Looking back at my childhood on the family farm, I have many fond memories. Life meant learning responsibility early — starting small, growing into bigger challenges, and discovering how much joy there is in making things work.
🧹 Early responsibilities
Learning responsibility early
Starting small: Washing dishes and milk pails before most kids my age had chores.
Stepping up: Feeding calves and taking on more complex tasks as trust grew.
Daily consistency: Balancing chores with school and family life, day in and day out.
🔧 Making and fixing things
Early tractor mechanic and progressive framing technics
By 14, I was welding and fabricating machinery alongside regular chores. One summer, I designed a small cherry‑pitting rig — almost like a drill press — and used it all season. That challenge taught me to turn curiosity into practical solutions.
📋 Rhythm of the day
Planning projects over breakfast
Breakfast planning: Mornings doubled as project meetings to align on repairs and priorities.
Clear priorities: We decided what mattered most and how we’d tackle it together.
Rainy‑day list: There was always meaningful work ready, no matter the weather.
🧠 Lasting foundations
Lessons that shape a lifetime
Creativity: See possibilities, not roadblocks.
Problem‑solving: Break challenges into steps and build what’s needed.
Curiosity: Always ask how things work — and how they could work better.
🎀 Lasting Memories
Northlands Farm Family Award 1973 with Lieutenant Governor Grant MacEwan
Recognition for my dad's hard work left a lasting impression.
🖼️ Visual inspiration
Picture a shop warmed by the buzz of a welder, breakfast time doubling as a planning session, and a yard full of projects that always became lessons — a childhood built on making, mending, and moving forward.
