Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/201279
madeinmanitoba Brushing Up on Manitoba's Legacy How a beaver pelt built a country by Shel Zolkewich I (clockwise from top left) York Factory in the early 1930s; Lower Fort Garry fur loft; Fort Gibraltar, rebuilt by the Festival du Voyageur in 1978; York boat under sail near Norway House, 1913; letter box at the Manitoba Museum; woman's caribou hide parka — fur faces inward for warmth — from Cape Dorset, Nunavut; costumed interpreters at the Lower Fort Garry blacksmith shop. (woman's parka) courtesy Manitoba Museum, Shel Zolkewich p18-23_MadeinMan.indd 19 t glows white on the horizon. A lone building set on a lush peninsula bordered by the mighty Hayes and Nelson rivers and the distant horizons of Hudson Bay. An unexpected sign of civilization in a remote land, the Hudson's Bay Company building at York Factory is quiet now. This building is just one of the artifacts that tell the story of Canada's fur trade and, in fact, the history of our great country. Canada as we know it would not have developed without the fur trade. And nowhere is it easier to immerse yourself in that history than in Manitoba. So let's take a little tour where beaver pelts, colourful woollen blankets and tricky portages over sinister rapids were all just part of a day's work. Manitoba Historical Fur Trade Tour For the past 10 years, history buffs have boarded a plane in Winnipeg and set off to the north to see what remains of the province's heritage. The two-day tour, offered by Heartland International Travel & Tours, includes a stop in Norway House at the top of vast Lake Winnipeg and a ride in an enormous York boat, the vessel that transported furs and goods along the trade routes. Then it's up to Churchill and a visit to Prince of Wales Fort, a massive stone structure known as the "pyramid of the north." But the aha moment of this tour really hits when you approach York Factory from the air and have the opportunity to appreciate its size and scope. GOING PL ACES >> w i n t e r 2 0 1 3 19 13-10-16 9:23 AM