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A farewell to the family farm

A Foothills family is celebrating a century of memories as the sun sets on its local ranch.

A Foothills family is celebrating a century of memories as the sun sets on its local ranch.

Close to 75 members of the Noble family gathered on July 8 to honour their heritage and bid farewell to the original homestead, which still stands on 40 acres of land southwest of Okotoks.

It was a great excuse for a family reunion and the chance for many family members to meet for the very first time.

“This has never happened before, having everyone together like this,” said Linda Ball, whose father was one of the Noble brothers who were born and raised in the old house on the ranch. “The world is so little really, but we never met some of them before. So, it’s been really something.”

Ball and her husband travelled from Moosomin, Sask. to attend the reunion. Others came from closer to home at Champion, Alta., while one family made the trek from Dubai.

It was all in honour of the Noble family, and twin brothers John Arthur (Jock) and Stanley Stewart (Stew), only children of W. E. (Earl) Noble of Aldersyde and Marguerite (Hutchison) Noble of Okotoks. Earl and Marguerite bought the land from the Linehams and farmed until 1945, before moving to Okotoks.

When their parents left the farm, Jock and Stew, who had both spent time in the army – Jock in Brandon, Man. and Stew served overseas during the Second World War – took over the land.

Jock and his new wife, Mina McEathron, moved to the Bond ranch – known as Rainbow Ranch – on Tongue Creek, where they raised four children. It was in the coulee down the hill from the original house where Stew and his wife, Barbara Tigner, lived with their three children.

“The only piece of the original homestead that’s left is this 40 acres,” said Wendy Adam, daughter of Stew and Barbara.

It had been owned by her brother Vernon until he passed away a few years ago and passed the land on to Wendy and her husband Udo to keep in trust for Stew and Barbara’s five grandchildren.

“It’s now being sold because it was my brother’s wish to have the 100th birthday party and then dispose of it because eventually all things come to an end,” said Adam.

Things had come to an end years ago for the Bond ranch, she said.

The entire family – all seven children who were raised at Rainbow Ranch – have fond memories of growing up on the land, she said.

Their childhoods were made of memories and moments that shaped the people they grew to be, she said.

“I think if you talked to any of the children, you’d find out we were taught self-reliance, duty to the community, duty to the family, duty to our country,” said Adam. “I think we all had those values instilled in us by being raised by the people who came from Ontario to actually become part of Alberta’s history and certainly instilled it in all of us.”

Ball said she loved growing up on the ranch outside of Okotoks.

Though she left in 1966 after graduating high school to attend Olds College and go to university in Montana, she said there were always opportunities to come home and visit. Her parents lived at Bond ranch until 1986, she said.

“It changed so much over the years, like the road getting paved and more people coming to the area,” said Ball. “It’s amazing how time marches along and another year goes past and here we are at 100.”

She was happy her cousin, Wendy, decided to organize the family reunion at the old ranch. It was a chance to get to know the other side of the family, she said.

Wendy had two brothers, Vernon and Kenneth, who are both deceased. Her nieces and nephews were virtually unknown to her cousins’ families, said Ball.

“They’re from far and wide, so we just didn’t know them,” said Ball.

When her mother, Mina, passed away, Ball said there was a celebration hosted by her and Jock’s other three children – Isabelle, John and Carol. They invited Wendy to attend the celebration of life and had a chance to reconnect.

“We got to know Wendy more, because even first cousins kind of drift apart,” said Ball. “It was great to get together then and this has been a really good day celebrating the family and our history here.”

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