Writer Alice Munro revered for elevating the everyday in southwestern Ontario

When Verna Stettler and her friends in the Wingham Horticultural Society came up with the idea of creating an Alice Munro Literary Garden, their motivations were simple. 

"I'm a firm believer that you should appreciate people while they're alive," said Stettler. "I thought really and truly we should do something for Alice for what she's done for this town. She was very proud to be from Wingham, Ontario."

Alice Munro, a Canadian writer who earned international acclaim and a Nobel Prize as a master of the modern short story, died Monday evening. She was 92. 

She leaves behind a massive literary legacy as one of Canada's finest fiction writers.

But for Stettler, the way Munro embraced the garden project says a lot about her reverence for the simple things, the essential elements of small town living and everyday lives that she so skillfully elevated in her stories. 

When Stettler began work on the literary garden in Munro's name, it was the early 2000s. At the time, Munro lived in nearby Clinton, Ont., and would meet with friends in the area. 

The garden was planned for a small plot in Wingham, a farming community of about 3,000 people and the place where Munro was born.

Stettler was elated when Munro not only gave her support for the garden, but also collaborated in its planning. 

Munro shared with Stettler how the spot in downtown Wingham where the garden was eventually planted had been the scene of a memorable incident decades before. 

"She told me that when she was a girl, she was riding her bicycle down the hill and the chain flew off," said Stettler. "She wasn't going to be able to stop at the corner, but she managed to wheel around the corner and the bike finally stopped right where we put the garden."

There wasn't much of a budget for the project, but when people heard it was for Munro, they quickly offered to pitch in. 

"We asked for donations and they came in from all over the country to pay for the garden," said Stettler. 

The garden opened in 2002. Later, when acclaimed poet and novellist Margaret Atwood came to visit Munro in Wingham, Munro made a point of taking her to the garden.

Stettler and Munro became friends over the garden planning.