Ed and Mary Buchanan

By Ken Buchanan
Grassland to Grainland

Ed and Mary were from Listowell, Ont. They met at Luseland, Saskatchewan, where they married and started their homestead. Their first child, Evelyn was born there in 1917.

They moved to the Queenston district in 1918. They farmed there and raised eight children - Evelyn of Unity, Ken of Winnipeg, Len of Battleford, Delia of Florida, Roy of California, Marion of Hudson Bay, Jim of Claresholm, and Doris of Bellevue, Ont. Seven are still living, Evelyn passed away October 1980.

All of Ed and Mary's children went to Queenston School.

Ed Buchanan owned a steam threshing outfit, for his own use and custon work. They had their own portable bunkhouse and cookhouse. As they were threshing, they would move from one farm to another. Of the crew - one many hauled water steady from sloughs to supply the steam engine; one man hauled straw or whatever could be found for fuel; the steam engineer, who was Ed, operated the engine. Also, a separator man who operated the threshing mackine. They had ten teamsters and spike pitchers to unload racks; field pitchers to load racks in the field, with wages so low you could afford the man power.

Later on the crops were cut by headers and barges, the large stacks hauled into the machine and then fed in by hand which did away with binders and stooking. All these were the forerunners of swathers and combines.

Ed and Mary farmed until 19147, when they retired and moved to Victoria BC. A few years later they moved to Red Deer, Alta. They also purchased a cabin at Sylvan Lake where Ed and Mary spent many hours putting their skills to work. Ed built his own boathouse and boats and motors.

Ed and Mary were very proud to have three sons and one daughter in the Armed Forces during World War II. They were Delia, Ken and Roy.

Ed and Mary were blessed with 38 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. Ed passed away 1971 at the age of 84 and Mary in 1976 at the age of 80.





Last Updated: Tuesday, February 12, 2002