AHOF Members archive

William Wallace Fraser, eldest son of Kerr and Edna Fraser,was born October 6, 1921, in Hamiota, Manitoba. He attended school in Hamiota, graduating in 1937. Wallace joined the RCAF in 1940 and served overseas until 1945. In 1949, he married Mildred Pollock. Following her unexpected death in 1970, Wallace married Dorothy McConnell. She was his supporter and helper during his career with Manitoba Pool Elevators (MPE). Wallace was active in farming from 1946 until 1978. He grew certified crops for seed and raised quality Shorthorn cattle. Always trying to improve his own farming operation by keeping up with the latest innovations, he was a positive role model for other farmers in the area. Wallace served on the boards of the...

Willo Sterritt Forrester was born on the home farm near Emerson on June 14, 1901. He received his education locally and took over the family farm in 1922. In 1924, he married Marjorie Lovering, raising five children, one of whom still farms the original family farm. Forrester was among the first producers of special crops such as sunflowers, sugar beets and triticale in southern Manitoba. He was also one of the first farmers in Manitoba to recognize the potential of the Holstein breed of dairy cow, beginning his herd in 1938 and providing breeding stock for others. Though very busy with his farm, Forrester served his community and province in many capacities: on the Post Road School Board as secretary...

Reg Forbes was born at Rorketon, Manitoba in 1924 and was raised in the Dauphin area. He joined the RCAF in 1943 and trained as a navigator. Following his discharge in 1945, he attended the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1949. He joined the Manitoba Department of Agriculture in 1949 and served as the agricultural representative at Pilot Mound. During his time there, he initiated the “Save the Soil” campaign, which became a province wide conservation program. In 1956, he was appointed principal of the Agriculture and Homemaking School in Brandon and agricultural representative. Under his guidance, the school was changed to the Agricultural Extension Centre, which has served as a forum for discussion...

Dougal (Doug) Fletcher was born and raised in Argyle, Manitoba. He graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Manitoba, with a BSA in 1932 and a Masters in Economics in 1935. Doug married Iris Campbell in 1937 and together they raised three daughters: Sheila, Marilynn and Lesley. From 1937-45, Doug worked for the Dominion Livestock Branch at the Union Stockyards in Winnipeg. In 1945, he joined the Manitoba Department of Agriculture as the Agricultural Representative for the Shoal Lake district. In 1953, Doug was transferred to the Carman district where he served for eighteen years until his retirement in 1971. Doug was well known and highly respected for his diplomacy, integrity and respect for other people. He was known...

Glen Findlay was born and raised on the family farm at Shoal Lake, Manitoba, where he also received his early education. He graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and the Governor’s Gold Medal. In 1964 he received his Master of Science in Animal Nutrition. He then proceeded to the University of Illinois where he received his PhD in Nutritional Science in 1968. From 1968- 1970, he took a Post Doctorate Fellowship at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa. In 1957 Glen married Katherine Kennedy. The Findlays have four children, Carole, Keith, Gary and Jill, all of whom have degrees from the University of Manitoba. They have nine grandchildren. Along...

Peter Fidler, born 1769 in Bolsover, Derbyshire, England, signed on as a labourer for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1788. On his arrival in Canada, he was trained by Philip Turner, the company’s factor, as a surveyor. Fidler did his job with such accuracy that his maps are referred to in modern times. He used this same accuracy for detailed drawings and descriptions of the flora and fauna he found as he worked his way across the Prairies. When he became fort master for the company, he carried seeds wherever he went. He planted gardens at all the forts and these gardens were grown as far north as York Factory. With many forts established, he turned his attention to the...

Abram Ernst Ens was born in Reinland, Manitoba on August 16, 1931. He and his wife Helen (nee Zacharias) have two daughters and one son, Ingrid, Lottie and Christopher. The Ens family ran a dairy operation with a purebred Holstein herd from 1936 to 1996. In 1965, Abe was elected as a Director of Winkler Co-op Creamery, which amalgamated with Manitoba Dairy and Poultry Co-op in 1968. He served on the Milk Control Board of Manitoba and the Crocus Foods Board from 1971 to 1974. From 1987 to 1996, he represented District 7 on the Manitoba Milk Producers’ Marketing Board. Mr. Ens has been a Pedigreed Seed Grower for 44 years. He received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Manitoba...

Professor Joseph H. Ellis was born in Coventry, England. He came to Canada as a young man and worked on a farm in the Glenboro, Manitoba area and on plots at the Brandon Experimental Farm. He received his B.S.A. from the Manitoba Agricultural College and a M.Sc. degree from the University of Minnesota. Professor Ellis began his professional career in 1918 as an experimentalist and lecturer in the field husbandry department of the Manitoba Agricultural College. In 1927, the soils department was established with Professor Ellis as its first head. At this time, he initiated a survey of the soils of Manitoba involving their systematic mapping and classification; many of his concepts have been adopted in the Canadian soil classification...