Honour Roll archive

John Nicholas Welsh was born in Ottawa, Ontario, January 13, 1894. After receiving elementary and secondary education in Ottawa, he entered MacDonald College (McGill University), where he gained a BSA degree in 1922. In 1930, he was awarded his Master of Science degree from the University of Alberta. Mr. Welsh was internationally famous for his research in cereals. He produced, during his scientific career, seven major varieties of oats: Vanguard, Ajax, Exeter, Garry, New Garry, Rodney, and Micar. By 1958, approximately five million acres of prairie land were covered with his varieties. His productions were also widely grown in Eastern Canada and the United States. For his many achievements Mr. Welsh was made a Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of...

Cowley Webster was the first child of Lydia (Henry) and Cowley Matthew Webster, pioneers of the Two Creeks District. During his lifetime the changes and innovations on a mixed farm were remarkable, e.g. horses to tractors, trails to roads, and buffalo coats to nylon shells. World War I interrupted his studies at Ross School, and he didn’t return to the classroom until 1924. However, by 1927 he had graduated from the Diploma Course in the Manitoba Agricultural College, with an overall average of 79%. On June 28, 1928, he and Katherine Victoria (Strang) were married. They raised two children, Mrs. Lois Tanner and Mr. Cowley Kent Webster. Mr. Webster’s career and interests took him far beyond the limits of his...

Robert Klock Smith was born in Carp, Ontario 1859. When his father died, he, at age thirteen, moved to Aylmer, Quebec to work in his uncle’s lumber mill. He was bookkeeper and telegrapher, becoming fluent in the French language. In 1882, he came to Winnipeg, on to Brandon, then to the Maskawata district, filing on a CPR quarter. He worked in the woods at Rainy River and Portage la Prairie to finance the building of a house. In 1889, he married Margaret Smith from the Ryerson district. They raised a family of five boys and two girls. In politics, RK was a Liberal. In 1903, he was one of thirteen farmers in the West selected by Immigration Minister, Clifford Sifton,...

James Rea was born in 1882 in the Minniska District. He was educated in the Minniska and Russell Schools. James married Nell Burden in 1917. The Reas moved to Russell in 1947 and later sold their farm. Mr. Rea raised Clydesdale horses, his source of power to work the land. He also raised purebred Shorthorn cattle and was a member of the Shorthorn Breeders’ Association. James grew corn, and sunflowers, and mixed grains. He had a silo on his farm and was constantly experimenting on various silage mixes. James was a long-time member of the Russell Agricultural Society, serving as president for 25 years. He was Justice of the Peace; councillor for 10 years; Reeve of the Rural Municipality of...

Arthur Vincent (Art) Rampton, son of Vernon and Elizabeth Rampton, was educated in Dauphin and received his Matriculation standing from the Mackenzie High School. In 1939 he married Nada Wilkinson, and they raised three sons and one daughter, of whom they are very proud. During World War II, he served overseas for five years, in North Africa, Italy and Europe. (He was mentioned in several dispatches.) Returning to Dauphin and purchasing a farm next to his father’s, he bought several registered Guernsey cattle and thus began the long time passion of raising, showing writing about and judging Guernsey cattle. He was the first one to have a Guernsey display at the Regina Exhibition, and also exhibited cattle in many parts...

Garlin Vincent (Ole) Olson, son of Ole and Mable (Lindgren) Olsen, was born in Biggar Saskatchewan. Garlin graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1948, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture. He worked at post graduate studies in Bio-Chemistry, and at experimental work on liver disorder common to chickens. He won the Handleman Scholarship. After working for the Cockshutt Farm Equipment Company, he was employed for the next twenty years as a livestock nutritionist by the Federated Co-operative. It was his formulated livestock feed that was used by the Co-op feed mills in Western Canada. For the last fourteen years he served as a livestock specialist for the Department of Agriculture, in Swan River. Mr. Olsen’s influence on...

Frank Lionel Moore, son of Alice and William Moore, was born in Vancouver and later moved to Manitoba. He was educated at the Provencher School in St. Boniface, and at the University of Manitoba. In 1938 he married Isobel McIntyre and they raised three children Lionel Jr., Jerry and daughter Terry. In 1943 he started to work in Brandon as a Cattle sorter, and then went to the Winnipeg Union Stock Yards. He became a cattle buyer for Canada Packers, and four years later, started giving the Winnipeg livestock market reports for CJGX Yorkton. In 1950 he was invited to be the farm commentator for the Manitoba Farm Broadcast on CBW Winnipeg. For more than a quarter of a century...

Alvin V. Mitchener was born at Clear Creek, Ontario. He attended public school there and high school at Port Rowan, Ontario. He taught school for two years, obtained a B. A. degree from McMaster University in 1914, and a BSA degree from the Ontario Agricultural College in 1918. He then taught entomology at the Manitoba Agricultural College until 1927, when he received a Master of Science degree from the University of Manitoba. For the rest of his professional career, he taught entomology until 1954 when he was appointed Professor Emeritus of Entomology. In 1958 he was selected as Honourary Member of the Entomological Society of Manitoba and in 1951 an Honorary Member of the Manitoba Beekeepers’ Society. Professor Mitchener made...