A tough decision made by two young newlyweds helped carry on a family farming tradition in the Foothills.
The McLean farm – Stimson Creek Ranches – was named the 2017 Calgary Stampede Farm Family for the MD of Foothills.
It was a true honour for former MD reeve and councillor Roy McLean and his wife Lenore, as they accepted the award surrounded by family at the Stampede grounds on July 10.
“It’s a good feeling,” said Roy. “It was a very nice do and it was interesting to see. I’m proud to be part of it.”
He said the family is very grateful for the people who nominated their farm, southeast of Longview near the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site.
Roy’s family moved east from New Brunswick in 1941, when Roy was just two years old, to take up a plot on his great-uncle’s land. He had come from the Maritimes in 1912 and wrote back to Roy’s father to tell him there was room for them in Alberta if they were interested in joining him out west.
In 1967, Roy’s father passed away and he and Lenore had to choose whether to keep the family’s mixed farm operation going or move on.
“He passed away from a malignant brain tumour and we had just turned 27 years old and we had to decide at that time whether we were going to go on this or get out of it,” said Roy. “We decided to go on and it made for some hardships with the debt and the passing in the family and those sorts of things, but we’re glad we did that.”
It wasn’t always easy, he said. There were years crops didn’t have full yields and times the price for cattle dove by half, making it difficult to make ends meet. They wouldn’t have traded the life for anything, said Roy.
“It was our way of life,” he said. “You could look back and think there was hard work there, but there were good times, too.”
He said he always liked working outdoors in the soil and with animals, and found farm life very rewarding.
A horse accident in 2005 left him injured. While he had to step back somewhat from farming he said he still loves the land and living on the family ranch.
It’s been home for 76 years and it was where he and wife Lenore raised their three boys.
Lenore said living on the McLean ranch for the past 58 years made for a rewarding and busy life. Coming from a ranch off the Highwood River west of Longview, she was no stranger to working with horses and cattle.
Though grain farming was new to her at first, it didn’t take long for her to adjust.
“I wore very many hats,” said Lenore. “Getting up early in the morning and getting everything set for the day as well as keeping house, children and riding outside. And as I got more used to grain, the seeding of the field and harvest, I would drive trucks and take meals to the field. You’re used to a tight, heavy schedule, a busy life, but it’s a good life.”
The McLean land is intact today, but since Roy’s accident in 2005 most of it has been rented out to other farmers. The McLeans held back some of the land for themselves and still run about 25 head of horses, she said.
Their horses are used to help maintain the ranch, check springs, or help the people leasing their land move cattle. They’re also used by nine grandchildren who are in 4H – the third generation of McLeans to be involved with the organization.
Lenore said the family is extremely grateful for the award and continues to enjoy farm life in the Foothills.
“It’s just very exciting to be honoured like this,” she said.
“The family has worked very hard to continue the success of the farm and it’s a great honour.”
