Agriculture Now
thecarillon.com
JUNE 18, 2026
FEATURE STORY Hanover Ag Fair to celebrate 80 years See story on page 2
n THE CARILLON STEINBACH, MAN. C2 n www.thecarillon.com THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026 Agriculture Now Season long celebrations for Hanover Ag Society’s anniversary at Grunthal’s Exhibition Park
by GRAHAM WALKER T his year marks the “Oak celebrations” for the Hanover Ag Fair, as it commem- orates their 80th anniversary of show- casing rural life and the best of working in agriculture across Manitoba. While the fair itself is scheduled to start on Aug. 13, kicking off with a community-wide parade and featuring Manitoba talent in- cluding singer Catie St. Germain, the excite- ment is most weekends at Grunthal’s Exhi- bition Park with increasingly popular events like the Spring Twist Off, comprising a mix of bull riding and barrel racing. Registration for this year’s Rough Stock School, the training camp that schools new bull riders from ages as young as nine, was filled almost immediately and now keeps a long waitlist of prospects at the ready. Events like the Twist Off allow local talent and pro- fessional riders from all over the world to mingle and exchange trade secrets, especial- ly during the popular Party in the Dirt held afterwards. The event also featured the band Dumpster Fire to keep the party going. The Hanover Ag Fair traces its roots back to 1946 in Steinbach before moving to its new home in 1979. Staple exhibits like livestock and horticulture were the original attrac- tions, but things have steadily evolved with the times to facilitate greater crowd involve- ment and more entertainment for all ages. Today’s fair holds everything from hammer throws to mud bog races, and for rodeo en- thusiasts, the show has been named The Bull Riders Event of the Year three times and is a strong contender to win again this year. The Hanover Ag Fair is a notable and wel- come exception to trends for festivals and fairs all over the world which are shrinking or simply ceasing to operate, whereas the Hanover Ag Fair continues to grow in popu- larity and attendance year after year. In 1956, some 3,000 people attended the traditional fair, whereas last year there were more than 12,000 visitors with more than 13,000 expect- ed this year. Ag Fair general manager Brenda Levesque attributes the success of the festival to first class facilities, such as the large video screen that allows for the “chute cam” to bring the audience right inside the fences with the rid- ers and also allows instant replays of the ac- tion “CFL style.” But the backbone of the success, says Levesque, is “the second-to-none crew of vol- unteers from the community that keep the fair running. Even once the Party in the Dirt fun is over at 1 in the morning, they still show up to strip down and restock for the follow- ing day,” often working until sunrise to make sure the grounds and facilities are ready for the next day. As with so many recent milestones, the well-planned Diamond Jubilee celebrations for the fair were a victim of COVID restric- tions, but this year’s anniversary promises to make up for lost time and fun, showcasing everything from classic tractor displays to draught horses, highly anticipated chicken dinner banquets by Grunthal Broilers, and world-class rodeo events and mud bog races. The growing popularity of the fair, espe- cially this year, is augmented by fewer people traveling abroad and consequently looking for things to do closer to home that are both affordable and family orientated. Brenda says that the Ag Fair is tailor made for these circumstances and that when watching the crowd, she doesn’t see people looking at their cell phones but rather watch- ing the action and “grabbing on to each oth- er.” There’s something every weekend to check out at the Keystone Agri-Motive Livestock Arena, but the 80th anniversary celebrations this year promise to be extra special, and something worth checking out for everybody.
CARILLON ARCHIVES Steinbach Mayor K.R. Barkman hoists a sizeable pumpkin at the Hanover Fair in 1948.
CARILLON ARCHIVES P.S. Guenther sampling an award-winning chocolate cake at the 1948 Hanover Fair.
CARILLON ARCHIVES
Mona Smith and her trick horse Rex circa 1958.
CARILLON ARCHIVES
Frank Reimer buys a top 4-H champion steer in 1954.
CARILLON ARCHIVES Banker T.G. Smith with young Louise Laing receiving a trophy for best 4-H dairy calf.
CARILLON ARCHIVES
The original write up about the award from the 1956 edition.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026
Agriculture Now Friesen makes mark with FarmerTitan by AARON EPP K atie Friesen is used to playing games. The Manitoban’s prowess on the vol- leyball court led to a scholarship to Flor- house,” she said with a chuckle during a vid- eo call from the co-working space she uses in Austin. “It’s about the joy of playing the ‘game,’ right? And the ‘game’ that I’m playing right now is the game of business.” 65-year-old father using it and sent the vid- eos to her developers so they could adjust the product to suit customers who may not be tech-savvy. “I think part of our secret sauce is that we re- ally, really understand the user who’s using it,” Friesen said.
Raised on a farm in Niverville, Friesen first experimented with entrepreneurship in high school when she started a summer volleyball camp for children. “I loved the fact that it was up to me and my initiative to push the business forward,” she said. After earning a degree in accounting, Friesen worked for Miami-based venture capital firm Minerva Capital Group. That led to working on the customer relations and global finance teams at Chiper, a Colombian tech company that helps digitize convenience stores in Latin America. During her time at Minerva and Chiper, Friesen says she gained a better understanding of using entrepreneurship to solve problems. When she returned to Niverville to help with the administrative aspects of her family’s farm, she experienced the challenges the farm faced — especially when it came to keeping track of equipment maintenance. That led her to create FarmerTitan, which she incorporated in June 2025. The company’s app allows farmers to make a record of their equipment and record any repairs or maintenance that are needed. Us- ers can assign an urgency level to the task, add checklists and cost data, and assign the job to a specific employee. The goal, according to the company’s web- site, is to help agricultural operations reduce preventable repairs, decrease downtime and ensure work machines are taken care of. Users pay a one-time set-up cost and then an annual subscription fee that’s determined by how many pieces of equipment they are tracking. Friesen said while there are similar products on the market, FarmerTitan’s ease of use sets it apart. While developing the app, she recorded her
ida International University in Miami, where she competed on the Division 1 school’s beach and indoor volleyball teams. But seven years after graduation, Friesen is playing a different game. The 29-year-old, who divides her time be- tween Manitoba and Austin, Texas, is the founder of FarmerTitan. The platform allows farmers to manage their equipment and em- ployees using QR codes and a mobile app. Friesen said instead of putting a down pay- ment on a house, she used her savings to start a business instead. “It’s way more fun to have an app than a
Chris Renwick can attest to that. He’s the manager at Spud Plains Farms, which plants 20,000 acres of crop per season. The Carber- ry-based operation has 50 full-time employees year-round and at least 100 seasonal workers during peak season. Spud Plains Farms started using FarmerTi- tan at the end of January. Before that, keeping track of the operation’s 800 pieces of equip- ment was difficult, Renwick said. “We were always behind, trying to remem- ber to write down what got cleaned, what date it got done on and who did it,” he said. “Now if there’s any issues throughout the season or in the wintertime when we’re maintaining our equipment, it’s all there at our fingertips.” FarmerTitan is “a really interesting solution,” said Jacqueline Keena, chief executive officer at Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learn- ing Initiative (EMILI). The Manitoba-based non-profit recently co-founded the Agriculture Innovation, Vali- dation and Adoption Network (AIVA), which pairs ag tech developers with farmers. AIVA is using FarmerTitan on three different farms across Canada this growing season, Kee- na said. “We’re excited to see how it performs,” she said. For Friesen, the last few years have been the opening moves in a game she hopes lasts for a long time. “I think it’s the most epic feeling in the world when you’ve created something and someone buys it, because it’s an admission that you solved their problem and you’ve created value for them,” she said. - Winnipeg Free Press
SUPPLIED PHOTO Born in Manitoba and educated in Florida, Katie Friesen is the founder of FarmerTitan, an online platform that helps farmers manage their equipment and their teams.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
Katie Friesen is originally from Niverville.
Storms create soggy conditions
GRAHAM WALKER THE CARILLON Farmers in some parts of the province have been inundated with moisture as a result of thunderstorms rolling through the area. This farmer, located north of the Trans-Canada Highway along Highway 12 was pumping excess water from his fields last week.
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n www.thecarillon.com THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026 Agriculture Now
‘Countdown’ project tracks demise of grain elevators
MIKE THIESSEN WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
The Austin grain elevator falls on April 15.
change and culture in Manitoba. Goldsborough said the aim is to document the history of elevators and encourage people to become better observers and better record- ers of those that remain. “For example … you see a grain elevator, and you think to yourself, ‘There’s not as many elevators as there used to be. I should go and have a look at that one right now,” he said. Many wooden grain elevators are obso- lete and accumulating damage from the ele- ments, deteriorating to the point that they will fall apart or present a public liability, Golds- borough said. This follows after the smaller, wooden elevators were replaced by more re- gional terminals that outsize the wooden el- evators. Because the elevators are symbolic, they are often associated with the history of the com- munity, and act as a bridge to the past. “I think most people acknowledge that el- evators are sort of symbolic. I mean, they’re iconic for the prairies. You ask the average per- son what they think of, and especially if you ask people from away, what do they think of when they think of the Canadian prairies, they will often cite a grain elevator.” This can lead community members to be sad to see them go, he said. It’s taken as a sign of the community’s decline, Goldsborough said. “I think that’s why people are just so bereft when their elevator comes down, because they know in a very real way, it’s like taking the heart of a community and ripping it out, be- cause you know, in most cases, the people say, ‘That elevator has been there my whole life.’”
by CONNOR MCDOWELL Local Journalism Initiative T he head researcher at the Manitoba His- torical Society is tracking the remainder of grain elevators in Manitoba through a “countdown” project as he believes all an- tiquated elevators could be gone within 20 years. The project records the dwindling state of Manitoba’s elevators as they are demolished, and offers an online map where the remaining grain elevators — a total of roughly 111, down from a peak of over 700 in Manitoba — can be found. Head researcher and webmaster of the society Gordon Goldsborough said the project is meant to capture transformation. “It’s something I think speaks to a much big- ger story, the story of rural depopulation,” he said. “I think that’s the story that this count- down kind of helps to illustrate, is the change in the landscape that is occurring right now.” Goldsborough also researches and collects data about the elevator’s town, size, materials, patrons, staff and construction materials. The effort is supported by a network of roughly 12 citizens who provide eyes and ears across the province, tipping Goldsborough off to updates and providing information to be documented. Citizens frequently submit pho- tos for record at the Manitoba Historical So- ciety, and then the photos are posted online. The “countdown” is part of a larger project, called the Historic Sites of Manitoba. The en- tire effort is meant to acknowledge contribu- tions from people of the past and highlight
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MIKE THIESSEN WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The “Austin” sign is quickly salvaged by members of Pine Creek Hutterite Colony. The colony has owned the elevator since 2001.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026
Agriculture Now
MANITOBA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Manitoba Historical Society’s interactive map shows the location of roughly 111 grain elevators that still stand in Manitoba.
The demolition of the Austin grain eleva- tor in April is a case in point, Municipality of North Norfolk Reeve Ed Heppner said. A noti- cable piece is missing from the community of old, he said — no longer is the community’s name posted in big letters on the side of the highway. “That part, that’s true. You drive down the highway … you’re heading down the highway, and there was ‘Austin,’ but now it’s just a cou- ple of steel bins, which are going to be gone as well. “It is just an emotional loss, that’s all it is,” he said. “As a community, we got to move on and say, ‘Hey, we’ll build other stuff, and keep moving.’” Heppner said that he hopes the communi- ty will get together and fundraise a memorial project about the elevator. That would be one positive way to go forward, he said. “When the elevators were first built, you know, that was big progress. Well, what can we do now to make progress?” he said. “Bemoan- ing the fact, well, history moves on … Life moves on.” Heppner said it would make the most sense to fund a memorial by donation, rather than a government project. When the area comes together, and pays homage to the people and landmarks of its past, that is more commu- nity-building than a government project that goes through council, he said. The Manitoba Historical Society’s website has been updated to reflect the demolition at the Austin elevator, and lists a timeline of agents and buyers at the elevator from 1940 to
1998. A list of damage at the elevator was also documented, and photos were uploaded from the demolition day. The Rural Municipality of St Clements, northeast of Winnipeg, posted on its social media in early May that it is preparing its Li- bau grain elevator for demolition. The area was fenced off, and the public was alerted to stay away from the area. FACEBOOK / JANICE GOLDSBOROUGH Gordon Goldsborough, head researcher of the Manitoba Historical So-ciety. A dozen citizens around the province help him track the “countdown” of grain elevators as they’re demolished. He runs a publicly available map and database that shares that information.
CONNOR MCDOWELL BRANDON SUN The Elkhorn grain elevator is repaired in May after being damaged in a wind storm. Gordon Goldsborough of the Manitoba Historical Society said it’s nice to see repairs to an elevator as he leads a project to track the trend of demolished elevators.
pality of Wallace Woodworth, did not respond to a request for comment about the elevator repairs. Goldsborough said he’ll monitor the story of Manitoba elevators as it unfolds. To find the map of remaining Manitoba grain elevators, go online to mb1870.org/mhs- map-2/map and type “countdown” into the keyword search tool before refreshing the map.
In the community of Elkhorn, however, a break from the pattern took place. A long neck construction crane was brought to the com- munity in May to conduct repairs on the local grain elevator after it was damaged by a wind storm. The damage was repaired the same month, something that Goldsborough said is positive and encouraging to see. Clayton Canart, reeve of the Rural Munici-
26044MM0
FLASHBACK
November 28, 2002
Straw burner slashes barn heating costs by WES KEATING T he owner of a Landmark-area poultry farm expects a new $150,000 heating system will easily be worth the invest-
ment. Ron Penner of Primrose Farm anticipates the Rama Biomass Gasifier, which uses waste straw as heating fuel, to save $60,000 in heating costs annually. A 3-million British Thermal Unit (BTU) per hour heating system developed by Vid- ir Biomass Inc. of Arborg was unveiled in a grand opening ceremony at the farm. On hand for the occasion was Industry and Trade Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk, who pointed out the newly-developed heat- ing system takes advantage of a readily avail- able resource in the form of waste straw. In the process, it eliminates the straw without the need for farmers to burn it in the field. “Vidir is a success story built out of noth- ing but the company’s own creativity. The company’s new energy system will revolu- tionize our energy production.” Effective use of straw to produce energy has been something the province has long been looking toward, Mihychuk addede. Conversion to the system will be eligible for support under the province’s REDI (Ru- ral Economic Development Initiative) pro- gram, Penner noted he will need to use three or four 500-kilogram bales of straw daily, cost- ing $10 to $15 each, to heat his broiler barns. Information provided by the company points out a 500-kilogram straw bale pro- duces about seven million BTUs of heat per hour. A single 1,000-pound straw bale out- puts the heat equivalent of roughly 1,500 pounds of coal. The same amount of energy as produced by one bale would require approximately $124 of fuel oil, $80 of electricity or natural gas, $103 worth of propane or $45 of coal. Penner pointed out his farm will continue to be connected to natural gas. Cheaper heat will be particularly valuable for broiler farmers. Penner noted he sets the barn temperature at 90 degrees when he brings in a new batch of pullets. According to company information, the straw is shredded before being augered into
a primary combustion chamber. Ash is re- moved at that point. Oxygen is mixed into the system prior to the hot gases entering the secondary com- bustion chamber and water is heated for distribution in a third chamber. Temperatures in the secondary chamber reach 2,000 degrees. Water is heated to 180 degrees in the system, Vidir owner Raymond Dueck pointed out. Exhaust from the system is clean, he promised. At three million BTUs, the system installed at the Penner farm is the minimal configura- tion, Dueck noted, adding, however, there is almost no limit on how large they can ulti- mately be made. The system at the Penner farm is equiva- lent to about 25 average residential heating systems. Vidir is well known for its specialty met- al work, including motorized storage and cutting frames used in many carpet stores and bicycle display racks used by retailers throughout North America. I(n 1999, Vidir replaced the coal-fired heating system at their Arborg manufactur- ing plant with a 3-million BTU straw-burn- ing system, reducing heating costs by up to $50,000 annually, compared to the electric hot water heaters they used previously. - with files from Tim Plett CARILLON ARCHIVES Landmark area farmer Ron Penner expects a new straw-burning furnace will drastically reduce heating costs for his poultry barns.
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n www.thecarillon.com THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026 Agriculture Now
Unprecedented building boom continues by WES KEATING L ong before “vertical integration” and “value-added” became catch phrases of agriculture and industry, the Penners of Blumenort and the Loewens of Steinbach were well experienced in both.
The biggest of these out-of-town contracts was $74,500 by the C.T. Loewen and Sons firm for a new three-room school with auditorium in Sprague. A new two-room school was also being completed at Ridgewood, and on Aug. 31, ratepayers of Carmichael School voted al- most unanimously for a $14,000 addition to their present school building. Several teachers’ residents, a few service stations, an addition to the golf club at Falcon Lake, a tobacco drying kiln, two motels, 23 homes, and 19 barns all added up to the im- pressive total of $500,000 in construction in the Steinbach trading area. The post-war building boom in southeastern Manitoba continued at a steady pace a decade-and- a-half after Steinbach struck out on its own, despite tight money and crop failures in the late 1950’s. There was no way of telling how many new homes, barns and machine sheds were be- ing built privately by farmers with the aid of neighbours and hired help. In Steinbach itself, the construction picture was even more impressive. The third week in September, the construction of a $100,000 credit union building was well under way. The steel rafters went up for the new Toronto-Do- minion Bank, estimated to cost $54,000. Barkman Hardware’s new manufacturing plant, with the initial building expected to cost over $100,000, was also under construction. At the same time, it was announced that the final details on the seniors’ home had been ironed out, which meant that the $127,000 structure would be started in the fall of 1959, as well. Other commercial or public buildings under construction, at the time, were a new furniture store by Steinbach Furniture, estimated to cost $24,000, an insurance office valued at $8,000, and a ladies’ wear shop valued at $25,000. On the horizon were two other commercial buildings, including a $350,000 woodwork- ing factory for C.T. Loewen and Sons and a $100,000 grocery store. Besides these huge commercial develop- ments, 35 houses were under construction or had been completed in Steinbach in 1959, with an average value estimated cost to run just over $13,000. It is felt that the money shortage will not make itself felt here before the present boom runs out, and contractors feel that this will take some time.
While the farmers of Southeastern Manito- ba were putting food on the table, the Penners and the Loewens were putting a roof over their heads, building barns for their cattle, pews for their churches and school rooms for their chil- dren. C.T. Loewen and A.K. Penner saw mills har- vesting trees in the Sandilands Forest, ship- ping pulp to Kenora for paper production and lumber to Blumenort and Steinbach for the building trade and woodworking factories. While C.T. Loewen and Sons was responsi- ble for much of the residential construction in Steinbach, the Blumenort firm was also kept busy building houses, barns, churches, schools and commercial buildings. As Steinbach grew, so did Penner Building Centre at Blumenort and C.T. Loewen and Sons in Steinbach. During the war years, the C.T. Loewen firm operated lumber camps in the winter months in various parts of the province and even at one time in British Columbia. As a matter of training, sons Edward and George took their turns running a camp; C.T. Loewen, believed this was necessary experience for anyone that was going to follow in his footsteps. The wood supply business decreased, but a reputation for quality and reasonable price began stimulating the sash and door trade for the Loewens. After the war, a large order for hydro pole cross arms, totalling some 100,000 pieces, was placed with them. C.T. Loewen, who started it all in Steinbach in 1905, turned the company over to his three sons, Ed, George, and Cornie, in 1950. As the factory expanded, the brothers would later decide to split up the company with Cornie taking over the factory and Ed and George the downtown lumber yard and building supplies centre. The downtown property, including the lum- ber yard, stretched from Main Street across the creek to include Helena Loewen’s garden, which is next to the Jake Epp Library and is a tribute to the founder of Steinbach’s largest factory. The post-war building boom in southeast- ern Manitoba continued at a steady pace a de- cade-and-a-half after Steinbach struck out on its own, despite tight money and crop failures in the late 1950’s. Rural municipalities did not keep track of the construction of new buildings by way of building permits, so it was impossible to de- termine the total amount of construction ac- tivity in this area. Reports, in 1959, from firms, who jointly were completing a $500,000 build- ing program in the areas outside of Steinbach, indicated the general trend.
CARILLON ARCHIVES Albert Reimer discusses house plans with C.T. Loewen & Sons general manager Cornie Loewen.
CARILLON ARCHIVES Workmen take a lunch break, relaxing with a sandwich and coffee on the foundation of the new Barkman Concrete Products plant, going up in the western part of Steinbach.
CARILLON ARCHIVES
Construction of the new $125,000 Credit Union building is well underway in 1959.
September, 2025 | The Helena Loewen Garden
WES KEATING THE CARILLON At the entrance of The Helena Loewen Garden, next to the Jake Epp Library, is a plaque which pays tribute to the pioneering family of C.T. Loewen. “This is the historic site of Helena Loewen’s garden. A devout and patient woman, Helena worked tirelessly in the interests of her family, caring and tending to their growth, just as she did with the flowers and fruit trees which grew on this site. “Helena’s husband, C.T. Loewen, built his family’s lumber business extending from her garden to Main Street. A lumberman dedicated to his family, building houses and community growth, C.T. was both visionary and open-minded, allowing himself, his children, and his employees to make mistakes with the expectation that they learn from them. “C.T.’s faith and actions were integrally connected and rooted in the values of his Mennonite community, where people were responsible to and for each other. “Success can be measured in business and employment terms, in leadership and other contributions to church and community institutions, but the values of faith, patience, integrity, pragmatic risk and community building that have grown with the Loewen Family have roots in this garden, where Helena Loewen nurtured her flowers and trees.”
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THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026
Agriculture Now
Late spring downpour floods Southeast by WES KEATING
pumps to the Ste Anne Hospital at 10:30 p.m., Wednesday (June 10) and later organized a dozen volunteers with motor boats to stand by in case they were needed to evacuate res- idents. The Marchand forestry station record- ed nearly five inches of rain by 10:30 p.m.,Wednesday, when water began swirling down Main Street in Marchand, flooding sev- eral homes, forcing families to leave. The CNR tracks were washed out for over a mile, just east of La Broquerie, and all the roads and driveways along Highway 52 from La Broquerie to Steinbach were washed out, as culverts and bridges were too small to handle the rushing water. During the week following the flood, munic- ipal officials were out trying to assess the dam- age to roads caused by the two-day downpour. It was expected that damage to bridges and roads in southeastern Manitoba will run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Hanover alone, the cost of repairing roads and bridges will be well over $50,000, the reeve said. The RM of La Broquerie and Ste Anne lost every bridge across the Seine River, in addi- tion to numerous roads being washed out. Simon Rieger, chairman of Mennonite Di- saster Service at Steinbach, contacted RM of Ste Anne Reeve Camille Chaput, offering any help they could provide. After the waters had subsided, a dozen MDS volunteers were in Ste Anne helping to pump out basements and clean up debris.
J UNE 19, 1959—Over four inches of rain in two days drowned out much of the seed- ed acreage in the Southeast, caused thou- sands of dollars in damage to country roads and bridges, and at one point one-third of Steinbach streets were under water, in the worst flooding the community had ever seen. This is the second time this spring much of the area has been under water and there is a fear that it will be impossible to seed thou- sands of acres in the aftermath of the flood. The heavy rain created flash-flood condi- tions in Steinbach, when water in ditches and the Steinbach Creek started rising after the rain stopped, and the water rushed in from the east. The peak of the flood came at 3 a.m., Thurs- day morning (June 11), when a third of the town, south and west of Main Street, was flooded. Three families were forced to leave their homes for the night, but were able to re- turn later in the morning. For a time, excess water flowing into man- holes on the flooded streets threatened to cause a back-up in Steinbach’s relatively new sewer system. Emergency pumping units were set up and 70,000 gallons of water per hour were pumped into the lagoon to alleviate the problem. Emergency response to the flooding also happened in Ste Anne, where Peter Thies- sen, in charge of civil defence here, brought
CARILLON ARCHIVES Ben H.W. Reimer gets set to wade through a river at Reimer Avenue and Main Street, while a young country music fan also braves the flood waters to get a closer look at a poster on a hydro pole, advertising Wilf Carter’s upcoming annual appearance at the La Broquerie Arena. Town’s first mayor never needed an election
If there exists such a thing as “blue blood” in Steinbach, Klaas Reimer Barkman could lay claim to posses- sion of a good share of it. His grandfather on his mother’s side was Klaas Reimer of pioneer fame, and the first merchant the community ever had. On his father’s side, the “blue blood” comes from P.T. Barkman, who built the country’s first flour mill. During his life, K.R. has been both a mill operator and a merchant, in keeping with his heritage on both sides of the family. In his youth, he worked a year for his pioneer merchant grandfather and namesake, Klaas Reimer. Leav- ing there, he worked in the flour mill, which his father had taken over. He also worked on the farm, which his father owned in addition to the mill. He was, and still is, no stranger to hard work. K.R. Barkman and his wife, Mary, moved to Foam Lake, Sask. in 1923, where he opened his own flour mill. He was elected to the town council there by acclamation and remained in office for all the 18 years he spent in Foam Lake. When he returned to Steinbach in 1946, the town was in the process of evolving from a village to a town. Be- cause of his being a native of Stein- bach and for many years a resident, and because of his long political ex- perience, he was elected the town’s first mayor. He held that position right up until a year ago, at which time he stepped down, passing the gavel to L.A. Bark- man.
by WES KEATING S EPTEMBER 25, 1959—Being the first mayor of any town is quite a distinction. Being mayor of that town for its first 10 years is an even greater distinction. Although he passed the gavel to L.A. Barkman a year ago, K.R. Barkman is still regard- ed as the “Mayor Emeritus,” the em- bodiment of the spirit which welded the Village of Steinbach into a full- grown town. Reflecting on his time in office, the former mayor was quick to point out that not everyone was “for” him. “One day, when I was mayor, a man came into my office. He looked me in the eye and said he had been going around saying everything in the dic- tionary that was bad about me. What is more, he said he was going to keep right on saying it. The fellow turned and walked out. I guess when you live for 50 years in a place, there are bound to be some people that aren’t for you.” Taking everything together, it ap- pears that the people who “weren’t for” Klaas Reimer Barkman during the years he was mayor of Steinbach, were few and far between. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been put in by acclamation in the first place and returned unopposed every single time he ever ran for this office. Even there, Barkman had an an- swer. He said the way it works out is that people aren’t interested in politics and are only too glad to find somebody foolish enough to take the job. Barkman, 66, who has spent a to- tal of three decades in public office,
CARILLON ARCHIVES K.R. Barkman, Steinbach’s first mayor, was as popular with non-voters as voters. That was especially true when he dished out gallons of ice-cream to 150 youngsters who participated in a race, a week after they bought 49-cent roller skates on sale at the mayor’s Main Street business.
However, most citizens of Stein- bach are willing to testify that the town forged ahead in the greatest strides in its history during Mayor
Barkman’s tenure of office. Most peo- ple will agree that Steinbach’s streets are quite a distance ahead of those of most towns of comparable size.
said the most disappointing thing was there is never enough money to actually do what you would like to do for the people.
Auctioneer, mayor, farmer L.A. has done everything
Steinbach’s second mayor has been in busi- ness full-time since 1943, when he bought Southeast Transfer in partnership with Peter J. Reimer. He had previously worked for Penner’s Transfer for four years and knew the ins and outs of trucking. In 1948, he sold the transfer and bought a share in the present IHC agency, with Pete A. Toews. Five years later, in 1953, he bought his partner’s interests and has been sole owner ever since. Barkman says the business has seen some startling changes since he first came there. One of the big changes to the IHC line is that there is practically no horse machinery manu- factured by the company anymore. It’s all pow- er operated. At the same time, Barkman has gradually gone more and more into electrical applianc- es and now, in 1959, figures that as a big part of his business. Last year, for instance, he sold three carloads of freezers. The biggest step L.A. Barkman & Co. has taken in recent years occurred last fall when the mayor became the latest Steinbach auto- mobile dealer, taking over the Pontiac-Buick agency. When Barkman first bought a share in the business, there were only three men in the place, including the two partner-owners. Now the staff numbers 12, with his former partner, P.A. Toews, serving as the company’s accoun- tant. Heading the sales staff is John R. Unger
by WES KEATING S EPTEMBER 25, 1959 - A man born with as persuasive a tongue as L.A. Barkman was almost certain to wind up trying to convince people of things. That puts him in the category of a salesman, an auctioneer, or a politician, and Barkman is all three. Last year, when he ran as mayor, Barkman fulfilled the expectations of many election forecasters, and upset the hopes of others by getting himself elected as mayor of Steinbach by a handy majority of 683-391. At 38, he be- came one of the province’s youngest mayors. Barkman probably inherited some of his po- litical acumen, for his grandfather was once the “Oberschultze” or mayor of the village of Steinbach in its early years. In addition to his mayoralty post, he has been actively connect- ed with the Liberal party and has even been ru- mored as a candidate in past elections. None of those rumors materialized. Barkman has been vice-president of the Chamber of Com- merce, deputy governor of the Kinsmen Club and a member of the executive of the Manito- ba Urban Association. He has been an auctioneer for almost 15 years, having got his start in partnership with Tom Wiebe. Besides running the International Harvester implement dealership in Steinbach, Barkman farms 535 acres of land, that he calls a “hobby.”
CARILLON ARCHIVES Steinbach’s second mayor, L.A. Barkman, accepts the gavel from outgoing mayor K.R. Barkman after defeating A.D. Penner in the 1958 election.
Unger and Bill Martens, the latter two being known as “Mutt and Jeff”. In spite of the tremendous number of de- mands on his time, Barkman still finds time for his family and for the farm, in which he takes a great interest and where he spends a good many hours during the summer and harvest.
and working with him he has Edgar Plett, Alf Harder and John Giesbrecht. Floyd Hiebert handles the parts and service department with his trusty right hand man, Leander Friesen. John B. Friesen is the firm’s senior employ- ee and mechanic. Other employees include Corny Martens, Abe Driedger, and Harvey
n THE CARILLON STEINBACH, MAN. C8
n www.thecarillon.com THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026 Agriculture Now
Community pastures shift into gear for the summer CONNOR MCDOWELL BRANDON SUN Langford Community Pasture manager Patrick Robinson, left, tallies the number of cattle he just received from a farmer and stored in a pen. He confirms the number with Art Cochrane, who also took his own count of the dozens of cattle. Customers who leave their cattle at the pasture for the season pay 95 cents per adult cattle per day, and a flat rate of $60 per calf.
drop off bulls with their female herds for the season, having their cattle bred on the pas- tures. The association is led by the people who use the service. It is a financially self-sustain- ing, not-for-profit organization governed by a board of livestock producers who are patrons. The organization is supported by the leader- ship of the Manitoba Beef Producers and the Manitoba Government, according to the asso- ciation’s website. A patron, Scott Baron, dropped off his 2,000-pound Charolais bull named “Gangster” in late May, along with about 80 more cattle. He told the Sun the main reason he uses the pasture is because he doesn’t have enough land to graze all his cattle on his farm for the year. It’s also convenient, like a cow “summer vacation,” where he trusts his animals will be in good hands while they graze and breed. The majority of farmers are within an hour’s drive time, Robinson said. He said the main reason patrons drop cattle off for the season is because they lack land to support their herd in a full season of grazing. Grazing is the most cost-effective way to feed cattle, he said; if a farmer chose to feed their herd hay all year long, for example, “they’d go broke.” Ahead of the season, Robinson spent weeks preparing water infrastructure that is used to supply drinking stations for cattle, as well as repairing fences, he said.
by CONNOR MCDOWELL Local Journalism Initiative
The cattle “summer vacation” period opened at the Langford Community Pasture last week, prompting hundreds of animals to be dropped off by their owners to graze for the summer season. Pasture manager Patrick Robinson received roughly 160 cattle on the morning of May 27 at the pasture, which is tucked roughly four kilometres down two dirt roads off Highway 5 south of Neepawa. The 17C breezy morning turned to a sweaty 30C in the early afternoon before multiple semi-loads of cattle had been accounted for, organized and released to graze. The work at the corral included branding as well as tagging some cattle, herding them and counting them before releasing the animals out to the fields, where they will be stewarded until October. Robinson enlisted help from two riders, Art Cochrane and Ernie Vandersteen. The community pasture expects to host about 1,200 cattle this year, Robinson told the Brandon Sun . The pastures fill up typically; he said roughly 550 cattle were refused last year because there was no space left. The pasture is part of the Association of Manitoba Community Pastures, one of 19 managed by the association, according to the
CONNOR MCDOWELL BRANDON SUN Robinson counts the number of cattle just received from a customer. The number determines how much the customer pays per day, at a rate of 95 cents per head. It also sets a baseline so that the customer knows at the end of the year whether any cattle have been lost to predators.
website. A total of roughly 40,000 cattle utilize the farmer-led project each year, staff said. The service allows farmers to drop their
cattle off to graze for the season. Farmers are charged 95 cents per adult cattle per day, and $60 per calf for the whole season. Farmers also
CONNOR MCDOWELL BRANDON SUN Robinson brands a 2,000 pound bull Charolais cow. The pasture manager, as well as his team of riders, need to be able to identify the bull from a distance at the community pasture in order to track his behaviour and health.
CONNOR MCDOWELL BRANDON SUN Ernie Vandersteen removes a tick from his dog, Blue, while waiting for cattle to arrive in the morning at the Langford Community Pasture.
CONNOR MCDOWELL BRANDON SUN Ernie Vandersteen, left, and Art Cochrane watch over the first load of cattle to arrive on May 27 at the pasture. The two men helped intake roughly 160 cattle that day, and release the animals out onto pastures to graze. The two help part-time to steward cattle at the community pasture, which runs from May to October.
CONNOR MCDOWELL BRANDON SUN A customer of the community pasture drops off roughly 41 calves, marking the first shipment to arrive for the morning at Langford Community Pasture last week. The cattle wind through a corral before finding a pen to stay while the pasture manager counts the total and prepares them for exit onto pasture.
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