Douglas V. Parker was born in Toronto and received his Bachelor of Arts degree at United College in Winnipeg (now the University of Winnipeg). He taught for several years in the public school system in Victoria, British Columbia before pursuing M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Washington in Seattle. On his return to Canada he was appointed a professor in the departments of elementary and secondary education at the University of Alberta. Parker retired from the University in July, 1992.
He is the author of No Horsecars in Paradise, a book-length history of the pre-B. C. Electric companies in Victoria before the turn of the century, a work published by Railfare in 1981. His more recent works include Streetcars in the Kootenays, a history of the street railway in Nelson, B.C., and Christmas Stories from the Streetcar Barn, a collection of Christmas stories for children based on the streetcars and the people who work in Fort Edmonton Park. The last two works have been published by Havelock House.
Parker joined the Edmonton Radial Railway Society in 1980 as it began to build the street railway in Fort Edmonton Park. When the line opened in 1984, he became its operating superintendent, a position which he relinquished a few years ago in order to devote more time to writing. He continues to work on the restoration and operation of the society's streetcars.
