Book shares Saskatchewan's early days through photos and stories
Dion Manastyrski is back in Saskatchewan, travelling with his book which aims to preserve the stories of the province's past.
"It's meant to be a very personal book, a personal retelling of what it was like back then by these people," Manastyrski said.
Manastyrski, who now lives in B.C., grew up in rural Saskatchewan and remembers the prairie being filled with churches, schools and small family farms.
"Every time I would go back to our old farm to visit, I would notice how many of the people who lived around us, our neighbours and friends, some family, had moved out. And a lot of these houses were not being reoccupied."
Being a photographer, Manastyrski decided in 2003 that he would put together a book of photos of these now-abandoned places. He began travelling across the prairie provinces, and eventually realized that he also wanted to tell the stories of the people who were part of these places.
He began talking to people, from retired farmers to those who were teachers at one-room schools, to railway workers and rural residents.
"All these things, collectively, that people had to say were really quite amazing."
After collecting stories from more than 70 people, Manastyrski had the material he needed for his book.
Manastyrski used crowdfunding to put his book together in order to publish it in the way he wanted, as an embossed hardcover that features one of his photos.
The book, "Prairie Sunset: A Story of Change", was released last November, and is now available through stores such as McNally Robinson in Saskatoon and the Frozen Cactus in Yorkton.
Next month, his book will also be offered at most Peavey Mart locations.
Manastyrski continues to visit abandoned buildings in the prairies, and is looking to start doing slideshow presentations as he travels to show off the photos and share the stories.
"I wanted to try and capture as much of this as I could because it's not only the buildings that are disappearing and the other artifacts, but also the stories from people who lived several decades ago."
