Grant MacEwan

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 a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Canada. Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton and the MacEwan Student Centre at the University of Calgary are named after him.

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 devout Presbyterian. This strong Scottish, Presbyterian, and agriculture-driven heritage was influential in Grant's life.

Early life (1902–1921)

MacEwan was born in Brandon, Manitoba, and lived there until the age of thirteen. Because of 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 entrepreneurial, entering into many different businesses, especially 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 OAC 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 OAC 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 practices in 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 Bay ship route north along the coasts of Iceland and Greenland, then entering Hudson's Bay and landing at Churchill, Manitoba. He was the first person to go through customs at the new port in Churchill.

MacEwan married 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 entrance 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 seat in the Canadian House of Commons 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 Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1955, and from November 1958 MacEwan led the Alberta Liberal Party through a provincial election. His party won only one seat in the 1959 election with MacEwan suffering personal defeat in his Calgary riding. He remained the leader of the party until 1960. During the election, his reputation was his main asset in the campaign against the Social Credit Party, 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 Railway lines in downtown Calgary to close to the Bow River. This was a very controversial issue at the time, because of 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 was given to Mount Royal College and utility industries.

Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta (1966–1974)

MacEwan is often seen as an iconic historic figurehead in Alberta. For the entire eight year period as Lieutenant Governor, 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 continually 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. He became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1974.

MacEwan continued to be physically active, and was not 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, but remained very active in comparison to other 90-year-olds. He continued to give speeches, and published two more books in the 1990s. Another book 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. He died a month later in Calgary.

'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
Community of "MacEwan" in Calgary

References

Print

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

External links

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