Cowie Farms
yesterday and today
Our corner of the province
Two Century Farms
William Dixon Cowie established his homestead on NW12-4-33w1 in 1889. A sod shack was his home and he broke the land using oxen to pull the plough. In 1892 he was joined by his father and they doubled their land holdings by homesteading the north east quarter of the same section. In 1900, they built a frame house and moved out of the soddy. In 1905, William's brother, Andrew brought his family to the farm from Lake of the Woods Ontario. Succeeding generations have continued to farm this land although nobody has resided there for over 40 years.
Our farm home is located 1 ½ miles north of the original homestead. Although the size of the farm has grown to include land originally owned by several other families, we continue to be influenced by past generations. We are the proud owners of two Century Family Farms. The Cowie land has been in the family continually since 1889 and the Hutchinson land east of Oxbow, since 1901. One half mile east of our yard site stands a cairn marking the location of Oakley School which operated from 1882 through 1959. One mile south is the site of St. Mary's Anglican Church, established in 1903. Although the building is long gone, the cemetery remains as the final resting place of many pioneers including some of our ancestors.
The machinery we use today is larger and the last cow went to market many years ago. Our main crop is hard red spring wheat but our rotation also includes durum, oats, barley, flax and canola. The farm is a busy place from spring through fall but winter is a time to rest and reflect on the fact that farming is our passion.
Farming is a foolish man's game, so people say
As we proudly feed the world for little pay.
If they only knew the secret of true wealth-
Loving family, good neighbors and health.
M Happy '93
Our Farm
Our farm to us is not just land
Where bare unpainted buildings stand -
To us, our farm is nothing less
Than all God's hoarded loveliness.
Or farm is not where we must soil
Our hands in endless dreary toil
But where through seed and swelling pod
We've learned to walk and talk with God.
Our farm, to us, is not a place
Outmoded by the modern race
For here we think we just see less
Of evil, greed and selfishness.
Our farms a haven - here dwells rest
Security and happiness.
Whate're befalls the world outside,
Here, faith and hope and love abide.
And so our farm is not just land
Where bare unpainted buildings stand -
To us, our farm is nothing less
Than all God's hoarded loveliness.
Autor unknown
As these farmers grows old and sum up their days, let them feel pride in the lives they have lived! |
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