Born at Brandon, Manitoba, in 1919, Frank was orphaned at 18 months
and grew up in foster homes, reform schools and jails. At age 16, he was
convicted of killing a prison guard and was sentenced to death.
This was
commuted to life and he spent the next 15 years in a penitentiary.
There
he completed his High School education and became the first prisoner in
Canada to take University courses behind bars.
Paroled in 1951, he completed his Bachelor of Arts and took a Masters
in Social Work. Joining the John Howard Society, he became a parole
officer and visitor to the penitentiary where he had served life.
Entering private practice, he developed a two-year course in human
behavior which was adopted by several colleges and is still taught to
social workers, nurses and criminology students.
These students have
established a scholarship in his name.
He was pardoned and appointed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to the
National Parole Board in 1974. Placed in charge of the Prairie Region
which covered Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the North West
Territories,
he held this position until his retirement.
In 1998, the University of Ottawa created the Frank W. Anderson
Archives of Criminology which will serve as a resource centre for
students across Canada.
Frank married Edna Marshal in 1955. They have two children and four
grandbrats. Currently retired, they live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
where he is developing a Canadian Calendar of Crime beginning in 1500
and continuing to the present date.
His incredible biography is told
with humor in "UP THE LADDER." Frank's hobby is the compilation of a Canadian Calendar of Crime...
hence Cal-crime. From this has come several books. Notable among them
are his autobiography "UP THE LADDER," (9.95) told with honesty and a sense
of grim humor; "A DANCE WITH DEATH," (13.95) the frightening story of
Canadian women who have faced the hangman's noose; and his latest, "THE
THIRTEENTH STEP," (9.95) Volume One of Canadian Crime Classics, true
stories selected from the seven different cultural and geographical
regions of Canada.
Frank, his wife Edna and their son Gerald, do all
the production of these
fascinating books from writing to printing and
distribution.
Volumes Two and Three are currently in production, thanks
to the research skills of Bombarmer and Puppychow, well known
frequenters of
Yahoo Chat Golden Years +60 rooms.
Frank is always on the lookout for true Canadian crime stories which
have a unique feature and welcomes e-mail suggestions from all and any
who visit this web site.