Jay’s interest in asking Grant MacEwan to be his model came from books. Jay was an avid reader and somewhere along the way, most likely at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, he came across Mr. MacEwan’s writing and added many of MacEwan’s books to his own library. Mr. MacEwan was ninety years of age when he sat for Jay as a model.

Grant MacEwan was a well-educated man grounded solidly in the agriculture of Canada’s prairie provinces. In years past he had served The Calgary Stampede as a judge of cattle and horses and sat as a director. Mr. MacEwan had a profound sense of conservation and harmony with nature. He took it upon himself to reinforce the value of these beliefs to others.

Mr. MacEwan served the province of Alberta as Mayor of Calgary, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Leader of the Opposition and as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. As befitting a man of substance and his continuous contribution to his entire country, Mr. MacEwan became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1974. His writing career was honored in 2000 when he received the Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award granted by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta.

“I found this man to be wise and sincere and was truly honored to have come to know him and use him as a model. He had such respect for Nature, and he was concerned that we were not taking care of our animals or our land. He told me he would not eat meat because he considered all animals to be his friends and he would not eat his friends“

– Jay Contway