I have written stories about Fiddler’s Hill yet I had never seen it before. I guess I had this romantic vision of this hill on the 3rd concession of Dalhousie of a fiddler named Alexander Watt keeping the settler’s safe that night from the wolves. Not only did he fiddle for safety but everyone knew the land was scarcely usable for agriculture. Seeing the vast expanse of untamed wilderness ahead of them from the top of the hill, they became discouraged. They did press on the next day, and came to another hill the following night where some settled and founded the community of Watson’s Corners, visible in the distance from this hill. Fiddler’s Hill— Where the Green Grass Doesn’t Grow in Lanark

So when Jennifer Ferris turned the corner off the highway she said,”|Oh by the way this is Fiddler’s Hill!” I said, “What?”

It is definitely a hill when you coast down the hill away from it or drive back up– but it was not what I was expecting. But still another thing off my bucket list.

I found this very tragic story about Fiddler’s Hill.. but there is so much love I put it here for posterity

As a military wife, and later a mother, Girl Guide leader and grandmother, Sharon Alward could make any house a home. But an often-nomadic lifestyle which included military bases in Cold Lake, Alta., Lahr, Baden and Heidelberg in Germany, Kingston, Toronto, Halifax and Ottawa had never given her and husband Randy the opportunity to build their own home. Then, a couple of years ago, when the couple began to look for a spot to spend the rest of their years, they came across a 20-hectare lot in the Lanark. Highlands at Fiddler’s Hill, just kilometres from the village of Lanark. They were eight weeks from realizing their dream when an accident Saturday left Mrs. Alward critically injured. She succumbed to her injuries Monday, at the age of 56. “We just felt it was the right spot,” Mr. Alward said yesterday of the location as he fought back tears.

Admittedly, he said, “it didn’t look like much,” but somehow, even through the dense bush, the couple could envision the ridge with their house resting on it and a plateau behind. They imagined paths where they, their children and grandchildren would walk. And they talked of sitting around a small pond on the property, one like no other, and canoeing down a nearby creek. Mrs. Alward died before being able to enjoy her new home. She fell three metres and banged her head against a rock after a longtime friend, helping her pull firewood with an ATV, inadvertently backed up and knocked her off the ledge. The woman, absolved of all blame by everyone involved, is so distraught she is in the care of counsellors and tragedy is hitting on two family fronts.

“It still is a beautiful spot,” said Mr. Alward, comforted by daughter Stacy and son Douglas while five grandchildren ran about. “It was where we were going to spend the next 20 to 30 years, figuring it might take us the next 20 years just to get ‘t the way we wanted. And we wanted to do it ourselves. We would have moved July 15. “Just Saturday morning, we took a walk and talked about how we would develop it further. I know I said many times I wanted this and often thought, does she? I wondered what she would do in 15 years if I died. But I asked her and she wanted it.” Last week, they bought a pair of nine-week-old black Labs. Everything seemed set, almost perfect.

In hindsight, Mr. Alward regrets that neither woman had the training to handle the ATV so close to a ledge. It just never seemed possible they could be harmed. Even as he ran to his wife, she quickly regained consciousness, spoke to him, then later told paramedics her names, first and last. She remained conscious in the air ambulance on the way to Ottawa Hospital’s Civic campus and the prognosis seemed positive. However, the swelling in her brain increased, and by Sunday night doctors rated her chance of survival at less than five per cent. Mrs. Al-ward’s family made the decision to donate her organs. “One gentleman who had a day or so to live due to liver failure received a new liver,” said Mr. Alward. “Both her lungs went into someone else. Her heart went to another person. “Perhaps the one good to come out of this is knowing that she somehow saved the lives of others.” And then, the Alwards will have another decision to make, one about completing the dream. “I hope I have the strength to finish it, for the kids and the grandkids,” said Mr. Alward. “And when I walk out there, she will always be at my side. “There will never be a ‘No Trespassing’ sign go up on that property. It will always be open for anyone.” Visitation is scheduled for today and tonight with a funeral Thursday at 9:30 a.m. from the Central Chapel of Hulse, Playfair and McGarry.

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa CitizenOttawa, Ontario, Canada12 May 2004, Wed • Page 25