Let’s ask the company’s own archivist: would John Deere, the man, be surprised to learn his eponymous field plow company is now a global corporation with around US$30 billion in annual turnover?
Tag Archives history
Could John Deere have imagined what his company has become today?
A look into the brand’s own archives shows its corporate history
Former Prairie agricultural agency gains historic designation
Parks Canada has designated the former Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration an event of national historic significance.
Prairie Memoirs: Wartime memory still fresh in mind of retired Alberta farmer
It’s a moment that remains etched in Stanley Lamb’s memory 80 years later. Lamb, 90, grew up on his family’s grain farm just outside of Clareshome, Alta., a small town located about 125 kilometres south of Calgary. As a youngster, he attended classes at a tiny one-room school situated about 15 km east of town. […] Read more
Les Henry: Big farms are not a new idea
There have been winners and losers over the years
There has been much ink spilled this winter talking about big farms and the problem of too few medium-sized farms to pick up the equipment trade-ins from big farms. Part of the problem is the electronic bells and whistles that dust out when the mechanical parts have much useful service left. Bells start ringing and […] Read more
Getting back to the roots of our Prairie past
Reporter's Notebook: Lisa Guenther tours what’s left of Cleeves, a once-thriving Saskatchewan town
It’s a safe bet that most people haven’t heard of Cleeves, Sask. While Google maps still marks the spot virtually, little is left of the abandoned hamlet beyond caraganas, a dirt road and the basement of the school. Growing up in the Turtleford area, I’d heard of Cleeves. I knew it was somewhere around Spruce […] Read more
What a difference 100 years can make
Hart Attacks: The crop yields achieved by today’s famers would be a shock for our forefathers
As a new growing season begins, I am always impressed with the progress farmers have made in pushing the limits on crop production — striving to be more efficient, using improved agronomic practices and technology to increase yields and hopefully outsmart Mother Nature. I worked on a story earlier this year that described some global […] Read more
Preserving the past through photos
Retired administrator keeps memories alive
Brian Miller likes old farm sites. He’s not sure what possessed him to take hundreds of photos of abandoned and derelict farm sites over his 28-year career as a municipal administrator. What he does know for sure is that he’s thankful he has taken photos over the years because many buildings, from two-storey brick houses […] Read more
Catalogue houses: Eatons and others
Looking for information about a catalogue house in your area? Les Henry may be able to help
I have a longstanding interest in catalogue houses. In fact, I’ve written a book with the same title as this column (see below for details). My interest in mail order houses comes honestly. Seven sisters and I were raised in a large 2-½ storey square house much like many of the catalogue houses of that […] Read more
Searching out my farming roots in Russia
Prairie Palate: Since childhood I had dreamed of this and finally the opportunity came
My farming ancestors came to Canada from Russia in the 1890s and, ever since I was a child, I dreamed of visiting their village on the Dnieper River. That opportunity came in April. Despite the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which is unfolding east of the Dnieper, I made a trek to the little village […] Read more
Tracing the timeline
While production at New Holland’s Basildon U.K. factory has been uninterrupted for the past 50 years, it has been affected by some major corporate changes. Here’s a look at some of the milestones. 1962 Ford begins construction on the Basildon factory 1964 On May 15 the Basildon factory opens its doors the same year Sperry New Holland […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
