Art Scholes

Art Scholes had a remarkable life that saw him serve in the Army, compete at the Olympics, and later live as a hermit. During World War I he served with the Sportsmen’s Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). After the war ended Scholes turned to track and field athletics and became a decent long-distance runner. Representing Gladstone AC in Toronto he was selected to run in the marathon at the 1920 Antwerpen Olympics where he finished 15th. Scholes continued to run competitively throughout the 1920s and beat the great Tom Longboat in a race at Scarboro in 1928.

In the 1930s Scholes seemingly abandoned civilization, leaving behind Toronto to live in the bush north of the city. Living off-grid he spent more than 20 years in a tiny wooden shack in the woods of Ontario, which he rented from a farmer for the sum of $1 a year. Here he spent time hunting, fishing, eating skunk, and playing guitar. Scholes made money from skunk oil that he sold to stables in the area, which was used to rub down horses after races. Scholes was known for his hatred of cars, which in a cruel twist of fate would come back to haunt him when he was killed after being struck by one while walking home from his brother’s funeral.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-48:30 (1920).