AHOF Members archive

Lorne Edmund Parker was born in Sanford, Manitoba in 1927. He attended school in Sanford, Union Point and Winnipeg. He graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, was Senior Stick and received the Gold Medal. In 1950 he was awarded a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota. Lorne married Gwen Wilson in 1949. They farmed on river lots at Union Point (near Ste. Agathe), homesteaded by Lorne’s great grandfather. This land is still farmed by family members. Three daughters and one son were raised here. Lorne was recognized for his expertise in agricultural production in 1975, receiving the “Manitoba Farmer of the Year” award. Together the family developed a beautiful...

W.J. Parker was born in Sanford, Manitoba in 1896. He attended the University of Manitoba and graduated with a B.Sc.A. degree. Parker farmed at Ste. Agathe and Sanford and in 1928 he was elected to the board of directors of the Sanford Co-operative Elevator Association. In 1930 he was elected to the board of directors of the Manitoba Pool Elevators and became the third president of the company following the death of Paul Bredt in 1940. Parker held numerous other appointments during his long career. He was president of the Northern Canadian Seed Sales Ltd. and Pool Packers Ltd. He was also vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Canadian Co-operative Wheat Producers Ltd., Canadian Pool Agencies Ltd. and the...

Harold Orchard was a man of many faces: farmer, horticulturist, naturalist and machinist. Born near Port Perry, Ontario, his family moved to a farm near Graysville, Manitoba in 1887. In 1912, Orchard purchased his own farm in the Miami area, which he named the Glenorchie Farm Nursery. The nursery, established by Orchard, boasted many varieties of small fruits, flowers and shrubs. By crossbreeding, he developed many varieties of apples, one of which he was justly proud, the White Lake variety. In 1930, he was the first in Manitoba to produce fruit of the Melba, a delicious, standard eating apple of MacIntosh breeding. The first certified seed potatoes grown in Manitoba were grown by Orchard on his farm near Graysville around...

Born in Montréal, April 20, 1887, Margaret Newton (Ph.D) grew up on a farm in western Quebec. In 1918, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, the first woman to complete all the degree requirements at Macdonald College and one of the first women in Canada to earn a degree in agriculture. She followed this with a Master of Science in 1919, also from Macdonald College. She completed doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota and graduated in 1922, becoming the first Canadian woman to earn a Ph.D. in agriculture. Dr. Newton began her career in research as an associate professor of biology at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1925, she moved to Winnipeg to join the Federal...

John Roger Nesbitt, the son of James and Eliza Nesbitt, was born in Walkerton, Ontario. His parents had migrated from Ireland in the 1850s, and had settled on a homestead in Brant Township, Bruce County, Ontario. From his first days as a student at a dairy school in Belleville, John was interested in the industry. He came west in 1896, and worked on a farm in the Pilot Mound area for a short while. Then, he moved to Shoal Lake, and started to work at Mr. B. Scott’s creamery. The association with this creamery lasted for the rest of his life. The Shoal Lake Creamery of the 1890s was one of the first in the province, and thus it pioneered...

Dr. John M. (Jack) Nesbitt, the youngest son of John and Ida Nesbitt, was born in Shoal Lake, MB in 1925 and received his education there. His interest in the dairy industry began at an early age with his involvement in the family operated creameries in Shoal Lake, Rossburn and Russell. Following service during WW II, he continued his education, obtaining a B.S.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1947, a M. Sc. from Ohio State University in 1949 and a Ph. D. in Dairy Science from Penn State University in 1952. In 1949 Jack married Rea Willoughby of Regina and they raised a family of four, Anne, Kathie, John and Gordon. Dr. Nesbitt was head of the Dept. of...

Raised on a farm in the Carroll district, Jim. Jr. carried on the family tradition as a successful producer and exhibitor of high-quality cattle. He organized the Carroll Swine Club in the ’50s and led the combined 4-H Calf and Swine Club for several years. As a long-time director of the Provincial Exhibition, he was for many years in charge of the largest 4-H rallies in Western Canada. Moffatt was involved with the Souris and Glenwood Agricultural Society, the Manitoba Hereford Association and the Manitoba Cattle Breeders and served as president of all these organizations. A long-time director of the Manitoba Winter Fair prior to its becoming the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, he served as its president for the period...

Donn and Sylvia Mitchell were married in 1959 and settled on land homesteaded by Donn’s grandparents. There, they established Klondike Farms, with its outstanding herd of Registered Polled Herefords. Over the years they exported semen, embryos, and cattle to the global livestock industry. They travelled to many countries in their promotion of quality animals, and in some of these places, Donn performed as a cattle judge. One of the unique aspects of their combined activities is their electronic system for farm record keeping. Donn’s experience in meticulous record-keeping, matched with Sylvia’s training in accounting, have provided a great combination. Their five year cropping program includes input costs, revenues, and nutrient soil analyses. Also recorded are the genetic history and the...