Remembering our roots -Tony and Anne Heuver

John Godsman

Times Contributor

 

Tony’s family originated in Olst, which is in East Central Holland, where he was born in 1935, the second eldest of 12 children. Little is known of the family history, beyond his great-grandfather. Anne was born in the same area in 1938, and her maiden name was ‘Nyenkamp.’
She came from a family of six boys and six girls, but after her father died during World War Two at the age of 48, her mother was left to raise all 12 children on her own. The youngest was four months, Anne was four years old, and the eldest was 17. A terribly hard time for her mother, with the Germans taking over the house, and forcing the family to live in only two rooms.
Both Tony and Anne attended school in Holland. Tony received six years of horticultural training in Holland, while Anne took home economics.
In 1959, Tony came to Alberta to work at a farm, returning to Holland frequently on vacations. In the fall of 1962, on one of these trips he met Anne, and they were married in Holland in February 1964. This marriage resulted in Tony and Anne having twin boys – Marcel who lives in Maryland, and Eric who now owns and operates Eagle Lake Turf Farms. They also have two daughters, Anita and Patricia. Anita co-owns and operates Eagle Lake Nurseries, with her father. Patricia worked at the nursery for a number of years, before moving to Ontario. They also have 10 grandchildren.
After their wedding in Holland in 1964, Tony and Anne moved to Calgary, where he and his brother Henry, started Foothills Landscaping Ltd. Eventually, Tony and Henry expanded the company to the Strathmore area, where they purchased raw land, and started growing sod. They seeded and grew the best lawn grasses available in the mid-1960’s, which included Kentucky Blue Grass and Fescue. As the crop matured it was cut and sold to customers in Calgary and surrounding areas. When they first started out, a neighbour advised he’d lived there all his life, and been unable to grow trees. So, their chances of growing sod and nursery plants would be well nigh impossible. As Tony said, back in the mid-1960’s there was no irrigation, now there is – and with irrigation one can grow almost anything. This is the main reason that the Eagle Lake Nurseries have been very successful. In 1970, Tony incorporated Eagle Lake Nurseries, and Henry remained as the owner of Foothills Landscaping Ltd. Tony was one of the first Albertans to receive Journeyman Landscape Gardener Certification in the 1980’s. The sod farm, which had been part of Eagle Lake Nurseries for 28 years, split from the main company in 1998, and is now owned and operated by son Eric, as Eagle Lake Turf Farms Ltd. They advised that the key to the nurseries’ success is their hardworking and dedicated staff, some of whom have been with them since the early 1980’s. They have 20 full-time employees and more than 50 seasonal employees.
Tony has served as a board member and president of the Provincial Nursery and Landscaping Association. He was also a long time member of Knights of Columbus.
Anne spent her life being a mother to their four children, volunteered with Sacred Heart Parish, is a member of the Catholic Women’s League (45 years), and served for 30 years as a member of the Strathmore Hospital Auxiliary.
Tony and Anne used to invite the residents from extended care to visit their garden and home for tea during the summer months.
Tony and Anne have enjoyed traveling throughout Canada, the United States and the World. They hope to continue this in the years to come, as there are many more places they would like to visit.
The biggest changes they’ve seen in this area since 1964 are the population growth, and the paving and twinning of the Trans Canada Hwy.