The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It was a rural Manitoba-based television blockbuster, and now Pioneer Quest: A Year in the Real West continues to find new fans around the world through the magic of home video (no DVD yet) and periodic reruns. The eight-part show saw a perfectly normal couple, Tim and Deanna Treadway, forego their modern existence and for one year live as Manitoba pioneers did over 130 years ago. The Treadways shared their incredible story with The Reminder while visiting Flin Flon several years back. The reader response was overwhelmingly positive, and with the show remaining popular, we felt it was time to revisit the article. * * * In a day and age when there seems little time to slow down and relax, many people long for the simple life. Some go hiking or fishing to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life, while others seek the quiet solace of a cabin or favourite campground. But Tim and Deanna Treadway took their desire to get away from it all one step further. Big time. For one year Ð June 2000 to June 2001 Ð the couple lived just as pioneers did in the 1870s. No phone, no lights, no motor cars, not a single luxury was present at their temporary homestead near Argyle, Manitoba. And hundreds of thousands of people were along for the ride, enjoying Pioneer Quest: A Year in the Real West, a reality series that documented the couple's adventure, on History Television. "We went through just about everything that pioneers went through," said Tim, as expressive in person as he is on television, following talks at local schools last week. "We went through flood, we went through sickness, we had bugs like you wouldn't believe and no repellent. Everything was so hard." Despite facing the coldest Manitoba winter in over a century, a constant myriad of hungry mosquitoes, and endless chores and challenges, Tim and Deanna wouldn't trade their pioneer experience for anything. "We moved so much slower than we had in our regular lives," said Tim. "We had just a real calmness in our whole being. I think everything just kind of became a purifying effect on us, mentally and spiritually. We got to really know what we were like. And when you go through hard times, that's when you really find out what you're like." "We didn't realize what a year of living like this did to us until we were done," added Deanna, "how life just slowed down and although there was pressure Ð physical pressure and hard work Ð there wasn't the mental pressure that we had away from the homestead." The couple admittedly didn't know a thing about farming, plowing, horses or just about anything else related to pioneer life when they and another couple, Frank and Alana Logie, were chosen to star in Pioneer Quest. "We knew roosters didn't lay eggs, that was about it," laughed Tim. But they would have to learn, and learn quickly. Left with limited supplies, such as six weeks of food, a tent, a rusted plow, and antique tools and kitchen wares, the Treadways were left to fend for themselves. That included learning to get along with two horses, the couple's main mode of transportation, as well as their cow and 13 chickens. "Here we were given 80 acres of land that had never been broken and left to make it for a year," Deanna recalled of the overwhelming prospect. The hurdles facing the Treadways and the Logies were numerous. See 'Living' on pg. Continued from pg. Living in tents, it took 11 weeks before the Treadways and Logies completed a pair of small log houses. Meanwhile, the group's first well dried out, so a second eight-foot well had to quickly be dug. The labour was constant and intense, once causing Tim to be hospitalized for eight days due to an infection around his heart brought on by the stress and harsh conditions of the pioneer simulation. Mosquitoes were everywhere and repellent was nowhere. Smoke from smudge fires kept some of the insects at bay, but eventually Tim had to resort to a mind-over-matter stance toward the persistent bloodsuckers. The fall crop of vegetables failed, meaning the couple had to spend a large portion of their allotted 'settler dollars' on carrots, potatoes and the like from a general store. A stove kept them warm in the frigid winter, but there was still a lot of shivering. Interestingly, Manitoba hadn't faced a winter as cold as that of 2000 since the days of the pioneers, back in 1880. All the while there were no toilets, showers or sinks. The pioneers had to make due with moss or rags for toilet paper and sponge baths twice a week to remain clean. To boot, contact with the outside world was limited to letters every two weeks "It was tough, but it wasn't anything the pioneers to Manitoba didn't go through," commented Tim. Against some definite odds, Tim and his wife slowly but surely grew to love life on the homestead. For fun, they and the Logies would play cards every night. Plenty of books (all from 1875 or earlier) were also available to occupy the free time of the pioneers. The menu was simple. A typical day called for porridge for breakfast, potatoes for lunch, and soup and meat for supper. The immensely uncomplicated nature of their existence sharply contrasted their lives beforehand, and they liked it. "It was such a calm lifestyle," said Tim. "We walked a lot of places. Our horses would go three miles an hour rather than 60 miles an hour. We didn't have phone calls to make or answering machines to deal with." "And we had no deadlines," added Deanna. While Tim was gung-ho from the moment the couple responded to a newspaper ad from the producers of Pioneer Quest, Deanna, understandably, had concerns about leaving behind her contemporary life. What about their jobs, Tim's as a contractor and Deanna's as a dental assistant? Their three sons, the youngest being 15? And living more than a century in the past? As it turned out, Deanna initially didn't want to take part in Pioneer Quest Ð but as a loving wife, she decided to humour her husband. She agreed to apply, never thinking they would actually be chosen. "We don't know anything about farming," she recalled with a smile. "That's the only reason I went along." So Deanna became more than a little nervous when she and Tim were still on the list after producers narrowed down the thousands of applicants to 300 couples. Then 25. Then 10. And finally, to four. Originally picked as back-ups, the Treadways were shocked when producers called to inform them that one of the chosen couples had to leave the show for legal reasons. Tim and Deanna's life was about to change forever. "In three days, we had to turn our construction company totally over to our two oldest sons, we had seven rent-a-homes to deal with, and you can imagine all the truck payments, the bills, the taxes, income taxes Ñ everything," expressed Tim. Deanna remembered feeling a little guilty about leaving her sons behind for a full year, but the three of them assured their mom that everything would be okay. And it was. The couple came away with an experience they will forever treasure, and a little bit of money as well. "The payment for making it through the year was $100,000," said Tim. "After we had our taxes taken off, 47 per cent, I think we made three dollars and two cents an hour. But we didn't do it for the money. It really became a lifestyle and we really, really enjoyed it." Fame also followed, as the couple gets recognized wherever they go in Canada. A boy they had never met even realized he was talking to Deanna just from hearing her voice over the phone. Long removed from the homestead, now a museum, the Treadways have yet to completely resume their normal lives. Tim and Deanna have spent their post-pioneer lives traveling across Canada to share their experiences with everyone from students to business professionals. It's no surprise to them that they are in great demand for such speaking engagements. "The lesson is that when things get rough, you just have to keep pushing on," said Tim. "When September 11 happened, it gave people a very unstable feeling that life was very uncertain. And, because of that, we are able to share with different organizations the fact that, during our homesteading, we had a very shaky experience, but made it through just fine."
