By Bill Hutchins
with photography by Bernard Clark
Arthur Milnes has enriched his life and enjoyed his career path through a simple motto: “You never know until you ask.”
From an early age, Arthur has been hooked on history, particularly Canadian political history.
“To be honest, I’ve been a geek since I was a kid,” he says of his persistent fascination with how elected leaders have played a role in shaping democracy. “A lot of my interest to this day came from my dad’s library in the basement.”
Born to W.H. (Bill) and Connie Milnes in the Toronto suburbs in 1966, Arthur found himself drawn to his father’s vast accumulation of history books, an eclectic collection straddling Greek, Roman, Medieval and the Canadian Confederation eras. His father, a high school history teacher, sparked Arthur’s enduring interest in the subject. His love of reading, writing, researching and storytelling launched a remarkable career while fulfilling lifelong dreams. “It’s always been the key to my identity,” says the history buff of his decades-long fascination with the history makers. The somewhat shy kid from Scarborough not only soaked up all that history but pursued those who carved their own place in it, either in the past or in real time. . . .
