Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/456199
lea currie, canadian national railways library and archives canada S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 | G O I N G P L A C E S 25 role, along with his aboriginal facade, would come together to make him famous around the world. Without his trapping earnings, Grey Owl then used his fine British education to write and sell wilderness articles. People quickly took to his well-crafted messages about nature, wildlife and conservation – issues gaining momentum at the time – and Parks Canada (known then as the Dominion Parks Branch) seized the opportunity to recruit Grey Owl as the country's first chief conser vationist, at RMNP in southwest Manitoba. P reliminary research under my belt, my husband, Mark, and I head to Wasagam- ing in RMNP, some 100 kilometres north of Brandon, for a first-hand glimpse into Grey Owl's past. Just outside the park in Onanole, we pull up to Poor Michael's Empo- rium, originally built in the 1930s as a general store and now a bookstore, art gallery and café combo. Inside the homey, eclectic space, book- shelves bow under the weight of thick titles, and small tables peddle fair-trade goods. I leave Mark lost in the stacks as I join owner Mur ray Evans and local historian Alex Fedoruk at a table. Introductions over, the tall, jovial Evans is quick to remind me that when it comes to Grey Owl, "the lines between fact and fiction have become very blurred." Considering the ruse Belaney weaved, this isn't hard to believe. "He was such a good yarner. He played that role – that fake Indian role – to a tee," says the 82-year-old Fedoruk as he sips his coffee. "e women that he associated with were all Indians. ey must have known there was something odd about this chap, but they didn't, or evidently went along with what he was doing." Sipping my Ginger Warmer tea, I listen to these two friends trade colourful stories – true or not – about Grey Owl's time here. I hear that he would purchase bootleg liquor (clockwise from top) View from the Grey Owl Trail; signed copy of Tales from an Empty Cabin – $200 at Poor Michael's Emporium; Grey Owl and one of his flat-tailed friends; Clear Lake in Wasagaming, Riding Mountain National Park.