspiring words, written with care and elegance. That is wisdom! You must be so proud of your father. Thanks for sharing this with the rest of the world.”
I am quite proud of Dad (even though I’m pretty sure he should have said discerning instead of disseminating – that’s the kind of argument we could have had – word nerds). He was a talented teacher, a farmer, a reeve, a reader and a deep thinker.
But it really is a uniquely modern accomplishment to deliver a post from fifty years ago, and have it resonate so strongly today.
Never underestimate the power of words. Or try to imagine or predict when they might come around again.