The Hermit of Gully Lake
Willard MacDonald spent 60 years living in his secluded hut
Willard Kitchener MacDonald was a man who enjoyed the wilderness and being alone. Born on Aug. 13, 1916, little is known about the early life of MacDonald until he found himself in Nova Scotia in the early-1930s.
At some point, he was scheduled to take a troop train to fight in the Second World War. After boarding the train in Earltown, Nova Scotia, MacDonald decided he didn’t want to fight in the war, and hopped off the train to begin living in the wilderness.
By the time the war was over, MacDonald was self-sufficient living in his hut along the shores of Gully Lake and saw no reason to change what he was doing. Even in 1950, after the Canadian government gave amnesty to those who deserted during the Second World War, MacDonald didn’t move out of his small hut.
During those years, he hunted, fished and trapped what he needed. If he needed something extra, he took a bicycle or walked into Earltown to get supplies.
Over his life, MacDonald lived in various huts he built, including one that had one window through which he entered and exited the building.
Throughout his later life, MacDonald became well-known to many in the area and it was not unusual for local and even national media to stop in to interview him.
He was also interviewed by writer Jim Lotz for a book that looked back on 50 years of Nova Scotia forests and forest management. The book was published as Green Horizons.
Many tourists and visitors to the area also came to see MacDonald and speak with him.
In the early-1990s, MacDonald was provided with a modern two-storey cabin from Social Services. Complete with a metal roof, it was not to MacDonald’s liking. He considered it too close to the noise and confusion of civilization. Before long, he was back in his smaller hut.
In 2002, his cabin went up in flames in a forest fire. MacDonald lost all of his books, his guitar, a rifle and everything else he owned.
After he lost his home, MacDonald moved into the newer structure that was built for him by Colchester County using his pension funds that had accumulated over time.
A year later, in the winter of 2003, MacDonald disappeared from his home. He had been suffering health issues for some time by this point and his friends were worried about him.
His body was found months later on June 27, 2004 by a search party of 100 volunteers.
In 2007, Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake was released. This documentary was directed by Amy Goldberg and features narration and a musical score by Randy Bachman.