Driving west from Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway, depending on the conditions, can be wonderful, frightening or even tedious, but with Kathryn Manry’s newest book, it can also be really interesting.
Manry, a Calgary artist, writer and author of Skoki: Beyond the Passes, tells the story of the Trans-Canada Highway from Calgary through to Lake Louise in West on One: The Stories Behind the Scenery, published by Pipestone Press.
Part natural history, part cultural history and part travel guide, West on One does not fall neatly into any one category, instead, it embraces all of them, sharing the stories of the people, events and locations that define this region of Alberta.
And it’s a formula – or lack thereof – that seems to be working. West on One has been on the Calgary bestsellers list for non-fiction since its release late last year. Last week, it sat in fifth place and the week before it was in the number three spot.
“I did want it to be something that did embrace all of those things. And to let people think, ‘I wonder about such and such’ and it is in here,” she said.
Her only criteria for the book was that the topic areas, including flora, fauna and geology, had to be linked directly to or something readers could see from the TCH, such as Highway 1A, as for many years it was the only road west from Calgary.
The 264-page book started as a photo essay as part of a photography course at the University of Calgary and, given her long connection to Calgary and the Bow Valley – her parents, John and Jeannette Manry, operated the Banff Alpine Club of Canada clubhouse while her mother ran Skoki Lodge in the 1940s – the stories she had known for most of her life began to come back to her.
That initial link, along with two years spent researching and writing, led to West on One, which Manry said could have easily grown in scope.
“I knew it was going to be massive. That was the hardest thing. When I first started I thought I’d just collect and then pare down what I would use. And that was the hardest part of the whole project; what to take out because I could have done this whole project in two volumes with the amount of stuff I found,” she said.
And deciding what to cut and what not to include, even aspects she found intriguing, was a challenge.
“I found that hugely concerning at times, but I couldn’t afford enough luxury of time to work through some of these things and get more information,” she said.
“I would have liked to explore (James) Hector more, he fascinated me and he seems so well regarded by everyone. Everything you read about him spoke so highly about his character.”
Unfortunately, this type of book, being a general history and guide, does not offer much latitude for in-depth coverage.
Even so, West on One is an enjoyable and authoritative read offering a story beyond what the standard guidebook would and could share with readers.
The history and heritage of this region, including the natural history and geology, is extremely rich and diverse – from First Nations to ranching, coal mining to cement production, the development of existing towns and ghost towns, people and events that made this region what it is today.
Manry said she tried to stick to primary sources and first person stories to create a more dynamic and interesting story.
“There’s amazing stories of resilience and community building. If you can include these, it makes it come alive. The same with these primary sources, because it gives history voice and authenticity,” Manry said.
“What it gave me was a sense of the continuity of the thread. You read about the explorers in school and they seem like this remote, distant, disconnected part of our history and what I realized is that they knew about each other, probably bumped into each other occasionally and that is the astonishing part I didn’t know.”
West on One retails for $32.
