Eighty years ago, Colonel Thomas Jefferies Avarne Walkeden and his wife Naiomi signed their names to their first lease in Jasper National Park. The plot of land nestled in the woods of Cottonwood Creek Road would quickly become known as the Pine Bungalows.
During their first few decades of ownership, the Walkedens built 50 log cabins—providing a pristine place for visitors to come and get away from it all. Fast forward to 2016 and not much has changed. Sure, buildings and cabins have come and gone, but the main principles of what the Pine Bungalows were built upon remain intact, said current owner and operator Michal Wasuita.
“I couldn’t build character into a building—I couldn’t build crooked floors, shaky windows or antiquated heating systems, but I have tried to keep it as true to Walkeden’s original vision,” Michal said. “This place is a real positive spiritual experience that can help people who are desperate for a simpler way of life.
“Here, you can take a break from life—take a break from that concrete, asphalt, glass jungle out there.”
Michal first showed up at Pine Bungalows when he was only six-months-old, however, the business went through a few hands before his family was finally able to call it their own.
After the Walkedens had finished building the hotel they sold the property in 1957 to Morris Stevenson and Cliff Treadway. Within the year, Treadway stepped aside leaving the estate with Stevenson and his wife Jean. It was in that same year that Jean’s brother Victor Wasuita and his wife Connie moved themselves and their newborn son to the bungalows—making it not only a place of employment, but also a place to call home.
“I’ve spent my whole life here,” Michal said. “I’m so connected to this place spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. This is my home. I don’t have a wife or kids, so this really is my baby.”
After the property was sold once again at the end of 1964, the Wasuita family finally took over in the spring of 1974. They continued to renovate until the late ‘70s—eventually expanding to 72 cabins and eight motel-type units.
“It was then that we really started to notice a tilt in visitation. By ‘78 we were on a steep incline,” Michal said. “And things have been steady ever since.”
After Victor’s death in 1997, Michal and his mom took over full operations of the business. Since then, Michal has been busy fixing up the place so it can last another 80 years.
In 2005, the hotel received approval from Parks to go ahead with a nine-phase master plan to refurbish the property. In the past decade, they have overhauled cabins, built a conference centre, signed a new 42-year lease and worked on other infrastructure projects in between.
“As a young man growing up I always thought I wanted this job,” Michal said. “I wanted to be the owner and take it over from my dad, but I didn’t realize the rocky road it was going to be. But I am happy with the progress of the renovations.”
The plan is currently going into its seventh phase, which will see more cabins updated.
Despite the changing times, the log cabins continue to stick to their original simplistic designs and don’t include televisions or Internet access.
“I’ve talked with some architects and they’ve wanted to turn this place into the Taj Mahal or fancy chalets and fourplexes, but that’s just not us,” Michal said. “I just want replicas of what was here.”
However in other aspects, Michal does recognize that some things do need to change. As the business continues to move forward, it’s been his goal to further decrease its ecological footprint—making many of the recent renovations eco-friendly. Last fall, the bungalows became the first Alberta business to receive a gold rating for environmental management and corporate social responsibility from Green Tourism Canada.
Over the years the bungalows have racked up numerous other green business awards.
“You’ve got to make a major investment to pay off down the road. If everyone did that then the world would be a better place,” Michal said. “I’m not trying to change the world but rather the message—here I am in the backwoods of Canada, but we’re still being progressive.
“We can still be up with the times and do our part to help the environment.”
Aside from the calming views of the Athabasca River and the revamped green cabins, it appears the business also stands out among Jasper’s sea of accommodations because of Michal himself.
Rather than your usual anonymous check-ins and outs, Michal makes it a priority to become acquainted with his many guests—calling each one by their first name while remembering their likes, dislikes and preferred cabin.
He said he’s been fortunate to attract a faithful customer base.
“I’ve watched four generations of one family from Edmonton come here every year. They rent the same two cabins for a week,” he said. “I’ve watched their old man pass away and I’ve watched the kids become adults and have kids of their own.
“I’ll probably see a fifth generation of them before I’m done here. So it’s been cool that I’ve been able to deeply connect with all these people over the years.”
At the age of 57, Michal knows he can’t run the bungalows forever. He recognizes that one day he’ll have to pass on the torch, but said he will do so with reservations.
“The way this place is built I’ve guaranteed that it will be almost impossible for someone to come in here and start building huge fancy chalets—that’s just not what was meant for this place,” he said. “I’ve got no desire to sell this place and just hand over the keys and turn my back on this place.
“This place will always be home to me.”
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
