Kay Cronin was commissioned in 1957 to produce a history of the pioneer Oblate Fathers of British Columbia. The result, Cross in the Wilderness in 1960, contains many descriptions of Aboriginals in British Columbia by Oblates. Previously she had written a series for CBC radio called Women in Hard Hats and won a Canadian Women's Press Club award for it in 1954. Born in England of Irish descent, she was educated in Chatham, Kent and came to Canada in 1947. Initially she was employed as a secretary at the Vancouver Province newspaper. Cronin also contributed to The British Columbia Catholic on the problems of Hungarian refugees and received another Canadian Women's Press Club award in 1958 for best feature story. In 1959 her profile of Brother Joe of St. Peter's Church in New Westminster for the British Columbia Catholic won her the award for best feature from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada. She died on February 19, 1975.

BOOKS:

Cronin, Kay. Cross in the Wilderness: A History of the Oblate Fathers in British Columbia (Mitchell Press, 1960, 1961).

[BCBW 2004]