Some journeys begin long before the road appears beneath your wheels. They start quietly - between the lines of a book or in the pull of a landscape you’ve never seen. This is the story of how a high-school geography teacher from Ottawa found himself tracing the forgotten edges of the Prairies, guided not by maps alone but by the voices of writers who walked those grasslands before him.
What began as a simple month-long motorcycle trip into Manitoba and Saskatchewan soon turned into something richer: a pilgrimage through place, memory, and unexpected connection.
Thank you, Steve for sending us this story and photographs for all to enjoy.
Above photo by Elizabeth Henderson.
My name is Steve Guillemette, I am a 54 years old Geography teacher from Ottawa, Ontario. I left my family (Elizabeth, Claire,Toby) for a month-long trip to the southern backroads of Manitoba and Saskatchewan by motorcycle on July 4th. My inspiration for the trip? I never really thought about visiting the Prairies but the book by Candace Savage “Geography of Blood” changed that. Like me, Candace seems interested in all the different environments, different peoples, through different times, that lived on earth, and her beautiful writing about the southern Prairies was enough to get me planning and packing. I wanted to see with my own eyes what I had read in her book… and hopefully have enough stamina to make it to Eastend.
Above photo by Cori Brewster.
On July 18, I arrived in Eastend. I camped in the local campground (behind Candace Savage’s house), and went to the Golf Club, on recommendation by a Tom Dobson from Winnipeg, to meet new people. On the terrace, I met Cori Brewster (a two-time artist resident at Wallace Stegner’s house) The house is a not-for-profit artist's residency and operated by Eastend Arts Council Inc. We shared a couple of pints and discussed the Geography of Blood, Wolf Willow and other books by Sharon Butala. She said that I must visit Antelope Books and meet its interesting proprietor (William Wilson). The next morning, after a photo in front of Stegner’s house, I went to the Antelope bookstore. Of course, I bought some very interesting books but I forgot to pay for a copy of Wolf Willow. Will very generously offered it as a gift before I left.
Above photo by Claire Guillemette.
Above photo by Steve Guillemette.
Interpretations of the letter:
From Steve G. family: Our guess is that Stegner wrote a letter to Professor Garin Burbank, and the present letter was photocopied by Professor Burbank to be handed out to his students as a study. On the first page, it shows that this book may have belonged to a Kim Mitchell, as written in handwriting.
From Dale Dobson from Manitou, Manitoba: In spite of it being a copy, the letter is still significant. Is the original still in someone’s hands or is it long gone? What was the teaching experiment? Did Stegner come to the university on invitation from Prof. Burbank? The letter raises the question of who may be handicapped by their environment; the wealthy, privileged and formally educated or “free range” and a curious mind? Perhaps this was the basis of the “teaching experiment”. I’m sure that question is the basis of a Masters Thesis done by someone long ago!
What are your interpretations of the letter and this journey? Please feel free to share them with us by email at artscouncileastend@gmail.com or on our Facebook or Instagram page.
In the end, Steve’s journey across the Prairies became something far richer than a simple motorcycle trip. What began as a personal pilgrimage inspired by a book grew into an unexpected chain of encounters - each shaped by generosity, curiosity, and the deep sense of place that defines the southern Saskatchewan landscape. From conversations on a golf club terrace to the discovery of a forgotten letter tucked inside a gifted book, Steve found himself woven into the quiet but enduring community that surrounds Eastend and its artistic legacy.
The same afternoon, I shipped all the books home from Eastend. When my family opened the package in Ottawa, they told me that there was a folded letter from Stegner inside the book.