Johnny of Maillardville chronicles the arrival of a group of French-Canadian lumber workers from the Gatineau region in 1909. Recruited to work at the Western Lumber Company’s mill in Coquitlam, they settled above the mill in an area they called Maillardville. Its main character is Jean-Baptiste “Johnny” Dicaire Jr., a pioneer in founding this French-Canadian enclave. Gathered from memoirs and testimonies of the first arrivals, the book describes in a series of vignettes the early life and history of this important neighbourhood. Johnny Dicaire, the main character, is representative of his time and the village’s most colourful figure. He is a role model of determination, openness, and inclusion.

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Michael Kluckner is a Canadian writer and artist. His early books on the history of Canadian cities, heritage, planning issues, and art, include Vancouver The Way It Was, Vanishing Vancouver, Paving Paradise, and British Columbia in Watercolour. He has won numerous awards, including the Duthie Prize, the Vancouver Book Prize, the Toronto Book Prize (short list), the Hallmark Society (Victoria) Award of Merit, and the Heritage Canada Medal of Achievement. In 1991 Michael was the founding president of the Heritage Vancouver Society. From 1996 until 2001, he was the British Columbia member of the board of governors of the Heritage Canada Foundation, and served as chair from 1998 to 2000. Michael chaired the Vancouver Heritage Foundation in 2002-3. He received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for the contributions made, through books and volunteer efforts, to increasing awareness of Canada's heritage and culture.

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