After holding two international wolf conferences and numerous other wolf initiatives, Spirit Way Inc. has become recognized for its position that wolves are an ecological and economic asset in Northern Manitoba. Dr. Alistair Bath, whose master’s degree student Bonnie Bishop from Memorial University, Newfoundland, did her thesis research on the Thompson public’s perception of wolves, stated that Thompson is a unique place in the world due to the fact that residents are willing to coexist with wolves. Human/wolf conflicts that occur in many parts of the globe where wolves roam are rare in Northern Manitoba.
This summer, the Meirau family of parents and two siblings came from Winnipeg to complete the Spirit Way GPS Wolf Hunt. Their task was to find all 49 wolf statues in Winnipeg, Thompson and Churchill and record the results in their GPS Hunt booklet. When they discovered one statue was missing in Thompson, they became concerned. Fortunately, Donna Wilson at Quality Inn contacted a Spirit Way director who was able to explain that the missing Manitoba Hydro statue had been moved for renovations. Peter Meirau, who graduated from Grade 12 last year and was entering computer sciences, was excited and very appreciative to get his booklet completed and properly stamped. Peter offered to create an app for the Wolf Hunt which would make it very easy to keep matters updated.
Peter Zaworonek donated a large and stunning Carl Brenders wolf art print that he brought back from British Columbia. It was later used in a fundraising auction and sold for hundreds of dollars. Peter Crivea, a long-time resident in Thompson, donated four beautiful framed needlepoint art pieces of wolves that his deceased wife had crafted. He wanted them to remain with Spirit Way and to show their appreciation and love of wolves. Spirit Way Inc. appreciates these citizens willing to make unsolicited donations to Thompson’s wolf projects.
Tim Gibson’s 11-year-old daughter Miyuki surprised her father when she created a Powerpoint in school about wolves. She was invited to meet with the Spirit Way board of directors. Her detailed presentation described what wolves do and how they live and learn in a pack. She spent numerous hours doing her own research and created an impressive presentation. Dad had no idea of the interest his daughter had in wolves, and said admirably that wolves have had a big impact on her. It was a tremendous learning effort on the young student’s part that will steer Miyuki to appreciate what wolves are all about.
Principal Jonathan Wamboldt from École Riverside School and students raised funds to buy the 56th Spirit Way wolf statue. The students are painting it in a school warehouse, and the 5,500-pound concrete statue will be placed on their school grounds in the spring. Who knew that so many wolf statues would ever be purchased since 2006? The original fibreglass mould has held up for 56 concrete pours. Spirit Way president Keith MacDonald stated “We don’t even try to sell statues anymore, but when the RCMP and a school ask to buy their own statue, it shows how much community interest there is.”
Did you notice a new Liquor Mart is being constructed at City Centre Mall? Well, the three wolf statues at the northeast corner of the parking lot had to be moved. Mall owners were very supportive to have them placed near the Safeway entrance. It is expected there will be some green landscaping added around that statues next summer, and the pack will look better than where they were before.
Recently Cheryl Lyn Dybas, a National Geographic blogger, wrote an article on “Can we coexist with wolves?” For her blog, she used a large opening photo of Thompson’s wolf mural with this caption, “Residents of the city of Thompson in Manitoba, Canada, have largely accepted the presence of wolves, as artwork on a Thompson building shows.” That’s a testament to the appeal of the wolf mural on what has become Thompson’s landmark building. Dybas’s blog post can be seen at https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2018/10/26/this-land-is-your-land-this-land-is-my- land-can-we-coexist-with-wolves-and-kin/
The mural is rated by Trip Advisor as the top attraction in Thompson! Moreso, at a recent international Wolf Symposium held in Minneapolis that was attended by Spirit Way representatives, one person from Thompson arrived at the airport and was welcomed by a symposium director. When introduced as being from Thompson, one of the Americans on the welcoming committee bowed in front of the Canadian guest and said, “That’s where the big wolf mural is? Thompson is our mecca!”
In 2017, Spirit Way Inc. undertook a promotion campaign in England after being invited to the city of Wolverhampton (known informally as Wolves) to paint two of their 30 new wolf statues. (One of those statues will be gifted to Thompson in 2019!) At the same time, Spirit Way, with the financial help from numerous corporate sponsors, offered a 12-day travel prize trip from England to Northern Manitoba. A very lucky and happy couple, Natasha and George, arrived in Thompson in September to experience Northern Manitoba on land, in a boat on Paint Lake, and in a helicopter to admire the North’s brilliant fall colours. Natasha audiotaped the rumbling sound of Pisew Falls and the rustling sound of trembling aspen leaves in the wind to share back home, sounds that she enjoyed as unique and relaxing. She also remarked how fresh and clean the air was in Thompson. A similar trip package is now being planned to promote to English travellers who would be attracted to Canadian wilderness and wildlife experiences with its rugged beauty, empty spaces and friendly northern hospitality.
This summer, a very good news story came about when a new craft beer company from Vancouver, Two Wolves Brewing, agreed to partner with Spirit Way Inc. They decided to donate five cents of every can of their beer sold in Canada toward a wolf conservation effort. CEO David Chadwick visited Thompson and explained that their funds can go towards the new Wolf Study Centre being developed. The kickoff to this campaign began at the first annual Thompson Beerfest to a packed audience at the Trappers Tavern in October. Congratulations to the RCMP and firefighters trivia team who won a 24-pack of Arctic Blonde Ale! The next event will be a Two Wolves Pub Crawl that is planned for January 2019. Stay tuned everyone as only 50 tickets will be available!
Other exciting wolf projects are currently underway which will be covered in future Wolf News updates. As Spirit Way’s website is down and being reconstructed, please visit our Facebook pages – Thompson Spirit Way and Wolf Capital of World. Contacts and questions can be made via email at thompsonspiritway@gmail.com.
