Sir Wilfred Grenfell belonged to that select group of adventurers and explorers who had no fear of the dangers lying in their path as they set out to fulfill visions and make dreams come true. They were determined to go where no one had gone before and were undaunted by uncharted waters and unknown territory.
In 1892 Grenfell made the decision that was to have such far reaching implications for the people of northern Newfoundland and Labrador. He decided to cross the Atlantic Ocean to work among people who lived in almost complete isolation and whose lives were fraught with unbelievable hardship and poverty.

Alex Archibald George Smith was born in St Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador. As a young man, he worked in the family sawmill business and, with his brother, operated a small coastal freighter around northern Newfoundland and southern Labrador. After a fire that destroyed the vessel and nearly took his life, he worked as a craftsman with the Grenfell Mission and later as a self-employed carpenter.At the age of thirty, he became a lay-supply minister with the United Church of Canada. He was ordained into full-time ministry at forty-three and served the church in many capacities and on several pastoral charges. In 1970 he was elected president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Conference of the United Church. He retired from full-time ministry in 1982.

Alex A. Smith's profile page