ATHABASCA – Athabasca’s farmers and farm families came together to celebrate another successful season and honour longstanding members of their community at the annual Athabasca Ag Society’s Harvest Dinner.
“A lot of the hard work farmers do is isolated to their farms and people don’t see what they’re doing,” said Athabasca & District Ag Society president Camille Wallach. “The recognition for the farmers in the community doesn’t happen very often, so it’s nice to pull everyone together into one event.”
The 2024 dinner saw two families recognized with the 50 Years of Farming award, given to families who, you guessed it, have been farming in the area for 50 or more years. Leo Hanzel and Larry and Bonnie Speers were each given a custom-made yard sign, and family members took some time to talk about their memories of their parents.
Hanzel moved to Colinton with his family in 1965, before buying the three-quarter wide farm from his parents in 1972, 52 years ago.
“He started working on the drilling rigs in 1968 for $2.90 an hour. He started as a roughneck and retired as a consultant 46 years later,” said a proud Heather Berube, one of three kids. “Us kids always ask him, ‘When will you retire Dad?’ and he always replies, ‘I spent a lifetime of getting everything set up, so why would I quit now?’”
Not too far from the Hanzel farm, Larry and Bonnie Speers were building their own farm, albeit one sustained through a very different industry.
The Speers family moved to the Rochester area when Larry took on the principal position at Rochester School, a role he held for three decades. Alongside community volunteerism — and three terms as a county councillor for Larry — the family built a 180-head strong herd of cattle.
“Growing up on the farm was an amazing experience. Over the years, we’ve learned so many invaluable things about hard work; picking rocks, apparently, builds character, and picking one load of rocks usually means picking ten,” said son Troy Speers.
“I cherish every day I get to walk the half-mile down the road to spend time with these amazing role models of humans. Fifty years of anything is an incredible feat, but 50 years of maintaining the day-to-day management of running a farm is something to be very proud of.”
Special guests
Amidst all the farming families was the evening’s special guest, Dr. Rob Ostrander and his wife Liz — known as Dr. O to many — were recognized for their long-time service to Boyle and the surrounding communities.
The couple ran the village’s only veterinary clinic for 46-years, during which they raised a family, expanded their business, and performed an incredible amount of cattle caesarean sections.
“After 2,000 c-sections, Dad stopped counting,” said Brian Ostrander, whose speech had the crowd roaring with laughter.
“I often thought of all the vets in the city who have the option of directing clients to emergency centres. My folks were on call for 46 years straight, and they likely don’t regret any of it.”
Dr. O wasn’t the only medical practitioner in the building. Thanks to the Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) and a variety of community members, a group of nursing and medical students that have been touring the town joined the farmers for the celebratory dinner.
“Seeing events like this, I really admire the community and the mutual understanding everyone has to depend on each other and celebrate with each other,” said Cale Kooyman, a young medical student. “I think that’s a pretty powerful thing.”
