Sam Steele, man of action, Lion of the Yukon, is widely known for his adventurous exploits across the world. As a policeman and military leader, he was on the cusp of every major historical campaign of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Sam Steele, man of action, Lion of the Yukon, is widely known for his adventurous exploits across the world. As a policeman and military leader, he was on the cusp of every major historical campaign of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Less widely explored is Steele’s personal life and in particular a 29-year enduring love affair with his wife Marie Elizabeth de LotbiniÄŤre Harwood. Partners in every sense, their life-long commitment to each other has only now been discovered through a collection of private letters and papers on display at the Sir Sam Steele Collection in Enterprise Square in Edmonton’s old Hudson Bay Building.
Adding a human dimension to the University of Alberta Library Archives collection is a 22-minute film researched, scripted and acted by St. Albert thespians Maureen Rooney and Paul Punyi.
My Dear Sweet Maye … My Own Darling Sam, an ebb and flow of letter reading between Sam and Marie is a glimpse into the couple’s private life, their courtship and shared interests.
At first glance they seem mismatched. Sam descended from a long line of military men and was orphaned at 13. Marie was the eldest daughter of Robert William Harwood, a seigneur of the county and Member of Parliament from Vaudreuil, Quebec.
She was a debutante enjoying the pleasures of her station. He was a soldier roughing it in far-off corners of the Dominion. And 100 years ago, her francophone Roman Catholic background was a stark contrast to Steele’s Anglican family on a rural Ontario homestead.
Despite her advantages, at 29 years, Marie had still not found a husband.
“There were hints she was picky,” said Rooney.
“She enjoyed putting society men in their place,” Punyi added.
But in 1889, Marie’s family sent the strong-willed young woman to visit an Aunt at Fort MacLeod. During an afternoon house concert that Steele attended as the Fort’s commander, the two were introduced.
The Mountie was nine years older, but the couple enjoyed a summer romance discovering many shared interests including a passion for horses. Marie even went on patrol with him.
Marie was obviously attracted to Sam as a protector and as Punyi describes his character, “He was a man’s man.”
In return, Rooney says Sam thrived sparring with her strong will. “What did he write? ‘A man should not marry a little goose.’ He preferred a woman with a will of her own.”
Wanting a permanent visual, the University of Albert Library Archives commissioned Rooney and Punyi to complete a film after seeing one of their plays during the university’s 100th anniversary.
The duo spent several months reading hundreds of letters still folded in their original envelopes. Rooney spoke about the reads as an adventure in sleuthing. Pouring over the old-fashioned script and deciphering it, took an average of 45 minutes per letter.
“It was like panning for gold and finding a nugget here and there and putting it together with playwright mortar.”
Borrowing direct quotes and summarizing events, Rooney and Punyi wrote a script and pared it down several times.
“Writing the play was like a sculptor making a beautiful sculpture and then hacking off the limbs.”
A three-day film shoot under the experienced hand of Wes Doyle (Caution: May Contain Nuts) was scheduled on location at Fort Edmonton Park, Rutherford House, used as a stand-in for Marie’s home at Vaudreuil, Que., and MacDonald House, doubling for the Barracks House in Fort MacLeod.
Shot this past winter, Rooney still remembers the ordeal at MacDonald House.
“We were not allowed to have the heat on during filming. We were freezing. We were trying to act while not breathing so you wouldn’t see the fog. It was actually colder inside than outside and we’d go outside to warm-up,” with the aid of steaming cups of coffee.
The completed film is an intimate portrait of two formidable personalities that complemented each other and remained very much in love.
Punyi describes Sam as “honest to the core. He was incorruptible. He was a wonderful husband and dad. He was very devoted to his family and to his mission.”
But it was Marie’s support that sustained him through the many campaigns and revealed a fascinating life.
