However health problems prevented him from completing his formal studies and ended his hopes of becoming a history professor.
Each week the column addressed an episode or aspect of Montreal history.
[2] The column was reportedly read by figures including Pierre Trudeau and Robertson Davies.
His columns were compiled in several books which were illustrated by his longtime collaborator John Collins.
In 1949, he won the inaugural National Newspaper Award for editorial writing and was to win it another three times, a record unmatched in that category.