The man known as "the Keeper of the Cliffs" in Joggins, N.S., has died.
Don Reid was a lifelong fossil collector with little formal education, but acquired a wealth of knowledge that attracted scientists from around the world.
He started collecting fossils as a young man, working in the local coal mines with his father back in 1930.
“He even brought fossils home from the coal mine that they dug from. Could have been a mile deep,” said Reid’s son, John Reid. “He said at the time, he really didn't know what they were. He heard people talk about fossils but he really didn't understand what they were and how they were made.”
Don Reid, an elementary school dropout, learned everything he could about fossils from some of the best deposits in the world. Soon, scientists were beating a path to his door.
“He learned from them, and he was told they learned things from him. He had fossils that they had never seen before,” said John Reid.
Don's collection helped make the Joggins Fossil Cliffs a world heritage site back in 2008.
“He got the title keeper of the cliffs because of, you know, it's his passion for the fossils and wanting to keep everything in the area,” said John Reid.
Matt Stimson is a geologist who was ten when he first met Don Reid, who eventually became his mentor and friend.
“You have to go a long ways before you find a geologist who doesn't know don't name because he was that renowned in the paleontological community,” said Stimson. “People came here from all over the world to meet him and to work with him and learn from him because he's the eyes here on the ground.”
A month before he died, Don Reid received the Order of Nova Scotia. He and his family were so proud.
“Being from a small place like Joggins and to come as far as he has with very little education, it's amazing,” said John Reid.
The family has received messages of condolence from scientists across North America. The funeral services are scheduled for this Thursday in Amherst.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh.
