Farming has been a big part of the lives for Henry and Marguerite Fornwald, and their family, for several generations.
That commitment to agriculture was recognized on Tuesday night during the Estevan Farmers鈥� Appreciation Evening at the Beefeater Plaza, when the Fornwalds were presented with the prestigious Farm Family of the Year Award in front of a sold-out crowd.
Henry started farming in 1944 with his father, growing mostly wheat and oats. He bought his first parcel of land in 1949, and three years later, bought the entire farm, located southeast of Lampman, for $11,000.
He married Marguerite Miller in 1955, and they had 10 children 鈥� six daughters and four sons. The sons now have farms of their own, all located in close proximity to the original homestead, and farm a total of about 16,000 acres of land. Three of the daughters also married farmers and stayed close to the Lampman area.
At one time, Henry and Marguerite had a mixed operation, with crops and livestock, but the livestock are gone, and crops are the focus of the family. 聽
鈥淢om and dad always had beef cattle, a few milking cows, chickens and a large garden to provide for their family,鈥� said one of Henry and Marguerite鈥檚 sons, Blake Fornwald. 聽
In the community, the Fornwalds were active in their church and with various sports and recreation causes in the area.
Henry Fornwald, who is now 91 years old, paid tribute to his family and their contributions to the farm. He lamented that his wife wasn鈥檛 in attendance on Tuesday, because she was in the hospital in Regina. But he was happy to see so many family members presented.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 been involved in the farm,鈥� said Henry.
Blake said farming has evolved a lot since Henry started. Farms and equipment are a lot larger.
鈥淒ad said when we moved to zero-till seeding, it was like learning to farm all over again,鈥� said Blake. 鈥淭he cultivator was almost entirely replaced by the sprayer. Zero-till farming, along with the addition of pulse crops, has allowed us to continuously crop the land.鈥�
Thanks to new technologies in pesticides, fertilizers and GPS systems, farming has become more efficient, Blake said.
鈥淐ell phones also became very important for communication, as well as (bringing) information at your fingertips,鈥� he said.
Farmers now have semi-trucks to haul their crops, as grain elevators are further apart.
Blake noted that when he was growing up, everyone did their part to keep the farm going, including chores.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where we learned that hard work and pride would get us far in life,鈥� said Blake. 鈥淔arming or not, I know that a lot of their children and grandchildren learned valuable life skills from mom and dad.鈥�
Henry and Marguerite moved into Lampman in 1997. His final year of growing a crop that he called his own was in 2013, and he sold the last of his land in 2015.
鈥淒ad still loves riding along in the tractors at seeding and the combines at harvest, especially with his grandsons,鈥� said Blake.
When he was still living in Lampman, Henry visited the farm several times a week, so for his 80th birthday in 2007, his family purchased him his first cellular phone, so that Marguerite could reach him at any time.
鈥淚t took a while for dad to get used to carrying a phone, since he learned it wasn鈥檛 much help if he left it ... behind in the drawer of the house,鈥� Blake said.
Members of the family who remained close to home could always drop by for a visit or an after school snack. Marguerite would always be prepared, even when it was an unexpected visit from a grandchild.
鈥淚f someone forgot their school lunch, they knew they could pop over to grandma鈥檚 house, and she would make her famous apple pancakes, followed by a butter horn for dessert,鈥� said Blake.
Blake noted that his parents now have an iPad, and a Fornwald family album has been set up so they can post pictures and videos of anything they want. Henry and Marguerite can also keep track of what is happening on the Rural Municipality of Browning鈥檚 council, or around the world.
Estevan 小蓝视频 Lori Carr, who presented the award to the family, said that when she read through the nomination papers for the Fornwald family, she realized the Fornwalds represented the true definition of a farming family, because they have been farming for multiple generations, and have used farming to create a better life for themselves and their community.聽
