It turns out that Kevin needed to simply look at his own family history to draw inspiration for the series.  He took stories that were passed down from family members that were living in the 1930s and he formed plots and characters based on a lot of his own family’s recollections of that time period.  Fans may be interested to know that characters like Honey and May Bailey were actually loosely based on some of his own family members.

Kevin also looked at the works of famous Canadian novelist and humorist Max Braithwaite, who wrote many award-winning stories about life in this poverty-stricken era.  Although born in Saskatoon, Braithwaite settled in Ontario and became a freelance writer after World War II.  He went on to create a name for himself as one of Canada’s best humorists over his four-decade writing career.  Braithwaite wrote radio plays, scripts, magazine articles, novels and produced more than 25 books.

One of his best known works is his 1965 autobiographical novel, “Why Shoot the Teacher?”, which was a humourous look at his time as a teacher in rural Saskatchewan during the Depression.

It is this combination of materials - both fictional and familial - that made Wind at my Back a memorable look at the personal lives of people living in the 1930’s and formed the basis for Kevin’s fictional world of New Bedford.

Be sure to check back this week for more blogs about the casting of the series, filming locations and behind-the-scenes information!

Source:  http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000952