AHOF Members archive

Roy McPhail was born at Acton, Ontario and came to Manitoba with his parents in 1901. His family settled on a farmstead near Brandon. At the age of 21, McPhail purchased his own land and was engaged in farming until 1927. For many years, he was a prominent figure in the farm organizations of the province. In 1927, the Manitoba Co-operative Livestock Producers Ltd. was organized with McPhail as president. That same year, the M.C.L.P. and the Central Livestock Co-operative Ltd. started their own sales agency with McPhail spearheading the contract drive. His main concerns were to improve marketing methods and livestock quality for the benefit of all producers. In 1929, the Central Livestock Co-operative Ltd. changed its name to...

Vernon Ernest (Vern) McNair was born in 1928 and raised on the family farm near Shoal Lake, Manitoba. He attended elementary school at Wolfe Creek and high school in Shoal Lake.  He graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1951 with a BSc. in Agriculture.  In 1968 he earned his MSc. in Education (Communications) from Indiana University.  Vern and his wife, Marjory (Fleming) have three children, Lillas, Douglas and Roy, all of whom have degrees in agriculture. Vern’s professional career began as an Agricultural Representative with Manitoba Agriculture in Carberry. In 1955 he helped pioneer Canadian farm broadcasting when he joined CBC in Winnipeg.  Among his many projects was the television program Country Calendar which later became Country Canada.  In...

Robert (Bob) McNabb was born and raised on a farm at Minnedosa, Manitoba. He attended the University of Manitoba where he obtained a degree in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science. While at university, he took flying lessons and obtained his commercial flying license. Following graduation, Bob spent eight years in northern Saskatchewan where he was the operations manager and chief pilot for an aviation company. In 1976, Bob and his wife Elaine (MacCarthy) and young daughter Dana moved to Minnedosa to begin farming. Three more children followed – Lauren, Robert and Michael. Bob and Elaine currently operate a 1000 acre farm and have been committed to zero-tillage for 36 years. Although starting out as a mixed operation, Bob switched to...

Moseph McMurachy of McConnell, Manitoba was born in York County, Ontario in 1878 and came with his parents to the Shoal Lake district four years later. Mr. McMurachy was responsible for developing wheat which was resistant to the rust disease 15B. This wheat was later crossed with Exchange and Redman varieties and provided the rust-resistancy in the famous Selkirk variety. In 1930 Mr. McMurachy had found two heads of rust-free wheat while harvesting his farm in Strathclair. He sowed the seeds of these plants, and by 1935 he had developed six acres. During that year a stem rust epidemic wiped out most of the fields in the Strathclair district, while Mr. McMurachy’s six acres stood almost untouched. In that year...

Roderick McKenzie was born in 1849 in Ashfield Twp., Huron County Ontario. He was the second born child , and first born son of Colin and Ann MacKenzie of Strathconnon, Ross-shire, Scotland, who emigrated to Canada in 1842 and homesteaded near Kintail in Ashfield Twp., just north of Goderich. Roderick was raised on the family homestead, attended local schools and completed his education in Goderich, Ontario. As a young man he taught school and in 1877, at the age of 28 years he left Ashfield Twp., to seek a new life in the west. Before leaving Ashfield in 1875 he married Janet McDonald., They eventually had a family of four sons, Colin, Hugh, and twins, Donald and Lorne. Following his...

Kenneth McKenzie was born in Inverness, Scotland. He came to Canada as a young man and settled in Puslinch County near Guelph, Ontario. In 1844, he and Jean (Condy) of Fifeshire, Scotland were married in Bartonville. They farmed there until 1868. McKenzie came West with his son and arrived in Portage la Prairie at the very dawn of agriculture in the province. They selected land near Rat Creek in an area called Shannon, later renamed Burnside. The rest of the family came out to this area within the next two years. His experience and versatility made him a valuable pioneer. Because of the threat of difficulties between the newly arrived settlers and the nomadic Prairie dwellers, his thoughtful decision making...

Donald McKenzie was born in Brandon on 1887. He attended Turriff School near the village of Forrest, then school in Brandon and Manitoba Agricultural College in Winnipeg. In 1914 he married Katie Belle Cole, and together they raised a family of four boys and four girls. He and his twin brother operated the family farm. Donald became involved in the movement to organize farmers and was secretary of the Forrest local, United Farmers of Manitoba. He was also secretary of the Brandon District U.F.M. and later vice president. He became a member of the Advisory Board on Tariffs and Taxation for Canada. He was appointed Minister of Mines and Minister in charge of Manitoba Power Commission and Minister of Agriculture....

Born in 1893 at Douglas, Manitoba to pioneers Robert and Marion McKeand, Dave McKeand learned the ways of farming early and began farming on his own at the age of 16. McKeand was a member of the United Farmers of Manitoba and one of the original members of Manitoba Pool. He was also a member of the Canadian Seed Growers Association, growing pedigreed seed and a winner of the Save the Soil trophy for Brandon North. A member of the Provisional Board of the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame Inc. at the time of its incorporation in 1976, he was a dedicated supporter of the idea that those who in their time contributed to the betterment of rural living be...