Grant MacEwan
Dr. John Walter Grant MacEwan, known as Grant MacEwan, (August 12 1902–June 15 2000) was a farmer, Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Dean of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba, Mayor of Calgary and both an MLA and Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Grant MacEwan College Edmonton, Alberta is named after him as well as the MacEwan Student Centre at the University of Calgary.
Roots
MacEwan's grandparents were Highland Scottish. George MacEwan, his paternal grandfather, came from Stirling, Scotland to farm in Guelph, Ontario. and married Annie Cowan, another Scot. These two had a son, Alexander MacEwan. After leaving home, Alexander went to Brandon, Manitoba to begin a farm of his own and was introduced to Bertha Grant (his neighbour James Grant's sister) and soon got married. Bertha and Alexander were Grant's parents. Bertha was a strong Presbyterian. This strong Scottish, Presbyterian, and agriculture-driven heritage would prove to be very influential in Grant's life.
Early life (1902–1921)
MacEwan was born in Brandon, Manitoba, and lived there until the age of thirteen. Due to problems with his father's fire-extinguisher business, the family moved to Melfort, Saskatchewan to begin a life of farming. As a boy, MacEwan was quite entrepreneurial, entering into many different businesses, especially that of cattle. Most of Grant's first big investments were in cows, either for entering into shows or for producing calves and milk. Grant also delivered newspapers and sold vegetables and various other items. At the age of twelve, Grant began working at a grocery store. He went to school and spent most of his time helping out on the family farm.
Student years (1921–1928)
In 1921, at the age of nineteen, MacEwan went to Guelph, Ontario to attend the Ontario Agricultural College. He attended the O.A.C. for five years before going back to Melfort. MacEwan was often placed among the top of his class. He lived in College, and took part in a multitude of campus activities, including the football and basketball teams. In his first two years he completed a preliminary agricultural education. This then allowed him to attend the school for another three years to get a full degree.
During his time at school his brother George fell ill with spinal meningitis and died on March 27 1924. This event was hard on both Grant and his parents. His family was very tightly knit, and George had been very close to his parents.
On May 28 1926 MacEwan graduated from the O.A.C. along with thirty-three other boys with a B.S.A. degree. After receiving the degree he returned home.
In 1927 he received an invitation to study at the University of Iowa. He once again left home in order to complete a one-year program. In 1928 he received an M.S. degree from the University.
Academic years (1928–1951)
MacEwan held a position first as a professor, then Head of Animal Husbandry at the University of Saskatchewan from 1928-1946. It was here that he developed as an agriculturalist. He researched and published manuscripts on many farming and ranching techniques. During this period MacEwan travelled away from the University to many farms across Saskatchewan to lecture, judge animals and give meat-cutting lessons.
In 1932 MacEwan took a trip to Great Britain with a load of cattle, to observe ranching practises on the British Isles. He visited Scotland and recorded in his journal that, "it is but little wonder that such a unique country has produced the best horses, the best cattle, and the best men in the world." (see Foran, Max reference) He also visited Wales, England and Jersey. He returned to Canada via the Hudson's Bay ship route north along the coasts of Iceland and Greenland, then entering Hudson's Bay and landing at Churchill, Manitoba. He was the fist person to go through customs at the new port in Churchill.
MacEwan got married to Phyllis Cline, a school teacher from Saskatchewan in 1935. Two stories from his wedding cast light on what kind of a person MacEwan was. Firstly, whereas traditionally the bride and groom remain out of public view until the ceremony calls for them to enter, Grant stood at the front enterance to greet guests as they arrived. Secondly, when it came time for the new couple to leave, MacEwan could not be found until someone looked out at the parking lot, where Grant was fixing a flat tire. Grant and Phyllis had a daughter, Heather MacEwan, in 1939.
In 1946 MacEwan moved to the University of Manitoba to be the Dean of Agriculture. He served in this position until 1951. In 1948 he published his first historical book, "The Sodbusters". It was the first of thirty-seven historical documents he wrote. His style was characterized by plain speech, in order to convey ideas easily to the reader - specifically students.
Politician years (1951–1965)
MacEwan was a Liberal from start to finish. In 1951 he ran for a federal seat in Brandon, Manitoba which was supposedly his for the taking. He lost the by-election due to negative attitudes towards Liberals at the time.
He won a seat in the Alberta Legislature in 1955 and from November 1958 to June 1959 MacEwan led the Liberal Party of Alberta through a provincial election. His party failed to capture any seats in the Legislature. He remained the leader of the party until 1960. During the election his reputation was his main driving force in the battle against the Social Creditors, but the strong anti-Liberal sentiment in Alberta ultimately defeated the Liberals.
In 1963 MacEwan ran for and won the position of Mayor of Calgary. He served in this office until 1965, when he resigned to become the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. During his tenure as Mayor he was pivotal in the movement of the Canadian Pacific Railroad lines in downtown Calgary to close to the Bow River. This was a very controversial issue at the time, due to the high cost of the project. His actions were so controversial that he received at least one death threat. Another heated issue during his time as Mayor was the planning and development of a piece of land bought by the city called Lincoln Park. The land was about to be handed over to the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede but after hundreds of complaints the land went to Mount Royal College and utility industries.
Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta (1966–1974)
Although his term as Lieutenant Governor did not last for a very long time before he resigned, MacEwan is often seen as an iconic historic figurehead in Alberta. For the entire eight year period in office MacEwan attended three public functions every single day.
1974 until death
MacEwan produced the large majority of his historical books after his 'retirement'. His books, mostly biographical, were based on history, but often left out references, a bibliography or even analysis of historical events. For this critics continuously attacked his unprofessional approach to history. He only gave one response to these comments, saying in 1984, "I don't know what the scholars will think of it. Nor do I care. I'm not writing for them, I'm writing for Canadians" (Lee Shedden reference). He also taught numerous courses at the University of Calgary and Olds College.
MacEwan continued to be physically active, as could have been expected, since he wasn't known to waste any time. He believed that if you were awake you better be doing something. In his eighties he still rode horses, hiked and walked, outpaced reporters while on morning jogs, built a log cabin and chopped logs with an axe.
In 1990 his wife died and afterwards he began to slow down (yet remained very active in contrast to other 90 year olds). He continued to give speeches and published two more books in the 90s and one more was released two months after his death. On May 6, 2000 MacEwan received Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award for lifetime literary achievements by the Writers Guild of Alberta. The award has only been given to one other person: W.O. Mitchell.
'Grant MacEwan' used as place or building name
- Elementary School in Calgary
- MacEwan Student Centre at University of Calgary
- Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton
- Grant MacEwan Literary Awards
References
- Foran, Max, ed. Grant MacEwan's Journals (Lone Pine Publishing, 1986). ISBN 0-919433-07-3
- Shedden, Lee, ed. A Century of Grant MacEwan: Selected Writings (Brindle & Glass Publishing, 2002). ISBN 1-894739-00-0