A book event later this morning invites people in and around Portage la Prairie to reconnect with their prairie roots through the lens of local author Douglas Muir. From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Pallister Financial will host a book sale and meet-and-greet with Muir, featuring two publications rooted in familiar Manitoba soil.
Ancestry and adaptation
Muir, a retired education specialist, drew deeply on his early life in High Bluff and decades of family research to bring his first book to life.
“I was on a farm in High Bluff until I left for Portage la Prairie when I was about 14. From there, I moved to Winnipeg in 1966,” notes Muir.
A Canadian Pioneer Family Story traces the journey of his great-grandfather, who left Ireland in 1835 and eventually settled in High Bluff in 1878.
“I decided to do some research, and I found out that I had a great-grandfather who left Ireland in 1835 and came to North America. In 1878, he, his wife, and their eight children came to High Bluff, Manitoba. Throughout the story, we learn how a successful farm life must change and evolve over the years to survive.”
The book follows the lives of early settler families, including Moss, Cuthbert, Donnelly, Barron, Dalzell, Owens, Greenlay, Tidsbury, Lytle, Moggy, and Garry, highlighting their resilience through prairie storms, wars, and the continual transformation of agricultural life on the Manitoba landscape.
Friendships on the field
While his first book is steeped in real-life stories and historical roots, Muir’s second title, Small Town Baseball: Friendships and Friction, shifts into fiction, exploring youth and sport in small-town Canada.
“It’s about a group of teenagers who maybe aren't too different than Portage la Prairie teenagers,” he says.
The novel follows a group of baseball-playing teens through their formative years and into adulthood, tracking how their personalities shape their life choices over the decades.
"In part, it came from my teenage experience, but the names of people and places involved were changed. It’s fiction, so you still might have to use your imagination at times, but one would find a lot of similarities from growing up in the Portage area.”
From counselor to storyteller
Before turning to writing, Muir spent 37 years in education as a school counselor, division coordinator, and curriculum developer for the Manitoba Department of Education. His professional background in storytelling and curriculum laid the foundation for his novels.
“I previously did some writing with the department, and when I retired, I thought that putting a story to some of these ideas wouldn’t be too different,” he explains.
After a successful presentation at the Portage Library last month, Muir saw an opportunity to reconnect with more readers, especially those with ties to High Bluff and the farm life.
To help bring his books to a wider local audience, Muir teamed up with a former student, Tom Hyde, now a financial planner at Pallister Financial.
“My first four years of teaching were at Burnside School, about 8 miles west of Portage,” says Muir. “I taught him for four years, along with 36 other students at that time. If any of the former students from Burnside were interested in attending today, that would be a great reunion,” he adds.
Both books will be available for purchase on-site today at Pallister Financial, located at 2-602 Saskatchewan Ave. E. Whether you're interested in family history, rural life, or coming-of-age stories rooted in familiar communities, Muir’s books offer something for everyone with a connection to the Portage and High Bluff area.
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