Agriculture Minister George Groenveld, Member of the Legislative Assembly Arno Doerksen, and county councillor Glen Koester were on hand to present a plaque from the Alberta government and a certificate of achievement from Member of Parliament, Kevin Sorenson.
Rod Hymas, 51, and his wife Jackie, are the last family members on the farm, and were more than delighted to host the attending dignitaries and old family, neighbours, and friends from as far away as Idaho to the celebration Sunday afternoon.
“It was a very nice afternoon, lots of smiles and laughs,” Rod tells The Mail. “It was a great honor, and some of the speeches made during the program really hit home. One hundred years is a long time.”
William and Louise Hymas came from Utica, Nebraska, and purchased 3/4 sections of land in 1909, one of which the fourth generation of the family still owns.
The farm is a straight grain farm now, but throughout the century the Hymas’ have raised hogs, cattle and horses.
But growing up, Rod had never planned to take over the farm.
“I came back from Australia in ‘81 things were rocking and rolling, and it was pretty good to make a living. We were treated very well,” he explains.
“We watched the face of agriculture in my day, and even greater in my father’s (Bob) day, it’s considerably different 10 years ago, let alone 100 years ago” Rod said, “but basically we still put the seeds in the ground and hope it rains.”
“I always often thought I’d quit at some point in my life, but I decided I’d make a poor employee if I decided to work somewhere,” laughs Rod.
“It’s just what we do.”
