Alequiers: The History of a Homestead

Nora D.S. Robins is liaison librarian, University of Calgary Information
Resources.

Approximately 12 miles west of the village of Longview in southern
Alberta, on the banks of the Highwood River, sits an old, whitewashed
log cabin named “Alequiers” after Alexander McQueen Weir, the first
settler. It became the home of the Royles and then the Schintz family,
who moved into the house in 1930. Dutch-born Ted Schintz arrived in
Canada in 1924 and travelled the west by horseback, painting first in
charcoal and then in oils. His wife, Janet, also a painter, became known
for her watercolours of birds, flowers, and wildlife. Their son Mike and
his brothers grew up at Alequiers in a warm, loving household. This
memoir is Mike’s story of the homestead as well as a tribute to his
parents.

Schintz writes about the daily life of homesteaders, their neighbours,
the Stoney people, and the wildlife. His recollections are often funny
and always interesting—an eloquently written, warm evocation of a life
that most of us can only dream about. This is a book to be treasured.

Mike Schintz spent his career as a warden for Parks Canada. He is the
co-author of Guardians of the Wild: A History of the Warden Service of
Canada’s National Parks (1999).