THUNDER BAY -- A public screening next month of the Disney film The Incredible Journey will help launch an ambitious project to highlight the life and work of former Thunder Bay author Sheila Burnford.
Burnford, who died in 1984, is best known for the 1960 book of the same name surrounding the adventures of three pets that trekked through the northwestern Ontario wilderness to reunite with the family that owned them.
The story inspired the motion picture and a 1993 re-make, Homeward Bound.
But Burnford’s work included more than just that one famous book, and now three Thunder Bay residents are taking their own lengthy journey to document and safeguard all her accomplishments.
Kelly Saxberg and Ron Harpelle of ShebaFilms, together with Dianne Brothers, are producers on the project which is called One Woman's North.
It will include a series of films and an archiving component.
Saxberg says "We're following Sheila and her adventures with her books, and also the friendship and creativity" that she shared with her good friend, the late artist Susan Ross of Thunder Bay.
Burnford joked about sleeping with her characters
Burnford's six books were essentially autobiographical. Saxberg notes that the first and best-known of them "was based on her animals, and the favourite quote I have from Sheila is that she's the only writer that she knows that actually sleeps with her characters, sometimes all at the same time."
The producers are utilizing the late writer's personal papers, provided to them by her family. They are being scanned and archived. The project also has access to Ross's sketchbooks.
Harpelle said what Burnford and Ross accomplished together was "quite remarkable." After raising their children, they travelled to remote northern communities, with Ross sketching what she saw and Burnford writing about the experience. "They then brought it back down south to the world, and shared it with everyone."
While Saxberg and Brothers work on the film, Harpelle is focusing on the archiving aspect of the project in conjunction with the Thunder Bay Public Library. Eventually, the public will be given access to the historical items.
Around mid-May, what Harpelle describes as a version of the Antiques Road Show will take place at the Trinity United Church hall.
"We are going to show the film The Incredible Journey, and we'll invite people, if they have anything, whether artifacts or letters or anything related to Sheila Burnford, to bring them along." He said if people want to contribute them to the archives, they would be gratefully received, but if not then they could be scanned for archiving.
The producers also hope to hear, at the screening, from anyone who knew Burnford. They'd like to set up "a kind of photo booth...where people can go on a video camera and record" their recollections or a story about the author.
Author's work known worldwide
Burnford's books and the two motion pictures are so well-known that Harpelle feels the archive will draw people to Thunder Bay to learn more about her and her life in the place that she worked. He noted that during a recent trip to Thailand he came upon a copy of The Incredible Journey published in the Thai language.
He said Burnford's family will have to sign off on the archive plans since they own the material, but that's not likely to be a problem. One of her daughters will travel to Thunder Bay for the screening and for an interview with the producers.
Harpelle notes that Burnford was "a great outdoors person....she loved the great outdoors." He envisions, in cooperation with the city, setting up panels on walking paths at Boulevard Lake or elsewhere, where people would be able to read excerpts of her writings while pausing.
There's even been talk about a monument to Burnford, which " inevitably includes two dogs and a cat." Although there was much more to Burnford than the three heroes of her first book, Harpelle says "we'll take advantage of The Incredible Journey because it's the most well-known," and the one that established her reputation.
A group of about ten individuals have been assisting with recording items and scanning documents over the past two years, but the scope of this project is even larger, having spread overseas. Harpelle says participants in the documentary have already been interviewed in the U.K. and in France.
Some funding for the project has been provided by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
