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Publication: Globe and Mail, The add link
Issue: 1 December 2010, page R5
Title: PEI?s oldest former cabinet minister dies at age 100
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PEI?s oldest former cabinet minister dies at age 100

Montague, PEI? The Canadian Press

Published Monday, Nov. 29, 2010 5:31PM EST

William Keir Clark, a former provincial cabinet minister and mayor of Montague, died quietly Sunday morning.

Mr. Clark graduated from Dalhousie University, owned the fifth car in Montague, opened one of the largest mercantile stores in town, and was a long-time politician.

Mr. Clark represented the former riding of 3rd Kings from 1948 to 1959 and from 1966 to 1970.

He served as minister of education, health and municipal affairs and was provincial treasurer.

Mr. Clark even served beside his father in the legislature.

During an interview a few years ago, Mr. Clark recalled the early days of business in eastern P.E.I. when he opened his store in the 1930s.

?There were plenty of moonshiners then. If a fella came in and bought two five gallon cans of molasses, you knew he wasn't making cookies,? he said.

Mayor Richard Collins said Mr. Clark was a father of the town and saw the need for a Main Street store that offered clothing, groceries, and hardware, along with employing numerous people.

?His contributions to this town have been invaluable,? Mr. Collins said.

Mr. Clark made political history in 1970 when he quit the Liberals to sit as an Independent in protest of Premier Alex Campbell's development plan.

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