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CM . . .
. Volume VIII Number 20 . . . . June 6, 2002
Pioneer
Quest: A Year in the Real West is the documentary history of two modern
couples, Tim and Deanna and Frank and Alana, who spent a year authentically
experiencing a Manitoba pioneer homesteader's way of life. Unless the
producers had a time machine capable of transporting the modern pioneers
back to Manitoba in the 1870s, it is quite inconceivable that a more realistic
portrayal of homesteading life in Canada's western prairies could have
been created. Viewers who loved the History Channel's eight-hour
television documentary will not be disappointed by the two-hour library
and school edition. The shorter version is not only more useable from
an educational perspective, it is dramatically better than the original:
the narration is succinct, the editing is tight, and, most importantly,
the harsh prairie elements and the passages of the prairie's seasons,
rather than the modern pioneer personalities, drive the fundamental elements
of the story.
The creation of Pioneer Quest
marks a fundamental shift in the way Canadians, and in particular Western
Canadians, can appreciate the strength of character and physical courage
the pioneers required to live and prosper in the unforgiving prairie
environment. After viewing Pioneer Quest, it will be impossible
to travel anywhere within the prairie confines and not be moved by the
accomplishments of our immigrant forebearers.
The video, Pioneer Quest: A Year in
the Real West, is divided into four half-hour segments.
Episode 1:Working the Land
In this episode, the producers choose
the two modern pioneer couples. They are given a general idea of the
hardships they will face during their year as homesteaders on the Manitoba
prairie: only period-authentic tools and clothes are allowed; food will
be 1870s fare; no modern amenities are permitted; money will be in very
short supply, and so they will have to make hard decisions on the supplies
they need purchase. When they reach their Argyll, Manitoba, homestead,
they find themselves facing the same challenges the original 1870 pioneers
endured. Like their predecessors, who, contrary to modern Canadians,
were accustomed to lives of hard physical labour, they needed to establish
a campsite, dig a well, and build a corral for the animals. Learning
how to handle powerful draught horses was a first test; the virgin prairie
land needed plowing and seeding, as well, a garden had to be dug. A
late start and the wettest spring in 125 years put the pioneer couples
weeks behind in the growing schedule. The first frosts and winter come
early in Manitoba, and the success of their adventure seemed to be already
in jeopardy.
Episode 2: Building a Home
Once the land was plowed and the crops
planted, the next priority was designing and building cabins that would
meet the tests of Manitoba's harsh long winter. It was all experimental.
Frank and Tim had only their common sense and their wits to solve building
problems. There were no power tools; all the work was done by hand:
tree cutting, log peeling and fitting, nailing, and chinking. The combination
of wet spring and hot summer brought hordes of mosquitoes to torment
the pioneers. Building smudge fires could only combat the mosquitoes,
and disaster occurred when an old fire reignited and burned down the
barn. The valuable pregnant sow was badly injured, and veterinary help
was called in to assist. The sow had to be put down, and, because the
pioneers had no way of preserving the meat, a valuable food source of
winter food was lost.
Episode 3: Winter Comes Early
The pioneer couples frantically prepare
for winter by cutting wood, hunting deer, canning produce and working
for neighbors in exchange for food. Once the cold and snow of winter
arrive, the round of daily chores occupies their time, and they are
one of the few ways to relieve the tedium of being trapped in the cabins.
Activity returns with the Christmas season; the pioneers create handmade
presents for each other and visit the friends they have made in the
community.
Episode 4: Only 79 days 'Til Spring
Winter continues, and the lengthening
of the days is the only sign that the rebirth of spring is approaching.
Deanna and Alana learn how to bake bread and quilting techniques. The
all-important draught horses start to lose weight, and the pioneers
need help from the veterinarian and neighbors. The quick return of spring
brings new problems as the sudden thaw floods the pioneers' underground
food storage area and forces them to rush to save their remaining food
supplies from rotting. Spring also means the end of their yearlong adventure,
and the pioneers reflect on how their lives have been changed by reliving
the life of the land's original homesteaders.
Pioneer Quest: A Year in the Real West. Teacher Resource Guide.
Yolanda Hogeveen and Jennifer Janzen
have produced more than a companion guide to Pioneer Quest: A Year
in the Real West. They have created a comprehensive document for
teaching prairie pioneer history. Even without the video, this resource
guide would be a valuable addition to any teacher's collection of social
studies reference materials. The guide contains a one-page summary of
each segment of the video, along with a selection of pre-viewing, during-viewing
and post-viewing questions. A series of seven background information
sheets is included to provide students with important prior knowledge
on a variety of pertinent topics pertinent: First Peoples, Immigration
and Settlement, Agriculture and Farming, Homes, Challenges, Lifestyles,
Women's Roles.
The guide is divided into two sections,
an elementary/middle level and a senior level. Each level contains four
major thematic units coinciding with each video segment:
Unit 1: Aboriginal Peoples and Origins
of Settlers
Unit 2: Establishing the Homestead
Unit 3: Pioneer Challenges
Unit 4: Pioneer Lifestyles
The early/middle level units have three
to ten topics while the senior level has two to four topics. Each lists
required teaching materials, valuable websites, a variety of activities
along with black-line masters and extensions, all of which can be readily
modified for different grade levels. The early/ middle level unit, Pioneer
Lifestyles, contains the following topics: Games, Crafts, Education,
The Role of Women, Pioneers in Fiction Literature Circle and Creating
a Pioneer Board Game. The topics for the companion unit at the senior
level include Gender Roles of Pioneers and Recreation and Community.
The guide also contains an extensive list of resources: national and
provincial government websites, research skill websites, teacher's bibliography,
non-fiction and fictional literature.
Highly recommended. Ian
Stewart teaches in Winnipeg #1 School Division. He is a regular contributor
to CM and the book review pages of the Winnipeg Free Press.
To comment on this
title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal
use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other
reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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