Series PR-030-1 - Autographed Signed Letters of Eminent Persons

Laura Paty Carten was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1882 and was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart.
Laura Carten was a journalist most famous for her Rainbow Club column in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald newspaper where she wrote under the pseudonym of Farmer Smith. The column began in 1916 with the aim of providing a section in the newspaper that could entertain and amuse children. It began with short simple talks and a bedtime story. Very soon, this children's column came to encompass significant space across the page. By 1919, the "club" of readers grew significantly enough that patrons raised money for its various charitable endeavours, one of which was furnishing the newly opened Rainbow Ward in the Halifax Children's Hospital. As children grew up, they could become part of a memory club, who volunteered in their community to keep the many programs established for the Rainbow Club running.
The Rainbow Club column catered to young people of all ages. One day a week, Farmer Smith wrote a column specifically for young children 10 years and under. The Saturday issue was typically reserved for older readers where Farmer Smith wrote about literary topics such as British prose and poetry, as well as American and Canadian literature. A special Saturday issue every winter was devoted to biographical sketches of world-famous women.
Laura Carten also used the influence of the Rainbow Club column to found Rainbow Haven, which was a summer camp for Halifax (and beyond)'s disadvantaged children who were usually poverty-stricken. It began in 1919 and by the 1950s, had provided summer camp experiences to almost 7,000 children.
Laura Carten worked at the Herald until her retirement in 1951, a journalism career spanning 35 years. She had many distinguished friends and acquaintances, many of whom were writers. She was a writer herself, having been published in the Canadian Magazine and in the Nova Scotia Book of Verse. She was a member and the president of the Canadian Authors Association for some time, a member of the Nova Scotia Poetry Centre and was an honorary member of the Mark Twain Society for her contributions to Canadian writing. As a friend of Sister Maura Power, English professor at Mount Saint Vincent College, Laura helped establish a joint-journalism school between Mount Saint Vincent College, King's College and Saint Mary's University.
Laura Carten passed away in 1960 at the age of 78.